Indiana State University Newsroom

The West Central Indiana Small Business Development Center, which operates from the fifth floor of the ISU Scott College of Business, is expanding to serve three additional counties.

Effective June 1, the West Central office will begin serving Monroe, Brown and Jackson counties. The West Central office will continue to serve residents of Clay, Parke, Putnam, Owen, Sullivan, Vermillion and Vigo counties.

The mission of the Indiana Small Business Development Center network and its regional offices is to assist individuals in launching or growing their businesses.

Heather Penney, regional director of West Central Indiana Small Business Development Center, said she welcomes the opportunity to assist more business owners in achieving their goals.

"We're excited about possibility of working with clients in this region," Penney said. "We appreciate the confidence that has been shown toward us by the lead center and ISU."

Indiana Small Business Development Center State Director Jeff Heinzmann announced plans earlier this month to close the South Central regional office in Bloomington, one of 10 such centers throughout the state, in an effort to consolidate operations.

Administration of only three of the 11 counties currently served by the South Central office will move from Bloomington to Terre Haute. The Indiana Small Business Development Center is negotiating plans with Radius Indiana to meet the needs of the remaining eight counties.

Penney anticipates the West Central office will absorb a full-time business advisor and administrative assistant from the Bloomington office, she said, and "the two employees will most likely continue to work from an office in Monroe County," but the specifics of where those employees will be housed has not yet been determined.

The Indiana Small Business Development Center assists business owners who employ up to 500 employees by providing entrepreneurial assessment, free one-on-one counseling, small business development products and pre-business and business planning workshops.

In 2009, the West Central office helped launch 16 new companies and aided businesses in securing $1.8 million in capital to offset startup costs and cultivate growth, Penney said.

Contact: Heather Penney, regional director, West Central Indiana Small Business Development Center, Indiana State University, at 812-237-7676 or westcentral@isbdc.org.

Writer: Rachel Wedding McClelland, assistant director of media relations, Communications and Marketing, Indiana State University at 812-237-3790 or rachel.mcclelland@indstate.edu.