‘Best kept secret’ | Celebrating the Small Business Development Center’s impact
For Small Business Week, we are taking a moment to recognize the local support offered by the Tennessee Small Business Development Centers.
Sometimes, the organizations that make the smallest amount of noise are making the largest amount of impact. In the case of the Tennessee Small Business Development Center (TSBDC), that’s due to their heads-down approach to helping real people make real-life changes through business success.
Most businesses fit into the “small business” category. Stephen Williams, the Director of the TSBDC at Roane State Community College, said that number is close to 90 percent. Yet, it’s the big businesses bringing 100+ jobs, millions of investment dollars, and support from the state that get all the attention.
“They are doing great things, and they’re hiring people, but these smaller companies that are 20 employees or less, that are often part of the critical part of the supply chain to support those major businesses,” he said. “Nothing is done alone.”
The TSBDC is a state-wide network that provides free, confidential business consulting and affordable training to entrepreneurs and small business owners across Tennessee. They’re part of the national Small Business Development Center (SBDC) network, which is funded through a partnership between the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
There are 15 regional TSBDC offices across Tennessee, each hosted by a local college or university (for example, the Knoxville office is hosted by Pellissippi State Community College, and the Oak Ridge office is hosted by Roane State Community College).
“Once our business owners start looking for ways to fund their business, we become an incredibly strategic partner in helping them with their business plan, the financial model, legal processes, and making introductions to lenders that have an appetite for their business,” Williams said.
As for Williams, he brings a unique set of skills to the table to help small business owners. He spent 20 years pursuing his first career in manufacturing, then another 20 years in boutique investment banking, and finally, for the past (almost) five years, he’s been leading the charge at the TSBDC at Roane State.
“These long career histories are the case of a lot of our directors. It’s the value that we bring to our clients. We have all had previous careers before stepping into a consulting role, so we have real-world experience to bring to our clients,” he said.
Across the state, TSBDC has served more than 5,000 small business owners with more than 6,000 counseling hours and 425 training events. From there, those businesses went on to hire 6,179 people and sell more than $134 million in goods and services.
One client example of such impact is David Murray, the founder of Stetheros, and the 2024 winner of the PYA Ballard Innovation Award. He was awarded the Tennessee Innovator of the Year Award by the SBA.
“We made that nomination to the TSBDC in Nashville, and he stands out as such a success story,” Williams said. “David is a phenomenal individual, incredibly bright, and has built a fantastic company serving the Air Force for over three years.”
Peerless Technology Corporation acquired Stetheros in February of 2025.
For more information, visit the TSBDC website.
Connect with Stephen Williams.
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