SAU Business Consultant Achieves National Certification – Aims To Help Job Creation

Kristen Cribb, business consultant with the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at Southern Arkansas University, has earned certification from the National Development Council as an Economic Development Finance Professional with emphasis on Business Credit Analysis.
The ASBTDC is part of the David F. Rankin College of Business. With the center since 2017, Cribb works closely with small business clients, providing confidential, no-cost consulting and guidance to current and prospective business owners.

To earn the certification, Cribb completed a rigorous, three-course training series and pass examinations of each course. The training covered economic development finance practices, basic and advanced business credit, loan packaging procedures, deal structuring techniques, and complex financial issues.

Her primary areas of support include business planning, financial analysis, market research, loan proposal preparation, online and traditional marketing, growth and expansion planning, management and profitability.

“NDC is a nationally-recognized program, and this professional credential signifies Kristen’s ability to assist clients with a wide range of financial projects,” said Laura Fine, ASBTDC state director.

“Obtaining the NDC’s EDFP-BCA certificate was no easy feat,” Cribb said. “We went through three weeks of rigorous training followed by three exams in order to achieve this.”

Cribb said she would recommend the program to anyone working as a business consultant or in economic development. “I was able to gain a solid understanding of the basic tools and newest techniques used by successful economic development finance practitioners to assist small businesses in developing a solid plan or a seasoned business owner expand in the right direction and ultimately create good, stable jobs in our region,” Cribb said.

She said the majority of businesses in Arkansas are classified as small but “it does no town or city good to have a business close within six months of opening. That is why we, at the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center, are here – to help create thriving small businesses in every industry and region. I love what I do.”

The ASBTDC at SAU is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration through a partnership with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the David F. Rankin College of Business. The NDC has trained professionals in the fields of economic and housing development since 1969.