PHILADELPHIA, PA – From February 24 - March 3, 2007, the PennsylvaniaSmall Business Development Centers (SBDC) will host a variety of low-cost workshops to aspiring entrepreneurs as part of Entrepreneurship Week USA.

Running with the theme “What’s Your Big Idea? Take it On!” EntrepreneurshipWeek USA is a national effort to inspire and encourage young people toconsider entrepreneurship. University-based SBDCs located throughoutPennsylvania will offer practical workshops on topics such as The First Step, Employee Best Practices, MarketingProducts and Services and Cash Flow 101 as part of thousands of activities held nationwide.

“As the largest provider of entrepreneurial assistance services in the Commonwealth, we work every day to help prospective entrepreneurs turn their dreams into successful business ventures,” said Pennsylvania SBDC State Director Gregory L. Higgins, Jr. “We are proud to be a partner in Entrepreneurship Week USA and encourage people thinking of starting their own business to contact their nearest SBDC for professional assistance – help that often means the difference between success and failure.”

Small business owners who receive assistance from an SBDC survive and grow, on average, at rates far greater than small business owners who do not. According to independent research, SBDC clients survive at a rate approximately 35 percent higher than the average new business in the United States: 80 percent of SBDC-assisted clients are still in business 8 years after receiving assistance from the Pennsylvania SBDCs.

Entrepreneurs stand to make substantial contributions to the economy. Over the past 15 years, businesses less than five years old have accounted for about 70 percent of the net job creation in the United States.

For a complete listing of Pennsylvania SBDC Entrepreneurship Week USA activities and locations, visit www.pasbdc.org/entrepreneurshipweekUSA.

The SBDCs play a unique and vital role in the Commonwealth's economic development initiatives as the only organization that, in utilizing the expertise and resources of 18 of the best colleges and universities in the state, assists entrepreneurs in all stages of business and all industry sectors. Funding support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the SBDC host institutions enables consulting services to be provided at no charge to the client. A portion of this funding is used to operate the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Center’s Technology Commercialization Assistance Program.

Since 1990 alone, the SBDCs have helped Pennsylvania entrepreneurs start thousands of new businesses, create thousands of jobs, sell billions of dollars of products and services, and generate millions in new tax revenues. For more information on the Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers’ services and impact, visit www.pasbdc.org.

Entrepreneurship Week USA is sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and by government, not-for-profit organizations and businesses, including The New York Times and Inc. Magazine. For more information on national activities, visit www.entrepreneurshipweekusa.com.

CONTACT

Megan Schmidgal

(215) 898.1219

Photos available upon request. Download a PDF of this release here.