Kentucky SBDC opens Owensboro office
May 13—The Kentucky Small Business Development Center has opened an Owensboro office in an effort to provide resources for those operating local small businesses.
Owensboro native Jamie Johnson, the business coach for the office, said Wednesday that the SBDC has 17 offices throughout the state, with a few more planned to open within the next couple of months.
"The Small Business Development Center is really here to help small businesses be successful," Johnson said. "We help them start, we help them grow and hopefully, we can help them thrive and be better businesses after working with someone at one of our offices."
The office is at 200 E. Third St., Suite 302.
The Kentucky SBDC connects business owners and entrepreneurs with resources and information to be competitive in their marketplace. It is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
"The pandemic has created an interesting time, where we're seeing both a lot of growth and a lot of challenges," Kristina Joyce, Kentucky SBDC state director, said in a statement. "We exist not only to help new businesses get started but also to help existing businesses through any challenge, which has included COVID-19."
"That's why we've added these new offices and coaches — we want to make sure every entrepreneur in Kentucky can reach us if they need us."
Johnson said some of the ways the organization has been able to assist local business owners through the COVID-19 pandemic is by helping them reorganize their business model to include online retail rather than solely operating a brick and mortar store.
"Small businesses really have to think about how they can pivot their operation, and that something that we kind of help people to do," she said.
The SBDC can also help business owners find funding sources as well as assist in completing all the paperwork and tax information needed to legally operate a business.
"It is nice that we can kind of walk people through that," Johnson said.
To date, the Kentucky SBDC has helped secure $74 million in financing for new and existing businesses.
The organization has doubled in size during the past year in order to meet the needs of small business owners during the pandemic. During that time, the Kentucky SBDC has helped 2,988 business owners understand the varied COVID-19 relief program and funding options, and 268 businesses get started.
For more information, call 270-574-9990 or visit www.kentuckysbdc.com/owensboro/.
Nathan Havenner, Messenger-Inquirer, nhavenner@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-228-2837
Nathan Havenner, Messenger-Inquirer, nhavenner@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-228-2837
