ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., June 23, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Citing the large disparity between the funding of the New Jersey Small Business Development Centers (NJSBDC) and the funding of the small-business development centers (SBDCs) of neighboring states, NJSBDC State Director Brenda Hopper today called upon the legislature to make a commitment this year that "is commensurate with the contribution that small business makes to our economy."
"The 'investment' that New Jersey made in the vital small-business sector last year was just $700,000," said Hopper, speaking to local small-business owners and government officials during a "Listening to Small Business" event that began at the Carnegie Library Center of Richard Stockton College on Martin Luther King Boulevard and ended with a "walking tour" of small businesses along Atlantic Avenue.
"This pales in comparison to the support that our immediate neighbors Pennsylvania and New York provided to their SBDCs," she continued, noting that Pennsylvania invested $6.7 million and New York $2.5 million.
Hopper added that two other East Coast states with similar populations to New Jersey's -- Georgia and North Carolina -- also provided much greater funding to their SBDCs. "Georgia allocated more than three-and-a-half times the amount New Jersey allocated," she stated, "and North Carolina allocated almost two-and-a-half times the amount -- despite the fact that we counseled and trained more clients than either of those states."
NJSBDC clients, who are more than 42 percent women, 26.7 percent African-American and 13 percent Hispanic, she said, "secured with our help more than $90 million in financing during the past two years, and last year generated combined revenue in excess of $1 billion, accounting for more than $39 million in state sales and income-tax revenue, and $36 million in federal tax revenue." On a national level, she said, for every dollar invested in a state's SBDC there is a $2.60 return on investment.
"Small business is vital to the acceleration of the state's slowly recovering economy," said Hopper, who has been state director of what she said is "the premier provider of services and programs for small business in New Jersey" for 15 years. On a national basis, she said, small businesses have been responsible for 60-80 percent of net new jobs, and they account for nearly 45 percent of all private U.S. payrolls.
"While other factors influence employment growth," she said, "given the much greater levels of support for small business by our neighbors, it comes as no surprise to us that New York is No. 5 in this category, Pennsylvania No. 10, and New Jersey, lags significantly behind, at No. 21."
"This sector deserves our attention," she declared. "Right now."
About NJSBDC
NJSBDC helps small businesses start up, grow and manage their growth. Last year, a staff of just 25 full-time experts and 55 specialty consultants on call provided one-to-one counseling at no charge to more than 7,500 entrepreneurs and small-business owners, and almost 18,000 attended some 900 training sessions for nominal fees. NJSBDC helps clients develop business plans, raise capital, formulate marketing strategies, identify international-trade and government-procurement opportunities, commercialize their technology and do business online.
NJSBDC is headquartered in Newark, at Rutgers Business School, and has 11 regional centers around the state, which has more than 750,000 small businesses. It is a partnership of the SBA; the New Jersey Commerce, Economic Growth and Tourism Commission; and Rutgers Business School. The Atlantic City event was the fourth in a series of breakfasts and downtown walking tours taking place around the state this year, designed to help NJSBDC better serve its constituents. Information resulting from the events will be compiled into a report that NJSBDC will present to the N.J. Legislature and its appropriate committees.