Small Business Center Celebrates Small Business Week throughout the Year

Tina Parker, director of the Small Business Center at Edgecombe Community College, is leading efforts to promote Small Business Week this week.

Edgecombe Community College’s Small Business Center has begun promoting the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2016 Small Business Week theme, “Dream Big, Start Small” this week in recognition of Small Business Week.

Each year the Small Business Administration, or SBA, gives the week a theme after the President proclaims and designates the week of the year that will be recognized as Small Business Week. The purpose of the proclamation is to recognize American-based small businesses for their accomplishments, efforts, and dedication to serving our communities and local economy.

Although the week will be filled with events across America that will receive national attention, at the Edgecombe Community College Small Business Center (ECCSBC), our goal is to celebrate local businesses and to promote the startup of new businesses, which are vital to the growth of our local economy.

According to the SBA, a small business is defined as a business with fewer than 500 employees. There are approximately 28 million small businesses in the U.S., with approximately 820,000 in North Carolina. Since 1995, approximately 68 percent of all new jobs in the U.S. have been created by small businesses, and more than 50 percent of all people employed in the American workforce are employed by small businesses.

It is estimated that half of all small businesses are home-based businesses. Among Fortune 500 companies, half started from home-based businesses, and 60 percent started with less than $50,000 in startup investments.

At ECCSBC, as part of the Small Business Network in North Carolina, it is our responsibility to fulfill our local mission to increase the success rate and the number of viable small businesses in Edgecombe County by providing high quality, readily accessible assistance to prospective and existing small business owners.

This year we want our local communities to realize the importance of supporting local businesses and to encourage others to consider starting and owning a small business. By shopping locally, we have the opportunity to save time and money while receiving friendly service, supporting local jobs, and investing in the success of our entrepreneurs.

Shopping locally keeps money in our local economy, aids in conserving tax dollars, helps to make our community a destination for tourists, and celebrates the uniqueness of our community.

Local business owners find that they enjoy the opportunity to be their own boss, set personal challenges and goals, have flexibility to control their business, and have flexibility with planning and scheduling, while giving back to their communities and taking risks to reap the benefits and rewards.

Our Small Business Center offers free confidential counseling, seminars, and workshops, networking, resources, and referrals. Our goal at ECCSBC is to bring awareness to our community by strengthening our marketing and expanding our resources throughout the year as we encourage others to “Dream Big, Start Small.”

For more information and for assistance, please contact Tina Parker, director of the ECC Small Business Center, at parkert@edgecombe.edu, (252) 823-5166, ext. 200, or visit our office on the college’s Tarboro campus in Havens 430.