In 2017, Maryland SBDCs assisted 8,000 businesses, counseled 2,200 entrepreneurs and helped train 5,700 business owners 

Led to the creation of 208 businesses and 1,251 jobs; and access to $49 million in capital across the state

(Washington, DC) – Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), the Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, today recognized America’s Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), a nationwide business assistance and counseling network that supports economic development, job creation, and success at Main Street small businesses in Maryland and across the country.

Cardin praised the role of Maryland’s Small Business Development Centers in helping Marylanders realize their small business dreams.  In 2017, Maryland SBDCs assisted 8,000 businesses, counseled 2,200 entrepreneurs and helped train 5,700 business owners.

Cardin cited a women-owned restaurant in Baltimore called Flavor that secured an $800,000 Small Business Administration loan with counseling from an SBDC consultant.  Julia and Vanna Belton used the loan to purchase and renovate a building for their restaurant.  Today, the restaurant has 30 full and part time employees and was recently named Maryland’s “2017 Women-owned Business of the Year.”

Senator Cardin’s full Congressional Record statement is below:

Mr. PRESIDENT, I rise today as the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship to recognize America’s Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) and the vital role this national business assistance and counseling network plays in supporting economic development, job creation, and success at our Main Street small businesses.

The mission of the nationwide SBDC network is to help America’s entrepreneurs realize the dream of business ownership and assist existing small businesses in adapting to the changing marketplace and compete in the global economy.

SBDCs are hosted by universities, colleges and state economic development agencies and funded in part by our Small Business Administration.  There are nearly 1,000 SBDC service centers and 4,000 SBDC consultants available to provide free and low-cost business consulting and training to help entrepreneurs write a business plan, access capital, market their products, and recover when a disaster strikes.

SBDCs offer a great return on investment for taxpayers.  It is estimated that SBDC small business clients create a new job every 5 minutes and a new business every 30 minutes, and generate $100,000 in capital every 10 minutes.  Job growth for SBDC clients is more than 14 times higher than job growth for an average business.

Last year, the Maryland SBDC at the University of Maryland in College Park assisted almost 8,000 businesses, counseled 2,200 entrepreneurs and helped train nearly 5,700 business owners.  Small business services provided by the Maryland SBDC led to the creation of 208 businesses and 1,251 jobs and access to $49 million in capital.

But behind the statistics are real Marylanders who realized their small business dream with the help of an SBDC consultant, like a women-owned restaurant in Baltimore called Flavor. 

In 2015, Julia and Vanna Belton went to their local SBDC office for help securing a business loan.  After months of tinkering with their business plan and adjusting their loan paperwork, their SBDC consultant guided Julia and Vanna to approval on an $800,000 SBA loan they used to purchase and renovate a building for their restaurant. 

Today, the restaurant has $1.2 million in revenue and 30 full and part time employees.  Last year they were named Maryland’s “2017 Women-owned Business of the Year.”

Flavor is just one of the millions of small businesses and entrepreneurs who have been touched by America’s Small Business Development Centers over the last 35 years.  I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the dedicated men and women of America’s Small Business Development Center network and to thank them for their commitment to the small businesses that drive the American economy.

Thank you, I yield the floor.