Cal State Fullerton Receives $1.6
Million to
Operate Small Business Development Centers
Award-winning student
teams, through the Small Business Institute, contribute to
the success of the regional centers by providing consulting
services that help strengthen businesses
July 14, 2007 :: No. 234
Cal State Fullerton’s College
of Business and Economics has been awarded $1.6 million
by the U.S. Small Business Administration to continue overseeing
Small Business Development Centers in Orange County and
the Inland Empire.
Since 2003,
the university has provided training, consulting and technical
assistance to small businesses through these regional development
centers. Nearly 3,000 small-business owners received counseling,
and more than 8,000 received training from these regional
development centers in 2005-06.
Michael
Ames, professor of management and director of the college’s
Center for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Institute,
leads the university effort with Cal State Fullerton alumna
and attorney Vi Pham.
“The
total economic impact of our efforts totals nearly $50 million,” said
Pham. “In this economic area, through the combined
efforts of the Center for Entrepreneurship, Small Business
Institute and the Small Business Development Centers, we
believe that we can accomplish a goal of $1 billion over
the next 10 years.”
Award-winning
student teams, through the Small Business Institute, contribute
to the success of the regional centers by providing consulting services that
help strengthen businesses. In addition, the entrepreneur program in the College
of Business and Economics serves to educate future business owners.
“Our
goal continues to be to have all these areas work together
to help each other and in the process move forward and grow
successfully,” said Ames. “We
don’t just want to maintain the services that we provide
in training and consulting, but to expand to more of a community
partner and to support networks developed by like businesses.”
In fact, says Pham, “we’ve been
very encouraged that companies that got involved with the
SBC development centers are now partnering to form other
groups. There’s
lots of opportunity here.”
The Tri-County
Lead Small Business Development Center is headquartered in
Room 321A of Langsdorf Hall on the Cal State Fullerton campus.
For more information, call 657-278-2719.
Locations
of the Regional Small Business Development Centers:
• TriTech SBDC, 2 Park Plaza, Suite 100, Irvine, (949-794-7229);
• Orange County SBDC, 2323 N. Broadway, Suite 201, Santa Ana, (714-564-5200);
and
• Inland Empire SBDC, 1201 Research Dr., Suite 100, Riverside, (951-781-2345).
| Media Contacts: |
Michael Ames or Vi Pham at 657-278-2719
Pamela
McLaren of Public Affairs at 657-278-4852 or pmclaren@fullerton.edu |
«
back to News Front
|
