Page 16 - Laker Connection Spring 2015

SBDC and its
Clients are a Success
BY SIERA BLASCO
Clayton State University’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has brought success to small businesses and entrepreneurs in the local community, namely Clayton, Henry, Fayette, and Spalding Counties, for 35 years through one-on-one consulting and educational programs.
A partnership program between the U.S. Small Business Ad- ministration and colleges and universities from around the state, SBDC has been at Clayton State since 1980, and is one of the 17 offices located in Georgia. SBDC offers no- cost, confidential consulting services to small businesses throughout Georgia, providing assistance in a variety of areas, including strategic planning, hiring and managing em-
ployees, obtaining financing, managing cash flow and budg- eting, marketing, and even digital marketing.
Clayton State’s SBDC Area Director, Alisa Kirk, says: “We are a success when our clients are successes. It’s extremely rewarding to help businesses to grow, add employees, and expand and add locations.”
One such success is Nelson Burke, who graduated from Clayton State with a Bachelor’s in Marketing in 2004. He began his company, The Engineer Guy, in the summer of 2003, while he was still working on his undergraduate de- gree. He became empowered to apply his knowledge to his
14 THE LAKER CONNECTION