Clients range from start-up businesses to struggling businesses and those looking to expand.
Lone Star College-CyFair houses the center and emphasizes the importance of strong businesses that create jobs and bring more people to the community, Sharp said.
What is the Small Business Development Center?
In 1977, the federal government created the Small Business Development Center network.
Locally, the Texas Gulf Coast Region serves 32 counties across the state and is headquartered out of the University of Houston. A team of five former business owners with experience in diverse industries, franchising and international business, offer free business consulting services.
Advisers can assist in business plan writing, market research, sales training, budgeting, information technology, problem solving, improving efficiencies, government procurement, legal services, women and minority resources and affordable workshops on a wide variety of topics.
If resources are free, how is the center funded?
Free business consulting and low-cost training services are funded by the state of Texas, the Small Business Administration and the Lone Star College System.
Sharp said the SBDC is included in the Texas House of Representative’s budget, but it was not listed in the state Senate’s proposed budget this session. This center is considered part of the $1 billion of higher education’s discretionary funding.
However, the SBDC is proven to help the state’s economy, Sharp said. She said her clients achieve a 25 percent average in employment growth year-over-year, while the state average is about 2.4 percent.
What kind of impact does the SBDC have on the economy?
In 2016, the SBDC’s Texas Gulf Coast Network helped create more than 5,000 jobs and save about 2,400 jobs in its 32-county coverage area.
Throughout the last year, clients were able to invest $190 million, and their sales increased by $360 million, Sharp said. She said for every dollar invested in the SBDC, there is a return of about $10.25.
What do clients say about the SBDC?
With Sharp’s assistance, Mo Rabieh said he was able to expand his business, Elite Auto Experts, from a 2,000-square-foot auto repair shop to a 12,000-square-foot facility. The SBDC provided traffic and demographic analysis reports in the search for a new location, and Elite Auto Experts grew from four to 10 employees.
Jason Howard, owner of Jaxton’s Bistro in the Boardwalk at Towne Lake, initially sought help from the SBDC in securing finances for his project.
“Not only was [Sharp] able to recommend these [bankers] and banks, but she was showing up to meetings with me,” Howard said. “That was a really reassuring thing to have somebody there by your side on your team to make some of these really big business decisions.”
Now that his business is open, Sharp continues to follow up and support him, Howard said.
“I really feel like my success is their success,” he said.
LSC-CyFair
9191 Barker Cypress Road, Cypress
832-813-6674
www.lonestar.sbdcnetwork.net
