Business consulting services offered in Aitkin

The North Central Minnesota Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Central Lakes College recently began offering its business consulting services at the Birchwood Center in Aitkin.

The SBDC offers information, training and consulting to individuals who are interested in starting or purchasing a business and to owners of existing businesses who are looking to expand. The program is paid for through a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and Central Lakes College.

The center serves 11 counties in north central Minnesota with its regional headquarters in Brainerd. While the SBDC has been part of the college since 1986 the opportunity to meet face to face with a consultant in Aitkin is more recent.

“The availability to share this office helps reduce travel costs for our clients from the Aitkin County area”, said Greg Bergman, director of the SBDC. “We have assisted several clients from the Aitkin area over the past year and the office will make it even easier to access our services.”

The SBDC’s focus has been on assisting clients with developing business plans and financial documents needed to help small businesses access financing and plan for the future. In 2017, the center helped small business owners raise over $10 million in capital for their business. Other areas of assistance include marketing, financial benchmarking and business succession planning.

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