The Small Business Center at Wayne Community College is celebrating 30 years of providing support and assistance to small businesses and start-ups as a member of the Small Business Network of the North Carolina Community College System.
Created in 1984 when the North Carolina General Assembly funded 14 SBCs, the Small Business Center Network (SBCN) had expanded to include at least one SBC at each community college by 1995.
Today, with more than 60 sites, the Small Business Center Network has locations within a 30-minute drive of almost every North Carolinian. It is known as the most expansive state-funded technical small business assistance program in the United States.
Small Business Centers (SBCs) are located at each of the state’s 58 community colleges, providing confidential business counseling and seminars to small business owners and entrepreneurs. Each year, the centers assist in starting an average of 650 businesses and help create and retain more than 3,000 jobs.
“The Small Business Center at Wayne Community College could not be more excited to be moving forward with 30 successful years behind it,” said Charles Gaylor IV, the director of the center at Wayne Community College. “This longevity is a testament to the college, the community leadership, the past directors, and the economic prospects that are inherent in Wayne County, N.C.”
“Last academic year, the SBC at Wayne Community College kept more than 60 people employed in jobs that would have otherwise been cut, while simultaneously creating almost another 20. It also conducted 49 training events attended by over 470 people,” Gaylor said.
“The main mission of the SBC at Wayne Community College is to increase the number of viable businesses in Wayne County. Last academic year, almost 130 individuals received hands-on technical counseling from the SBC, resulting in 11 new businesses.”
The mission of the Small Business Centers is to increase the success rate and number of viable small businesses in North Carolina by providing high quality, readily accessible assistance to prospective and existing small business owners, with the goal of job creation and retention.
For more information on services or assistance with a concept or existing business, contact Gaylor at (919) 739-6941 or cpgaylor@waynecc.edu or go to www.wayneworksnc.com/.
Wayne Community College is a public, learning-centered institution with an open-door admission policy located in Goldsboro, N.C. As it works to develop a highly skilled and competitive workforce, it serves 14,500 individuals annually as well as businesses, industry and community organizations with high quality, affordable, accessible learning opportunities, including more than 90 college credit programs.
Wayne Community College’s mission is to meet the educational, training, and cultural needs of the communities it serves.