Game Plan

Small manufacturers looking for coaching have a friend in the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), a network of private, nonprofit business assistance centers throughout the United States. Funded through fees, private grants and state and federal dollars, MEP centers offer coaching to small manufacturers producing anything from ice cream to rocket engines.

Field engineers will come to your site and put your business through a fairly comprehensive diagnostic check, either for free or at a very modest cost. "We provide a diagnosis, see where you're strong and weak, then reach a consensus with you on what needs to be done," says Douglas Koop, MEP director for New York State's Hudson Valley. "And it's not just wizardry on machines-we look at the whole business, suggest training where it's necessary and also recommend consulting services."

George Thomas, president of industrial manufacturer Contemporary Control Systems in Downers Grove, Illinois, found coaching through the Chicago Manufacturing Center, the MEP in Chicago. "They did a bench mark study-kind of like a tuneup-for $300," he says. "At that price, if you get one idea, it's worth it." After brainstorming with his coaches, Thomas decided he could use some follow-up consulting services. No problem: The MEP identified consultants for him and even hired them-at 25 percent to 40 percent below their regular rate.

For more information about MEP, call (800) MEP-4MFG.

This article was originally published in the July 1996 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Game Plan.