Economic & Community
Development Division

Small Business Center/REAL

Small businesses are the strength of the American economy. Small business owners enjoy the pride of ownership and creating a thriving enterprise from their hard work, skills, and commitment.

Central Carolina Community College's Small Business Center (SBC) fosters and supports entrepreneurship, small business training, and economic development in Chatham, Harnett, and Lee counties. Services provided by the SBC are free.

At each of the Center's locations, trained counselors work to increase the success rate and the number of viable small businesses in the area. They provide high quality, readily accessible assistance to prospective and existing small business owners and their employees.

Services offered:

• Confidential one-on-one business counseling
• Quality seminars by professional business consultants
• Business planning, technical and management assistance
• Training programs tailored to the needs of your business

Typical Areas of Support:

• Providing a sounding board for your business ideas
• Assistance writing a business plan
• Assistance finding sources of capital
• Assessing your personal assets
• Managing cash flow
• Managing people
• Developing a marketing plan
• How to compete in the marketplace
• Having an exit strategy

Seminar schedules are posted on the Small Business Center website for each campus.

Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning (REAL)

The Small Business Center partners with REAL Enterprises, a non-profit organization dedicated to the development of new businesses, to offer the Rural Entrepreneurship through Action Learning (REAL) course. REAL is a 16-week class that trains participants with the skills and understanding to create or improve their own small businesses.