LONGVIEW, Wash. – Susan Hoosier, Business Advisor with the Longview Small Business Development Center, had the opportunity to directly thank Gov. Gregoire for her administration’s support for the funding that helps provide business technical assistance to businesses located in Cowlitz and Wahkiakum Counties.
Gov. Gregoire was recently in Longview to celebrate some of the opportunities that exist in the local economy due to the recent diversification in the types of businesses that are moving and expanding into the Kelso/Longview area.
“Diversification of the economy is a sign of healthy growth and while nationally the ‘R’ word is frequently mentioned in the news, it should be good news for this area that the local economy is becoming more diverse and local businesses can take advantage of one-on-one consulting services through the Small Business Development Center,” Hoosier said.
The center, located at the Lower Columbia College Campus, offers assistance, at no charge, to current and prospective small business owners. Services include confidential, one-on-one technical assistance that includes financial consulting, business planning, development of marketing strategies and other management advising.
The funding that helped establish the Longview SBDC was provided in 2007 through Washington State University’s 2007 Joint State Biennial Budget Decision Package, and was also part of Gov. Gregoire’s Investing in Washington strategies to promote the development of small businesses to enhance economic development.
The SBDC provides no-charge confidential advising and low-cost training to current and prospective business owners via 24 centers across the state. It is a cooperative effort between Washington State University, Western Washington University, community colleges, economic development organizations and the U.S. Small Business Administration.
For more information on the SBDC visit the Network website at http://www.wsbdc.org.
