Our Mission
Providing businesses the expertise and resources to succeed
Latest News
- Navigating to Success: Drummond Carpenter Grows from Start-up to Million Dollar ContractsMarch 28, 2024 - 6:20 pm
Risk and uncertainty are hazards that every entrepreneur and prospective small business owner faces as they start their journey to realizing their vision and building the company that will achieve their goals. A bulwark against those challenges includes expert advisors and mentors who can guide, reassure, and build an entrepreneur’s or business owner’s confidence in their decisions. Chad Drummond, co-founder, president, and CEO of engineering firm Drummond Carpenter found exactly that kind of support and the assistance he needed to start and grow his company at the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida’s (FSBDC at UCF) sub-center at Seminole State College (FSBDC at SSC).
- Loretta Josephine Boutique: Distinctive And Stylish, With a PurposeFebruary 28, 2024 - 6:24 pm
Grit, determination, and resilience are some of the important attributes needed to be a successful entrepreneur. They are also the qualities required when grappling with a life-threatening disease. Brain cancer survivor and small business founder Danielle McCarthy has all three of these traits in abundance, as well as a contagious optimism. Not only did she beat the disease, but she used those same virtues to launch Loretta Josephine Boutique with partner and owner Joey Perfito. And with a small touch of similarity to how she relied on her medical team to help her through her treatment and recovery, she turned to the team at the Florida Small Business Development Center at the University of Central Florida (FSBDC at UCF) to help start her business. While the FSBDC certainly was not lifesaving, it may have been business saving by providing the expertise and tools McCarthy and Perfito needed to build their new business.
- Red Rooster Cookie Jar: New Brick and Morter, Same Baked “With-a-Whole-Lot of Love” TreatsFebruary 22, 2024 - 4:03 pm
Making the move from even a successful home-based business into a brick-and-mortar, commercial space can present a major challenge for any entrepreneur or small business owner. There is a business plan to revise, a location to find, a landlord to negotiate with, permits to be acquired, and much more. And so it was for Yvonne Conti-O’Brien, the founder and culinary genius behind Red Rooster Cookie Jar, a unique and now prized bakery in Lady Lake, Fl, when she decided to take the risk and make the leap. Fortunately for her, early in the process she turned to the Sumter County office of the Florida Small Business Development Center at UCF (FSBDC at UCF). It made all the difference.
- Small Business Development Center Returns to City of Palm CoastFebruary 21, 2024 - 3:53 pm
No-cost Business Assistance from Expert Consultant Now Available through Florida SBDC at UCF – Palm Coast February 21, 2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Hal Thayer, Communications Director, FSBDC at UCF, 407.420.4850 or hthayer@ucf.edu Michael Oppenheim, Area Manager, FSBDC at UCF-Palm Coast, 386.320.3313 or michael.oppenheim@ucf.edu Orlando, FL – No-cost […]
Our Vision
Creating a better Florida for all by helping businesses grow
Upcoming Events
We look forward to seeing you In-Person at the National Entrepreneur Center in Orlando. If you’re thinking of starting a business, it’s important to take the right steps. This three-hour in-person seminar will give you an overview of what [read more]
A webinar providing an overview of the marketing process for small business, as well as a close look at all elements of a marketing plan. Marketing is the driver of revenue growth and an imperative [read more]
Make your future happen; don’t let it happen to you. With a strategic plan, you will be able to establish your company’s direction, make better business decisions and have a source of increased market share [read more]
Make your future happen; don’t let it happen to you. With a strategic plan, you will be able to establish your company’s direction, make better business decisions and have a source of increased market share [read more]
We look forward to seeing you In-Person at the National Entrepreneur Center in Orlando. If you’re thinking of starting a business, it’s important to take the right steps. This three-hour in-person seminar will give you an overview of what [read more]
WEBINAR Your business needs a roadmap for every stage of its growth. We’ll remove the mystery of how to create a business plan, the information that should be included, and how to use it as [read more]
We look forward to seeing you In-Person at the National Entrepreneur Center in Orlando. If you’re thinking of starting a business, it’s important to take the right steps. This three-hour in-person seminar will give you an overview of what [read more]
A webinar providing an overview of the marketing process for small business, as well as a close look at all elements of a marketing plan. Marketing is the driver of revenue growth and an imperative [read more]
Florida SBDC Network
The Florida SBDC at the University of Central Florida is a member of the Florida SBDC Network, a statewide partnership program nationally accredited by the Association of America’s SBDCs and funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Department of Defense, State of Florida and other private and public partners, with the University of West Florida serving as the network’s lead host institution. Florida SBDC services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Language assistance services are available for limited English proficient individuals.
Email Us
Contact Us
3201 E. Colonial Drive, Suite A-20
Orlando, FL 32803
(Located in the National Entrepreneur Center at the Orlando Fashion Square Mall)
P: 407-420-4850
F: 407-420-4862
State Designated as Florida’s Principal Provider
of Business Assistance [§ 288.001, Fla. Stat.]