By : Ashleigh Oldland
Source : http://www.gazettes.com
Category : Small Business Grant
Small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs downtown will have a new resource starting Tuesday at the new Small Business Development Center.
The downtown extension of Long Beach’s Small Business Development Center, which is headquartered at Long Beach City College, celebrates its grand opening at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 309 Pine Ave. Mayor Bob Foster and LBCC President Eloy Ortiz Oakley will be in attendance. Following the celebration, the SBDC will be offering a free social media workshop to the first 35 individuals who register.
SBDC, part of the Los Angeles Regional SBDC and the national Small Business Administration, offers existing and prospective businesses a variety of no- and low-cost development classes and tools to help businesses increase sales, obtain loans, streamline operations, utilize new technologies, expand into new markets and position themselves for long-term growth. SBDC programs are paid for by a combination of federal, state and city grants as well as private sponsorships.
Jesse Torres, Los Angeles Regional SBDC director, said the downtown location is a satellite office that will allow the SBDC to have a greater presence in the community and extend its reach beyond the LBCC campus. SBDC services have been available in Long Beach since 2006.
“For a lot of people, they are trying to find answers when it comes to their business, and we give them an opportunity to understand their business better,” Torres said.
One business owner, who found out about the SBDC through word of mouth from another businesswoman in the East Village Arts District, said the SBDC has helped her develop a website and marketing plan for Primal Flowers (407 E. Third St.) as well as apply for grant money available to small business owners.
“I never even knew something like this existed before,” said owner Shelley Anders, who opened Primal Flowers in July this year. “I think this is a great service and an educating thing to help business owners. I am going to continue utilizing the service in the future.”
Anders said she is most grateful for the help the SBDC has given her when it comes to website development. Still under construction, Anders and SBDC representatives are designing the website and Anders is learning how to maintain it once it is complete. The website development services came at no cost to Primal Flowers.
“It can be expensive to have someone do it for you, but this is totally free to business owners,” she said. “Having someone who knows how to do this and teach this to me is priceless.”
Mike Daniel, director of SBDC Long Beach, has been working as an advisor and teacher at the SBDC for several years and also owns Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory on Second Street in Belmont Shore. He said the mission of the SBDC is to help business owners make better choices and grow the local economy.
“Our new facility in downtown Long Beach is our chance to show what we can do to help businesses in that area,” he said.
Long Beach’s SBDC has provided more than 4,000 hours of free one-on-one time with advisors and business owners this year, Daniel said. He said the SBDC advisors are hands-on, not just telling business owners what to do, but teaching them how to do it. Daniel added that a large part of the SBDC’s role in Long Beach is connecting business owners to available resources, such as government grants, job training programs, subsidized employees and student interns.
Source : http://www.gazettes.com/news/business/downtown-opens-small-business-development-center/article_c3af5a9a-21f7-11e1-ba5f-0019bb2963f4.html
Source : http://www.gazettes.com
Category : Small Business Grant
Small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs downtown will have a new resource starting Tuesday at the new Small Business Development Center.
The downtown extension of Long Beach’s Small Business Development Center, which is headquartered at Long Beach City College, celebrates its grand opening at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 309 Pine Ave. Mayor Bob Foster and LBCC President Eloy Ortiz Oakley will be in attendance. Following the celebration, the SBDC will be offering a free social media workshop to the first 35 individuals who register.
SBDC, part of the Los Angeles Regional SBDC and the national Small Business Administration, offers existing and prospective businesses a variety of no- and low-cost development classes and tools to help businesses increase sales, obtain loans, streamline operations, utilize new technologies, expand into new markets and position themselves for long-term growth. SBDC programs are paid for by a combination of federal, state and city grants as well as private sponsorships.
Jesse Torres, Los Angeles Regional SBDC director, said the downtown location is a satellite office that will allow the SBDC to have a greater presence in the community and extend its reach beyond the LBCC campus. SBDC services have been available in Long Beach since 2006.
“For a lot of people, they are trying to find answers when it comes to their business, and we give them an opportunity to understand their business better,” Torres said.
One business owner, who found out about the SBDC through word of mouth from another businesswoman in the East Village Arts District, said the SBDC has helped her develop a website and marketing plan for Primal Flowers (407 E. Third St.) as well as apply for grant money available to small business owners.
“I never even knew something like this existed before,” said owner Shelley Anders, who opened Primal Flowers in July this year. “I think this is a great service and an educating thing to help business owners. I am going to continue utilizing the service in the future.”
Anders said she is most grateful for the help the SBDC has given her when it comes to website development. Still under construction, Anders and SBDC representatives are designing the website and Anders is learning how to maintain it once it is complete. The website development services came at no cost to Primal Flowers.
“It can be expensive to have someone do it for you, but this is totally free to business owners,” she said. “Having someone who knows how to do this and teach this to me is priceless.”
Mike Daniel, director of SBDC Long Beach, has been working as an advisor and teacher at the SBDC for several years and also owns Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory on Second Street in Belmont Shore. He said the mission of the SBDC is to help business owners make better choices and grow the local economy.
“Our new facility in downtown Long Beach is our chance to show what we can do to help businesses in that area,” he said.
Long Beach’s SBDC has provided more than 4,000 hours of free one-on-one time with advisors and business owners this year, Daniel said. He said the SBDC advisors are hands-on, not just telling business owners what to do, but teaching them how to do it. Daniel added that a large part of the SBDC’s role in Long Beach is connecting business owners to available resources, such as government grants, job training programs, subsidized employees and student interns.
Source : http://www.gazettes.com/news/business/downtown-opens-small-business-development-center/article_c3af5a9a-21f7-11e1-ba5f-0019bb2963f4.html
