Welcome to your Southeast Idaho Small Business Development Center

Ann Swanson began working in web communications in 2000. Her career includes marketing director at Portneuf Medical Center,  marketing director at Idaho State University College of Business, and owning her own small business.

Ann holds two Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California and has been a marketing professor at Idaho State University. She joined the Pocatello Idaho SBDC in 2011 and is currently the regional director.

Ann helps businesses balance risk and opportunity, and she guides business owners through resources and tools that create real change in growth and sales. Her expertise includes business planning and strategy, financing, marketing plans, competitor analysis, and cybersecurity.

Ann also uses her experience to help businesses navigate digital marketing options. She teaches businesses how to leverage tools such as websites, SEO, e-newsletters, mobile marketing, pay-per-click, and social media to create better relationships with their customers.

Claudia Allen is a Business Consultant for the Southeast Idaho SBDC. She started her own process serving business thirty years ago and also spent many years bookkeeping for home-based businesses. She knows QuickBooks well and enjoys helping businesses set up their financial management systems.

Claudia helps businesses with financial management systems, and banking inquiries, thus her background. She also helps in business development.

Claudia was the former Loan and Loss Mitigation manager and a Business Development officer at two local credit unions, so she understands the relationships between banking and small business. She received a Master’s in Business Administration from ISU, and she is very active in Civitan International, a civic organization whose main focus is making our communities a better place to live and supporting people with disabilities.

Ben joined the SBDC in 2023 as a Graduate Assistant at Idaho State University (ISU). Ben graduated with a BBA in Finance and Business Management and is now working towards his MBA at ISU. Ben has personal experience in small business ownership and loves entrepreneurship. His interest in business inspired him to learn everything about it, and he loves to share this knowledge with others. Outside of the world of business, Ben enjoys all things outdoors. He spends the majority of his freetime outside with his wife exploring Idaho by skiing, hunting, fishing, and trail riding.