The Indiana Small Business Development Center has entered into a new partnership with Ball State.
Jacob Schpok, state director of the ISBDC, said due to the history of the relationship between Ball State and the ISBDC, he decided to approach the university to see if they would want to partner.
"It's our hope that this partnership will generate greater awareness of the ISBDC to other students that may be interested in launching a business, or they might already be in business and they want to take their enterprise to the next level," Schpok said.
The small business administration at the federal level provides a grant to the state of Indiana, which is then received by the Indiana Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
The grant requires every dollar funded by the administration to be matched. The state of Indiana provides half of the match, and Ball State will now provide the other half. As the regional partner, Ball State is now in a contract agreement with OSBE.
“The office will essentially sign off the ISBDC for that region to that regional host partner, and in return, they’re financially contributing as well as helping guide the strategy and the deployment of resources for that regional SBDC,” Schpok said.
The money used to run the program goes primarily towards business advisers’ salaries. Business advisers help entrepreneurs launch new enterprises and help maturing businesses grow. The ISBDC services are free for anyone who wants to start or already owns a business.
The partnership is an annual, renewable contract, but Schpok said the expectation for a host relationship is for it to be more than a one-time thing.
Peggy Cenova, regional director for the East Central ISBDC, said she hopes this new partnership allows a chance for the ISBDC to have a closer relationship with the university.
The services are now available to students. If a student is interested in becoming a business owner, Schpok recommends visiting isbdc.org and applying to become a client. The application will provide preliminary information to the business advisers and will allow the center to point the client in the right direction.
Julie Halbig, vice president for government relations and community engagement, said because so many students minor in entrepreneurship, the university was intrigued. It will put on different activities and events with the hope that students realize what resources are available through the center.
"Because [the center] is going to be under the community engagement arm...we will be coordinating in the future with the entrepreneurship center," Halbig said.
"[To] have that resource in our community not just for Ball State students, but also business people and entrepreneurs in our own backyard...[We're] very much looking forward to the partnership."
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