Torres now makes sure that business owners in the position of his father all those years ago have some place to turn for advice and direction.

Torres is the new regional director of the Los Angeles Regional Small Business Development Centers Network. Hosted by Long Beach City College, the agency is the largest regionally funded small business development center in the country. The offices at LBCC are the hub of a network of six small business development centers in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

Funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the centers focus on helping small businesses survive and grow, and helping established small businesses grow into thriving operations that generate revenue and jobs. Practical, professional advice on everything the small business owner needs to know – financing, marketing, planning – as well as professional consulting services are provided free to the small business community.

It is an operation of no small importance in the current economic climate, where job creation is the mantra of seemingly every candidate running for every conceivable office. Small businesses – those with 500 or fewer employees – account for about 60 million jobs, according to the SBA, or about half the jobs in the U.S.

“We really are designed to be job creators,” says Torres, an MBA from Pepperdine University who is credited with helping create 500 jobs and $47.5 million in economic impact for Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties when he served as regional director for the Santa Ana Regional Small Business Development Network.

From the modest offices that formerly belonged to Boeing, Torres oversees operations that are funded by a budget of approximately $3.5 million from the federal government, which must be matched by local and regional funds. That matching component provides some insight into one of the key ideas that the center tries to help instill into small business operators.

“The match must be half cash and half in-kind services. It’s a way to build partnerships,” Torres says. “You can create some really interesting partnerships and networks. You know who they are, they know who you are. And sometimes it’s a way to get in the door.”

Establishing a support network can be critical for the small business operator. The business starts with an idea, a talent or area of expertise, and an entrepreneurial drive. But that doesn’t always translate into the ability to run the business that supports that talent or area of expertise.

When asked about the most common topic of advice for small businesses, Torres says it often falls into convincing the entrepreneur to back away from the counter and do some planning.

“What we see often is soft financials – not having a mastery of their own budget. Not really having essentially the time to do the proper amount of forecasting, budgeting,” Torres says. “They’re so focused on ‘I need to deal with my customers right now – I need to get a move on this business’ – that they can’t step back and say, ‘How is my cash flow doing? How am I prepared for success? Say I get 100 new orders – am I ready for that? Do I have the cash flow to do that?’”

Torres says that phenomenon manifests itself in a number of ways.

In the ethnic communities of the San Gabriel Valley, it’s trying to help small “mom-and-pop” businesses that emerged to meet the needs of a small, underserved population. It can be hard to get those businesses to share their financial data with what they perceive as a government operation – but unless they do, they won’t benefit from the SBDC’s financial planning expertise.

The center located at the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita recently joined California State University, Los Angeles, in celebrating the university’s new bachelor of science degree in engineering, with emphasis in manufacturing. Torres says the centers are trying to take those students who are coming out of the region’s universities – graduating, in some cases, with patents in hand – and helping them take their innovative ideas and turn them into thriving businesses.

In Los Angeles, a largely invisible network of tiny, sole proprietor technological business, like music editors, supports the entertainment field. The business owner can be incredibly tech-savvy, “but they don’t have anyone to turn to when it comes to professional development,” Torres says.

The network is set to open yet another center, this one in Downtown Long Beach, this month. Torres says the emphasis for much of the region is on international trade; with its ports, airports and rail yards, the greater Long Beach region is a hub of import and export operations of global significance.

“That is the flavor of our region – especially in international trade. If you’re not focused on exports or international trade, you’re missing the big picture,” Torres says.

The SBDC network is designed to assist these diverse groups progress toward a common goal – business success.

“Some of the most common support services we offer are support financials, creating a business plan, and marketing – understanding social media,” Torres says.

“That’s why it’s helpful to come [here]. You will be tasked by one of our advisors to do homework, and bring it to our next meeting. Let’s see what you’ve done about thinking about projections. We’re like a fitness coach or a personal trainer.”

Marketing assistance includes help with social media, something that can be utterly intimidating to business owners.

“It’s a matter of helping them understand how these tools work. It’s not just enough to have a Web site or a Twitter account. These are tools, and they are tools for marketing yourself to a mass audience,” Torres says. “You can use it, or not use it at all, or freak out! A lot of people actually are pretty nervous – the technology is pretty new to them.”

Getting people comfortable with running a business like – well, a business – is at the core of what the network does.

“Imagine having a professional consultant come to your business for free and having them say ‘this is what I see. This is what I understand right now from your financials. This is what you are missing right now from the big picture.’ That is just – it’s hard to find that information, and if you’re a small shop, you might not have the resources for those services.

“Our schools are turning out the best and brightest in the nation. And I believe that everyone has a business idea in [his or her] back pocket – and they need someone to prompt them, to get them started. You can come here and we can lay it out for you. We can tell you about your idea and if it’s got legs.”

For more information, visit www.smallbizla.org.