The Tennessee Small Business Development Center at ETSU would like to welcome you to our web site. We provides free educational opportunities for those individuals thinking about starting a business and consulting services for existing firms.
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TSBDC at ETSU News
Small Business Growing Strong Campaign Intuit and America's SBDC have had a long partnership of recognizing the importance of supporting small businesses in our communities. That's why Intuit is excited to give you advanced notice and to invite you to help promote its upcoming Small Business Growing Strong campaign, aimed at helping local businesses in our communities thrive. As part of this campaign, they are committing to making 15 small business wishes (worth $5,000 each) come true. This is a great opportunity for you to engage your small business customer base about an important program that helps get what they need to grow.
Below are the campaign details:
Promote the campaign with your small business customers by informing them of this unique opportunity. Encourage them to submit their wish atwww.loveourlocalbusiness.com via:
If you would like to learn more, please visit www.loveourlocalbusiness.com or send an email to intuitsocialteam@intuit.com.
Clients received over $11 million in new capital during 2012
During 2012, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) at East Tennessee State University assisted its clients generate $11,187,214 in new capital for start-up and expansion, according to Dr. Patrick Geho, executive state director. Dr. Bob Justice, director of TSBDC at ETSU says, "Our program worked to create successful financing plans for restaurants; sports, recreation and fitness centers; manufacturers; and physicians' offices. Throughout 2012, there was not a business sector that we did not assist in some way." The size of the business or financing project is not important to the TSBDC. Justice adds, "While we had two financial packages approved that exceeded $2 million each, we had four projects of $10,000 or less. The average financial package, including debt and equity financing was $745,000 and the median was $53,000. This shows the diversity of financial projects in which the TSBDC participates." Medical Doctor Donny Reeves was one of those benefiting from TSBDC assistance. He was referred to the TSBDC by the Washington County Economic Development Council for guidance while starting his ophthalmology practice in Johnson City. Reeves says, "The TSBDC took time to explain the process to grow a viable business within Washington County, with the goal of expanding very quickly. Ultimately, I am very pleased with the market research which helped determine the right area for a successful eye surgery facility." Another economic impact statistic that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) uses to evaluate the success of Small Business Development Center programs is jobs created and retained because of the TSBDC's counseling assistance. ETSU clients verified that the TSBDC aided them in creating 110 new jobs and eight jobs were saved or retained. The TSBDC has been an economic development outreach program of ETSU's College of Business and Technology since 1984, funded under a cooperative agreement with the SBA. Dr. Linda Garceau, dean of the ETSU College of Business and Technology, says, "The work of the TSBDC is closely aligned with the mission of the college, since we are committed to the economic success and growth of our region. The TSBDC at ETSU is a big part of this commitment." The program serves businesses and entrepreneurs in Carter, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington counties. It has fully staffed offices in Johnson City at ETSU's Innovation Laboratory and in Kingsport at the Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce. Counseling offices are staffed by appointment at the Greene County Partnership, the Rogersville/Hawkins County Chamber of Commerce, Elizabethton/Carter County Chamber of Commerce and Morristown/Hamblen County Chamber of Commerce.
For more information on the TSBDC at ETSU, visit www.etsu.edu/cbat/tsbdc or e-mail Justice at justiceb@etsu.edu.
TSBDC Video Counseling
The Tennessee Small Business Development Center at ETSU is very excited to announce that we now offer video counseling through Skype, Face Time, and Webex. To get started download the instructions linked below. All video counseling done by appointment only. For any problems or questions please contact Mark Bays at 423-439-8505 or baysml@etsu.edu
New Workshops for 2012
We are excited to announce that we some great new workshops launching for 2012. "Resources for Business Planning" and "How To Become a Mobile Office" starting in January and "How to Build an Effective Web-site for Small Business" starting in February. More information please visit our events page.
We are excited to announce the TSBDC has just released their new online training web site. The web site has fourteen chapters which address common business topics. Each chapters features PDF documents with written content, voice-narrated PowerPoint presentations, and video segments from professionals, educators, and entrepreneurs from all over Tennessee. You can visit the new web site at
www.tsbdctraining.org
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