Small Business Support Organizations

Organizations that support small businesses play a critical role in economic growth. Whether through advising, counseling, or technical assistance, your team is trusted to guide entrepreneurs and small businesses through complex decisions that affect performance, sustainability, and growth.

The challenge is ensuring that every advisor has the structure, tools, and confidence to deliver consistent, high-quality guidance across a wide range of business needs.

The International Association of Accredited Small Business Consultants exists to support organizations that want to strengthen their advisory capacity through professional training, standardized methodology, and certification.

The Challenge Facing Business Support Organizations

Small business support organizations often serve diverse clients with limited time and resources. Advisors are expected to provide guidance across finance, operations, strategy, and growth, regardless of their individual backgrounds or areas of expertise.

Common challenges include:

Inconsistent advising approaches across staff
Advisors with deep expertise in one area but gaps in others
Difficulty structuring productive advisory conversations
Limited time for structured professional development
Challenges standardizing tools, diagnostics, and planning processes
Pressure to demonstrate measurable impact and outcomes

Without a shared consulting framework, even experienced advisors may approach similar client challenges differently, leading to uneven client experiences and outcomes.

A Standardized Approach to Small Business Advising

AASBC certification provides organizations with a structured way to professionalize and standardize small business advising without limiting advisor judgment or flexibility.

Through the Accredited Small Business Consultant (ASBC) designation, advisors receive formal training in small business consulting methodology and a shared framework for evaluating, prioritizing, and improving business performance.

This creates consistency in how advisors guide decision-making while still allowing for individualized client support.

The SEMP Approach

At the core of AASBC training is the SEMP Approach, which stands for Simplified Examination to Maximize Profit.

The SEMP Approach is a practical consulting framework designed specifically for small businesses. It provides a clear structure for examining key business focus areas so advisory conversations remain productive and grounded.

The SEMP Approach enables advisors to:

Examine a business systematically across core functional areas
Identify operational and financial constraints
Understand how different areas of the business interact
Organize discussions around priorities and trade-offs
Support clearer, more informed decision-making
Develop actionable, outcome-focused recommendations

The SEMP Approach is not theory-based. It is designed for real-world application in advisory, counseling, and support environments.

Empower Advisors with Structure and Confidence

A shared methodology helps advisors move beyond reactive problem-solving toward structured analysis and intentional guidance.

The SEMP Approach provides a repeatable consulting process that supports advisors at every stage of a client engagement. This reduces uncertainty, improves consistency, and strengthens client outcomes.

For organizations, this leads to:

Greater confidence among advisors
More consistent and effective client experiences
Higher-quality recommendations and action plans
Easier onboarding and training for new staff
Stronger alignment across advisory teams

Professional Certification That Builds Trust

Certification through AASBC demonstrates that advisors are trained, accredited, and committed to professional standards in small business consulting.

For organizations, this supports:

Credibility with stakeholders, partners, and funders
Confidence among small business clients
Internal professional development and staff growth
Advisor engagement, retention, and accountability

The ASBC designation signals that advisors are equipped to guide small businesses using a recognized, structured consulting framework.

Tools That Support Advisory Work at Scale

AASBC membership includes practical resources that advisors can use directly with clients, including:

Consulting diagnostics and assessment tools
Structured engagement and evaluation checklists
Frameworks that support focused advisory conversations
Presentation materials for planning, review, and counseling sessions
Ongoing professional updates and insights

These resources help advisors spend more time advising and less time creating materials, while maintaining a consistent standard of service.

Who This Is For

This program is well suited for organizations that:

Support small businesses, entrepreneurs, or SMEs
Employ business advisors, counselors, or mentors
Want to standardize advisory quality and consistency
Value professional development and certification
Seek practical, scalable training solutions
Want to strengthen outcomes without adding complexity

AASBC works alongside existing programs and frameworks to enhance advisory effectiveness and decision-making.

Strengthen Your Advisory Program

Small business support organizations succeed when their advisors are equipped, confident, and aligned around a shared approach.

AASBC provides the training, framework, and professional certification to help your organization better serve the businesses and communities that depend on you.

Learn More About AASBC

For Small Business Support Organizations

Equip Your Advisors with a Proven Consulting Framework