Sen. Carper, Small Business Owners Discuss Small Business & Technology Development Center Programs

NEWARK, Del. – Today, Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) highlighted programs at the Small Business & Technology Development Center (SBTDC) that are a result of Small Business Jobs Act at PolarStar Engineering & Machine, LLC in Newark, Del.  
The SBTDC received $325,000 from the US Small Business Administration through the Small Business Jobs Act to implement new programs over two years. These include counseling and training programs that help small business owners understand and utilize electronic and social media marketing, sales growth and sales management, and franchise assistance. Another new service SBTDC is offering is Business Boost, which identifies companies that have the potential to grow and add jobs or need assistance to retain its existing workforce and then helps them achieve this potential through intensive counseling offered by SBTDC. The Small Business Jobs Act funding also helped enhance the services of the Delaware Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Gateway, which is a training and assistance program to help Delaware businesses win SBIR awards.  

“Entrepreneurs and small business owners make up a vital part of Delaware’s economy,” said Sen. Carper. “These hard-working business men and women are the backbone of the economy and are creating jobs for out-of-work Delawareans. It’s important that we support and nurture these businesses through programs like those offered by the Delaware Small Business & Technology Development Center.”  

Business owners Steve Hague of PolarStar Engineering & Machine, LLC, an engineering, machine shop and fabrication facility in Newark, Del., Larry Christman of Ellen_A, Inc., a Bethany Beach, Del. company that provides engineering and prototyping services to the biomedical research community, and Jay Greene of EnerG, a Middletown, Del. company that performs energy consulting and project management joined Sen. Carper to share how these programs have helped their businesses.  

“The Delaware SBTDC has provided support to develop my business ideas and has provided me with multiple opportunities to really dig in and investigate how to work on my business to make this work,” said Hague, owner of PolarStar Engineering & Machine, LLC. “I’ve been able to work with students who provided fresh ideas, peer business owners who challenged my thinking, and advisors who gave me the support I needed to move forward.”  

“The resources that the SBTDC and its SBIR Gateway have made available to me are fabulous,” said Christman, owner of Ellen_A, Inc. “I have learned so much from the opportunity to work one-on-one with advisors. I submitted an SBIR proposal and while it was not successful, I have learned a lot that will help increase my chances of success in the future.”  

“As a serial entrepreneur, I know a lot about small business,” said Greene, owner of EnerG. “One of the most important lessons I have learned is that there are times when you need to bring in outside experts. The SBTDC has a wealth of expertise and I look forward to these new services. I think this will really help us grow this business.”  

For more information about SBTDC programs, go to www.dsbtdc.org.  

###  

Print
Share
Like
Tweet