Entrepreneurs or small business owners in northeast Louisiana’s rural parishes will receive a valuable boost, thanks to a new initiative of the Louisiana Small Business Development Center at ULM.

Monthly counseling and consulting is now available in each parish in the ULM service area once a month, thanks to traveling LSBDC at ULM representatives.

Those who want to start their own business, expand a small business or learn to manage an existing business better can turn to the Louisiana Small Business Development Center at ULM. The center can assist through low-cost continuing education, free one-on-one counseling and consulting, and free specialized managerial and technical assistance.

These services include, but are not limited to:

• business planning for start up or expansion
  
  
• marketing/promotion/advertising planning and implementation
  
  
• financial planning and analysis
  
  
• loan proposals for start up or expansion
  
  
• referral to sources of funds for small businesses
  
  
• human resources management, accounting and record keeping
  
  
• inventory control, purchasing management, international trade, government procurement, and almost any other area of small business planning and management.

For assistance or information, call the LSBDC, located at ULM's College of Business Administration at (318)342-1224.

The ULM SBDC is a program sponsored by the Louisiana Department of Economic Development and the U.S. Small Business Administration.