When one starts a business, the entire path can seem like a fog. You never know which way things are going to go, although every new entrant hopes for the best. But what if someone could pave the way? What if your business had absolutely no risk of failure? Even if it does, what if the failure doesn’t cause too much damage? It is best to have a backbone in advance who can support you throughout the process and save you a lot of losses.
Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) are the new trend in your area. These are typically partnerships between the government and a college or university, with the primary motivation being to provide educational services and guidance to the local Small Business Administration (SBA). Those who aspire to be entrepreneurs have benefited greatly from the growing number of small business development companies. These organizations host workshops and conferences and ensure that subscribing small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs are informed about the latest happenings in the business world.
There is a very basic line to what a regular small business development center does. It assists its subscribed small businesses to achieve the following goals:
- Customer-oriented quality
- ambitious leadership
- Continuous improvement through mutual exchange of knowledge and information
- Members participate and grow together
- Respond promptly
- Remarkable performance
- fact-based management
- Successful Affiliations and Partnerships
- Reliable communication network
- Variety-Uniform-Professional
- celebrate excellence
There are a total of 63 SBDCs in the United States that lead organizationally aligned programs provided to small business members. They require an extensive network of commercial establishments and independent satellites in each state. In addition, each center has a Director who is responsible for all functions performed by the respective Small Business Development Center. Additionally, adequate number of staff, volunteers and part-time staff have been appointed to ensure smooth functioning of these centres.
The services provided by formal small business development centers are mainly to provide financial assistance to small businesses so that there will be no shortage of funds later. Some of the basic help provided by these centers include marketing the company, producing quality goods or services, infrastructure, engineering aspects, technical support and measuring the feasibility of the business idea in question. In addition, all services provided by the Small Business Development Center are free and confidential to ensure that the privacy of the parties is not violated. Anyone willing to learn the basics of business, open a new business establishment or improve an existing business establishment is eligible for their services.
SBDCs are an affordable alternative to private consultants. It works the same, your business gets the same output, but when you walk out of the Small Business Development Center, the money in your pocket will feel a lot better.