The Washington Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is a network of more than 30 expert business advisors working in communities across the state to help entrepreneurs or small business owners start, grow or buy/sell a business.

SBDC advisors provide one-on-one, confidential, no-cost advising on all phases of small business development and are often co-located with economic development specialists in community colleges, economic development agencies or government agencies. Other services of the Washington SBDC include no-cost or low-cost workshops on a variety of business topics and customized market research services.

The Washington SBDC, a member of the national America’s SBDC program, is governed by a cooperative agreement between Washington State University, which is the statewide host of the program, and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Mission
Helping Washington businesses grow and succeed through advising, education and research.

Vision
To be Washington’s world-class business advising service.

Values
Innovation – We educate and empower businesses to develop creative solutions, data driven decisions and best practices.

Integrity – We embrace responsible stewardship of public resources and serve the best interest of Washington businesses.

Collaboration – We cultivate partnerships to ensure entrepreneurs have the resources and tools to thrive.

Janet Toth

Janet has nearly three decades of experience in finance, economic development and business advising. In addition to one-on-one advising, Janet also has experience planning and presenting business workshops for small and large groups.

Janet, who was a lifelong resident of Eastern Maine before moving to Western Washington in 2016, has a B.S. in business administration with an accounting major at the University of Maine. She understands the challenges business owners face at different points in the business lifecycle and has strategies and resources to help business owners meet those challenges.

She has extensive experience with the loan application process, including nearly 15 years as a loan officer or executive of both large and small banks.

From 2010 to 2014 she was a business counselor with the Eastern Maine Development Corporation and helped business owners successfully apply for SBA loans. She also helped establish an incubator program that assisted 450 business owners in nine years.

While working in finance and economic development in Eastern Maine, Janet often referred clients to the Maine SBDC for business counseling. Now she is happy to be an SBDC advisor herself.

Janet enjoys meeting one-on-one with entrepreneurs to hear their stories, understand their challenges, help them to meet their goals, and then celebrate their successes.

Giselle Saguid

Giselle is the SBDC Associate Business Advisor in Snohomish.

Giselle started her career in the microfinance industry in the Philippines implementing the Grameen methodology. After moving to Washington, she joined Community Capital Development to direct their Northwest Washington Women’s Business Center (NWWBC) in Snohomish County. As a military spouse, she has spent years teaching entrepreneurial classes as part of the Department of Defense’s Transition Assistance Program at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island and Naval Air Station in Everett, earning recognition from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Seattle District Office as the Veteran Small Business Champion for 2013. A seasoned business mentor recognized for her ability to help people in under served communities access information, capital and markets to start and grow small businesses. She has a bachelors degree in Accountancy.

Telephone: (425) 640-1435

Fax: (425) 743-5726

Email: SnohomishCountySBDC@wsbdc.org

Website: http://wsbdc.org/