The Highline Small Business Development Center is helping small businesses re-open and rebuild

By June 14, 2021 | Innovation & Entrepreneurship

As Washington state continues towards a statewide re-opening for summer, small business owners across South King County are re-opening and many entrepreneurs are starting small businesses.

“COVID-19 has been extremely hard on our members and our community, but we are cautiously optimistic that re-opening will help many businesses begin to recover,” said Andrea Reay, President and CEO of the Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce. “[The Seattle Southside Chamber of Commerce] and business resource partners are here to help businesses that need assistance with re-opening.”

Business owners do not have to go it alone! The Highline Small Business Development Center (SBDC) offers no-cost, one-on-one business advice to small business owners from a team of certified business advisors. The Highline College SBDC can help businesses navigate re-opening across a variety of business challenges including accounting and finance, marketing and sales, business strategy, human resources, and more.

“The Highline College SBDC is here to support small businesses as they re-open,” said Rich Shockley, Executive Director of the Highline College SBDC. “We have been working with businesses at every step during the COVID-19 pandemic and will be here to help small business owners navigate the re-opening.”

Business owners and entrepreneurs can sign up for an appointment or learn more about services on the Highline SBDC website.

According to Shockley, on average small businesses that work with the Washington SBDCs report average sales growth of 14 percent compared to 4.9 percent for businesses that do not. Additionally, 96 percent of SBDC clients would recommend SBDC services to others.

No-cost workshops for business owners and entrepreneurs

Additionally, the Highline College Small Business Development Center and the Washington Small Business Development Centers are offering free webinars in June and July. These webinars help businesses navigate loan forgiveness for the federal Payment Protection Program (PPP), human resources compliance as businesses are hiring, and the steps for rebuilding (or closing) a business.

The no-cost workshops include:

For new entrepreneurs looking to start a business, the WSBDC will be holding a workshop on and How to Write a Business Plan on June 17.