From the Director...

Entrepreneurial ventures provide hundreds of thousands of jobs in Georgia for both business owners and employees. Small businesses not only supply principal income for families, but they meet unique needs for part-time employment, temporary employment, supplementary income, or, particularly for many young people, that first job opportunity. The Georgia SBDC Network provides training, technical assistance, and research to help entrepreneurs improve their chances for success.

 

The innovation and creativity that entrepreneurs provide the market place appear in all types of businesses – manufacturing, construction, wholesale, retail, and service. Whether high tech or personal services these engines of economic growth are found in every community, downtown area, suburb, and industrial park. The Georgia SBDC Network is one resource available to help. In the past year alone, there have been over 14,000 recipients of our consulting assistance or participants in SBDC sponsored training events. Hundreds more have taken online training courses and thousands have contacted us for brief information on matters related to licensing, tax compliance, regulatory requirements, and a host of other issues. The SBDC also provided services to targeted markets including minority business owners, Hispanic business owners, women business owners, and community groups interested in business creation and retention as economic development strategies. Specialized services include export assistance as well as marketing and econometric research. The most recent economic impact data indicates that SBDC clients greatly benefit from our assistance, experiencing sales growth of almost 20 percent and job growth of 22 percent. 

 

The impact of small businesses on the Georgia economy should not be underestimated. According to the latest data from the SBA, small businesses account for 97.9 percent of all the businesses in Georgia and employ 46.7 percent of the state’s non-farm, private sector workers. Similarly for the nation, 99.7 percent of all businesses are defined as “small” (less than 500 employees) and they employ 50.1 percent of the nation’s workforce. Georgia is often cited in the popular press as well as academic publications as a leader in entrepreneurship.

 

The Georgia SBDC Network is a collaboration of the University of Georgia, Georgia State University, Kennesaw State University, Clayton State University, Georgia Southern University, Valdosta State University, the University of West Georgia, and the U.S. Small Business Administration. The state’s Entrepreneurship and Small Business Coordinating Network, lead by the Georgia Department of Economic Development, helps promote collaboration between a variety of public business assistance programs targeted toward entrepreneurs. These state and local programs, including the SBDC, augment the critical private sector business services available by offering educational and technical assistance in areas from basic business planning to specialized innovation research.

 

The Georgia SBDC Network’s business consultants are rightfully recognized by many as “Georgia’s Experts in Entrepreneurship.” Please contact our office nearest you for assistance.