For new SBA district director,
entrepreneurial spirit came early
Eric Ness recalls the days many years ago when he’d set out squash, pumpkins and ornamental corn on a roadside stand at the family farm in northwestern Wisconsin.
Little did he know then that his entrepreneurial spirit would land him where he is today — as director of the Wisconsin District for the U.S. Small Business Administration, helping direct a major operation charged with fostering establishment and growth of small businesses, which the SBA generally defines as those with fewer than 500 employees.
Ness was recently appointed to the position, taking over the operation which includes offices in Milwaukee and Madison, and which has a portfolio of 4,828 active loan guarantees worth $759 million.
He’s no stranger to the office, however, having served as acting director after Michael Kiser left the office in 1999, and having worked in the Wisconsin district for 12 years.
Before joining the SBA, Ness served as a business analyst for Impact Seven – an economic development organization, and was general manager of Western Wisconsin Development Corp.
Ness started with the SBA as a commercial loan officer in the Portfolio Management Division. He was responsible for the full range of loan servicing and liquidation duties. In 1993, he served as a commercial loan officer in the Finance Division, conducting analysis of commercial credit and making recommendations on SBA’s ability to guarantee loans. In January, 1998, he was named assistant director of economic development.
When Kiser left as director, Ness filled in for nearly a year. The SBA then filled the position with two other acting directors who were going through its director training program. When the time came to name a permanent director, Ness applied, and was selected from a number of candidates.
It’s a long way from the family’s dairy farm near Cumberland in Barron County. Ness started his roadside stand at age 10, and progressed to a stand in the city, with his grandmother originally driving him to town with a pickup full of produce. It was a good business that Ness kept going until he was 20.
The agricultural background would carry on as Ness would obtain a degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Minnesota. (The Twin Cities are a lot closer to Cumberland than Madison.) He went on to obtain a master’s degree in business administration from Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
It was there that he wrote a business plan, which detailed how he would take over the family farm. But the plan showed even more clearly what Ness already knew: dairy farming involves an awful lot of financially unrewarding labor. "I decided not to take over the farm," he said.
The Wisconsin SBA office has helped finance a variety of farm and farm-related operations. But its efforts are much broader, including a variety of lending-support programs, business counseling, and other economic development, some of that in partnership with other agencies.
"Of all the federal agencies, the SBA is my favorite because we help people realize their dreams," Ness said during a recent interview.
The SBA has changed the way it operates over the last several years, seeking ways to do more with less. In 1992, the Wisconsin district had 46 employees. Now, there are 29, and Ness expects that level to remain constant. But the Wisconsin office has been able to do more, partly because of streamlined procedures, the efficiencies of national paperwork-processing centers, and partnerships with local financial institutions that are now more involved in SBA loan processing.
SBA Acting Regional Administrator Jan Wolfe lauded Ness. "Small Business owners in Wisconsin have an outstanding advocate in Eric Ness," she said. "His experience, knowledge and dedication make him a tremendous asset as a member of the SBA’s management team."
Ness and his wife Beverly, who just completed her physician residency, have an 11-year-old son. When he’s not working, Ness enjoys attending his son’s New Berlin Kickers soccer games and vacationing in the National Parks.
March 29, 2002 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
