On April 29, 2022, the Memphis Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC) received a $75,000 donation from the Cadence Bank Foundation (formerly BancorpSouth Bank Foundation) to provide technical assistance to small businesses in low-to-moderate income communities (LMI).
Since 2004, the TSBDC at Southwest Tennessee Community College has empowered small business owners, entrepreneurs, and individuals with business ideas to innovate new products and services to compete and grow the local economy. In addition, its certified professional business counselors serve the small business community at no cost.
With the surge in people starting businesses in Shelby County, Tennessee, the demand for TSBDC services has outpaced supply. In fact, according to the Working Women Report, U.S. Census Bureau, Memphis leads America's largest cities in female-owned business growth. But unfortunately, many of these individuals cannot afford the services of a private consultant to assist them with the essential functions of starting and growing a small business.
Unfortunately, only about 60% of individuals and business owners requesting a free one-on-one business counseling can meet with a counselor due to the limited number of certified business counselors. Therefore, the TSBDC submitted a proposal to BancorpSouth, a division of Cadence Bank, to provide free assistance to thousands of small business owners, entrepreneurs, and individuals with business ideas in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee, who cannot afford the services of a private consultant.
TSBDC will service small, minority and women business owners, entrepreneurs and individuals with a business idea in Shelby County, who cannot afford the services of a private consultant
More than 80% of the firms serviced will be minority businesses. In addition, TSBDC will locate two business counselors in the Whitehaven and Frayser communities, where over 90% of residents are African-American.
The project aims to provide free assistance to anyone interested in beginning a small business for the first time or improving an existing small business and who cannot afford the services of a private consultant. The ultimate goal is to ensure those in LMI communities have access to these free services at a location near them.
TSBDC's Role
TSBDC will provide business owners assistance services for financial application preparation, financial management, cash flow management, accounting assistance, human resources, marketing and social media assistance, exporting, marketing research and government contracting. The TSBDC has a long history of working with LMI communities. Our goal this year is to help small businesses receive more than $14 million in capital infusion.
More about TSBDC
The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Program is the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA's) largest matching grant-funded program providing quality services to startup and existing business owners through over 900 service centers.
NaShawn Branch, DBA, is the executive director of the Tennessee Small Business Development Center in Memphis, Tennessee. Passionate about helping small business owners succeed, he has advised more than 500 small-to-medium-sized businesses, including 54 startups, and has raised more than $4.5 million in capital infusion over the past 10 years.
