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09.25.06 Small Business Support Center opens at Erskine The Erskine College business department opened the Small Business Support Center (SBSC) Friday to serve as a resource for area businesses. "I know from having an entrepreneurial father that running a small business is hard and time-consuming, so we are hoping to be a resource to small businesses in several ways," said Anthony Santella, center director and assistant professor of business administration. "One of those ways is to offer seminars and workshops on topics that small businesses may be interested in, but are too busy running their business to go off and do research on their own." Friday's opening included a ribbon cutting at Reid Hall, where the center is located on the second floor. Santella and Dr. Charles Emery, professor of business administration, who are heading up the center, were present for the event, along with Dr. Donald Weatherman, executive vice president and dean of the college, Dr. Jay West, vice president for institutional relations, and other college officials. Also present were Carolyn Smith of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Jon Baggett of the S.C. Department of Commerce, and Steve Bowles of the Abbeville County Development Board. Santella said the center has begun sending out surveys to area businesses to identify subjects of interest to business owners. West said the project has been a cooperative effort among Erskine College officials and government leaders. The hiring of Santella and Emery was key to the revival of a small business support center on the Erskine campus, West said. "The real credit for this goes to Don Weatherman." Weatherman said the credit shouldn't go to him, but rather to the two business professors, who approached him last year after he advertised marketing and management positions in the department. "It was an interesting situation of having two openings and a couple of applicants who shared this vision," Weatherman said. "This was a win-win-win situation." He said the college certainly benefits from having the center up and running, and it will also benefit business students and Abbeville County. In fact, students have already been working to assist two coffee shops in Abbeville County – Abbey's Alley and Ada's Place. During the first weekend in October, two teams of students will complete promotions for the businesses and whichever team achieves a higher level of profit will receive a higher grade, Santella said. The SBSC and these efforts are part of a larger curriculum change in Erskine's business department called the "Get Real" initiative for students to be able to do more hands-on experience. "This allows students to focus on learning how business works, rather than just memorizing terms. To business students, businesses are the labs," Santella said. A number of open house and seminar events are planned for the coming months, he said. Based on feedback from small businesses to this date, upcoming seminars will include topics such as gaining financial freedom, new technology for small businesses, and writing a business plan. Participants in the business plan seminar event will also become candidates for being awarded free resources such as office space, computers with software to run a small business, phone, Internet and consulting hours. Santella comes to Erskine from Lander University, where he was an instructor of management information systems and was awarded New Faculty Teacher of the Year for his department two of the three years he taught. A graduate of Thiel College in Greenville, Pa., Santella earned a master's degree from Auburn University. He spent most of his professional career working for the "Big Five" consulting firm, Accenture Consulting Ltd., in Atlanta, Ga., and doing marketing for AT&T. Emery, husband of Erskine Professor of Education Dr. Maggie Emery, taught for a year at SUNY-Fredonia in New York before coming to Due West. He has also worked as an associate professor of management in the College of Business and Public Affairs at Lander University. A graduate of Michigan State University and the University of Utah, Emery received his Ph.D. from Clemson University. Santella said funding agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the S.C. Department of Commerce, and the Abbeville County Development Board, were critical to getting the center open, as were the efforts of Erskine’s facilities management, information technology and marketing offices. Students Kevin Handell and Crystal Moore headed the Erskine advertising group and student technology teams, respectively.
A ribbon cutting ceremony took place Friday afternoon to mark the opening of the Small Business Support Center. From left, Dr. Donald Weatherman, Steve Bowles, Jon Baggett, Carolyn Smith and Dr. Jay West. |
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