Florida Small Business Development Center To Open Additional Offices in Broward County

The Florida Small Business Development Center at FAU, Division of Research, is opening two new branch offices in Davie: the first one will be at FAU's Davie West building and the second at the Town of Davie’s Community Services offices at 4700 Davie Road. This is an effort to reach more South Florida entrepreneurs seeking no-cost professional consultation on how to open their own business, and to reach out to existing small business owners financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the CARES Act, the Florida SBDC at FAU is now providing education, training and specialized services to help small business owners recover.

Sandra Marin, Regional Director of Florida SBDC at FAU said that, due to the pandemic, her office consulted with a record 2,472 existing or aspiring business owners from January 1 to December 11, 2020. Compare that to 2019, when the Florida SBDC at FAU consulted with 1,031 clients. According to its 2019 statistics, 56% of their clients are ethnic minorities, 43% are women, and 15% are veterans.

During the pandemic the Florida SBDC at FAU has consulted with a large and varied number of businesses such as a Delray Beach-based dental surgeon and a Miramar-based pre-school owner, to apply and get resources, which included disaster recovery loans, after their practices were shut down during the pandemic. "The Florida SBDC at FAU has integrated a series of fast-recovery specialized consulting services to support our business community," said Marin. "Consultants will develop a well-thought-out plan for maintaining business success. Consultations are confidential and held one-on-one."

The specialized services include government contracting, certified business valuation, DiSC assessments, virtual marketing plans, SBIR/STTR, capital access, plans for re-opening, growth acceleration, business emergency preparedness plans and more. Due to the continued COVID pandemic, all consultations are taking place via video chat.

"The Florida SBDC at FAU is meeting the challenge of helping small business owners impacted by the coronavirus pandemic survive while helping entrepreneurs ready to turn their dreams into a reality in this challenging economic environment," said Marin, who started as Regional Director shortly before the pandemic shutdown took place last March 2020.

The Florida SBDC has been associated with FAU and has been operating in Broward County for more than 20 years. It became known as Florida SBDC at FAU in January 2018 when it merged with Florida SBDC in Palm Beach County, creating one regional service center.

"In January, a select group of consultants will occupy offices at the FAU campus in Davie West, an extension of our specialized consulting services. Also, thanks to funding provided by the Town of Davie, Florida SBDC at FAU will provide economic development consulting at a central location in Davie: the Town of Davie’s Community Services Center," Marin said. "Consulting will continue virtually for all of their clients until further notice."

If you have questions, need assistance or want to determine a timeline to obtain Florida SBDC at FAU services, contact them via sbdc@fau.edu