ROCHESTER — After more than 25 years of making Rochester Community and Technical College its home, a regional organization that helps small businesses is moving to join a new hub of economic development organizations coming to downtown Rochester.
The Southeast Minnesota Region Small Business Development Center
is shifting its operations from RCTC to join
Rochester Area Economic Development, Inc.
on July 1.
“Bringing together the services of both organizations under one roof will enable us to better serve entrepreneurs across the region,” stated RAEDI President John Wade in the announcement of the transition.
The SBDC has two people on staff now, but it is looking to hire an additional full-time coordinator as part of the transition.
RAEDI, SBDC, the Collider business support organization and the Black Entrepreneurship Team will all soon move to the sixth floor of the
Minnesota Biobusiness Center
at 221 First Ave. SW.
Construction is underway to transform the floor from housing Mayo Clinic offices to become an economic development hub with co-working space by this summer.
While the SBDC is not as high profile as RAEDI and the Collider, it has long been active in helping local businesses start and grow by providing information and connecting them with financing.
The SBDC, launched as a national program in the mid-1970s, offers entrepreneurs and businesses free business planning, financial analysis and marketing as well as access to capital.
It’s funded by a collaboration between the U.S. Small Business Administration, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, and regional economic development partners.
DEED manages Minnesota’s SBDC network of 19 satellite offices and nine regional centers, which includes the Rochester center. The Rochester office serves an 11-county region.
Some of the many businesses that the Rochester office has worked with include Watson Recycling, Roca Climbing & Fitness, the Staghead Gastropub, Elgin Family Dentistry and more.
Jeff Kiger tracks business action in Rochester and southeastern Minnesota every day in “Heard on the Street.” Send tips to
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. You can call him at 507-285-7798.
