Specialized Consulting Services

Established and Growing Businesses

The Florida SBDC hosted by Florida Atlantic University has expanded its services to provide education, training, and specialized support for small businesses. As part of this expansion, the Florida SBDC is introducing confidential consultation packages designed to accelerate business growth and recovery for small businesses in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Specialized service plans include: Government contracting, growth acceleration, business emergency preparedness, access to capital, certified business valuation, organizational development assessments and more.

Note: Note: All specialized SBDC services are provided at no-cost and are completely confidential. Established and growing clients in business, with $100,000 in annual sales and three or more full-time employees, please contact your SBDC consultant directly or request a consultation here .

Government Contracting

For businesses interested in becoming a prime contractor or a subcontractor — for federal, state or local government agencies, our consultants provide the following:

Determine suitability and secure necessary registrations
Comprehension of the language and contract basics
Assistance in applying for small business programs including agency certified programs
(SDVOSB, 8(a),
HUBZone) and self-certifying programs (SDB, EDWOSB, MBE)
Research procurement histories and forecasts
Connect with government buyers and prime contractors
Identify proposal and bid opportunities
Customized profile on automated BidMatch service
Review solicitations, proposal documents and make recommendations
Assistance with contract performance requirements and audits
Assistance with post-award contract administration requirements

Leadership DiSC Assessment

Everything DiSC offers an immediate and lasting impact on the performance of people and culture of an organization. Participating companies can have one representative join other leaders from their community in a virtual program. This experience provides personalized insights that deepen understanding of self and others, making your workplace interactions more enjoyable and effective. The result is meaningful behavior change that leads to a more productive and collaborative work experience.

Participant takeaways:

Discover their own DiSC style to understand their workplace priorities, motivators and stressors
Explore other styles to understand how best to interact and motivate their colleagues
Increase in their effectiveness when trying to connect, solve problems or reduce conflict

Group session logistics:

Each participant receives a personalized DiSC assessment
Virtual consultant-led live group session
Individual coaching available in two one-hour sessions

SBIR/STTR & Technology Commercialization

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and The Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs are highly competitive and encourage domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) that has the potential for commercialization.

Our consultants can assist in:

Searching grant opportunities
Reviewing and applying for grants
Registering with appropriate agencies
Providing compliance and regulatory information

Growth Acceleration Plans

Acceleration consultants deliver in-depth consulting in the areas of cash flow management, financial analysis and capital access, marketing and strategic business planning. Businesses are provided the tools, strategies and expertise needed to accelerate business growth and success in today’s competitive market. Participate in one or more sessions of direct consulting to receive a professional growth acceleration Phase I Report that includes:

Description of the methodology of the report and the company background
Market and industry analysis and data for decision making
Financial statement analysis
Report Recommendations

Analysis of opportunities of business credit underwriting with commercial credit and complex commercial lending of all types, including asset-based loans.

Consulting of lending regulations, policies and practices
Preparation, analysis and evaluation of credit relationships with multiple financial and investment entities, approved local financial institutions that participate in asset-based lending practices; as well as, insured receivables financing, with public or private risk insurance mitigation
Consulting to ensure preventive measures are carried out to fully comply with current rules, regulations and policies related to risks pertaining to BSA, USA Patriot Act, OFAC and other AML related issues

Business Emergency Preparedness Plans

Disasters of all types, from man-made (cyberattack or data breach, loss of a key employee, road construction that displaces traffic, supply chain interruption, etc.) or a natural disaster (hurricane, flood, drought, freeze, etc.), can threaten businesses no matter where they are located. Services offered include:

Access to capital including grants and government-backed loan programs
Disaster recovery plans
Continuity plans
Marketing
Cybersecurity review

Certified Business Valuation

Organizational Development (DiSC) Assessment

Turbo Charge Any Team is designed to help leaders better understand themselves and others to improve working relationships, strengthen management skills, elevate leadership impact and tackle conflict. The Florida SBDC at FAU covers the cost of consulting and up to five-assessments per company. Services include individual assessments as well as team debriefs. A lead consultant will coordinate all logistics with your company to provide access to the assessments, and delivery of the Turbo-Charge your team debrief session. All consulting associated with organizational development is offered at no cost.

Client companies will have the option to acquire, at their cost, additional assessments. The Turbo-Charge Any Team program can help improve profits through:

Enhanced communication and effectiveness
Reducing staff turnover, conflict and stress among team members
Enhanced understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of a team
Improved hiring of the right team members
Better engagement of employees by understanding what motivate and drives them

Business Tools for Research and Industry Reports

The Florida SBDC provides access to data and information generally unaffordable or unavailable to small and medium-sized businesses. Certified professionals utilize high-cost databases, business research resources and tools:

ReferenceUSA
IBISWorld
BizMiner
ProfitCents
ProfitMastery
BidMatch
D&B Hoovers
FedMine

Access to Capital

Analysis of opportunities of business credit underwriting with commercial credit and complex commercial lending of all types, including asset-based loans.

Consulting of lending regulations, policies and practices
Preparation, analysis and evaluation of credit relationships with multiple financial and investment entities, approved local financial institutions that participate in asset-based lending practices; as well as, insured receivables financing, with public or private risk insurance mitigation
Consulting to ensure preventive measures are carried out to fully comply with current rules, regulations and policies related to risks pertaining to BSA, USA Patriot Act, OFAC and other AML related issues

Export Marketing Plans

Our services can assist qualified new-to-export manufacturers and service providers in developing a customized export marketing plan for international expansion. Provided in partnership with Enterprise Florida and the U.S. Commercial Services, the export marketing plan includes:

Thorough readiness assessment
Industry and market analysis with target market recommendations
Review of overseas trade opportunities
Action plan that may include trade mission participation
Grant opportunities