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Small business owners can get free training and advice at SBDC Day

For more information, contact:
Diana Fedinec, Director Public Relations and Media
(901) 333-4247
dfedinec@southwest.tn.edu

Rory Thomas, Tennessee Small Business Development Center Executive Director (901) 333-5085

Aspiring and emerging small business owners are invited to learn about free help available through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) largest funded program, Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), during national SBDC Day, 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., March 20 at Southwest Tennessee Community College’s Whitehaven Center, 1234 Finley Road.

SBDC Day is a national, collective proclamation of the impact America’s Small Business Development Centers on the success of our nation’s dreamers, innovators, and doers – America’s small businesses. SBDC Day will unite the nearly 1,000 SBDC centers across the country and the hundreds of thousands of clients they serve by sharing, in real time, the success stories and notable impacts SBDCs collectively have on the small business community. This special day will be celebrated with social media campaigns, public relations initiatives, online and in-person events and more.

The Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) is located at Southwest and has provided free small business assistance to tens of thousands of individuals starting and growing small businesses in Shelby County since 2004.  TSDBC Executive Director Rory Thomas says last year was a banner one as the agency at Southwest provided assistance to more than 2,900 small business owners, entrepreneurs and individuals with a business idea in Shelby County.  This SBDC Day will have a special focus on women business owners.  The latest U.S. Census Survey of Business Owners showed Memphis leads the nation’s largest cities in female-owned business growth.  “We want to use this SBDC Day to highlight our women-owned business successes and truly inform the community that free help is available to help you achieve your small business goals,” he added.

During SBDC Day, TSBDC will present its annual “Rising Star Award” to Kelsey Loebel, owner of Miss Muff’n by Confections and Connections.  At age 26, Kelsey has become one of the most successful young entrepreneurs in Tennessee and she donates 10% of her profits to local non-profit agencies.

Featured Panelists

  • LaTanya Channel, Tennessee District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
  • Brandy Bonner Aden, President, A & B Construction Company, a leading commercial and industrial general contractor in Tennessee
  • Rose Conway, Owner, Nautilus Pottery, a national manufacturer of handcrafted pottery and essential oil diffusers
  • Summer Owens, Owner, S.O.What!, national author, speaker, success coach and university professor
  • Nubian Simmons, Owner, The Pink Bakery, Tennessee’s First Big 8 Allergen Free Bakery)

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is encouraged. Register online at Eventbrite.com, keywords SBDC Day.  For more information, visit www.tsbdc.org/swtcc or call (901) 333-5085.