Dec. 2, 2009

California State University, Monterey Bay invites the community to visit its Small Business Development Center, an innovative program that provides management and technical assistance to small businesses and entrepreneurs.The SBDC is located at 425 Belden St. in Gonzales. The grand opening was held on Nov. 30, celebrated with a ribbon cutting (at left) and reception.

This office serves the area along the Highway 101 corridor from Gilroy to King City and provides critical services to small business owners, helping to create and retain jobs in order to help strengthen the local economy. Services at CSU Monterey Bay's center compliment and expand on the programs already being provided to Monterey and Santa Cruz counties' coastal communities by the Central Coast SBDC hosted by Cabrillo College in Aptos.

The centers help people develop business plans, secure financing, assist with marketing needs, set up financial systems, determine plans for expansion, project cash flow, identify technology needs and provide a variety of other services helpful to small businesses. In addition to the free one-on-one consulting, the centers offer a variety of workshops and seminars. Free workshops have already been offered on e-mail marketing and access to capital.

The SBDCs are a partnership that includes Congress, the Small Business Administration, the private sector and the colleges, universities and state governments that manage SBDCs across the nation. CSUMB's center comes under the auspices of the University of California Merced's SBDC regional network, a fully accredited and nationally recognized program. "We are confident this network will support and promote increased economic growth in our entire region," said Dr. Marylou Shockley, chair of CSUMB's School of Business. "These centers offer vital support and training and are a natural addition to our efforts to help area and regional businesses. The university is well-positioned to provide leadership to the region's small businesses."

University faculty members make up about half of the 20 people available to give entrepreneurs free advice. "We've got quite a large skill set" of counselors, said Andrea Zeller-Nield, associate director of the center. Some of the counselors have knowledge of key local industries, such as wine and agriculture.

More information about the SBDC is available at https://ucmsbdc.ecenterdirect.com/ or www.sba.gov/sbdc.