Consultant Profile: Allen Brown Area Center: Midlands Title: Business Midlands Coordinator and Business Consultant Start Date: February 1, 2019

QUESTION: What was your career track prior to joining the SC SBDC network? ANSWER: Served active/Guard Reserve in the U.S. Army. Worked in manufacturing and as a Commercial Lender & Wealth Manager. I am Six Sigma and Lean Certified. QUESTION: What motivated you to become an SC SBDC consultant? ANSWER: The opportunity to help establish and grow small businesses in my community knowing that it will have a significant impact. QUESTION: What is the best piece of advice you would offer aspiring business owners? ANSWER: Figure out why you want to own a business. Make entrepreneurship your profession.

QUESTION: Do you have a particular area of interest/expertise that you offer clients? ANSWER: Sales and Marketing, Business Financial consulting.

QUESTION: Since becoming an SC SBDC consultant, what is your greatest accomplishment? ANSWER: Providing consistent value added consulting to the varying types of businesses I deal with on a day-to-day basis.

QUESTION: Why is the SBDC an important resource for small business owners in South Carolina? ANSWER: Most business owners don’t know what it means to be an entrepreneur. Because of this, they don’t know what they don’t know. The SBDC helps these individuals identify the gaps and blind spots in their plans and operations. Doing so can lead to aiding the small business owner to succeed rather than fail.

QUESTION: What is your favorite part about working for the SC SBDC? ANSWER: The outreach and the private consulting aspects of our work are the most exciting. QUESTION: What quote best expresses your philosophy toward work/life? ANSWER: “Teamwork makes the dream work. If the dream isn’t working, it’s because the team isn’t working.”

QUESTION: What is the greatest challenge you’ve encountered while working as an SBDC consultant? How did you overcome it? ANSWER: Developing a way to consistently provide the same values across all business types. I researched and found the Lean Canvas Model and use it as a way to do a Concept Analysis for all my clients. QUESTION: What is your approach toward client counseling? ANSWER: Client-centered focused on getting them to define how they create, capture and deliver value.

QUESTION: What hobby or activities keep you busy when you’re not assisting clients? ANSWER: I’m a recovering workaholic so most if not all of my free time is spent with my family. Beside college basketball, I’m usually interested in my children’s’ hobbies.