Meet Tony Schultz, State Director @ Nebraska SBDC.
The Nebraska Small Business Development Center is a program of the Nebraska Business Development Center (NBDC). The initiative enables entrepreneurs at any level to get consulting services for small business creation and growth.
What inspired you to become an entrepreneur or support other entrepreneurs?
Working at NBDC, we provide no-cost consulting to businesses throughout the state. Growing up in a small town in Nebraska, I saw the importance of the main street businesses like the local grocery store, cafe and hardware store. Those businesses not only provided employment in the town but also provided key services to the community.
My dad ran his own business as a farmer/rancher, and my mom was a teacher, so I guess that led me to a field of education and supporting business development in Nebraska. I love Nebraska and I want all areas of the state to find success in economic development, innovation and building a great place to live.
What advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time to when you were just starting out?
If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to find a mentor every chance that I could. In the interest of not reinventing the wheel, it’s easier to learn from someone else’s experience and have someone you can ask questions, than trying to go it alone.
In every step of my career, I have been lucky to stumble upon some great mentors, but I would say seeking out mentorship is an important part of the journey.
Bot check: The fun five
1. Thing you can’t live without:
My pickup — it gets me anywhere I need to go.
2. Favorite book or last book you read:
“Murder on the Orient Express” by Agatha Christie.
3. Something most people don’t know about you:
I have lived all over Nebraska including Maywood, North Platte, Chadron, Lincoln, Grand Island and Omaha but never lived outside the state.
4. If money wasn’t an object, your next company would be…
A hunting and fishing outfitter service.
5. App/SaaS/AI you’re obsessed with and why:
ChatGPT — I learned how to use it first.
How can the Nebraska community support you?
Support organizations that provide technical assistance to Nebraska’s entrepreneurs: If you know of a business in expansion mode or a startup that needs help with financial projections and business planning, a business that is looking to grow by adding government contracting, or an entrepreneur that is interested in SBIR/STTR funding for a new innovation, refer them to the Nebraska Business Development Center.
We are a statewide organization based at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and are here to support entrepreneurship in our great state of Nebraska.
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