Rappahannock Region Small Business Development Center

Rappahannock Region small business development center

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) helps entrepreneurs and small businesses establish, manage, and expand their organizations. The SBDC provides expert, one-on-one, confidential counseling, and research services at no cost, and it offers seminars and training programs in all aspects of small business management at low costs. These services are available to any existing or startup small business or potential entrepreneur.

Training and seminars include “First Steps for Starting a Business;” NxLeveL Entrepreneurial Business Planning, an advanced 14-week training program for entrepreneurs and managers; and QuickBooks as a Management Tool for Small Business. Other workshops and training programs include SBA Lender and Government Procurement training courses. The Annual Business Forum seminars are presented by area business people and include topics on business banking, sales techniques, marketing strategy, social media, and more. The SBDC helps clients find loan guarantees and prepare loan packages. The center also assists clients in locating manufacturers and trade associations, and it puts entrepreneurs in touch with other sources of support, including local, state, and federal business development programs. The center maintains a library filled with reference books, brochures, articles, and forms of interest to small business. The SBDC is the host of the Bay Area Business Network in Tappahannock, Virginia.

The SBDC was established in 1992 and is funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and the University of Mary Washington. The SBDC’s main office, located on the Stafford campus, serves clients from the city of Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and portions of Prince William, Orange, and Louisa counties. The SBDC’s Warsaw office serves eight counties in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula.

Additional information is available at 540/286-8060 or at SBDC, 121 University Boulevard, Fredericksburg, VA 22406-7239. Interested individuals may also send an email to sbdc@umw.edu or visit the website at www.sbdc.biz for further details.