CT Businesses Received Boost from Small Business Development Center in 2022

In releasing its annual report highlighting 2022, the Connecticut Small Business Development Center (SBDC) said the year “may well be remembered as the year we all took a deep breath and pushed on ahead. Small businesses worked through the residual challenges of the pandemic and moved cautiously in the face of rising inflation and uncertain growth outlook.” 

Connecticut Small Business Development Center’s trained and experienced full-time advisors work with a variety of small businesses in all industries and stages of development by providing no-cost advisory services. CT SBDC has 19 Business Advisors with expertise covering a variety of topics including small business lending, entrepreneurship, technology innovation, exporting, market strategy, and more. These advisors are organized as teams dedicated to focusing on four key areas – assisting clients in the pre-venture stage, with capital access, with customer acquisition, and with operations and processes.

During 2022, CT SBDC delivering 12,866 hours of advising and helping to create 536 jobs while serving 3,330 clients. Their team assisted entrepreneurs in launching 191 new businesses and helped clients secure an impressive $87 million in debt and equity investment.

Throughout the year, the CTSBDC team addressed rising demand, exceeding the funder’s key goals for the program, according to officials. The report points out that the business advisors dedicated hundreds of hours to professional growth and community engagement, enhancing expertise. Acknowledging their efforts, 97% of surveyed clients expressed satisfaction with their advisors.

2022 also marked another important accomplishment for CTSBDC, as the program achieved re-accreditation following a rigorous review of processes and policies based on Baldwin Quality Standards. CT SBDC was selected to be the Lead Technical Assistance provider for the Connecticut Small Business Boost Loan program and worked closely with the state Department of Economic and Community Development and the National Development Council to bring much-needed financing to the state’s businesses.

“CTSBDC knows we cannot help our clients succeed without the strong support of many organizations, agencies, businesses, and individuals who work side-by-side with the same commitment to helping small businesses and their communities,” said Joe Ercolano, CT SBDC State Director. “Our impact would be considerably lessened if not for our host institution, our funders, and our community partners - and of course, the dedicated and courageous entrepreneurs of our state.”

Connecticut SBDC, with offices in East Hartford, is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, and the University of Connecticut.