Counseling Program
The PISBDCN will offer a comprehensive counseling service (the depth of which varies dramatically throughout the network) that will incorporate the expertise presently available within its own staff. Counseling will be augmented with faculty and students from affiliated institutions of higher education and independent paid/unpaid professionals who at times may include interpreters. Counseling services will be provided without charge to small business owners and prospective owners that qualify according to guidelines established by the U. S. Small Business Administration and the PISBDCN Advisory Board. The PISBDCN is not to unduly compete with private enterprise. Counseling sessions will take place at the PISBDCN service center offices or through outreach activities at the clients’ businesses, satellite locations.

The counseling program will provide comprehensive assistance in one or more of the following service areas: Business Plan Development, Loan Packaging, Operational Assistance, Market Research, Management, Procurement Assistance, e-commerce,
I international Trade, Technology, Compliance (EPA, OSHA, Revenue & Tax), Manufacturing, Feasibility Studies, and other areas as needed.

Counselors will provide direct assistance and will coordinate the clients’ utilization of PISBDCN resources. A counselor will determine a client’s needs, create a specific program to address those needs and then oversee the client’s progress.

Training Program
The PISBDCN and its service centers will sponsor a comprehensive program of open enrollment training courses, conferences and workshops that are designed to enhance the skills and knowledge of existing and prospective small business owners/managers. It will augment this with customized training to meet the needs of its clients and the small business community. These programs will not unduly compete with private or public organizations that might offer similar training workshops or seminars. Every effort will be made to form strategic alliances with other organizations to maximize the breadth of offerings and the quality of the content.

Minority Program
The PISBDCN will develop a cooperative working relationship with minority organizations to insure that the full spectrum of PISBDCN Programs are available to disadvantaged and minority citizens. According to federal guidelines 92.8% of the current PISBDCN population is classified as minority citizens.

The Citibank Women in Business program was instituted in February 1999, through an annual grant of $50,000 from Citibank N.A.

Village Community Outreach Program
The PISBDCN, because of the uniqueness of its population, will provide specialized village outreach programs. Each PISBDCN service center will develop individual outreach programs based on resources available. The primary objective is to provide counseling services beyond the confines of the network’s service centers offices to the ‘on site’ locations of its clients throughout the network.

Captial Formation Advisory Service Program
The PISBDCN will strive to increase access to venture capital and loanable funds throughout the network. The PISBDCN will develop and maintain a comprehensive listing of funding sources and their respective funding programs. The PISBDCN will guide and provide technical assistance in the application process. It will be a goal of each service center to aggressively market the SBA Microloan program to intermediaries in their areas.

Business Assistance Center Program
The PISBDCN will, consistent with available resources, develop and provide, access to a depository of business and economic data for its clients and the small business community. Each service center will be responsible for gathering data for their area and forwarding it to the network office for consolidation which will then be distributed to all service centers. This library will provide access to: (1) the Internet and its worldwide data base; (2) data presently available from public and private agencies existing within its network; and (3) data generated from its own business and economic data base.
The PISBDCN will pro-actively disseminate this information through: (1) the monthly publication of the Pacific Business Partners quarterly newsletter; and, (2) the open access to a comprehensive 24-hour PISBDCN web site.

The PISBDCN will provide its clients with access to basic and advanced management technologies (i.e. - accounting, marketing, word-processing systems, research, and tax) as well computer laboratories.

International Trade Program
The PISBDCN, with available resources, will act as a catalyst to foster an International Trade Program for the network. Its existence in close proximity to Japan, China, Southeast Asia, Australia, etc. combined with its multi-cultural population, provide a potential for international trade participation. This natural advantage however, is severely limited by the endemic lack of manufacturing throughout the region served by the network. Each service center will set a goal to assist exporting businesses obtain financing.

Technical Service Program
It will work to develop a network for technology transfers that encourage partnerships between small business and the academic community to help commercialize university-based research. The PISBDCN will work in conjunction with College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Marine Laboratories to determine technical services that will benefit the private sectors.