General Business Assistance and Training

Acadiana Regional Development District
Donna Villemarette and Diane Kidder
601 Loire Ave
Suite C
Lafayette, LA 70509
Phone: 337.886.7782
www.ardd.org
Contact

The Acadiana Regional Development District (ARDD) provides technical assistance for all parishes of Acadiana including Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, and Vermilion. ARDD also provides entrepreneurial training and technical assistance services under several grants including the U.S. Small Business Administration Prime Grant, the CDBG Technical Assistance Grant, and the SBA Women’s Business Center. ARDD also provides grant and loan funding under the LRA/LED Small Firm Grant and Loan Program throughout Southwestern Louisiana. The organization is a 40-year-old Planning and Development District authorized under the Economic Development Administration and the State of Louisiana as the Fourth Planning District for the state.

Fast Forward Restart
Eddie Esposito
3717 Tolmas Dr.
Suite 329-I
Metairie, LA 70002
Phone: 504.329.8732
www.fastforwardrestart.org
Contact

Fast Forward Restart helps companies, entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast restart, restructure or refocus their businesses in the post-hurricane environment. Supported by funding from corporations, foundations, concerned individuals and government agencies that sponsor business redevelopment, Fast Forward Restart has provided assistance to more than 150 businesses and nonprofits in the Gulf Coast since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The program is also offered in other areas affected by disaster or economic disadvantage.

Good Work Network
Phyllis Cassidy
1824 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70113
Phone: 504.309.2073
www.goodworknetwork.org
Contact

Good Work Network, a Greater New Orleans 501(c)(3) organization, is dedicated to building the business capacity, market penetration, and financial stability of small businesses to create a more equitable economy. Since 2005, Good Work Network has assisted more than 400 clients: providing 3,075 hours of one-on-one technical assistance, helping start or stabilize 153 businesses, and assisting clients in getting nearly $500,000 in capital.

Idea Village
Nicky Henriquez
638 Camp St.
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: 504.304.3284
www.ideavillage.org
Contact

The Idea Village is a 501(c)(3) economic development organization that champions entrepreneurship in New Orleans. To achieve this, The Idea Village executes strategically integrated programs to drive business innovation -- specifically, Village Ventures, Innovative Spaces, IDEAcorps and The Innovation Network. Since 2002, Idea Village has engaged a powerful network of talented individuals to provide direct service to more than 250 entrepreneurs who have retained over 1000 jobs and $63 million in revenue.

Louisiana Association of Non-Profit Organizations (LANO)
Jawan Ross
700 N. 10th St.
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Phone: 225.925.2390
www.lano.org
Contact

The Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations (LANO) is a statewide membership network of nonprofits, foundations and individuals dedicated to improving Louisiana's nonprofit sector. With more than 1000 members and offices across the state, LANO’s mission is to strengthen, promote and build the capacity of Louisiana's nonprofit sector through education, advocacy and member services.

Louisiana Technology Council
Will Norris
1215 Prytania
Suite 301
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: 504.301.2485
www.ltc-la.org
Contact


Through its TechAssistLA program, more than 300 Louisiana Technology Council member companies provide services focused on computer and internet based consulting, assistance and training to small businesses and non-profits.

LSU Business & Technology Center
Matt Wiggins
8000 GSRI
LBTC Building 3000
Baton Rouge, LA 70820
Phone: 225.578.7555
www.bus.lsu.edu/lbtc/
Contact

The Louisiana Business & Technology Center (LBTC), an integral part of LSU's E.J. Ourso College of Business, was established in 1988 as a joint venture between LSU, the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, and the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority to develop small businesses and create jobs in Louisiana by providing management assistance and counseling services to entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Today, as part of the E.J. Ourso College's Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute, the LBTC continues to fulfill its mission of providing these valuable assets to the public and has expanded its operations to include outreach services as well as technology transfer and commercialization programs.

For 19 years the LBTC has fostered growth in new business, spurred diversification, and expanded Louisiana's economic development. As the LBTC's exploration for new ways to increase entrepreneurship continues, so does its drive to foster business relationships between Louisiana industry and federal laboratories.

Microbusiness Enterprise Corp.
Lee Melancon
719-B South Burnside Ave.
Gonzales, LA 70737
Phone: 225.268.9610
www.mbeca.org
Contact

MBECA Entrepreneurship Center helps new and established entrepreneurs grow and thrive through personal and professional skills development, financial literacy skills development, and entrepreneurship training. MBECA also offers specialized recovery-specific and technical training courses marketing and human resources recovery, Palo Alto's Business Plan and Marketing Plan Pro, MS Office products, graphic/Web design software, and QuickBooks.

MQVN
Tuan Nguien
4626 Alcce Frotier Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70129
Phone: 504.255.9170
www.mqvncdc.org
Contact


The MQVN Community Development Corporation serves the New Orleans East area, concentrating on the Village de l'Est neighborhood. The agency offers one-on-one business counseling, a business resource center, workshops, and Vietnamese-language translation and interpretation. Working with more than 80 small and family-owned businesses in the area, MQVN CDC currently works most closely with more than 40 Viet Village Business Association members.

New Orleans Business Park
Roy Mack
9954 Lake Forest Blvd #3
New Orleans, LA 70127
Phone: 504.254.4603
http://norbp.net/
Contact

The New Orleans Regional Business Park-BAC serves businesses of all sizes, our primary goals are to provide information and resources relevant to business retention, business expansion, and business attraction. We work with businesses to create and retain jobs. We operate an entrepreneurial training program designed to provide individual consultation to potential and small business owners.

NewCorp Inc.
Vaughn Fauria
2900 St. Bernard Ave.
New Orleans, LA 70119
Phone: 504.208.1700
www.newcorpbac.net
Contact


NEWCORP is a business assistance and resource center specializing in the delivery of financial and business services to small, minority- and women-owned businesses, and, the physically challenged entrepreneurs. It is NewCorp’s mission to be an economic catalyst by providing technical assistance and access to capital to the many small businesses in Greater New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. New Corp has provided customized technical assistance services to more than 3500 clients; classroom training for over 5,000 potential and already established business owners; and has been a resource and presenter for conferences in other communities for approximately 10,000 business owners. NewCorp is responsible for the deployment of over five million dollars ($5,000,000.00) in loans and grants to date with upwards of $7 million dollars to be distributed by the end of the first quarter of 2008. NewCorp’s overall direct impact in the community, in wages paid and the number of jobs created, has a value of $8,621,250.

NEWCORP has been designated a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and a Community Development Enterprise by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. NEWCORP has a long-standing intermediary relationship with the U.S. Small Business Administration, offering micro loans, loan packaging and corporate/minority bid matching services.

Operation Hope
Oliver Bell, Bill Norris and Rita Laners
1215 Prytania St.
Suite 329-H
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: 504.309.6153
www.operationhope.org
Contact

Operation HOPE is a non-profit public benefit organization, founded in 1992. HOPE is a leading provider of economic tools and services. HOPE is an effective facilitator, lender, advocate and educator for and on behalf of low wealth individuals. Through a series of public/private partnerships and strategic alliances, HOPE has developed and implemented programs focused on connecting the minority community with mainstream, private sector resources, and empowering under-served communities. HOPE seeks to create sustainable change within underserved communities by consistently promoting opportunity, self-esteem, self love, optimism and future aspiration. HOPE advocates the positive merits of inner-city communities to big business interests, encouraging them to, in the words of HOPE founder John Hope Bryant, provide “a hand up, and not simply a hand out,” and to “do well by doing good.” HOPE is operational in 15 U.S. markets serving 68 U.S. Cities. In 2007 HOPE went global and launched two program offices in South Africa.

In partnership with the Louisiana Economic Development, Louisiana Recovery Authority and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), HOPE is providing technical assistance to small firms and non-profits in Orleans, Jefferson, Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes.

Seedco Financial, Inc.
Myla Reese
Xavier University
414 Drexel Dr.
New Orleans, LA 70125
Phone: 504.520.5729
www.seedcofinancial.org
Contact


Seedco Financial, and its parent organization, Seedco, have been designing and implementing homeownership and economic development projects in Louisiana for more than 15 years. In April 2006, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina prompted Seedco Financial to open a New Orleans office at Xavier University of Louisiana to assist small businesses. Since then, through its economic recovery strategy, the organization has loaned $2,269,000 to local minority-owned businesses to help them reopen or sustain operations.

Through the Louisiana Business Recovery Grant and Loan Program, Seedco Financial is dispersing more than $15 million in recovery grants to 885 small businesses and nonprofit organizations in 10 Louisiana parishes. Seedco Financial supports small businesses in the restaurant/food service, fisheries, and arts and culture sectors.

Small Business Development and Management Institute (SUNO)
Cynthia Beaulieu
6801 Press Dr.
Ste 30-A
New Orleans, LA 70126
Phone: 504.286.5311
Contact

The SBDMI was designed to enhance the economic well being of the citizens and businesses of Greater New Orleans by providing comprehensive, high-quality assistance to existing and emerging small businesses. To help local business people grow and thrive, the Institute provides individual counseling services, seminars and workshops and a large collection of business information recourses such as the NxLevel Entrepreneurial Training Program.

South Louisiana Economic Council
John Snow
NSU
310 Ardoyne Dr.
Thibodaux, LA 70310
Phone: 225.769.2676
www.slec.org
Contact

Since 1984, the South Louisiana Economic Council has served the businesses of the Bayou Region parishes of Assumption, Lafourche, St. Mary and Terrebonne. Today, SLEC offers a variety of new and innovative programs to help businesses with startup, expansion, developing international markets and more.

Terrebone Economic Development Authority
Kathy Gilbert
496 Corporate Dr.
Houma, LA 70360
Phone: 985.873.6890
www.tpeda.org
Contact

Terrebonne Economic Development Authority (TEDA), formed in late 2005, is a public/private partnership that works to expand the local economy by strengthening the parish’s economic base by retaining, expanding and growing business, as well as attracting new business and industry to the parish. Services span from assisting startups with business plans to helping corporations address their needs. TEDA administers Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government’s Revolving Loan Program; in 2007 is working with 138 businesses to retain 1,354 jobs, create 754 jobs, generate more than $1,209,906 in state and local taxes; and has secured $1.2 million in public-infrastructure grant funds to assist local businesses.

UEP Gulf Coast
Kevin Lockett
917 Terpsichore St.
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: 504.525.2609
www.uep.gov/gulf.html
Contact

The UEP Gulf Coast, Inc. (UEPGC) is a specially tailored Gulf Coast version of the nationally recognized Urban Entrepreneur Partnership (UEP). The UEP is an unprecedented national partnership to encourage and accelerate entrepreneurship with successful operations in several major cities including Atlanta, Milwaukee and Kansas City. Funding for the UEPGC was initially provided by The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Other partners include the Business Roundtable, and White House Economic Advisors (including the SBA and MBDA).

The UEPGC’s innovative and proprietary approach to helping small businesses improves foundational areas with the goal of more viable and profitable firms.

Urban League - Women's Business Resource Center
Iva Davis
365 Canal St.
Ste.2820
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: 504.589.2838
www.urbanleagueneworleans.org
Contact

The Women’s Business Resource Center seeks to address the entrepreneurial responsibilities, challenges, and opportunities that come with business ownership. The program is designed to support business owners in all phases of enterprise development, as well as encourage them along the way. By providing access to education and training, mentors, business and professional consultants, WBRC's goal is to increase the visibility of business owners' participation in the Greater New Orleans community. Our primary target population is women, but men are encouraged to participate. The Women's Business Resource Center (WBRC) provides free one-on-one business counseling, technical assistance, loan packaging assistance, SBA 8A and SDB certification assistance, entrepreneurial training and business-related seminars.