Specialized Services and Programs

The IUP Small Business Development Center also offers specialized services to small business owners through a number of programs.  These programs provide specialized expertise to which small business owners often would not have access.

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
Satisfying environmental regulations that apply to a small business can be a confusing task. 
To help, the Environmental Management Assistance Program provides confidential information and practical guidance on applicable regulations and requirements.  Our program staff works with business owners to provide advice on how to satisfy compliance requirements. 

Cost-effective environmental strategies reduce pollution and long-term business risks by reducing hazardous materials usage, minimizing waste, and improving energy efficiency.

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING
The $200 billion government marketplace offers a tremendous opportunity to small firms.  To help you sell to this unique market, the IUP SBDC will refer you to our cooperating partner the IUP Government Contracting Assistance Program.

The IUP Government Contracting Assistance Program (GCAP) provides procurement technical assistance to firms interested in selling their goods or services to the local, state, and/or federal government.  Specific programs and services include the following:

            ·         Computerized bid matching of clients’ products with government needs
                ·         Procurement and pricing history reports by product
            ·         In-house libraries of Military Specifications and Standards on CD-ROM
                ·         Commodity and service listings of buying activities from across the nation
                ·         Library of self-help government publications and resource data

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
If your company is looking to grow, the international market place offers a world of opportunities. SBDC consultants can help your company take steps to becoming a successful competitor in foreign markets.  If your company is already engaged in international trade, the SBDC can help you take advantage of new opportunities and to provide a referral to the Center for Global Competitiveness.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CENTER
The Product Development Center helps inventors bring products to market by offering engineering services early in the development cycle, before they attract major investment.  With the help of engineering students, faculty and outside professionals perform patent searches, assist with technical appraisals, conduct brainstorming sessions, evaluate and review design options, source component suppliers and provide CAD drawings.  The center also builds prototypes and conducts some product testing.  Some of the advising under this program will take place at IUP, but a referral may be made to the Product Development Center at Bucknell University.

TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION
The Technology Commercialization Assistance Program assists high growth and technology firms with sophisticated business management issues, including alternative financing, human resources, patents and trade marking, intellectual property, and product commercialization.  Cooperating with the SBDC host institutions, the program also offers the capability to help struggling U. S. Department of Defense contractors locate markets outside the Department of Defense.

IN DEPTH CONSULTING ASSISTANCE
The IUP SBDC partners with the Small Business Institute, another award winning program at the Eberly College of Business & Information Technology, in order to deliver in-depth consulting and research assistance. 

Teams of highly skilled, motivated undergraduate and MBA students teamed up with experienced faculty with professional consulting background are matched with the needs of organizations that have requested assistance in such areas as Accounting, Finance, Marketing, Information Technology, Human Resources, Operations and Strategic Management.

SBI teams (typically of 3-4 students under the supervision of experienced faculty) work with the client’s business toward the successful completion of the project.

If you are interested in taking advantage of any of these programs, you can call the SBDC at (724) 357-7915 for further information on how to proceed or register for one of our monthly free seminars regarding starting a business.

These services are generally provided at no cost to you!