BCC Entrepreneurial Assistance Program
Training/Counseling for start-up & existing small businesses

Owning your own business is one of the great American dreams. Each year, thousands of New York residents follow this dream. Unfortunately, many fail within the first five years, largely because of lack of planning and professional business support. The Entrepreneurial Assistance Program (EAP), founded in 1987 and funded by Empire State Development, was designed to help more entrepreneurs succeed.

EAP is designed to assist women, minorities, individuals with disabilities and dislocated workers in Broome, Tioga, Chenango and Delaware Counties. The purpose of the program is to increase the formation of new businesses and strengthen the operations of client firms in the early stages of development (less than five years). The program helps business owners to acquire business skills and access the capital they need to turn their business concepts into reality.

The cornerstone of the EAP is a comprehensive 60-hour training program, which leads participants step-by-step through the process of developing a solid business plan. The goals of the program are for participants to complete a written business plan and start a small business.

In conjunction with the training program, participants are provided one-on-one counseling to deal with their individual issues. Counseling is provided by the EAP Director and members of the Client Advisory Group, which consists of local businesspeople with various specialties.

EAP also provides assistance to existing businesses that were established within the last five years, with a goal to increase revenue and employees. While building a business isn’t easy, the appropriate steps can be understandable with proper training and mentoring.

Our EAP center provides:

• A 60-hour comprehensive evening training program

• Counseling on the feasibility of starting a business

• In-depth business counseling in product development and marketing

• Access to business support networks

• Weekly Master Mind groups for individualized assistance

• Annual Website Ribbon Cutting Ceremony to honor those clients who have developed or enhanced their websites

• Assistance in identifying appropriate funding sources and developing loan packages

• On-going technical assistance to program graduates

For more information:  

Endurance for Success

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm."
Winston Churchill