Looking to start a business? The UCO Small Business Development Center (SBDC) can help. The federally funded economic development program recently opened an office in Edmond’s Chamber of Commerce building.
The UCO SBDC is set up through the College of Business, and reports, in part, to the college’s dean, Mickey Hepner. Its stated goal is to “help Oklahoma small business start, grow and succeed.”
According to Hepner, the main office in downtown OKC houses an “incubator” office space with a reduced rent to help promote entrepreneurial growth.
“We provide high-quality, confidential business management advice for no cost,” Carlos Amaya, assistant regional director of the Oklahoma SBDC, said.
While the organization has only recently moved to Edmond, it has been operating for over a quarter-century.
“The first SBDC in Oklahoma opened in 1984,” Amaya said. “There are over a thousand offices nationally, and 13 here in the state.”
According to Amaya, in the 1980s, Congress was ready to fund ways to help the small business community. Part of that resulted in the creation of the Small Business Administration, which in turn helped create a national network of SBDC offices.
“We are in a partnership with SBA, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, local Chambers and UCO,” Amaya said.
Sam Ladwig, a business development specialist with the SBDC, explained that his organization functioned as a sounding board of sorts for new or existing businesses that need help managing their affairs. According to Ladwig, the recent move to Edmond would help expand their reach throughout the Metro.
“The way we do that primarily is through one-on-one business advisement,” Ladwig said. “So primarily, although we do hold training sessions and other things, primarily we meet with clients directly, and work out kinds of problems they’re having, or if they’re considering expanding or if they’re considering (starting a new business), help them figure out how to get financing, those kinds of things.”
The UCO SBDC will officially be opening in mid-February.