New online help desk assists entrepreneurs across state

When winter swirled in, Lovelock rancher Mike Gottschalk would head out to the tool shed, hammer out one-of-a-kind cookie cutters from cast iron and give them to his kids for Christmas.

With ranching income on the slide,Mike and his wife Mikie looked for ways to augment the family income.

Once they realized that a cast iron cookie cutter shaped like the state of Nevada was a hot gift item,Mike had a question: How could he find the funding to start a business to manufacture and sell custom, ranch-made cookie cutters? Tourists passing through Tonopah snap up a crazy creation of Karen Epperly at her little shop, Karen's Krafts."The Nevada Rose," made from cow flops, sealed and decorated, has proved to be a big hit with the kinds of people who snapped up "The Pet Rock." The Nevada Rose also sells well at other stores in Tonopah, but Karen had a question: How could she offer this potential hit product to a wider marketplace? Those questions are typical of the Nevada entrepreneurs who can use a new free business advice service online: the Nevada Business Support Network at www.cbrc.org.

"While Nevada has numerous business assistance resources, entrepreneurs find it confusing when trying to find the support best suited to their needs," said Gary Lyon, executive director of the Carson City-based Community Business Resource Center, the parent non-profit agency that created the Nevada Business Support Network."In Nevada's rural communities it is very difficult to provide the same level of services that the urban areas enjoy."

All business owners and non-profit organizations in Nevada or anyone wanting to start or move a business to Nevada can now access this free 24/7 business assistance service.

The Web-based business help desk uses collaboration technology.

People simply submit business-related questions by e-mail to support@nbsn.ecosq.com and the service does the research to find the right person or agency to answer that question.

The Nevada Business Support Network provides collaboration and networking opportunities for people.While it already includes links to an array of resources, this real-time reference library will not only remain current; it will be ever-growing and ever-improving as ongoing use adds new questions and resources, says Lyon.

Developed through a partnership with Reno-based SQI Inc, the Nevada Business Support Network includes online resources that include the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Open Courseware Web site where people can access all the material used in MIT classes at no cost.

The site offers a wealth of resource links.

A free item offered on the site is a CD of business tools, including an accounting package, a Web-design program, an office programs package and the Linux operating system to run it all.

The CD created by SQI Inc.

is a package of existing free applications found on sites such as www.openoffice.org.

To get a copy of the CD, call the Community Business Resource Center at (775) 841-1420.

The CBRC also administers the Web site www.buynevada.org, where Nevada business owners can showcase their wares.