“I know what it’s like to grab onto a small business as either a dream or a lifeline,” said Debra Boudrieau, who recently retired after 14 years as an advisor with the Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC). She worked as a teacher, chef, and publishing executive before making her foray into entrepreneurship in 1986 with the purchase of an art supply and custom framing shop.
“I had never framed a picture in my life,” she said. Six months later, after attending a custom framing school, moving to a larger location, and getting the business on track, Boudrieau was ready for the next challenge. She opened two additional locations over the next few years. “Once I solve the problem, I’m done. I’ve got to move on. So I closed the businesses as the leases ran out.”
She experimented with several other career endeavors, from running a nonprofit to becoming a professional crafter, before joining the VtSBDC advisory team in 2010. “When I got to this job, all of the things I’ve ever done fit,” she said.
The Business Agility Guide
On Dec. 31, 2024, the eve of Boudrieau’s official retirement, she hit send on the final edits of the “Business Agility Guide,” her legacy project.
After supporting her clients through the challenges of Tropical Storm Irene and the Covid pandemic, Boudrieau noticed a common theme: entrepreneurs across the state lacked a sense of agency. They were exhausted and feared the next big disaster. “Instead of taking time to pause, they were feeling more and more hopeless, making decisions that were not always the most effective,” she said.
The goal of the Business Agility Guide is to help entrepreneurs feel more in control and less overwhelmed so they can move forward. “The way that you have an agile, resilient business is to shore up the basic business skills,” she said.
These skills fall into three categories: operations, finance, and marketing. The Guide helps business owners pinpoint the skills they’re missing in each of these areas so they can create an action plan to achieve them.
“When you do this, you get a stronger, better-run business in the short term—you have happier employees, happier customers, and you’re probably making more money,” Boudrieau said. “In the long term, you get the agility and resilience to meet disaster, whatever that disaster is.”
As she heads into retirement, Boudrieau is proud of this new resource that will help business owners navigate an uncertain future. “Frankly, as an owner, when you feel like you have more agency, you get more sleep, which was always my goal. I just want you to sleep at night. Because if you sleep at night, you’re able to make more rational, informed decisions the next day.”
