FAU SBDC tells Delray Beach firms free counseling and contracting pipeline can prepare them for county, state and federal work

Jackie Ramirez, assistant director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Florida Atlantic University, told attendees that the SBDC provides free counseling, training and technical support to help small businesses prepare for contracting at city, county, state and federal levels.

“We see this as a flow,” Ramirez said, describing a funnel that starts with city-level contracting and moves to county, state and eventually federal opportunities. She said the SBDC assigns a lead consultant to clients and assembles additional consultants as needed to address marketing, finance, cybersecurity and other topics.

Ramirez described disaster recovery support, noting SBDC outreach after events such as hurricanes or the COVID-19 pandemic to help businesses reopen. She said the center’s services include marketing and web design consultants, capital-access staff that work with SBA‑approved lenders, and trade/export assistance for growing firms.

Ramirez told the audience the SBDC has supported capital and contracting wins for clients: “We've raised, in the last year, 36,000,000 in capital for these businesses, dollars 61,000,000 in government contracting,” as she summarized the program’s recent results. She urged attendees to use a posted QR code to submit event feedback and to contact SBDC intake staff on site for follow-up assistance.

The SBDC was presented as a no-cost local resource to help businesses register, improve financial management and prepare proposals for RFPs and other government contracting opportunities. Attendees were directed to SBDC staff at the Expo and to online SBDC and SBA resources for training materials and trade programming.