A-B Tech Small Business Center: High Quality Accessible Assistance to Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs Written by Rosa Linda Fallon

If you have a business idea, or are simply wanting to grow an already existing small business, the A-B Tech Small Business Center is a one-stop shop for everything you need. The Small Business Center (SBC) at A-B Tech Enka is part of a statewide Small Business Center Network (SBCN), a community-college funded initiative with the vision to foster and support entrepreneurship, small business and economic development throughout local communities. “It’s a tremendous resource,” says Jill Sparks, Executive Director of the A-B Tech Small Business Center and Business Incubation Program. 

In 1984, the North Carolina General Assembly decided to plant a small business center at every one of North Carolina's 58 community colleges in an effort to foster small business development. “We are the most extensive entrepreneurial state-funded assistance program in the country,” Sparks explains. “We provide free, confidential, one-on-one counseling, as well as free short-term training to anyone who is interested in starting a business or has a small business.” In 2000, Baden Aniline and Soda Factory (BASF) donated what is now A-B Tech Enka to A-B Tech Community College. The college leadership team decided to move their Small Business Center program from their campus in downtown Asheville to the location in Enka in an effort to make the facility an economic development entity. 

A-B Tech’s Small Business Center is a regional center for Western North Carolina, with a network separated across eight regions. The program offers lessons on Quickbooks, social media for business, the ins and outs of entrepreneurship, and more. On any given day, Sparks says there are at least 20-25 free webinars taking place across the state of North Carolina as part of the SBCN. “Clients can come see us as many times as they like,” Sparks says of the A-B Tech location. 

While every Small Business Center in the state of North Carolina provides great resources, A-B Tech is different because they also provide a Business Incubation Program. The purpose of this program is to cultivate an environment that encourages the development of businesses that promise to provide a valuable good, have the potential to create more jobs, and contribute to the overall economic development of the region as a whole. 

“We are incubating small businesses,” Sparks says. “Instead of a noun, incubating is a verb, an action,” Sparks continues. “We don’t want them to remain in the incubator forever. They need to be nurtured, helped, and learn how to fly on their own.” 

As part of the Business Incubation Program, A-B Tech partners with other entities that help entrepreneurs to offer resources all in one place. Examples include Blue Ridge Food Ventures (a commercial kitchen available onsite for small business startups), the Carolina Small Business Development Fund, as well as a Small Business Administration (SBA) onsite office location. “The synergy that we have at Enka is hard to replicate,” Sparks says. “Our clients know that there is a whole team of trusted advisors available to help.” 

The A-B Tech Small Business Center also hosts several events to help promote small businesses and business owners. They host the Enka-Candler Tailgate Market onsite every Thursday from 3 PM - 6 PM where business owners have the opportunity to sell their products and network with the local community. 

Every year, the A-B Tech Small Business Center also partners with the Western Women’s Business Center and Small Business Technology Development Center to host the Annual Western Women’s Business Conference. This event brings together women entrepreneurs, business experts, artists, and nationally-renowned speakers for a day of learning, inspiration and networking. The goal of the conference is to build a diverse, sustainable, and innovative entrepreneurial community here in the Western North Carolina area. 

So whether you know you want to become an entrepreneur, are curious about starting a business, or you already have a business you want to take to the next level, the A-B Tech Small Business Center is equipped to help you every step of the way. 

For more information, visit https:/abtech.edu/programs/workforce/business-incubation-and-small-business-center