Florida SBDC at UCF to Celebrate National SBDC Day March 21

Focuses Attention on SBDC’s Small Business Services and Economic Impact

March 20, 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or hthayer@ucf.edu

Orlando, FL – The Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) will celebrate the second annual SBDC Day Wednesday, March 21, 2018. SBDC Day is a national movement to help raise awareness about the service offering and impact of America’s SBDCs – the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) largest business assistance program.

With more than 1,000 centers across the country, SBDCs provide assistance to small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs throughout the United States and its territories. SBDCs help entrepreneurs realize the dream of business ownership and help existing businesses remain competitive in a complex, ever-changing global marketplace.

In 2016, America’s SBDCs provided 1.24 million hours of consulting to 188,602 client businesses, resulting in 96,095 jobs created; $6.4 billion in sales growth; $5.16 billion in capital investments; and 17,174 new businesses started.

“It’s great to see SBDCs, their clients and supporters come together to celebrate SBDCs and their amazing clients. With SBDC support small businesses around the country raised over $5 billion in capital and created nearly 100,000 jobs,” said Charles “Tee” Rowe, President & CEO of America’s SBDC.

The Florida SBDC at UCF is a member of the Florida SBDC Network, a statewide service network of more than 40 centers hosted by the state’s leading universities, colleges, and economic development organizations.

Hosted by the University of Central Florida, the Florida SBDC at UCF provides aspiring and existing small businesses in Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties with no-cost consulting, low-cost training, and access to business data and research resources. In addition to its core service offering, the Florida SBDC at UCF also offers specialized services to qualifying companies, including capital access, market growth, government contracting, international trade, business continuation, cybersecurity, disaster planning and recovery, and more.

For 2016, the most recent year for which data is available, the FSBDC at UCF contributed materially to the economic health of Central Florida, including assisting in the creation, retention and saving of almost 6,700 jobs; generating sales of more than $980 million; acquiring government contracts worth more than $154 million; accessing investment capital of almost $93 million; and starting 120 new businesses.

“SBDC Day is a great opportunity to demonstrate the contribution that the FSBDC at UCF and all SBDC’s make to the economic health and wellbeing of our communities,” remarked Eunice Choi, Regional Director at the FSBDC at UCF. “We are proud to serve the entrepreneurs and business owners of Central Florida, and to help our region prosper.”

“Too often SBDCs are referred to as the ‘best kept secret’,” said Michael W. Myhre, CEO of the Florida SBDC Network. “SBDC Day represents a prime opportunity to celebrate our clients and raise awareness about the impact of the Florida SBDC Network and SBDCs nationally.”

— FSBDC —

About the FSBDC at UCF

With its main office in the National Entrepreneur Center located at the Fashion Square Mall in Orlando, the Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) is part of the UCF Office of Research & Commercialization and the Florida SBDC Network (FSBDC Network). The FSBDC at UCF provides business seminars and no-cost, one-on-one business consultation to emerging and established businesses. The FSBDC at UCF serves an eight-county area that includes Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia counties and maintains 10 service centers across Central Florida.

In 2016, the FSBDC at UCF served over 2,400 entrepreneurs in Central Florida through consulting and training, resulting in nearly 6,700 jobs created, retained or saved; $980 million in sales growth; $92.7 million in capital formation; $154.6 million in government contract awards; and 120 new businesses started.

About the FSBDC Network

The FSBDC at UCF is a member of the Florida SBDC Network, a statewide partnership program nationally accredited by the Association of America’s SBDCs and funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida and other private and public partners, with the University of West Florida serving as the network’s lead host institution. Florida SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for limited English proficient individuals. All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the she SBA or other funding partners.

For over 35 years, the FSBDC Network has nourished a statewide partnership between higher education and economic development organizations, dedicated to providing emerging and established business owners with management and technical assistance, enabling overall growth and increased profitability for the businesses and economic prosperity for the state. The FSBDC Network is a statewide service system of 41 centers with 60 outreach locations, including the FSBDC at UCF.

Since 2011, Florida SBDCs served almost 75,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners through consulting and training, resulting in 252,955 jobs created, retained or saved; $33.3 billion in sales growth; $1.4 billion in capital accessed; $2.6 billion in government contract awards; and 4,159 new businesses started.

FSBDC at UCF | 3201 E. Colonial Drive | Orlando, FL 32801 | p 407.420.4850 | f 407.420.4862
sbdc@ucf.edu | www.sbdcorlando.com