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Business Outreach Center provides training for new business outreach

by Kathy Hagood
Brevard Technical Journal

As enterprising veterans and entrepreneurial-minded employees from aerospace, technology and manufacturing industries on the Space Coast consider launching their own businesses, small business advocates suggest they take advantage of free and low-cost business education resources.

While up to about 50 percent of small businesses fail within the first five years, according to various studies, small business education and counseling can help increase a new business owner’s potential for success.

“It’s heartbreaking to see someone put everything, including their retirement savings, into a technology company and then have it fail because of poor business decisions,” said Vicky Peake, director of the Florida Small Business Development Center’s regional office at Brevard Community College’s Melbourne Campus.
The center, which offers programming at various BCC campuses, is funded by the state university system through a U.S. Small Business Administration grant. It has a proven track record of assisting entrepreneurs in starting up and growing their companies.

The FSBDC offers seminars and workshops as well as free one-on-one business counseling and referrals to other helpful organizations, such as the Technological Research and Development Authority.

One of the biggest mistakes Peake sees new business owners make is not getting proper legal advice before signing contracts such as lease and shareholder agreements. While hiring an attorney may seem like an expense to avoid, an investment in good advice upfront can help business owners avoid financial liabilities.
“When you start a technology business, you need to assemble a team, an attorney, an accountant, a banker,” Peake said.

It’s also important for the entrepreneur to be familiar enough with legal, accounting and banking concepts to be able to effectively communicate with the experts.

The center’s New Venture Clinic, a daylong course offered through the Institute for Business Training & Community Education at BCC’s Palm Bay, Cocoa and Titusville campuses, is a primer on legal, accounting, financial and business planning basics. The clinic costs $49 and is scheduled for several dates this fall.
The center also offers a variety of low-cost government contracting workshops in association with its Defense Economic Transition Assistance Program. A new series, “Essentials of Government Contracting” will be held during afternoon or evening sessions Tuesdays from Aug. 9 through Sept. 13. The workshops, which may be taken individually or as a set, are $39 each.

Workshop topics are introduction to government contracting, marketing your product and services to the federal government, subcontracting and teaming, GSA schedules, selling to the state and local government, and proposal preparation.

The center is hosting the 5th Annual Veterans Conference from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 29 at the King Center for the Performing Arts in Melbourne. Scott Denniston, the director of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Veterans Enterprise, will be the keynote speaker for the conference, which costs $45 to attend.

The center also offers free two-hour workshops on business planning, loan packaging, marketing and procurement; features a business resource library; and co-hosts an annual business women’s conference.
The Florida Institute of Technology recently kicked off its National Center for Small Business Information (NCSBI). The new center is headed by Dr. Ann Becker, a research professor at the university, and funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. The business outreach center is focusing on providing small business owners training in computer technology and government contracting. 

During the pilot phase of its training program the center’s introductory computer and contracting courses are being offered at no cost. Various training dates are set for this month.

Computer courses include introduction to Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Project as well as introduction to the Internet, personal computers and information security. The government contracting courses offered by NCSBI focus on software tools such as G-Force and Microsoft Word.
Also among the center’s resources will be business-networking groups, including the recently formed Networking for Women.

“The group offers continuing education through topics that are presented as well as through women having the opportunity to learn from each other,” Becker said.

Why are such free and low-cost programs being offered at area educational institutions thanks to federal funding? The government wishes to support small business as it’s a major driver of the economy.
The nation’s 23 million small businesses employ half of all private sector employees and produce more than 50 percent of non-farm, private gross domestic product, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. From 60 to 80 percent of net new jobs are created by small businesses each year, the administration reports.

“When small businesses are successful, we all benefit,” Peake said.

For more information on the Florida Small Business Development Center, call 433-5570 or visit www.bcc.training.com

For more information on the National Center for Small Business Information, cal call 674-7011 or visit www.ncsbi.fit.org