WCC Small Business Center marks 30th anniversary
By From staff reports
Published in News on January 21, 2015 1:46 PM
For 30 years, the Small Business Center at Wayne Community College has been providing support and assistance to start-ups and fledgling entrepreneurs, with the director crediting its longevity to partnerships between the college and community as well as economic prospects in Wayne County.
"Last academic year, the SBC at Wayne Community College kept more than 60 people employed in jobs that would have otherwise been cut, while simultaneously creating almost another 20," Director Charles Gaylor IV said. "It also conducted 49 training events attended by over 470 businesses.
"The main mission of the SBC at Wayne Community College is to increase the number of viable businesses in Wayne County. Last academic year, almost 130 individuals received hands-on technical counseling from the SBC, resulting in 11 new businesses."
Affiliated with the Small Business Network of the N.C. Community College System, the concept of a Small Business Center was created in 1984 when the General Assembly funded 14 SBCs. Since then, the Small Business Center Network has expanded to include at least one SBC at each community college by 1995.
Today there are more than 60 sites, located within a 30-minute drive of almost every North Carolinian. The centers have gained a reputation as being the most expansive state-funded technical small business assistance program in the U.S.
Each of the state's 58 community colleges feature a Small Business Center and assists in starting an average of 650 businesses, while also helping create and retain more than 3,000 jobs.
The center's mission is to increase the success rate and number of viable small businesses in North Carolina by providing high quality, readily accessible assistance to prospective and existing small business owners, with the goal of job creation and retention.
For more information on services or assistance with a concept or existing business, contact Gaylor at 919-739-6941, e-mail cpgaylor@waynecc.edu or visit the website at www.wayneworksnc.com/.