KINGSPORT, TN—June 9, 2010—In the spirit of cooperation and open communication with the primary goal of meeting the needs of the small business community, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), City of Kingsport, Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Kingsport Office of Small Business Development & Entrepreneurship (KOSBE) recently renewed their two-year Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) Agreement signed by SBA Tennessee District Director of Strategic Alliances Mina Wales, Tennessee District Director Walter Perry, Kingsport Mayor Dennis Phillips, Kingsport Chamber President and CEO Miles Burdine, and KOSBE Executive Director Aundrea Wilcox.
According to a May 2010 Kauffman Foundation Study, the number of people reporting entry into entrepreneurial activity in the United States reached its highest point over the last fourteen years in 2009; and Tennessee was ranked among the top states experiencing the largest increasing entrepreneurial activity rates. Executive Director of KOSBE Aundrea Wilcox said, “Since 2006, KOSBE has assisted over 450 local area businesses and entrepreneurs and has subsequently helped create over 213 jobs. With help and support from the SBA, Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce, and City of Kingsport, those numbers will continue to increase, further expanding the local community economically, developmentally, and as a whole.” To download a copy of the latest Kaufman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity (1996 – 2009) go to: http://www.kauffman.org/uploadedfiles/kiea_2010_report.pdf.
Services provided by KOSBE include but are not limited to: business plan writing; business formations; education and training; grants, loans and capital sources; access to new markets; business development; sales and marketing assistance; e-commerce facilitation; networking opportunities; professional services referrals; connection to international trade; small business certification guidance; computer and software support; and lead generation.
Under the new SAM agreement, the SBA will provide KOSBE with up-to-date information about SBA’s programs and services, conduct ongoing training of KOSBE’s staff and volunteers, offer marketing and support, invite KOSBE’s clients/members to attend local SBA-sponsored events, and make available to KOSBE select SBA resources such as well-regarded speakers and other activities, web site content, research and other publications. In return, KOSBE will disseminate SBA-provided information, participate in SBA-sponsored events, inform KOSBE’s small business clients/members of SBA’s programs and services, and collaborate with SBA and its other Resource Partners including SCORE, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC), Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), and Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) to provide information to its clients about the wide range of business development services available to small businesses regionally.
In 2004, the Kingsport Chamber and City of Kingsport jointly formed the Kingsport Office of Small Business Development & Entrepreneurship (KOSBE), an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit economic development organization, to specifically nurture, counsel and encourage the continued robust growth and development of startups and existing small businesses in Kingsport, Tennessee.
Press Contact:
Aundrea Wilcox, Executive Director
Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce
Office of Small Business Development
& Entrepreneurship (KOSBE)
151 East Main St
Kingsport, TN 37662
Phone (423) 392-8801
Email awilcox@kosbe.org
www.kosbe.org
