As a small business owner on an Indian reservation, Theo Hugs faces a number of the same problems faced by her peers in business across the state.

Start-up money was tough to find when she opened the River Crow Trading Post on the Crow Reservation. Rent is expensive, taxes take a bite, shoplifting is a constant concern, and it's difficult to make a year-round go of a business in an area with such a short tourist season.

Cultural hurdles may need to be overcome as well.

"Sometimes it's hard to be an Indian business person," she said. "If you're going to be following the powwow circuit or the rodeo circuit, you can't be there running your business. It's difficult playing that dual role."

Hugs and other business owners shared their challenges and success stories Tuesday as part of the 2007 Montana Indian Business Conference and Showcase, hosted by the nascent Montana Indian Business Alliance. Nearly 300 business owners, economic development specialists and bankers are on hand to share advice and build the relationships that are crucial to helping small businesses get off the ground.

Sue Woodrow, a MIBA executive committee member as well as community affairs director for the Helena branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said MIBA has four goals, among them:

- Assisting in building and strengthening tribal governments;

- Helping tribal governments develop the commercial laws and the legal infrastructure necessary to support business development;

- Opening the doors to financing for Indian-owned businesses in Indian country;

- And pulling together organizations, people and resources to offer assistance and training to Indian business owners.

"The overarching goal is to build strong, sustainable private business sectors in Montana's Indian country," she said.

Maria Valandra, the chair of MIBA and vice president of community development for First Interstate Bank, said many would-be Indian business owners aren't aware of all the resources available to help start-ups.

"We're bringing attention to private business development," she said. "Before there was a concrete group that was focused on this area, I think it was hit-and-miss. People were trying to do it on their own but didn't know all the resources that were available."

One of those resources is the Montana Indianpreneur Equity Fund, a Department of Commerce program that recently provided grants of $7,850 to a business on each of Montana's seven reservations.

"We worked with Indian entrepreneurs to help them start their businesses," said Major Robinson, acting coordinator of Indian affairs in the office of the governor. "We found some great recipients of those funds, and the program was approved for a second year."

Woodrow said she's pleased with the progress MIBA has made after 18 months, progress that's perhaps verified by the presence of Indian leaders from South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin at the conference to learn about the alliance and take its lessons home.

"This is a new and innovative model that's focusing on the key things to building environments that will sustain business," she said.

The conference runs through Wednesday. For more information on the MIBA, go to

www.mibaonline.org.

Reporter John Harrington: john.harrington@helenair.com or 447-4080.