Kentucky Small Business Development Center doubles staff, adds six offices

LEXINGTON, Ky.(WTVQ/KYSBD) –  To meet the heightened demand for business coaching for new and existing small businesses throughout the Commonwealth, the Kentucky Small Business Development Center has doubled in size over the past year.

The additions include 16 new staff and six new locations, bringing the Kentucky SBDC’s total to 33 coaches and 17 locations to serve Kentucky businesses.

“The pandemic has created an interesting time, where we’re seeing both a lot of growth and a lot of challenges,” said Kristina Joyce, State Director for the Kentucky SBDC. “We exist not only to help new businesses get started, but also to help existing businesses through any challenge—which has included COVID-19. That’s why we doubled our size this year—we want to make sure every entrepreneur in Kentucky can reach us if they need us.”

The additional staff and locations have allowed the Kentucky SBDC to service the influx of inquiries caused, in part, by the challenges of the pandemic. Over the past year, the Kentucky SBDC has helped 2,988 business owners understand the varied COVID-19 relief program and funding options.

Businesses have also started up in [greater] numbers than the previous program year.

In the past program year, the Kentucky SBDC has helped 268 businesses get started and served more than 2,400 clients with business coaching.

They have also helped secure $74 million in financing for new and existing businesses and had more than 12,000 attendees for business webinars.

The Kentucky Small Business Development Center has served existing and startup businesses by providing no-cost, confidential business coaching, for 40 years.

The skillsets of Kentucky SBDC Business Coaches, combined with world class business planning, market research, and financial analysis tools, provides clients with the resources and support they need to make informed business decisions.

Small businesses are an important economic driver for Kentucky and keeping them healthy means more jobs and financial stability for community members.

The six new centers were added in the following locations:

Covington, hosted by the City of Covington
Frankfort, hosted by Kentucky State University
Owensboro hosted by the Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corporation
Somerset, hosted by the Somerset-Pulaski Economic Development Authority
Bowling Green, hosted by the South Central Kentucky Regional Consortium
Paducah

The new coaches are the following:

Tony Pence (Ashland Office)
Nick Brophy (NKU Office)
Lisa Brann (Covington Office)
Michele Kors (South Central Office)
Kevin Yates (South Central Office)
Devanny King (Lexington Office)
Tonya Parsons (Lexington Office)
Devon Joiner (Lexington Office)
Rhonda Jones (Louisville Office)
Anne Shadle (Louisville Office)
Aaron Harned (Paducah Office)
Jamie Johnson (Owensboro Office)
Stephen Lochmueller (Somerset Office)
Catherine Nash (Frankfort Office)

The state office also added staff members:

Ryan Ferguson (State Office)
Monica Poindexter (State Office)

Kentucky SBDC is hosted by the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and supported by various partners statewide. For more information on Kentucky SBDC services, visit their website, www.kentuckysbdc.com