New Small-Business Director to Involve Statewide Universities
Abraham to Focus on Entrepreneurship, Business Retention
For Michele Abraham, new director of the Frank L. Roddy South
Carolina Small Business Development Center, getting started on the
right foot at her new office at the Moore School of Business on Monday
wasn’t a problem.
It was dragging the other foot along that was a pain.
The SBDC, a statewide network of 16 offices that provides low-cost
assistance to entrepreneurs and small-business owners, is housed in
Columbia and financed primarily by the U.S. Small Business Association
and by a consortium of four universities — the University of South
Carolina, Clemson University, S.C. State University and Winthrop
University.
Abraham, who also will work with the public, says she’s looking forward
to working with students eager to get their start in business.
“There’s so much bright new talent that’s coming out into the
marketplace, and by working with them we can help prevent brain-drain
and get them excited about entrepreneurship,” Abraham says. “We want
them to be able to see the opportunities that are here within the state
and work as partners with them.
“Additionally, the students here can be used as resources by those
looking to start small businesses,” Abraham says. “For instance, you
might have a business that’s looking to branch out into new markets but
you don’t know much about it. Here, you can have students come on board
and help by doing research projects and coming up with recommendations;
there’s no end to the opportunities for students to get practical
experience as well as help businesses that can’t afford to hire
expensive firms.”
Abraham says in a distressed economy, retaining and expanding small
businesses is the best way to ensure a healthier economic future.
“With all the challenges of this economy, what we’re seeing is that a
lot of people have been displaced or have taken early retirement and
have some money in their pockets,” she says. “They’re saying it’s time
to take control of their own destiny and are going off to start their
own businesses.
“Our role is to help them do that, help them think through the decision
to make sure it’s a good one, help them put together a business plan
and help them be successful over the long haul.”
Abraham says her first task is to help maximize the number and quality of services offered by the SBDC.
“We need to make sure we’re obtaining and allocating resources as
effectively as we can to provide the best possible service to small
businesses,” Abraham says. “When we improve our efficiencies, we
improve our program.”
Another key to long-term economic success is being there for existing businesses that may be experiencing rough times.
“We can help them look at how to run their business better, how to
increase their own efficiencies, how to scale back if needed and how to
better market their business,” she says. “If they’re a candidate for
international trade, we can help them build that.
“If it’s a manufacturing company, we can help with green technologies
and other types of technical support. We’ve seen a lot more existing
businesses coming to us asking if we can help them survive and prosper
in these times when it seems like things are going south for them.”
Under Abraham’s leadership, Ohio’s SBDC created or retained more than
50,000 jobs in 2008 and helped increase client sales by more than $124
million. A graduate of Bowling Green University, Abraham is familiar
with Columbia, having worked for Eastman Kodak as a sales
representative early in her career.
“I’m happy to be back,” Abraham says. “I can’t wait to get started.”
Broken foot and all.
Let us know what you think. Email
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
