Last month The Small Business Development Center of Hampton Roads (SBDC) was selected as Virginia’s Small Business Development Center Excellence and Innovation Center by the U.S. Small Business Administration Richmond District Office for their work with the Early Education Small Business Mentoring Program, an innovative program that has transformed local businesses, providing care and education to the region’s workforce since 2009.
Nearly five years ago, the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development partnered with the SBCD to implement the Early Education Small Business Mentoring Program to assist early education providers with the resources they need to evolve into well-functioning small businesses.
The program began with the goal of improving financial stability of the centers, increasing marketing capability, reducing employee turnover and implementing best business practices. To date, 79 centers have participated in the program and graduates have increased their revenues by an average of 23% and enrollment by 29%.
Warren Harris, Director of the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development explained, “As a result of this program, business participants have not only positively impacted over 3,400 children annually ages 0-5 years, but have also adopted best business practices, leading to an increase of revenue and decrease in employee turnover. This program is a stellar example of the results that are possible when a Small Business Development Center takes an innovative and aligned approach to implementation of local economic development strategy.”
The program began through a partnership between City of Virginia Beach’s GrowSmart initiative and an Early Learning Challenge Grant from Smart Beginnings South Hampton Roads. The program has since expanded to partner with the early learning initiatives in the cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk and Suffolk (Chesapeake RU Ready?, Norfolk Ready by 5 and Suffolk Early Childhood Development Commission).
In regards to the link between early education and workforce development, SBDC Business Analyst Lauren Small, who spearheads the program, explained, “Our research supports that early education is a workforce development issue. Those early years are when brain development occurs and are critical for setting children up for success in school and life.”
Want to learn more? Click here to visit the Early Education Small Business Mentoring Program homepage.
Congratulations to the SBDC!