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| Tiffany Henry (right) serves as director of SCC’s Small Business Center, which provides a wide variety of free resources such as seminars and counseling for aspiring and existing entrepreneurs in Jackson, Macon, Swain Counties and the Qualla Boundary. Pictured with Henry is Bernadette Peters, a client of Henry’s and owner of City Lights Café and Perk and Pastry in Sylva. |
The Small Business Center Network of the N.C. Community College System is celebrating 30 years of providing support and assistance to small businesses and start-ups across North Carolina.
Small Business Centers (SBCs) are located at each of the state’s 58 community colleges, providing free confidential business counseling and seminars to small business owners and entrepreneurs.
Southwestern Community College’s SBC serves Jackson, Macon, Swain Counties and the Qualla Boundary and is led by director Tiffany Henry, who was recently named a statewide Rookie of the Year.
“We are so proud of Tiffany for winning that award; it was extremely well-deserved,” said Dr. Don Tomas, president of SCC. “Every time I have a conversation with Tiffany, I can’t help but marvel at how much she does to help the entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners in our service area. Her role is vital to the economy of our region.”
Created in 1984 when the North Carolina General Assembly funded 14 SBCs, the Small Business Center Network (SBCN) had expanded to include at least one SBC at each community college by 1995. Each year, the centers assist in starting an average of 650 businesses and help create and retain more than 3,000 jobs.
Today, with more than 60 sites, the Small Business Center Network is known as the most expansive state-funded technical small business assistance program in the United States with locations within a 30-minute drive of almost every North Carolinian.
“One thing I’ve learned in small business is you need to go and get up-to-date information from people who are trained to deliver it,” said John Faulk, owner of B & Al’s Grill and a frequent participant in the seminars Henry organizes.
In her first year at SCC, Henry helped 21 business start-ups. Southwestern’s Small Business Center held 57 seminars that were attended by 798 clients, and Henry counseled 50 distinct clients for more than 250 hours.
“Working with passionate, driven people who want to succeed is a true privilege,” Henry said. “I’m honored that they trust me to assist them as they pursue their dreams, and I look forward to helping more existing and aspiring entrepreneurs in the year ahead. Anyone with an idea for starting a business in our area can call me, and I’ll help them in every way possible at no cost to them.”
The mission of the Small Business Centers is to increase the success rate and number of viable small businesses in North Carolina by providing high quality, readily accessible assistance to prospective and existing small business owners, with the goal of job creation and retention.
For more information, contact Henry at t_henry@southwesterncc.edu or 828.339.4211.
