Contact: Julie Kiehne, SE Mn SBDC Regional Director, 507-280-2998
julie.kiehne@rctc.edu
Photo (left to right): Julie Kiehne, Regional Director; Sarah Quincey, Program Coordinator;
Mark Thein, SBDC Consultant; Nancy Libersky, SBA Mn District Director
For its efforts to help 21 new businesses add over $13 million to the economy in the southeastern part of Minnesota, the Southeast Small Business Development Center at the Rochester Community and Technical College was chosen as Minnesota’s
SBDC 2015 Excellence and Innovation Center of the Year.
Julie Kiehne, Regional Director, stepped into the role only two years ago and came from outside the SBDC program with previous chamber of commerce experience. In that short time, she has not only become familiar with the intricacies of the program, but has stepped up the overall performance of the center. Kiehne said, “I’m privileged to work with an outstanding team of regional satellite partners and professional business consultants who are committed to help small businesses succeed.”
The performance of the Small Business Development Center team speaks for itself – achieving the following results:
- Creation of a new satellite center to further efforts for minority outreach;
- Implementation of an innovative program called “My SBDC” to help capture client success stores;
- Worked with the Southern Minnesota Initiative Fund (SMIF) to create a new joint program called the “Prosperity Initiative” – promoting minority-owned business growth in southern MN;
- Spearheaded a new program at RCTC designed to enhance student engagement, called
Project LINK.
In 2015, SE Mn SBDC, hosted by Rochester Community and Technical College, provided 2,814 consulting hours to more than 360 clients across eleven counties. The Minnesota SBDC network is recognized as the state’s pre-eminent, nationally accredited provider of professional business consultation services, generating significant regional economic impact.
www.RochesterSBDC.com