The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has awarded Long Beach City College’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) with the esteemed ‘Service Excellence & Innovation Award’ for improving performance, increasing efficiency and encouraging job growth during tough economic times.

The award was presented today at the Small Business Week Awards Luncheon and Business Expo hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Thirteen small business owners, champions and resource providers in the Los Angeles area were recognized for helping to drive the regional economy and accelerate economic recovery.

2011 Long Beach City College SBDC Economic Data:

  • Business Start-Ups (69)
  • Jobs Created (498)
  • Jobs Retained (260)
  • Increase in Sales ($15,157,100)
  • Total Advising Hours (4,476)
  • Amount of Capital Infusion ($9,103,835)
  • Entrepreneurs Advised and Trained (2,056)
  • Training Events (535)

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC), at Long Beach City College, is comprised of a team of experienced current business owners who provide one-on-one advising services to fellow business owners at no cost. The goal of the SBDC is to partner with clients and teach them the technical skills necessary to succeed in their business. The SBDC at LBCC assists business owners in building websites (at no cost) and teaches them how to maintain and update the site on their own. The SBDC at LBCC also helps clients by packaging loans and then shopping that loan for the client (again, at no cost). The SBDC at LBCC also hosts regular workshops at a low cost on various topics such as business planning, finance, legal, marketing, international trade, operations, social media, website build/design, and government procurement/certification. In addition, the center operates an International Trade Center that provides import and export services, trade leads, trade missions, trade show assistance and the Young Entrepreneurs Program (Y.E.P.).

To read in more about the Los Angeles Regional Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, please visit their website at www.smallbizla.org.