Small Business Development Center Receives Grant from U.S. Department of Agriculture
Grant will pilot a rural business succession program.
Mankato, Minn. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded a grant to the Small Business Development Center hosted at Minnesota State University, Mankato to pilot a rural business succession program in Minnesota’s Sibley County.
The Small Business Development Center at Minnesota State Mankato is teaming up with Sibley County Community Developmentto offer a series of events to help facilitate the potential transition or sale of an existing business from an owner considering retiring or exiting from an enterprise.
The program will launch this fall and is available to all participants free of charge. The program consist of four points:
Education of Prospective Sellers
- A series of networking events hosted in Sibley County communities to educated potential sellers on the business succession program.
- Enrollment of potential sellers into the program.
Marketing and Promotions
- Construction of a new web portal promoting entrepreneurship and business ownership opportunities in rural Minnesota.
- Development of digital and traditional marketing materials to generate traffic to web portal.
- Enrollment of potential buyers into the program.
Education of Prospective Buyers
- Screening of potential buyers.
- Creation of professional development plans for buyers.
Match and Follow-Up
- When matched, the buyer and seller will be presented a proposal. The purpose of the proposal is to help begin the negotiation process between the buyer and seller.
- The Small Business Development Center will be available to the buyer or seller for any follow-up business counseling assistance.
“Through our business retention and expansion visits, we saw a need for succession planning assistance,” said Amy Newsom from Sibley County Community Development. “We have several business owners who are nearing retirement and want to see those businesses retained in Sibley County. We are excited to be working with SBDC on this pilot project and hope to have a successful venture.”
For more information on the project or to sign up for Small Business Development Center assistance, please contact Amy Newsom by phone at 507-237-4117 or by email at AmyN@co.sibley.mn.us.
The Small Business Development Center at Minnesota State Mankato is located in the former Hubbard Building in Mankato’s Old Town. The address is 424 North Riverfront Drive, Suite 210, Mankato, Minn. For more information, call the Small Business Development Center at 507-389-8875.
Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with approximately 15,000 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 30 colleges and seven universities.
