Being in the industry I am, I have been aware of the SEB program for many years. As a participant, I was surprised at the number of ways the program impacted my business. Everyone I dealt with from the beginnings of an idea to final approval were helpful and supportive. The professional presenters on topics ranging from marketing to financial issues to insurance were very informative and often were able to put things in the context of my business problems and concerns. The most surprising to me though was the benefit received from brainstorming with other business owners about issues we were all facing in trying to grow our business and the realization that we had a network of support.