PHILADELPHIA, PA, June 12, 2006 – Recent independent research has found that the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), the largest provider of entrepreneurial assistance in Pennsylvania, helped create 3,363 new businesses in the past year.

That calculates to a rate of one new business every 2 hours and 36 minutes.

The research, conducted by Dr. James J. Chrisman of Mississippi State University, also found that companies started with assistance from a Small Business Development Center survive longer and grow more than those companies started without SBDC assistance. Eight out of ten (80%) SBDC-assisted start-ups were still in business eight years after opening, a survival rate nearly 40% greater than that of the average start-up company.

The statewide network of 16 university and college-based Small Business Development Centers provides management consulting, training and information to help entrepreneurs start and grow successful businesses. Since its inception in 1980, the Pennsylvania SBDC program has been influential in helping thousands of new businesses — in all industry sectors — get off the ground.

“Small business owners need smart and efficient business practices to compete,” Governor Edward G. Rendell stated. “By supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs, the commonwealth continues to improve Pennsylvania’s ability to increase business growth and job creation.”

The path to starting a successful business begins with the SBDC’s “First Step” educational program. Offered on a regular basis by all centers, the program is designed to help potential entrepreneurs consider the risks and details of going into business. After completing the First Step workshop, an entrepreneur may proceed with no-fee, confidential, one-on-one consultations tailored exclusively to meet the entrepreneur’s unique needs.

“New businesses are the primary drivers of job creation,” Gregory L. Higgins, Jr., state director of the Pennsylvania SBDC program, noted. “The real economic impact occurs when the businesses we help start are able to stay open and continue to grow and contribute to their communities.”

In addition to consultation, the SBDCs offer support through a series of educational programs specifically designed for new business owners. The programs help to build knowledge and skills in six core competencies: Business Management and Operations; Finance; Human Resources; Legal Issues; Marketing and Sales; and Recordkeeping, Accounting and Taxes. To learn more about these programs, including the calendar of upcoming events, visit: www.pasbdc.org/education.

About the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers

As the largest statewide provider of entrepreneurial services, the SBDCs play a unique and vital role in the Commonwealth's economic development initiatives as the only organization that, in utilizing the expertise and resources of 18 of the best colleges and universities in the state, assists entrepreneurs in all stages of business and all industry sectors. Funding support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the SBDC host institutions enables consulting services to be provided at no charge to the client.

Since 1990 alone, the SBDCs have helped Pennsylvania entrepreneurs start thousands of new businesses, create thousands of jobs, sell millions of dollars of products and services, and generate millions in new tax revenues. For more information on the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers' services and impact, visit www.pasbdc.org.