Small Business Center Opens New Office

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at the University of Arkansas moved to a new location in downtown Fayetteville in August to better serve the Northwest Arkansas entrepreneurship community.

Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center staff provide one-on-one confidential counseling to help aspiring and existing entrepreneurs start up or scale up their businesses from the center's new office in the Hathcock Building at 240 N. Block St., Suite 100. The office was previously located in the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development on the University of Arkansas campus.

The move helps ensure that services are easily accessible and relevant to the demands of a growing entrepreneurship ecosystem in Northwest Arkansas. The office has an executive director and two business consultants who offer help with business plans, financial forecasting and analysis, market research and other services in both English and Spanish.

"Our new location allows us to be more fully integrated in the vibrant and thriving entrepreneurial community that exists in downtown Fayetteville and Northwest Arkansas," said Stacy Leeds, vice chancellor for economic development at the University of Arkansas. "We are excited to be able to add to the business density of downtown Fayetteville while our exceptional team led by Mary Beth Brooks serves the needs of entrepreneurs who are launching and scaling their businesses in our region."

The center serves entrepreneurs in Benton, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Marion, Newton, Searcy and Washington counties. All services are free and are funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and in partnership with the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center and supported by the University of Arkansas Office of Economic Development and the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

"We look forward to welcoming first time and existing clients to our new location in downtown Fayetteville as we continue to assist our clients across the spectrum from startup and idea generation to long-term businesses," said Mary Beth Brooks, executive director of the University of Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.