SBA NEWS RELEASE

Release Date: June 4, 2008

Contact:  Kate Herrington (802) 828-4422

Don Padgett Selected Financial Services Champion of the Year
(By Cecile Johnston)

If you’ve thought about starting a small business in central Vermont, there’s a good chance you’ve spoken with Don Padgett.  For eighteen years, Padgett has worked as a business counselor with the Micro Business Development Program (MBDP) at Central Vermont Community Action Council, helping hundreds of low to moderate income entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.  In the past year alone, Padgett has helped over 80 clients on the path to economic self-sufficiency, starting 18 microenterprises  and accessing over $500,000 in business capital.  For his longstanding dedication and service, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has selected Don Padgett as the 2008 Financial Services Champion of the Year.

“Don sees the entrepreneurship twinkle in someone's eye and then works with them to make their goal of small business ownership become a reality--always approaching clients with great respect for their dreams and the realities of their lives,”  says Micro Business Program Coordinator Sarah Phillips.  “We are proud to have him on the Micro Business team, and salute his achievement.” 

Padgett works with individuals who want to start or expand businesses by assisting them in writing their business plans and cash flow statements, looking at their credit histories and assessing their business needs. He also teaches workshops addressing a variety of business-related issues, including marketing, bookkeeping, habits and life skills that increase the chances of success, as well as e-commerce principals and strategies.  People may see Padgett a handful of times to craft and polish a business plan, or over time as their businesses encounter new challenges.

Mary Harney and Patricia Werner, owners of the antique and collectibles gift shop, Vintage Ladies, initially worked with Padgett as they started to develop their plan and cash flow projections. They opened their doors 3 years ago in South Barre, and in 2007 moved to their current location in downtown Barre.  As they were poised to expand their shop, Harney reflects, “He taught me so well that I was able to put together a cash flow update for my lender on my own.  I could never have done that without his help.”

In his eighteen years, Padgett has watched people and businesses grow and become an important part of their communities.  Always an advocate for his clients, Padgett considers the role of microenterprise in central Vermont’s economic well-being: “Can assisting people in putting together secondary income streams be economic development?  How about when people leave a job to pursue full-time self-employment and open up a wage-earning position for another individual?  We have people who hire one or two employees, and occasionally we have people who hire many.  This is a real benefit to the community; it gives us a sustainable economic base.”

As Vermont’s Financial Services Champion of the Year, Don Padgett was honored along with the Small Business Person of the Year and other Champions at a special ceremony sponsored by Vermont Business Magazine at Burlington’s Waterfront Park, June 4, 2008, 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. 

1)  A microenterprise is usually defined as a business with five or fewer employees, small enough to require initial capital of $35,000 or less.  www.microenterpriseworks.org