Janice Donaldson presents Regional Outstanding Resource Partner Award to Jaye Baillie

The SBDC at UNF submitted a request to Marion County Commissioners for restoration of funding to the SBDC program in their county. Thanks to support from the Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce and its president, Jaye Baillie, the Commission approved the request for $37,500 in FY2008-09. This is the first funding provided by the County since 2001. In recognition of the Chamber's efforts to form a task force to support small business development and to pursue increased funding for the SBDC program, Baillie received the SBDC at UNF's Regional Outstanding Resource Partner award in June at the annual FSBDC Network Professional Development Conference in Daytona Beach.

SBDC at FAU Staff Support Search for New SE Florida SBDC Host
Due to severe budget cuts throughout Florida Atlantic University, the FAU College of Business announced that it could no longer provide the necessary matching funds to continue the SBDC beyond December 2008. For this reason, staff at the SBDC have been supporting the efforts of FSBDCN State Director, Jerry Cartwright, to identify new host institutions for SE Florida. Numerous contacts have been made and followed-up on to help attract new partners.

Small Business Advocates Form Inaugural Advisory Board
For the first time in its 28-year history, the SBDC at UCF has formed an advisory board. The board will meet bi-annually and serve as a sounding board, with an emphasis on providing recommendations for program development, promoting SBDC services, advising on funding issues and supporting legislative activities. The advisory board's inaugural meeting was held on May 2. Board members consist of eight members from the Central Florida community including Scott Cole, vice president and general counsel, UCF; Lloyd Fernald, professor emeritus, UCF College of Business Administration; Thomas Keon, dean, UCF College of Business Administration; John Lewis, economic development administrator, Orange County Government; Don McGowan, president, BankFIRST; Sharad Mehta, president, ScreenWorks USA; Brindley Pieters, president, Brindley Pieters & Associates, Inc.; Rod Vargas, president and CEO, Apex Environmental Engineering and Compliance, Inc. Dr. Lloyd Fernald will serve as chair, and John Lewis will serve as vice chair. The SBDC at UCF’s Eunice Choi and Kellie Snaith will represent the SBDC at UCF on the board.

Advisory Board Council Targets New Clients

The SBDC at UCF's Advisory Board Council hosted a reception for small business owners on April 23. With over 90 participants, the event featured a program overview by Program Manager Jill Kaufman and testimonials by client company, Interiors in Flight, and volunteer advisor, Russell Slappey. Slappey was also recognized during the reception as the 2008 SBA Financial Services Champion for the Southeast Region. The purpose of the event was to attract qualified client companies and volunteer professionals to serve as advisors.

The SBDC at Florida Gulf Coast University, Clewiston office, conducted a 10-week course using the Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning (REAL) teaching method. This hands-on, activity-based training and information program was led by SBDC Certified Business Analyst Sean Moore. Eight entrepreneurs received certificates upon completion. This effort was funded through a partnership with the Workforce Initiative for Rural Entrepreneurship Development. The intent of the grant is to provide entrepreneurial training to economically-challenged areas of Florida, primarily the rural areas.

Florida SBDC Network Hosts the 2008 National SBIR Conference In partnership with NASA and the US Small Business Administration's Office of Technology Programs, the Florida SBDC Network served as host of the 2008 National SBIR/STTR Conference held in Orlando, May 27-30. The conference theme was "Celebrating the Silver Anniversary of the SBIR Program and 50 Years of NASA Space Exploration." The four-day event attracted well over 300 participants from across the U.S., as well as representatives from Australia and Canada who were looking for ideas to support their knowledge-based programs.

The conference included three concurrent tracks. Track I featured more than 20 federal SBIR program managers, who presented the unique features of their programs. Track II highlighted specialized information on venture and debt financing options and support services for technology-based businesses. Track III, the "SBIR Winners' Showcase", introduced nine successful SBIR award winners, who exhibited their products and made presentations on their companies. There were also exhibits at the conference staffed by federal agencies, showcase companies, prime contractors and business service providers. In addition, Phase I and Phase II SBIR Proposal Development Workshops were convened by the award winning firm of Greenwood Associates.

Other special events included a symposium by NASA, where experts described future space exploration programs and how small businesses could participate. The US Department of Energy convened a panel where cutting edge initiatives to promote alternative and renewable energy resources were described by a panel of energy experts from three federal agencies. On the last day, the FSBDCN convened a Venture Capital Luncheon at which a panel of successful entrepreneurs turned venture capitalists, the Florida Venture Forum's CEO, and Lew Attardo, the FSBDCN BTC program manager, described current trends in due diligence and defined the VC and angel financing process for entrepreneurs seeking investors. The conference also provided attendees several opportunities to network with professionals to discuss all areas of research, development and commercialization of their technologies.

In celebration of 25 years of the SBIR Program and 50 years of NASA space exploration, a conference logo was designed by the FSBDCN State Director's Office (SDO) and struck as a commemorative pin which was distributed to all attendees. The conference website, www.sbirflorida.org, also designed by the SDO, has been updated with pictures from the conference and PowerPoint presentations from almost all of the sessions of the conference.

The SBDC at UCF hosted a one-day workshop entitled "Strategy of Marketing" on May 6. The workshop was designed and presented by Raj Echambadi, Ph.D., College of Business Administration at UCF and sponsored by Orange County Government. The seminar presented methods for small business owners to create a competitive advantage through strategic marketing. Seminar topics included marketing strategy, marketing research and intelligence, building brand equity and pricing strategies.

SBDC at UCF Partners With New College of Medicine
On Tuesday, April 22, the SBDC at UCF co-hosted a Construction Opportunity Mixer with UCF's new College of Medicine. The event was held at the Disney Entrepreneur Center and was targeted towards small businesses in construction. The new College of Medicine construction project was presented, and attendees were provided with project packages, pre-qualification criteria and points of contact.

SBDC at FAU Staff to Learn How to Help People With Disabilities
The SBDC at FAU was approached by two organizations to learn more about how the SBDC could help people with disabilities. The first offer came from FAU in terms of participating in a research project focused on providing sensitivity training and the second offer came from Debra Noel of a Tampa/USF-based program serving the disabled with technical assistance for self-employment. Both opportunities were favorably received by staff, and there is extraordinary interest by CBAs to become CTABC–Certified Technical Assistance Business Counselors. Staff are now awaiting more information on the certification program.

SBDC at UNF Director Engages in New Boards and Activities
Janice Williams Donaldson, Regional Director at the SBDC at UNF, has been appointed to the boards of the Jacksonville Women's Network and the Women Business Owners of North Florida.

Donaldson also attended a training program on the Social Security Administration's Ticket to Work program and shared information on how small businesses can become Employer Networks and take advantage of financial incentives for hiring the disabled.
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Community Awareness: SBDC Visibility

On Tuesday, May 6, the SBDC at UCF hosted an awards reception at Orlando's Citrus Club to honor C. Russell Slappey, winner of the SBA's 2008 Financial Services Champion for the Southeast region. Slappey is the managing partner of NPerspective, LLC and was nominated for this award by the SBDC at UCF for his outstanding contribution as a volunteer with the SBDC at UCF's Advisory Board Council.

Orange County Mayor Wins 2008 Outstanding Resource Partner Award in Central Florida The FSBDCN selected Orange County Mayor Richard T. Crotty for the 2008 Outstanding Resource Partner Award for Central Florida. Nominated by the SBDC at UCF, the award is based upon Mayor Crotty's instrumental support of the SBDC at UCF, including sponsoring the SBDC at UCF's Advisory Board Council and Strategic Seminar Series. Both programs were initiated as part of Mayor Crotty's economic stimulus packages in 2002 and 2003. The award was presented on June 18 in Daytona Beach at the FSBDCN’s Professional Development Conference.

SBDC at FAU Stakeholders and Staff Received Outpouring of Offers to Preserve SBDC Program
Several months ago, local newspapers reported that the SBDC at FAU would close its doors after nearly 30 years of service to the community due to budget cuts. The announcement came as quite a shock to SBDC stakeholders and staff who received an outpouring of offers to help preserve the program. Calls have been received from unexpected sources expressing heartfelt concern for the loss of the program and hopes that new funding can be secured. These responses were confirmation that the SBDC has developed a strong reputation in its service area and will be greatly missed.

SBDC Area Director Subject of Editorial
Dr. Philip Geist, area director of the SBDC at UNF in Ocala, was the subject of an editorial in the Ocala Business Journal (June 16-July 13 edition). The opinion piece, by Editor Richard Anguiano, was titled: " SBDC's Dr. Phil on the mend and already thinking ahead."  The editorial chronicled Geist's quintuple bypass and his plans for the SBDC in the future.
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Cayman Island Investment Business Team Visits Orlando Business Incubator
During the 2008 FSBDCN Annual Professional Development Conference, SBDC at FAU Regional Director Nancy Young had another opportunity to visit with the Director of the Cayman Islands Investment Business and several of his key staff. Nancy originally met with them in their offices as part of a FAVACA mission to help them expand their technical assistance program to small businesses. The Director was interested in visiting the business incubator in Orlando so Nancy approached Lew Attardo, FSBDCN Business Technology Manager, for his assistance in setting up a meeting. Lew was successful in arranging a mutually convenient time for a visit, and the entire team from the Caymans was able to learn from the meeting.
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Excellence in Achievements, Improvements and Contributions

Statewide SBDCs Make Strides for New Partnerships
On a daily basis, SBDC offices across the state strive to increase their realm of influence by adding new clients, forming new partnerships and offering their expertise to their communities.

The SBDC at USF has accomplished this mission by hosting a Small Business Week Open House, which allowed the region to acquire new clients from as far away as South Africa; and by holding meetings with the USF Colleges of Medicine and Nursing to discuss strategic partnerships as the Colleges form the Healthcare Industry Center of Excellence.

At the north end of the state, Dr. Philip Geist and Cathy Hagan, area directors of the SBDC at UNF, completed National Incident Management Training this quarter. This training will enable them to be present in their counties' respective Emergency Management Operations Centers, where they will be poised to assist their communities with business advice in times of disaster.

SBDC at FAU Staff - Photo taken during a team building event on the FAU ROPES course

During the 2008 Annual FSBDCN Professional Development Conference in Daytona Beach, the SBDC at FAU was awarded the "Florida Innovative Program and Best Practice Award" for its Management Review Process. All staff are involved in the successful deployment of the Management Review Process.