At the heart of Middlesex County is its diverse and quality workforce. As the second-largest county in New Jersey in terms of the number of businesses, the local Small Business Development Center is invaluable to Middlesex’s economy.
With the ongoing pandemic, the NJ Small Business Development Center (NJSBDC) at Rutgers University-New Brunswick has supported businesses by providing basic survival skills such as: Recovery of staff and customers, restoring/resurrecting businesses and launching new profitable businesses.
“The SBDC has been the connector to federal, county and state programs designed to restore business normalcy,” said Elayne P. McClaine, who started the center as the Regional Director in 2013. “Many of our mainstream course content has been modified to reflect the new tools needed to operate a business in a post-pandemic economy.”
The NJSBDC in New Brunswick services more than 1,000 clients each year and has generated millions of dollars in investment impact, McClaine explained. Because of the pandemic, at least 75% of the course content now explores new electronic strategies for doing business.
“Online methods of doing business have become a major area of restructuring for most entrepreneurs,” she added.
The NJSBDC at Rutgers NB is looking forward to hosting its Summer 2022 Lean Business Planning Workshop series to assist clients in developing a business model that can become the cornerstone of their business plan. The June program, which is sponsored annually by the Regional Business Assistance Corporation, is a ‘don’t-miss’ opportunity for small businesses looking to launch or relaunch business innovation.
Meanwhile, McClaine and the NJSBDC have partnered with the Middlesex County Regional Chamber of Commerce (MCRCC) to share and develop resources for entrepreneurs throughout the county. At the onset of the pandemic, the NJSBDC created and hosted programming for MCRCC to connect pre-membership clients to services.
“This collaboration with MCRCC has helped the SBDC clientele to grow to thousands of new and established businesses,” said McClaine. Learn more about the NJSBDC and register for upcoming programming at www.business.rutgers.edu/njsbdcnb.
