Frequently Asked Questions

Have questions about how well your business is performing its business processes? You’ve found the right place! SBAI’s Smart Growth System (SGS) may just be your answer. First you open your “Consultant in a Box” to evaluate your business and provide a targeted report with recommendations to improve your most vulnerable process. Then, you can simply take your Prescription and DIY. Or, if you want, you’ll be matched with one or more expert providers who can help you accomplish your Prescription treatment. In either case, a follow-on Assessment will confirm that your improvement has been successful.

SBAI isn’t just another economic development program. It’s a powerhouse collaboration between Strategy 1, Brain Bridge, and Vector Reports, three industry-leading firms that joined forces to bring real value to small businesses. We’ve secured a Small Business Administration (SBA) Regional Innovation Cluster (RIC) award for 2025, a designation given to top-tier partnerships that fuel growth in key industries around the United States.

What does that mean for you? More support, better resources, and a direct path to scaling your business in Arizona’s thriving Optics & Photonics industry. Whether you’re an innovator, supplier, or service provider, SBAI is here to connect you with the tools, expertise, and opportunities that actually move the needle.

We can’t speak for all online assistance, but with SBAI, Arizona optics small businesses have access to a world-class diagnostic. Here, at no direct charge to you, you can evaluate the maturities of 32 critical business processes. You also get a 22-page written report that includes recommendations for improving many of your lower-rated, most vulnerable processes, as well as a detailed Prescription that outlines the treatment for improving your most vulnerable business process. And learning & performance objectives that describe when you’ve accomplished those improvement(s).

In the Smart Growth System (SGS), a business can use the output of their assessment (the custom Report along with the more detailed Prescription) to guide their internal efforts (DIY) at improving the maturity of their most vulnerable process. Alternatively, the small business can furnish the Prescription to an Ecosystem Support Organization “Provider” that can provide improvement help.

Most businesses don’t realize they have inefficient or immature business processes until they start costing time, money, or lost opportunities. Here’s how you can find out:

Option 1: Hire a Consultant (The Traditional Route)

A top-tier business consultant can analyze your operations, pinpoint inefficiencies, and propose solutions. Expect a deep dive into your business, with a cost of $100 to $250 per hour for 15 to 40 hours, plus travel and expenses. Implementation costs likely at least as much as the diagnosis.

Option 2: Apply for Government-Sponsored Support

State and federally funded Business Development Centers, incubators, or accelerators can provide guidance if you’re accepted. You’ll work with advisors who may be juggling 30 or more businesses, and progress depends on their availability and expertise. Expect 10 to 160 hours over several months at little to no cost.

Option 3: The SBAI Smart Growth System (Fast, Free and Available to Optics and Photonics Industry

We think there’s a smarter way. SBAI’s Smart Growth System (SGS) eliminates expensive, time-consuming guesswork by using an online assessment from Vector Reports to quickly pinpoint process weaknesses in optics and photonics businesses.

• No cost to you
• 30 minutes to 3 hours to get clarity on where you need to improve
• Instant access to a 22-page tailored report with actionable recommendations
• A direct match to expert providers on your terms with no obligation

Why waste time and money on lengthy evaluations? Get a clear roadmap to improvement in a fraction of the time for free.

Our System is designed to work in a logical, easily doable cycle: Take assessment (check), identify specific vulnerability (diagnose), select your improvement method (plan), match with the experts you need (connect), accomplish small, bite-sized improvements (do), confirm treatment success (check), and on to the next. Why spend a bunch of time in a class “learning” what you already know? 

The Smart Growth System (SGS) was developed by SBAI to help primarily optics- and photonics-related small businesses grow their companies. By identifying areas of vulnerability in their business processes and connecting them with providers within the Entrepreneurial/Economic Support Organization (ESO) that are experts in that specific topic. By engaging in “bite-sized” learning activities the SGS effectively helps businesses incrementally increase the maturity of their business processes.

SBAI employs a diagnostic tool that uses classic artificial intelligence (AI) to penpoint process areas within a small business that are in need of improvement. Then it uses more powerful AI tools to identify and map the expert abilities available within the ecosystem for helping small businesses improve. By matching current challenges with potential solutions, SBAI intends to strengthen the optics industry in Arizona by putting the small business in touch with the right experts to facilitate vulnerable process improvement. 

Clients take assessments to determine if any of their process areas are vulnerable. They get customized Reports and Prescriptions detailing what should be improved. 

Providers make their expertise available to small businesses that are looking for help in improving vulnerable processes. They use the recommendations in the Prescriptions to tailor improvement treatments for Clients. 

Owners are the purchasers of Assessments. They assign Assessors (and might even take the Assessment themselves.

Assessors, in SBAI’s operating model, are assigned by an Owner to actually take the Assessment and rate the maturity of the 32 processes within the business. They may take the assessment alone or assemble a team of inside individuals who are knowledgeable about this business’s processes. Assessors cannot re-assign another Assessor to take assessments.

For each process Assessors are encouraged to describe evidence for why they selected a given maturity level. 

After an Assessor Submits their ratings for analysis, both the Assessor and Owner of that specific Assessment can View, Print or Download a copy of that customized Report from their My Panel page. If the Assessor’s business has made arrangements with SBAI, that business will have the opportunity to take a guided look at their vulnerable processes and also have the opportunity to select the method they want to use to improve to the next level. 

SBAI, as the assessment Owner, decides what business will be assessed and assigns the role of Assessor to the appropriate person who knows the inner workings of that business. Owners can assign and re-assign Assessors (in rare cases even including themselves) and (also rarely) can even transfer Ownership to another entity. While it’s quite possible for an Owner to also be the Assessor, most times an Owner buys an Assessment with no intention of taking it themselves. This category of Owner includes:

1. Leaders of small businesses that want to know about the maturities of their companies’ business processes—they might assign Assessorship to a knowledgeable employee;
2. Consultants, mentors and other for-profit contractors that need a rapid, cost-effective method to identify areas for process improvement within their clients’ businesses—they might supply an assessment to a business leader as part of an initial consulting contract; and
3. Governmental and not-for-profit agencies like incubators and other startup helpers that have a charter to facilitate the education and/or growth of small businesses needing process improvement—they might supply assessments to candidate companies applying for consideration for funding and/or selection for admission into the agency’s programs. It is within this category of Entrepreneurial/Economic Support Organization (ESO) that SBAI is operating.

Using SGS, a provider will need much less time than they typically currently spend with a small business client company because: 1) the diagnostic will have already been performed, 2) the Prescription already generated, 3) the match to the provider’s expertise already vetted, and 4) the client company already primed for the engagement for improvement.

A small business client company no longer has to search out and research expertise that they need right now. With SBAI’s SGS doing most of the legwork, they can be confident that their experience with a helping provider will produce an efficient interaction. With Prescription in hand, both the expert provider and the small business with a specific need can “hit the ground running” to accomplish the learning objectives quickly.

By all means, you can. SBAI would never intentionally get in the way of a Client business exercising decision making about its own improvement journey. Although SBAI would not pay for Provider activities outside of the SGS process, the small business might consider engaging in another cycle of improvement within the SGS that would qualify to be paid for by SBAI.

Depending on the amount of improvement work involved, the entire process might take as little as a few hours of actual time.

Some Providers are already underwritten to deliver help to small businesses through their funding charters. Others have fees associated with their services. When a small business enrolls in SGS, the administrative fees are covered for: 1) the initial diagnostic, 2) the contracted prescriptive treatment, and 3) the follow-on confirmation diagnostic. The small business needs to pay for only the working time their representatives are engaged in the improvement program. 

Providers are the entities that deliver the services that match the small business’s needs. They invoice SBAI for their agreed-upon fees for delivering the Prescription treatment engagement. Payment will be made by check usually within 30 days.

By the time the small business client shows up for a treatment engagement at the provider, SBAI has Interviewed the small business, and: 

• Determined if it is in the optics- or photonics-related industry as a business or a supplier,
• Administered the assessment to determine process maturities,
• Identified the most vulnerable process,
• Worked with the small business to decide if they want to do the improvement internally (DIY), or use outside expertise.

SBAI has on-going interviews with providers and examined their abilities to provide improvement expertise in specific process areas. Before a Client company shows up for a treatment engagement, SBAI has:

• Interviewed the provider representative
• Examined the provider program
• Negotiated their ability and fee for delivering the specific bite-sized improvement treatment
• Entered provider data into the SGS database for matching to clients later on 
• Signed a contract to deliver the agreed upon treatment

SIf you find you can no longer continue your engagement in the SGS, simply notify SBAI and we’ll take care that your business is removed as an active account. The Recommendations and Prescription are valuable assets that your company can put to good use internally. Conditions that caused you to no longer be actively engaged may change. Please apply later for re-entry.

For solution Providers …  SBAI has on-going interviews with providers and examined their abilities to provide expertise in specific process areas.

• Interviewed the provide representative
• Examined the provider program
• Negotiated their ability and fee for delivering the specific bite-sized improvement treatment
• Entered provider data into the SGS database for matching to clients later on 
• Contract at time of service

For small business clients … By the time the small business client shows up for a treatment engagement at the provider, SBAI has:

• Interviewed the small business, 
• Determined if it is in the optics- or photonics-related industry as a business or a supplier,
• Administered the assessment to determine process maturities,
• Identified the most vulnerable process,
• Worked with the small business to decide if they want to do the improvement internally, or use outside expertise.

You most certainly can. In fact, that is precisely how the Smart Growth System (SGS) is designed to work—in a logical, easily doable cycle:

• Take the diagnostic (check),
• identify specific vulnerability (diagnose),
• Select your improvement method (plan),
• Match with the experts you need (connect),
• Accomplish small, bite-sized improvements (do),
• Confirm treatment success with follow-on assessment (check),
• … and on to the next. Why spend a bunch of time in a class “learning” what you already know? 

SBAI welcomes your referrals of names of businesses that want to apply for admission to its Smart Growth System (SGS). Please contact us through our website to let us know of others that are interested in finding out more about the benefits of SGS.

Yes you can. Either apply through the SBAI website yourself or ask your optics customer to initiate the application on your behalf.

While it may go beyond the scope of the paid-for activities, SBAI will be happy to use its relationship with the provider network to facilitate small business improvements.

Definitely. SBAI is committed to providing the help a small business needs to improve its vulnerable processes. The Prescription you’ll receive following your assessment lays out an improvement “treatment” along with learning objectives that describe what successful completion of the treatment looks like.

Only if it makes sense for your situation. SBAI offers opportunities to connect with businesses facing similar challenges, whether through peer discussions, workshops, or cohort-based programs. However, your assessment and provider recommendations are tailored specifically to your business. If group collaboration benefits your growth, we’ll help facilitate those connections, but if one-on-one support is better, that’s the path we prioritize. The goal is to give you the most effective strategy for solving your challenges, whether that’s in a group or an individual setting.

If you don’t immediately receive a provider match, don’t worry. SBAI is still here to support you. Here’s what happens next:

Refining Your Needs – Sometimes, a mismatch occurs if the assessment results are too broad or unclear. We can help you refine your business needs to ensure we’re targeting the right expertise. 

Expanding the Search – Our network is always growing. If no immediate match is found, we’ll actively seek out additional providers who fit your specific needs. 

Alternative Resources – In the meantime, SBAI will try to find  guidance, tools, and peer connections that may help you move forward while we work on finding the right provider. 

Direct Support – If you’d like a more hands-on approach, reach out to the SBAI team. We can discuss next steps, recommend alternative strategies, or help customize a solution that fits your situation.

SBAI is committed to helping you find the right support, even if it takes an extra step. Your business’s success is our priority.

Assessments are the diagnostic means to rate maturity of critical business processes. They can be used to both identify initial problem areas as well as confirm improvements have been implemented in the small business. SBAI has chosen to use an Assessment that is not dependent upon the assessed business belonging to any particular industry.

1. Here’s a couple of circumstances that may have caused you to no longer be eligible to take an action with an Assessment that used to display on your My Panel page:
   1. 1. The two-year limit (from date of Submit) for Viewing your Report has expired. The system no longer makes it available to Owners and Assessors to View.
      2. You may have been assigned as an Assessor but, before you could Take and Submit the Assessment, the Owner removed you as the Assessor.

There are several things an Assessor can do to prepare for conducting an assessment experience that produces a more accurate Assessment result:

1. 1. Read and follow the Instructions immediately preceding taking an Assessment. If conducting this assessment in a group session, read the Instructions aloud and make sure everyone understands what is expected, sufficient expertise is “in the room” and they agree on the portion of the organization that will be assessed, the rating scale, and the “bottom-up” meaning of the ratings.
   2. Have a mindset for rating based upon truth supported by evidence—not opinion.
   3. Get a complete picture by making sure everyone in the room (the Assessor team) has a voice and let what’s actually happening be reflected in your ratings.
   4. Rid yourself of preconceptions and bias—do not rush to judgement by what you think you know—let the facts that the current-state conditions “speak” to you.
   5. Decision makers using the Report should welcome openness in the Assessor team’s ratings. Don’t shoot the messengers by punishing process owners that rate lower scores. Instead recognize their honesty and bravery for highlighting less mature areas that they believe need improvement. Even one case of assessment members being punished for low scores sends the message that “I don’t want to hear “bad” news!” If you turn this assessment into a stick, it’s human nature for people to distort the truth so they “don’t look bad.”
   6. Expect the rating session to go longer as more people are added to the Assessor team. 

• Open and read your report. It contains detailed recommendations (What, How, Why) and a general change guidance. 
• Open and read your Prescription. It focuses on the actions to take to improve your most vulnerable (lowest rated) process.
• Confirm the results, discover what you didn’t know, and learn what to do about it.
• Decide a path forward: either on your own, or with the help and guidance from a mentor/counselor or other provider.

If your second assessment shows little or no improvement, don’t panic. Business growth and process optimization take time, and sometimes adjustments need to be made. Here’s what SBAI recommends:

1. Review the Implementation – Was the recommended strategy fully executed? Were there challenges in applying the changes? Identifying roadblocks is the first step to making adjustments.
2. Reassess the Provider Fit – If the initial provider didn’t deliver the expected results, SBAI can help you explore alternative experts who may have a better approach for your business.
3. Refine the Approach – Business improvements aren’t always linear. We’ll work with you to adjust the strategy, focus on key areas, and ensure the next steps are actionable and achievable.
4. Leverage SBAI Support – Our team is here to help. Whether it’s additional resources, peer connections, or direct guidance, we’ll ensure you’re not left without a path forward.

Improvement isn’t always immediate, but SBAI is committed to helping you find the right solutions that lead to real, measurable progress.

A single knowledgeable Assessor can be much faster and not have to coordinate with scheduling other process experts together online or in a room. The big advantages of assessing as a team are that valuable benefits start as soon as the conversations about reaching alignment in selecting ratings begin. Even before the Report is assembled and read, one can pretty much count on rich debates that will ensue as participants sometimes struggle to reach agreement on each rating. Businesses that use the Assessment experience as a guided learning tool and consensus-building event for their Assessor teams have remarked when disagreements were uncovered: “We’re going to have to look deeper at ___(topic)_______. We’ve missed this!”

1. After an Assessor registers an assigned Assessment, they may Take and Submit that Assessment. [Please see “How To Take an Assessment”]
2. After an Assessor Takes and Submits an Assessment, only they and SBAI may View, Print, Download and Save the Report file. [Please see “How To Display a Report.”]

No, once an Assessment is submitted, no one can change the ratings that were selected by the Assessor team. This is to make sure an Assessment is the best agreement of the current-state process maturity of a business as rated by knowledgeable experts in a focused single setting.

• SBAI’s assessments are designed to be a snapshot of a small business’s process maturities at a single point in time. Collection of this dynamic data is intended to be completed in one session. 

• There might be a number of reasons to change your mind about Taking an Assessment at a particular time:

  1. You don’t have the time now, to complete it in one session.
  2. You don’t currently have all the knowledge in the room to make accurate rating selections.
  3. You believe someone else should be the Assessor. If you believe you are the wrong person to be the Assessor, contact SBAI (the Owner that assigned you) and ask them to assign the assessment to someone else.

• To stop the Assessment at any point in the Assessment process, simply click on the [Quit] button to close and you will be taken back to your My Panel page. Any rating selections you have made to this point will be discarded. When you’re ready at some future time, you’ll have to start over and Take the whole Assessment in a single session. When you are ready to re-take this Assessment, click on the desired [Take] button under the [Take Assessment] button on your My Panel page. 

The follow-on assessment is used to confirm that the treatment was successful and the improvements took place. It also sets the stage for the next cycle of learning about improving the newly discovered most vulnerable process.

SBAI has made available, to the Optics Ecosystem in Arizona, a groundbreaking business diagnostic that examines the maturity of 32 critical business functions (Examples: Customer Discovery, Marketing Channels, Pricing, and Sales). SBAI refers to each of these functions as a “process.” A company representative (Assessor) uses their expert knowledge, or the combined wisdom of an Assessor Team, to rate each of 32 processes within their company. They document Notes to justify their ratings. The diagnostic system analyzes the ratings and produces a targeted, custom Report and a more detailed Prescription for how to improve processes that are especially vulnerable.

Contact SBAI, and let us know what you need. We’ll get another Assessor assigned and up to speed so your business can quickly get engaged back into the Smart Growth System (SGS) activities.

SBAI is committed to an efficient and effective use of the small business’s time and resources. Consequently, they have designed the output of their comprehensive diagnostic to be a Prescription for improving a specific vulnerable process to the next level. Furthermore, they have negotiated with providers to offer these bite-sized treatments to small businesses. Similar concentrated, bite-sized improvement activities can be repeated for other specific needs.

Probably not. If you have expertise in a given subject area, we would expect that you have existing materials and lesson plans on the requested “bite-sized” segment that you can pretty easily separate out from the entirety of your usual class. In practice, the engagement session might consist of: 1) reading the Client’s Prescription and report, 2) a bit of brief get-to-know-you time, 3) some introductory level setting, and 4) jumping right in to the specific topic area the Client is asking you for help with. When you and your Client meet the accompanying Learning Objectives, you’re done! SBAI is a proponent of efficient, rapid cycles of learning.  

Yes, in a sense.

SBAI’s charter with the Small Business Administration (SBA) calls for the overall strengthening of the optics and photonics industry (cluster) in Arizona. SBAI has contracted with the SBA to improve the abilities of the Entrepreneurial/Economic Support Organizations (ESO) to meet the overall needs of small businesses operating within and supplying that industry (cluster). SBAI believes their charter includes strengthening abilities of ESO Providers to deliver targeted specific treatments to eliminate identified specific vulnerabilities. 

 Yes, In fact, SBAI strongly encourages small businesses to be their own self-directed “Provider” or to select anyone they wish to work with on their own along their road to improvement.  We are happy to provide your  confirmation Assessments.

No problem. SBAI’s Smart Growth System (SGS) is built to give you control over your business growth. If a provider match doesn’t feel like the right fit, you are not locked into working with them.

• You can request a different match based on your preferences.
• You can review multiple providers before making a decision.
• You are never obligated to work with a provider just because they were recommended.

Our goal is to connect you with the right expertise, not just any expertise. If a match isn’t working, let us know and we’ll help you find a better fit.

SBAI strives to make all treatment engagements as compatible as possible. Just let us know, and we’ll work to alleviate the problem.

SBAI is committed to covering the costs of engagements for small businesses in the optics and photonics-related industries. Other small businesses may apply and pay a fee to attend special-topic workshops.

Who can see Reports—Only Assessors and SBAI can View, Print or Download and Save a copy of their customized Report. While an Assessor or SBAI may decide to show their Report to whomever they choose, these actions are not facilitated within the website and are beyond the monitoring responsibility of Vector Reports. Reports are made available on the website to eligible entities for two years. 

Purpose of Reports—There are five different Reports—the Prescription Report, Main Report, the Executive Report, the Notes Report, and the HeatMap Report—that are made available through the Vector Reports website. The Assessor and SBAI may View, Print, Download and Save any of these Reports of each taken Assessment. Small businesses enrolled in SBAI’s Smart Growth System (SGS) agree to share some of their company information with the provider they select. 

The Prescription Report provides: 

1. A detailed description of the “treatment” needed to improve the most vulnerable (lowest rated) process.
2. The learning objectives that describe successful completion of the improvement treatment.
3. A printout of the evidentiary notes that were entered during the Assessment rating for this process. 

The Main Report is the most comprehensive. It provides: 

1. Some introductory material about how to use a Report.
2. A full-page Capabilities Maturity Plot and instructions for how to interpret it.
3. Bar graphs of all 32 process ratings.
4. Three or four targeted Recommendations and instructions for how to interpret them.
5. Closing advice and next-step suggestions. 

The Notes Report is a short document that provides: 

1. Bar graphs of all 32 process ratings
2. A printout of any evidentiary notes that were entered during the Assessment rating.

 The Executive Report is a high-level overview that provides only the Plot and how to interpret it.

 The HeatMap Report tool lets eligible users display and compare Assessment rating results from multiple Assessments to gain new meaning and value-adding insights. This feature is especially valuable to ESOs that work with multiple businesses.

To access your Main Report, click on the [View Reports] button on your My Panel page. Click on the [Individual Reports] button to the right. All the Assessments you are currently eligible to see are listed. Each listing contains a [View] button to the right—click it to display that Assessment’s Main Report on your screen. At the top, above the first page, are three buttons. Click to download your desired Report—Main, Executive or Notes.

To access your Prescription Report, click the [View Reports] button on your My Panel page. Click on the [Prescription Reports] button to the left. All the Assessments you are currently eligible to get a Prescription for are listed. Check the box(es) to the right of the Assessment(s) for which you want to download a Prescription. Click the [Create Prescription] button above the check boxes. Your selected Prescription(s) will be downloaded. You may then View, Save, or Print them. 

To access your Heat Map Report, click on the [View Reports] button on your My Panel page. Click on the [Grouping Reports] button. All the Assessments you are currently eligible to see are listed. Check the box(es) to the right of the Assessment(s) for which you wish to include in a Heat Map. You may select up to 8 Assessments at a time. Click the [Display Grouping] button above the check boxes. Your selected Assessments will display in the order you selected them. Now, use the [Process Sort] and the [Assessment Sort] buttons to arrange the data in a variety of ways to give you different visual representations of comparisons between several Assessments. To print the Heat Map, click the [Print Heat Map] button at the top right of your screen. To create a fresh Heat Map, return to your My Panel page by clicking the [Back] button at the upper left of your screen and repeat these instructions.

SBAI has your data privacy at heart. They have designed and put in place systems that protect company data and rating data. For handling assessment data, SBAI has contracted with Vector Reports (VR), a company that employs robust processes for data privacy and protection within its web-based tool site. Only Eligible Entities will have access to assessment and rating data.

No. For handling assessment data, SBAI has contracted with Vector Reports (VR), a company that employs robust processes for data privacy and protection within its web-based tool site. VR makes assessment data (registration information, assessment ratings themselves, reports, Prescription, learning objectives) available ONLY to SBAI (assessment owner) and the Assessor. SBAI supports the Client to be their own self-directed “Provider” by using the output materials internally. Or if desired, SBAI encourages them to select from vetted Providers who will accept the Prescription and work with Clients to meet their Prescriptions’ improvement objectives. As part of SBAI’s contract with the Small Business Administration (SBA), they must supply certain aggregated, non-company-identifiable data back to the SBA to justify SBAI’s continued access to, and administration of, SBA funds.

It is natural and expected for people in organizations to resist change. Sometimes they are simply comfortable with the status quo. Changes can seem like a loss of status or an adjustment to their own personal identity, but almost all sources of resistance come from work culture dynamics. While developing their Smart Growth System (SGS), SBAI came across a wonderful resource on Work Culture we can recommend. Find it at WorkCulture.biz where they sell a book on this subject.