Educating Entrepreneurs: Strategies to Develop Small Businesses

The intent of this surveyed research study was to analyze how Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) deliver educational programs within the United States and its’ territories. The survey was sent to sixty-three SBDC State Directors, all of whom responded. The data identifies patterns and variations in educational programs that are implemented at the centers. Business educators are constantly thinking of new topics to address small business owners. An SBDC that provides educational services to small company owners must take into consideration what program topics they will offer each year. SBDCs teach an array of business related topics and complex issues for small business owners to learn through the various centers. The design of the research questions were to collect and analyze the educational program information to understand how and why SBDCs provide their services in each state. The 100% response rate that completed the survey reflected the importance of the developed survey topics and the results which correlated to the initial researched questions.