Chris Sablan, compliance officer for the CNMI American Recovery and Reinvestment Act program, was named to the SBDC post a couple of weeks ago but was just waiting for the Legislature to pass the budget before he could officially assume his new position.
The local SBDC office was reopened in June after a 10-year hiatus as a collaborative effort among the Department of Commerce, the Commonwealth Development Authority, the University of Guam, the Pacific Islands Small Business Development Center Network and the U.S. Small Business Administration with Gary Liddle as its director.
Commerce Secretary Michael Ada refused to comment why Liddle is no longer the director.
But Ada commended Liddle for his valuable counseling and what he had done for the SBDC during his brief stint here. Liddle left his post on Sept. 27.
Ada said Liddle’s programs were good but did not fit the needs of the businesses here.
“We hope to continue corresponding with him (Liddle) in the future about SBDC concerns,” Ada said.
He said Commerce is anticipating new developments as soon as Sablan assumes offices.
“I believe Sablan can meet the needs of SBDC — an individual who can get things up and moving,” Ada said.
Sablan said he is aware of the challenges, but he is relying on his extensive experience and involvement in family businesses which include real estate, import and export, and wholesaling.
“With the struggling economy, every business on island can use all the help they can get,” he said.
SBDC provides owners of small businesses counseling and assistance in expanding and improving their existing businesses, and help individuals who are planning to get into business come up with business proposals.
