MOORHEAD - The West Central Regional Office of the Minnesota Small Business Development Center (WC SBDC), at Concordia College in Moorhead, was named the Minnesota SBDC Center of Excellence and Innovation of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The SBDC Center of Excellence and Innovation of the Year is selected annually to honor a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for excellence in providing value to small businesses and advancing program delivery and management through innovation. Bruce Strong, state director of the Minnesota SBDC Network, nominated the West Central Office of the Minnesota Small Business Development Center Network for this award.
Concordia College, Moorhead, is a private, coeducational, four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Founded in 1891 by early Norwegian Lutheran immigrants, the college is located in the heart of residential Moorhead. Concordia offers more than 60 majors to its more than 2,300 students who come to the college from 36 states and 29 countries.
In 2014, the West Central SBDC provided over 3,500 hours of no-cost, professional business consulting to over 250 clients. They assisted in securing over $14 million in financing and helped to open 20 new businesses or purchases of existing businesses within their region resulting in the creation or retention of nearly 470 jobs. The West Central SBDC participated in over 30 community and service events, while expanding their training program to include topics such as Social Media, Data Gold Mining and Profit Mastery.
The West Central SBDC has six satellite locations throughout west central Minnesota to provide assistance close to where clients live. Help can be as simple as answering a question over the phone or as comprehensive as having several one-on-one meetings with a consultant to turn an idea into a profitable business.
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The West Central SBDC also helps to create meaningful experiences for the student body at Concordia College. The organization provide work study and intern opportunities where students can work inside the WC SBDC office as well as work with actual SBDC clients on marketing projects.
In 2014, the WC SBDC hosted the statewide Knowledge Exchange Program (KEP) for the Minnesota SBDC network. This three-day conference began with a meeting of the Minnesota SBDC leadership team and ended with a meeting of the State SBDC Advisory Board. But the real highlight was the quality of the professional development program put forward by the WC SBDC team. It was acclaimed by most attendees as one of the best KEP events in many years.
The West Central Regional Office of the Minnesota Small Business Development Center, at Concordia College, Moorhead, will be honored at the Minnesota Small Business Week Awards program on May 7, 2015, at the Minneapolis Marriott Northwest.
