OUR HISTORY
The Small Business Resource Center is an initiative of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce. The Small Business Resource Center serves as the one-stop shop for small businesses and would be entrepreneurs in the Montgomery area.
Located at 600 South Court Street, The Small Business Resource Center houses the Chamber’s Small Business Development Department along with divisions of two local universities serving as resource tenants: Auburn University of Montgomery Center for Business & Economic Development and Alabama State University’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) Supportive Services and Center for Leadership and Public Policy. Additionally, The Small Business Resource Center has a strong onsite partnership with Advanced Computer Technologies, a cutting-edge, rapidly advancing technology company, and Service Corps of Retired Executives, an SBA program providing free small business counseling, and the Montgomery Area Community Development Corporation which provides small business owners with start-up and growth capital.
The Small Business Resource Center, a 48,000 square foot facility, provides affordable space at below-market rates for startup entrepreneurs. Tenants access shared services such as administrative and clerical support, copy machines, fax machines, furnishings, resources and equipment, as well as shared meeting, training and conference space.
The Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce began its plans for The Small Business Resource Center facility in 1994 as an objective under its Forefront Montgomery economic development strategy. The Small Business Resource Center is a final link in the Chamber’s small business program, providing strong assistance to small businesses with everything from start-up information and counseling to non-conventional financing, training and reception.
The Small Business Resource Center is a direct outgrowth of the Chamber’s mission to create jobs and improve the economic well-being and quality of life of the area. The $2.5 million project was funded through a combination of grant monies from the City of Montgomery, Montgomery County Commission, State of Alabama, and Economic Development Partnership of Alabama.
The National Business Incubation Association states that success rates for businesses launched through incubators run as high as 80%, compared to an 80% failure rate for small businesses within their first three years started outside an incubator.
The Montgomery Area Center for Entrepreneurial Development is a testament to the strong partnership that exists within our community - working together to create jobs and support our small and minority businesses, which are the backbone of our economy.
The Small Business Resource Center is often referred to as home-grown economic development because it takes local entrepreneurs and helps them get off the ground and be successful. This is a relatively new approach to economic development, which most people associate with recruiting of new industries. Economic development and job growth for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce focuses on several targeted areas including corporate development and recruitment, minority business development, small business development, tourism and convention development, and military advocacy, information technology, and federal project coordination.
