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Palm Beach North Chamber and FAU SBDC launch local business resource center and on‑site SBDC services for Jupiter entrepreneurs
Summary
The Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce unveiled a public online business resource center and expanded local access to Florida Atlantic University’s Small Business Development Center to provide no‑cost consulting and events for Jupiter small businesses.
The Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday presented a new local business resource center and an expanded partnership with the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Florida Atlantic University to provide no‑cost, confidential business consulting and local events for Jupiter entrepreneurs.
Noel Martinez, Noel Martinez, President and CEO of the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce, said the online center will be a “one‑stop shop” of licensing, zoning, business‑plan and funding guidance and that the chamber does not require businesses to be members to use the resource. “We are deeply committed to supporting these small businesses and entrepreneurs,” Martinez said.
Caitlin Bergman, Caitlin Bergman, Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Chamber, described the new public website as step‑by‑step guidance for startups and existing businesses, with content that the chamber expects to refine in coordination with Jupiter staff. Sandra Ellen Ruiz, Sandra Ellen Ruiz, Regional Director with the Florida Small Business Development Center at FAU, said the SBDC provides confidential, no‑cost consulting funded primarily through the U.S. Small Business Administration and that the partnership will allow more on‑site consulting events at the chamber’s offices and satellite locations.
Ruiz told the council that in the last five years FAU’s programs provided about 3,000 hours of professional business consulting to Jupiter‑based businesses and that 188 Jupiter businesses are currently active with SBDC services. “For every dollar that we receive in contribution, we return to the economy $57,” she said, describing a common SBDC economic‑impact metric.
Council members praised the initiative and requested local breakdowns of the SBDC’s performance metrics; Martinez and Ruiz said they would share a dashboard showing local consulting hours, capital obtained, and job impacts by industry upon request. The Chamber said a free “From Napkin to Storefront” business 101 event is scheduled in the coming weeks and that chamber office space could be used as a future SBDC satellite for in‑person consulting.
No formal council action was required for the presentations.
