The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at UCF, part of the College of Business Administration, and UCF’s Florida Economic Gardening Institute (GrowFL) have established a new partnership designed to offer second-stage growth companies in Central Florida a comprehensive array of services to help them grow, all at no cost to the client business.
The two groups will partner together to provide technical and research services to drive business growth. Through the SBDC’s Growth Acceleration services, a dedicated Growth Acceleration Consultant will conduct an in-depth business assessment and provide recommendations on growth strategies, including shoring up financial practices, accessing capital and uncovering hidden profits. That same consultant will collaborate with the client in on-going confidential consultation to implement both strategic and tactical plans. GrowFL offers the capabilities of a Fortune 500 company’s market research department to provide a second-stage business with a variety of sophisticated tools for the purpose of growing their sales, including competitive intelligence, social media strategy, geographic information, core strategy review and business opportunity referrals.
“Being a strong community partner and supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Central Florida region are high priorities at UCF,” said Tom O’Neal, Associate Vice President for Research and Commercialization at UCF and Executive Director of the Florida Economic Gardening Institute (GrowFL). “The expanded cooperation between GrowFL and the SBDC, two of UCF’s key service providers for local small businesses, will help catalyze and sustain second- stage business revenue growth, business expansion, profitability, job creation and job retention in Central Florida.”
“Second-stage small businesses are the winners here,” said Eunice Choi, Regional Director for the SBDC at UCF. “The collaboration between the SBDC and GrowFL can only mean enhanced services for Central Florida growth companies. With the SBDC’s strong technical services capabilities focused on financial sustainability and GrowFL’s strategic research capabilities that will enhance sales growth; all of our small business clients will have a comprehensive set of services at their disposal.”
Visit the SBDC [1] website to learn more about their Growth Acceleration services, as well as their other programs. Additionally, visit the GrowFL [2] website to learn more about their Strategic Research service, as well as their other services offered.