Been struggling with your business plan? If you're like thousands of other entrepreneurs, you may have considered checking out one of the SBA's Small Business Development Centers, which offer free counseling to entrepreneurs and business owners. The question, though, is whether their assistance is actually any good. As the Washington Post points out, their funding has yo-yoed over the years, but recently Uncle Sam has started throwing more money at them. The result, according to a new peer-reviewed report out today from the group, is that they've had a substantial and positive impact on American's small businesses. Gasp.

The report, which was generated by a survey filled out by SBDC clients (and surprisingly not by the execs themselves), says that Small Business Development Centers helped generate more than $7.2 billion in sales and more than 73,000 jobs as a result of the help and counseling they provided. Their clients also indicated that SBDCs helped them raise an average of $104,000 in SBA loans, $82K from other sources, and $25K in equity financing. IIt goes without saying, but those aren't shoddy numbers.

For more information, check out this interview the Washington Post held with Don Wilson, the CEO of the Association of Small Business Development Centers. Maybe government help isn't always lousy after all?