FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 22, 2008
CONTACT: Elizabeth Fischtziur - (425) 352-3636 - efischtziur@uwb.edu
BOTHELL, Wash. - The Business Development Center (BDC) at the University of Washington Bothell celebrated two years of operations with its annual Report to the Community in April. Local business and government leaders gathered to share the work and accomplishments of the BDC and the community.
The Business Development Center at UW Bothell, led by Dr. Walter Freytag, provides consultation from students and a business counselor to business owners in the North King/South Snohomish area. Since the BDC's inception in 2006, it has helped to provide consulting to over 70 local business projects resulting in an approximate value of $300,000 to the community.
Business owner John Holmes of Mill Creek receives one-on-one business counseling, and has had help from student teams from Everett Community College and UW Bothell. Reflecting on his experience, Holmes stated, "It is like taking a business and marketing degree program over time. We have seen great revenue growth in our four or five business segments-50-70%, and even 157% in one segment. It forces you to get into a mode of thinking about how to manage your business and grow almost every day."
UW Bothell student James Floresca was on a student team that conducted a job costing project that gave a small manufacturer accurate overhead and project bidding calculations. Floresca reflects that "in a classroom setting, the professor gives you the problem and you just have to develop a solution. In this project, we had our primary tasks and objectives, but it wasn't until we got into the project, evaluated the situation, and talked to the owner that we could determine what we needed to do for the client."
The Business Development Center is building on the track record established during its first two years and will conduct new consulting projects with at least 35 businesses in 2008.
About the BDC: The mission of the Business Development Center is to foster a vibrant, sustainable economy and excellent quality of life in the Sno-King region by providing business assistance to small business clients. It focuses particularly on start-ups in emerging industries, existing companies seeking to leverage technology to develop their businesses, and women- and minority-owned businesses.
To learn more about the BDC, visit www.uwb.edu/BDC/.
About UW Bothell: The University of Washington Bothell was founded in 1990 to serve King and Snohomish counties and north Puget Sound area students seeking bachelor's and master's degrees. UW Bothell offers degree programs in applied computing, business, nursing, education, computing and software systems, interdisciplinary arts and sciences, cultural studies, and policy studies.
