Louisville, KY (Feb. 22, 2018) – Louisville-based organization WaterStep was one of 11 small businesses in the United States that was recently recognized by America’s Small Business Development Centers (SBDC). Last week, SBDC leaders, advisors, clients, partners and stakeholders gathered for the fourth annual 2018 Client Showcase and Reception on Capitol Hill, where 11 SBDC clients were showcased from across the country. The SBDC clients were Alt Ethos (Colorado), Dignitas Technologies (Florida), Gross-Wen Technologies, Inc. (Iowa), WaterStep (Kentucky), Tadpole LLC (Louisiana), Kepley Biosystems, Inc. (North Carolina), Play Impossible (Pennsylvania), S2S Surgical (Rhode Island), Taste Elevated (Texas), Whooshh Innovations (Washington), and MobCraft Beer (Wisconsin).
WaterStep was chosen as a participant not only for its humanitarian work all around the world, but also because if its partnership with The Hamilton Mill on the award-winning Pipeline H2O water-tech commercialization program, and the mentorship and guidance from the Butler County SBDC throughout the past year.
“The most important part of what SBDCs do is the clients. Our impact numbers for the national economy are impressive but, what is really impressive is the hard work, ideas and success of our SBDC clients. This showcase gives a glimpse at the array of innovators, and doers that SBDCs help every day all across the country,” said Charles “Tee” Rowe, president & CEO of America’s SBDC.
The 63 state and regional Small Business Development Center Networks provide free one-on-one consulting to small businesses through nearly 1,000 locations. Job growth for SBDC clients is nearly 10 times greater than job growth for average businesses, and SBDC client sales growth is nearly four times greater than sales growth for businesses in general.
According to data provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA), every federal dollar spent on the SBDC network helped small businesses access $43.50 in new capital. In 2016, SBDC clients started a new business every 30 minutes, created a new job every 5.5 minutes and generated $100,000 in new sales every 10 minutes. Small businesses are job creators and innovators. Supporting their formation and growth moves our economy forward and makes our communities healthier.
Headquartered in Louisville, Ky., WaterStep is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that believes everyone should have access to safe water and that no one should suffer from waterborne illnesses. WaterStep implements water projects and equips people with tools and training in water purification, disaster relief, sanitation, health education, and well repair. Since its founding in 1995, WaterStep has brought safe water to people in over 40 countries. To learn more visit waterstep.org.
America’s SBDC (Small Business Development Center) Network is a partnership uniting private enterprise, government, higher education and local nonprofit economic development organizations. It is the Small Business Administration’s largest partnership program, providing management and technical assistance to help Americans start, run and grow their own businesses. Learn more at www.americassbdc.org.
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