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09/30/2015 09:00 AMIf you already have a small business and are thinking about expanding, Jim Jackson wants to speak with you.
Jackson is a business advisor from one of 13 Small Business Development Centers in Connecticut. His advising services, offered for free, include helping small business owners develop business plans, helping them gain access to state grants available to businesses that add jobs, and connecting business owners to financing for business expansion and grants for worker training.
“We offer one-on-one advising services for small businesses at no charge to the client, and all of the information shared is confidential,” said Jackson. “We also work hard with new business start-ups to make sure they have a realistic view of the marketplace [and] of the capitalization they need and their cash flow needs.
“We also help firms get access to state grants though this is for businesses that have been around at least one year,” said Jackson.
Small Business Development Centers, a national program funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration and the state Office of Economic Development (OECD), are often based at branches of the University of Connecticut and in the offices of large chambers of commerce.
“One of my goals is to not only create [and build] businesses that will be successful but also to prevent business failures,” said Jackson.
The new satellite office of the Middlesex County Small Business Development Center will be located in Meeting Room A at Westbrook’s Mulvey Municipal Center at 866 Boston Post Road on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month starting on Oct. 8. On Oct. 8, Oct. 22, and Nov. 12, Jackson will man the office at Mulvey from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. If the pilot program is successful, it will be extended.
Any small business person who wants to set up an appointment with Jackson when he is at the Mulvey Center can register at http://ctsbdc.com tsbdc.com or http://growct.com or by contacting Jackson directly at the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce offices at 860-347-6924 x249.