Making A Big Impact On Small Businesses & The Community
In 2021, the Northeast Indiana Small Business Development Center, located in 139 Kettler Hall on the Purdue University Fort Wayne campus, helped over 480 small businesses navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic. Forming a meaningful impact on our local community, the NEI-SBDC helped to create 117 jobs and start 33 new businesses.
“We are proud to partner with Northeast Indiana SBDC and with their efforts to help build a solid foundation so these small businesses can flourish,” said Carl Drummond, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Purdue Fort Wayne. “When small businesses succeed, communities thrive.”
The Center had many success stories in 2021. NEI-SBDC Advisor, Nicole Heffelfinger, assisted Tasha Bushnell with the acquisition of Hyde Brothers, a 30-year-old retail used bookstore in Fort Wayne. Bushnell was employed by the business for the last 23 years. After the original owner, Sam Hyde, passed away in 2019, Bushnell became interested in purchasing the business. Heffelfinger assisted Bushnell with her business plan and in preparing cash-flow projections for the client to secure lending to purchase the real estate and goodwill. Throughout the eight months Bushnell and Heffelfinger worked together, Heffelfinger helped Bushnell update her projections to keep in line with what the lender needed. Together they prepared, edited, and drafted an opening day balance sheet to submit to her lending provider. The purchase of the storefront and the business, including its inventory, was approved.
NEI-SBDC offers no-cost, one-on-one business consulting and more to small business owners and entrepreneurs looking to start or expand a business. In 2021, the Center’s business advisors helped find over $12.6 million of loans and equity for the businesses they served. They also help with planning, marketing, accounting, compliance, and growth.
The Center partners with Purdue Fort Wayne’s Division of Continuing Studies to offer low-cost workshops and classes for business development on a variety of topics. Those interested can register for the online and in-person courses on the Center’s website.
For more information on available NEI-SBDC services, call 1-888-472-3244, or visit: isbdc.org/locations/northeast-indiana-sbdc/
For additional information, contact Thera Bailey at baileyt@pfw.edu or 260-481-6919.
The Northeast Indiana Small Business Development Center (Northeast Indiana SBDC), which is funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration, local partners, and hosted by Purdue University Fort Wayne, helps small businesses start, grow, finance, innovate, and transition through no-cost, confidential business advising and training. The Northeast Indiana SBDC helps Hoosier entrepreneurs and small businesses start stronger, grow faster, and work smarter. The Northeast Indiana SBDC is an integral part of the Purdue Fort Wayne commitment to the community.
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