The Small Business Center (SBC) and Entrepreneurial Incubator

The Small Business Center and Entrepreneurial Incubator (SBC) addresses the ongoing problem of economic self-sufficiency of the minority and low-income people and start-up businesses in our local area. Several factors have effected the growth, leadership, and economic development of minorities and low-income people in this area--the remoteness of the location, a lack of available training resources or the knowledge to use them, and a lack of opportunities for economic growth through the creation of technology-driven and service-related industry. The SBC will provide services and training to address these issues.

a note from the SBC Director

Objective for 2008:
Tapping into Local Resources to help grow the Small Business Center's Training Programs.

"It is no secret that parts of far western North Carolina are experiencing challenging economic times. However, the Small Business Center (SBC) is determined to reveal the abundant yet untapped potential for growth. The Small Business Center was created to kindle this area’s most valuable assets – namely, the people – and provide them with the resources necessary to add value to their lives, and add life to the community, both economically, and artistically."

I said these words in January when the SBC was in its early stages of development. Now, at the end of the year we look at its growth, even during difficult economic times, with a modest measure of satisfaction.

The SBC credits its success, not only to a dedicated staff that is responsive to the needs of the community, but to the community itself for showing such interests in the programs that have been developed.

To date, more than 160 students have attended our free training programs, and over 178 people are on the waiting lists for classes as they become available. Earlier in the year, ODWC leased the retail space between its home office at 65 Wilson Street, Suite 7, and the main SBC office located at Suite 5. Thus far, Suite 6 has been used to conduct a 2-part successful Profit from Ebay course, taught by local resident, and private contractor, Tony Henry; a multi-(?) Art Friday, featuring ?, James Murphy, and Brenda Biddix; and the Basic Grammar and Punctuation writing workshop, taught by myself.

Suite 6 will be developed to accomodate three larger classes, one of which will hold ten computer workstations (as opposed to the 6 workstations currently in use). This addition will allow the SBC the latitude to increase attendance, and thereby reduce the existing waiting-lists. More importantly, for 2008, the SBC will make a concerted effort to seek out the area's valuable assets, its people, and encourage them to take advantage of the opportunity to share their skills, knowledge and talent with the community. We believe that the pooling of talents and networking of individuals will help advance the noble mission of ODWC, and by extension, promote positive change for the community.

Listed below is a tentative roster of classes for 2008. If there are classes that you would be interested in teaching or taking, please do not hesitate to contact the Small Business Center.

Course availability is subject to change.
Registration is required for all classes. NA = Not Applicable

The Latino Outreach Program

ODWC presents an English as a Second Language course for Latino students in the local area. The previous series of English classes for adult learners over 18 were broken up into two separate phases. ODWC is currently restructuring classes to resume in the Fall. For more information regarding class times and location, call our office at the number above.

Meet Tom Fleckenstein:
Senior Business Counselor,
WCU's Small Business and Technology Development Center

Tom Fleckenstein has been working with ODWC as a visiting business counselor since last summer. He is a senior Business Counselor with the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) based in the College of Business at Western Carolina University. Tom spends several days a month in the ODWC office working with individuals who want to start a business, or helping existing businesses manage change and plan for the future. Tom has been a business owner for over 20 years, has his MBA from Gardner Webb University, taught college business classes, has spoken and conducted workshops nationally and is a featured columnist for the Western Carolina Business Journal. He can be reached at tfleckenstein@sbtdc.org or by calling (828) 227-3459.

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