Florida SBDC at UCF Opens Sumter County Office

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Neal Kimball Named FSBDC Area Manager. Expert Business Assistance Now Available to All Sumter County Entrepreneurs.

October 18, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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

Orlando, FL. – The Florida SBDC at University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF), in partnership with the Sumter County Office of Economic Development, is opening a sub-center in Sumter County to help local businesses grow and succeed. The new sub-center, the FSBDC at UCF’s eighth, will be housed on the first floor in Suite 140 of The Villages Sumter County Service Center at 7375 Powell Road, Wildwood, FL 34785. The FSBDC at UCF – Sumter County’s direct line is 352-689-4449.

In addition, the FSBDC at UCF announced that Neal Kimball has been named Area Manager for Sumter County and will be devoted full time to working with Sumter County’s small businesses providing expert consulting, seminars and workshops, as well as information resources – all focused on maximizing their business growth, competitiveness and profitability.
“Sumter County is pleased to add the Florida SBDC at UCF and their consultant Neal Kimball to the county’s economic development initiatives. We will now have a dedicated resource to assist our small businesses with consulting, training and access to market research that can help them find new levels of success in our community,” commented Bradley Arnold, Sumter County Administrator.

The Florida SBDC at UCF offers no cost, one-on-one professional business consulting, value-added training and business information resources to its clients. The FSBDC’s consultants provide confidential and customized consulting services in such areas as business planning, financial analysis, sales/marketing and many others. In addition, it conducts training seminars and workshops covering the basics of starting a business, marketing, financing, legal issues and writing a business plan. Additional courses covering intellectual property, bookkeeping, social media and website development are offered periodically. Over time, some or all of these may be offered in Sumter County, depending upon the needs of the business community.

“The Sumter County Office of Economic Development and the Florida SBDC at UCF have come together to make full-service business support available to Sumter County entrepreneurs with the opening of our new office,” commented Eunice Choi, Regional Director of the SBDC at UCF. “And we have been fortunate to have attracted Neal Kimball as our new Area Manager. His extensive sales and marketing and small business experience, when combined with a strong background as an entrepreneur and business strategist, makes him an ideal choice to consult with and assist clients in Sumter County as they navigate the challenges and opportunities faced by small businesses seeking profitable long-term growth.”

Kimball joins the FSBDC at UCF after an accomplished career in sales, marketing and business development for major consumer products companies including Pepsico, McDonald’s Corporation and Miller Brewing, and most recently served as founder, president and owner of a highly successful small business holding company with four separate operating units built around student and family educational services. In 2012, he received the U.S. Small Business Administration’s prestigious Entrepreneurial Success Award for the SBA’s Southeast U.S. District, State of Florida and North Florida Region. Kimball earned a BA in Marketing from the University of South Florida.

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 2015, the FSBDC at UCF served almost 7,000 entrepreneurs in Central Florida through consulting and training, resulting in more than 7,300 jobs created, retained or saved; $990 million in sales growth; $74.4 million in capital formation; $101.7 million in government contract awards; and 111 new businesses started.

About the FSBDC Network
The FSBDC at UCF is a member of the Florida SBDC Network, a statewide service network funded in part through cooperative agreements with the U.S. Small Business Administration, Defense Logistics Agency, State of Florida and other private and public partners. The Florida SBDC Network is hosted by the University of West Florida and is nationally accredited by the Association of SBDCs. All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.

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.

In 2015, the Florida SBDCs served almost 45,500 entrepreneurs and small business owners through consulting and training, resulting in 217,849 jobs created, retained or saved; $29.3 billion in sales growth; $947.4 million in capital accessed; $2.1 billion in government contract awards; and 3,857 new businesses started.