About Us
MISSION STATEMENT:
The Mission of the Small Business Development Center is to provide accessible, affordable, and professional counseling, training, and resources to start-up and existing businesses, and assist them in various aspects of small business development.
ENTREPRENEURIAL PROGRAMS:
The SBDC conducts more than 300 entrepreneurial programs annually on topics and issues that are important to today’s small-business owners. These low cost and no-cost workshops and seminars are taught by industry experts and SBDC professional counselors.
THE SBDC PROVIDES ITS CLIENTS WITH THE FOLLOWING SERVICES:
- Free one-on-one business counseling
- Free entrepreneurial training workshops
- Low-cost entrepreneurial training seminars
- The Business Resource Center
- Custom corporate training.
HISTORY:
Since opening its doors in 1980, the SBDC at USF has helped more than 168,000 small business owners and entrepreneurs in West Central Florida create and retain close to 45,000 jobs and win government contract awards worth over $1 billion.
The Small Business Development Center at the University of South Florida is a member of the Florida Small Business Development Center Network and we serve the following counties: Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Polk, Manatee, Hardee, Sarasota, Desoto, & Highlands.
OUR SUB-CENTERS
- Florida Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC)
- South Florida Community College
- Hillsborough County Small Business Information Center
- Polk County Small Business Development Center
- State College of Florida
- St. Petersburg Business Assistance Center
- USF St. Petersburg Campus
- Economic Devlopment Pinellas County
SBA.gov
Funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
All opinions, conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.
Recovery Act
SBA Programs to Get the Economy Moving Again for Small Businesses
Frequently Asked Questions
Small Business Resource Network
For information and assistance outside the SBDC’s scope, the Small Business Resource Network (SBRN), a public-private partnership of the Florida Small Business Development Center Network and member firms, is a free information clearing-house to connect small businesses with government and non-profit agencies and the fee-for-service professional expertise they need to achieve their business goals.
SBRN professionals assist in the areas of accounting, banking and commercial lending, finance, insurance, law, human resources, marketing, management, technology and other business consulting areas. Agency members specialize in a variety of small business assistance programs.