Founded in 1977, the NBDC is an umbrella program that helps business across the state — be they large or small, profit or non-profit — by providing advice, training and answers to some of business’s more intricate questions. Last year alone, the NBDC aided in the creation of 331 new businesses, and the 1419 jobs that came with them.

“My favorite part of my job is seeing businesses grow and prosper,” Bernier said. “Most of our clients come to us from banks. They go to the bank and want a loan, but don’t qualify because they don’t have the proper documentation or business plan. We package the loan for them: We do the proper documentation and we help them plan so they can qualify.”

Nearly one-third of all Small Business Administration guaranteed loans made to Nebraska businesses are packaged by the NBDC, Bernier added. The center actually comprises eight offices spanning the state: Omaha, Wayne, Auburn, Lincoln, Kearney, North Platte, Scottsbluff and Chadron.

Marisol U. Rodriguez, director of the Lincoln branch, said the center should be the first stop for fledgling business owners. In addition to offering guidance garnered from several decade’s worth of experience, the center also reviews business plans, provides secondary market research (which can be obtained from marketing firms for a price) completely free of charge and assists in developing financial projections and financial analysis for funding applications.

“I also work with professors from (the University of Nebraska-Lincoln) who want to start businesses based around new technologies being developed at the university,” Rodriguez said. “We help new or existing entrepreneurs develop financial projections, and guide them through the process if they want to start a new business or are looking to fund an existing one.”

Last year, the Lincoln center assisted an average of one person per day, Rodriguez added. That number includes 40 of what she called “continuous cases,” those instances in which the NBDC helped prospective entrepreneurs through the whole process of starting a new business.

Aside from recommending they stop by the NBDC to get their businesses off the ground, Rodriguez had the following advice for business owners, both budding and experienced.

“You need to understand the needs of the market and how you can satisfy those needs,” she said. “If you can understand that, you’ll be able to organize your business in a way that you’ll be able to find clients more easily. You’ll be more successful.”

Click HERE for a full list of NBDC programs available to Nebraska business owners.

The Branched Oak Farm, a 230-acre enterprise sitting some 15 miles north of Lincoln, is one such beneficiary of the USDA’s Rural Development Program. Branched Oak recently received a pair of grants totaling $30,000, transforming the modest grass-fed beef and free-range chicken farmstead into a full-fledged, certified-organic dairy specializing in cheese production.

“We applied for these grants as Farmstead First, the dairy marketing and production partnership we operate with ShadowBrook Farm,” said Krista Dittman, Branched Oak co-owner. ”I think the cooperation effort between our individual farms has been remarkable and also essential to developing this part of our business.”

Branched Oak Farm

The two grants — one for Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education and the other a Value-Added Producer* grant — allowed Krista and her husband Doug to do extensive product testing, purchase necessary equipment and even visit other farms to observe their methods, all in the name of producing the best cheese they possibly could.

“(The grants) really helped us get started on our goal, which was to take a holistic approach to farming,” Krista said. “Our objective is not to grow and grow and grow, but to become really good at what we do, and to get to a place where we can run our business comfortably.”

Thanks to the grants, the Dittmans have been able to cultivate Branched Oak into a vertically integrated milk-curdling epicenter. Branched Oak owns and oversees all aspects of its operation, from the cows and the land to the cheese processing and marketing.

“I like the challenge and the diversity of what we do — there’s variety in the work,” Krista said. “There are so many different parts to the business; it’s a balancing act. And the fact that we’re in direct market sales means we are directly responsible to our customers. That feedback loop is pretty short most of the time.”

And all throughout the multi-tiered process of making cheese, the Branched Oak farmers keep a pervasive sense of humility about their work, a humble throwback to the state of Nebraska’s demure, hardworking roots.

“We care about what we do and we care about our animals,” Krista said. “I think it’s important for organic farmers to talk about the environment, but to not point fingers either. I really try and take the middle road on things, and just focus on making the best product I can.”

*A grant that supports entrepreneurial planning, such as developing a a business plan, and helps farmers and ranchers receive a higher percentage of each retail dollar.

Heady Bed

Marilyn Wilson got the inspiration for a new Wayne, Nebraska business, Heady Bed, while watching a design show on television. She noticed the designer’s staff often had to carry large, unwieldy headboards up narrow, sometimes winding steps. She said she remembers thinking, “Wouldn’t it be good to have a modular system.”

Later, when Wilson designed the bedroom for her lake cabin, she couldn’t find a headboard she liked at a price she wanted to pay. She said she thought headboards on the market lacked options and creativity. Wilson wondered if that meant a business need existed.

She imagined creating an Internet-based company offering headboard panels that could be rearranged. The panels would be upholstered with fabric customers select when they place orders. She explained the idea to her daughter, Katy Wilson. Her daughter has lived in lofts and Marilyn Wilson thought loft-dwellers might be ideal customers.

Katy Wilson liked the idea so much she decided to ask a Chicago designer friend what he thought. The mother and daughter created a presentation and small model headboard to show him.

“The feedback from him was amazing,” Katy Wilson said. The designer thought the idea was “right on the mark,” she said.

Marilyn Wilson, a computer programmer, and Katy Wilson, a sales manager, decided to pool their talents. Although Katy Wilson lives in Chicago, Illinois, they chose to set up the business in Wayne where she was born and where Marilyn Wilson lives. Katy Wilson said they knew they could find a quality workforce there and they hope the business will benefit the community.

Her mother contracted local professionals to make headboard panels and to do the upholstery. They rented space in Wayne to store inventory. They consulted graphic designer friends. They had friends and family try out sample headboards and pitch in to work on their Web site.

“We got a lot of help from family and friends,” Marilyn Wilson said.

Last spring, they saw information about Invest Nebraska’s Northeast Nebraska Venture Plan Competition in the local newspaper.

“We thought ‘Why not, let’s go for it,’” Marilyn Wilson said.

In the preliminary competition they were selected to compete against five other teams in the finals to win a $30,000 equity investment from Invest Nebraska, a nonprofit corporation. Katy Wilson said they were shocked when they learned they won. Winning the contest helped them solidify the idea that their business could be successful, she said.

They used some of the equity investment to build up inventory, buying parts in bulk to save money. They are preparing inventory so that when orders begin, they can meet their goal of delivery in two weeks. They plan to launch the site, www.headybed.com, around the end of February.

Invest Nebraska’s equity investment in Heady Bed means that Invest Nebraska, a nonprofit corporation, is a shareholder. Heady Bed’s creators said the partnership has been supportive and informative, not intrusive. For example, Invest Nebraska has provided Heady Bed with information about business and legal matters.

The two said they would advise others who want to be entrepreneurs to believe they can succeed, to ask questions, to find support and to research ideas. It’s important to make sure your product is different or better in some way compared to others on the market, Katy Wilson said.

They said it’s been a challenge to balance starting a new business with working full time at other jobs. They said their geographic distance is sometimes hard, but they like having the business as an extra reason to talk. They’ve gotten to know each other better, Katy Wilson said.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with my daughter,” Marilyn Wilson said.

Q: What types of businesses should apply for the Operational Assistance program?

A: The Operational Assistance program helps companies with potential to attract major investors. These companies are either based in Nebraska or willing to relocate headquarters here. We want to focus on scalable or high-growth businesses. These businesses have creative, competitive ideas and often start with a model that can be replicated. They have potential to earn at least $20 million in sales or revenue. They typically export goods or services out of the local economy to bring dollars to local communities. We’re looking for entrepreneurs who thoroughly understand their businesses and business models.

Q: Who are these major investors?

A. They are venture capitalists, who are professional investors, and angel investors, individuals with a high net worth. These investors are putting in substantial dollars so they want a high return, usually between 20-30 percent. The higher return is necessary due to the risky nature of these investments.

Q: How do companies use the program?

A: The loans help entrepreneurs prepare their companies to attract major investors. The money needs to be used to build out that additional piece they need. For example, they might use it for adding server capacity or paying for patent costs.

We also help them with good corporate governance. We attend board meetings as an observer. It’s important to have good corporate records and structure to attract angel investors and venture capitalists. We bring experience to those issues.

Q: How does the loan work?

A: It’s an Invest Nebraska loan at a below-market interest rate. The four-year loan is payable in the last three years of the loan. There are no payments the first year. We don’t want to make it so burdensome for entrepreneurs who have a lot to deal with already.

You can find more information at www.investnebraska.com.

Q: Where does the Operational Assistance money come from?

A: The Nebraska legislature created the Nebraska Operational Assistance Act, LB 425, in 2007 to provide assistance to high-growth businesses that could be attractive to venture capital. The act calls for the legislature to appropriate funds for a state Department of Economic Development grant. The grant is for a nonprofit organization that will administer the program and match part of the funds. Invest Nebraska applied for and received $500,000 for 2008-2009. We resubmitted our request for 2010-2011, and we expect to sign for it in February.

If you’re interested in starting a business but procrastination or other obligations tend to get in your way, Startup Weekend Omaha may be just the kick start you need. In fact, in just 54 hours, you might leave as part of a new business.

Startup Weekend Omaha, March 19-21, 2010 is advertised as a community-building startup event. Local entrepreneurs, software developers, graphic artists, marketers, business managers and others will meet, form groups, toss around ideas, and then build businesses.

Anyone can participate. “It doesn’t have to be so much about what you can contribute as what you can be a part of, what you can learn,” said Corey Spitzer, one of the event organizers. Your idea doesn’t have to be high tech and you don’t have to come with an idea at all. Spitzer said that at a similar event he attended last year, about half of the participants came with ideas and the rest just joined teams at the event.

“Some people (who come) want to do a startup, some just want to build something and have fun,” Spitzer said.

The Omaha event is one of similar events the Seattle, Washington Startup Weekend group has organized in more than 50 cities and in 12 countries so far. The group, founded in 2007, operates as a nonprofit.

The registration cost, $45 ($35 for students), includes meals. Registration will be capped at about 100 participants, Spitzer said.

The weekend runs from 6 p.m. Friday to about 9 p.m. Sunday. Typically some participants go home Friday and Saturday nights and some stay to continue work. Saturday and Sunday work starts around 9 a.m. Participants freely come and go throughout the weekend.

Where the fledgling businesses or projects go after Sunday night is up to each group. The Startup Weekend organization won’t have a stake in any new startup, Spitzer said.

For registration and more information, go to the Website omaha.startupweekend.org.

The same technology that shrinks the world a little more each day — through phone lines and cell towers and mankind’s mastery of the wide open airwaves — also offers a level of workplace flexibility completely unfeasible only a decade ago. Working from home to avoid the morning commute is becoming more and more common, and co-workers collaborating on the same project may not even be in the same city, the same state or even the same time zone.

Naturally, that same malleability can be found in one of the best-known business staples: the conference. Or rather, the unconference. Coined in 1998, the term “unconference” refers to a business gathering of like-minded individuals where anyone can give a brief seminar on any topic, and the day’s agenda is assembled piecemeal as attendees deign to share their expertise with others. The idea has spread like prairie fire, and unconferences have been held on every continent but Antarctica.

And on Janurary 30th, Lincoln finally got in on the action. Based on the popular BarCamp unconference formula, Awesome Camp, held at red9, pulled in some 40 area entrepreneurs. Awesome Camp offered 22 impromptu sessions hosted by the attendees themselves, with topics ranging from tips for finding the right book publisher to a seminar on building a thriving personal Web site audience aptly titled “What the Blog?”

“The response has been more than we expected — everybody’s pumped, everybody’s tweeting about the event” said Deb Averett, one of the camp’s organizers. “It’s kind of nice: If you couldn’t decide between two sessions, you could follow up on the Twitter page and see what you missed. We’re a bunch of techies. I love it.”

Campers could follow tweets about the event in real time, courtesy an HDTV hanging over the bar and displaying Awesome Camp’s Twitter feed. As of February 1st, tweets with the tag #awesome camp had reached some 7,823 people.

Toby Schroder, founder of Fierce Robot, used his session to talk about what he and his company know best: search engine optimization. He said he felt a gathering of local entrepreneurs like Awesome Camp was invaluable to Lincoln’s business community.

“I’ve been following all the different start-up events going on in Omaha for a while now, and they all sound awesome until you have to drive there in the middle of winter,” said Schroder, who’d been in business for himself for exactly one year and one day at the time. “So when someone said they were going to do this BarCamp called Awesome Camp, I said I’d help out.”

Much like other BarCamps around the world, Averett and Awesome Camp’s organizers hope to make the event an annual occurrence. Next year, Averett said one goal was to draw more participants from outside Lincoln, making Awesome Camp a nexus for Nebraska entrepreneurs.

“It’s not just about Lincoln — you can think outside the box,” Averett said, referring to the role technology plays in helping big ideas spread faster. “Social media can bring everybody together and make things happen.”

10 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make from Nebraska Entrepreneur on Vimeo.