Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs)

Running a small business in North Texas? You chose a great location to grow!

The region is home to 12 Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) that offer customized advising to small businesses at no cost. In fact, two of the field centers are right here in Dallas County — including the North Texas regional office.

Take the SBDC online assessment to identify your needs and begin growing your business. The assessment is available in English or Spanish and takes 15-20 minutes to complete.

Take the Assessment

Once you complete the assessment, an SBDC advisor will contact you to schedule an appointment and review your results.

Our Clients Average

21%Sales Growth

18%Employment Growth

Source: 2015 Client Impact Study, J. Chrisman, Ph.D., Mississippi State University

SBDC in Dallas County

Dallas Metropolitan SBDC – For businesses seeking advising in Dallas County
- Phone: 214-860-5865
Government Contracting SBDC – For businesses wanting to discover contracting opportunities with the government
- Phone: 214-860-5889
North Texas SBDC International Trade Program – For businesses looking to export/import
- Phone: 214-860-5831
North Texas SBDC Regional Office – The management and compliance office for the 12 SBDCs located throughout the 49 counties
- Phone: 214-860-5831

The above offices are housed at the Bill J. Priest Institute, just south of downtown. The Dallas Metropolitan SBDC also has satellite locations in Addison, Cedar Hill and Garland to serve businesses in Dallas County.

View Interactive Map

SBDC in North Texas

For an overview of SBDC services, visit the North Texas SBDC website. While there you can also view a complete list of North Texas’ SBDC locations — including those outside Dallas County.

Dallas College proudly hosts the North Texas SBDC Region in collaboration with the Small Business Administration, a community partner.

Are You a Small Business?

To see how the SBDC defines small businesses, view size standards from America’s Small Business Association (the SBDC’s national membership organization).

In short, Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) assist small business entities that are:

independently owned and operated
not dominant in their field of operation
organized for profit with a place of business located in the United States
operated primarily within the United States
and do not exceed the applicable size standard for its industry as established under 13 C.F.R. 121.

Common size standards are:

500 employees for most manufacturing and mining industries;
100 employees for wholesale trade industries;
$33.5 million in average annual receipts for most general and heavy construction industries;
$14 million in average annual receipts for all specialty trade contractors;
$7 million in average annual receipts for most retail and service industries; and
$0.75 million in average annual receipts for most agricultural industries.

Still not sure if you qualify as a small business according to the Small Business Association and its SBDC locations?

That is ok! There is a lot of verbiage to decipher. We recommend going ahead and taking the SBDC online assessment. This will help our SBDC advisors learn more about your business operations and needs.