By SARA WIDNESS

Rick Walter, a former SCORE advisor in the Upper Valley, saw an ad in a local newspaper and decided he might as well go for a position that would pay him for what he was already doing.

He landed the job, and as of mid-summer assumed the reins as the Vermont Small Business Development Center’s advisor for Orange and Windsor counties

He replaced Joan Goldstein, who is now head of the Green Mountain Economic Development Corp.

Walter is a native Californian and graduate of Stanford University’s business school. He lived with the wealthy and entrepreneurial Atherton family, who subsequently founded a technology company that 13 years later, with Walter on board, was Triad Systems.

This $100 million company specialized in automating the automotive parts distribution industry, among other products and services. During the 1980s, Triad Systems installed automated systems in Fogg’s Hardware & Building Supply, Inc., stores in Norwich and Fairlee, Walter said.

Before moving with his wife and their two daughters to Hanover, NH, Walter served as chief financial officer for three years with Austin-Lehman Adventures, an adventure travel company headquartered in Montana.

Since he’s assumed his new position, Walter said he is receiving “lots of personal calls asking what kind of grant money is available under the stimulus packages.”

His role is to explain that, while there aren’t more grants available, the U.S. Small Business Administration has increased what it will guarantee to banks on small business loans to 90 percent.

“We’ve also had more inquiries about the ARC (America’s Recovery Capital) loans of $35,000 for businesses that have been profitable in past years, but aren’t at present,” he said.

“I’m hearing about lots of people who are looking for money. But, at the same time, entrepreneurs are trying to start new businesses because they think it’s a good time,” he said.

“We provide free assistance for small businesses as they’re getting started, and for larger businesses who may be having problems with growth and /or how to grow it better. Our focus is on serious start-up companies that have potential for serious growth,” he said.

Sometimes, he said, “We do a number of pre-business owners a favor by saying, ‘You really shouldn’t do this.’”

His office currently is working with a veterinarian, a solar power panel distribution company, a butcher and a marble company.

Walter said he has observed “a lot of office buildings for rent and available space; that’s beginning to change. There are still obviously a lot of people out of work, and that hurts everybody.

“But, this is a very desirable place for employers to come to.”

The two-county office of the Vermont Small Business Development Center is located in the Hartland Municipal Building in White River Junction. The address is 171 Bridge St., White River Junction, VT 05001. The telephone number is 802.295.3710. The Web site is www.vtsbdc.org. The e-mail address is fwalter@vtsbdc.org.