Alabama SBDC Network

10/06/2026

Last week we celebrated G. Larkin Jones as the 2026 Alabama State Star at the America's SBDC professional development event. Through one-on-one business advising and support, she has helped entrepreneurs launch nearly 50 new businesses, supported the creation of more than 110 jobs, and provided consulting services to more than 320 small business clients over the last two years.

The Alabama Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network has selected Larkin Jones, Regional Manager for the Alabama SBDC at Auburn University, as Alabama's

09/30/2026

Congratulations to the new 2027 Rising Leadership Cohort! Yesterday's kick-off marked the start of a year-long program where SBDC professionals strengthen their leadership capacity, expand their network presence, and learn to lead with greater clarity and purpose.

09/05/2026

🚨 REMINDER: The My Alabama Taxes upgrade begins today!
My Alabama Taxes will be unavailable beginning at noon today, Friday, September 4, through Tuesday, September 8, while we complete scheduled system upgrades.
During the upgrade, some customer call service will be limited as systems are offline. Thank you for your patience as we work to improve your experience with ALDOR.

💡 Plan ahead: Take care of what you need before the upgrade begins.
Visit revenue.alabama.gov for more information.

08/12/2026

Grant Competition: SBA intends to announce 4-6 award winners in September for an award up to $6.0 million each. Applicants "must have an aligned business strategy that provides tangible deliverables to at least one priority area addressing critical industrial base needs, technology solutions, and supply chain gaps and chokepoints in the U.S.":
➡️Advanced Metals Manufacturing (including rapid tooling, precision casting and forging, heat treated components, strategic and critical minerals, and rare earth element recovery and magnet production)
➡️Advanced Materials Manufacturing (including large format additive manufacturing and materials transformation)
➡️Energy Systems, Energetics and Components (including nuclear energy, battery energy storage systems and standardization efforts)

Contestants must currently be profitable and generally creditworthy and must demonstrate the ability to deploy funds immediately. This is a very specialized and targeted competition.

SBA is offering up to $20 million in prize awards to help expand capacity in areas identified as critical supply chain chokepoints. Overview SBA is offering up to $20 million in targeted and mission-aligned prize awards that will bring innovation to our manufacturing base and rapidly expand producti...

07/31/2026

A legacy isn't measured only in years. It's measured in lives changed. Over the past 15 years, Bill Cummins helped lead and grow the Alabama SBDC Network into one of the state's most impactful economic development organizations.

✅ 3,781 New Businesses Created
✅ Over 17,000 Jobs Created
✅ $1.2 Billion in Capital Financing Facilitated
✅ 27,000+ Clients Served

On behalf of countless entrepreneurs, partners, and communities across Alabama, - and your SBDC colleagues in AL and beyond, thank you for your leadership and service.

Congratulations on a remarkable second career and a well-earned retirement, Bill.

(And no, he is not parting with his football tickets. )

Alabama International Trade Center
Alabama SBDC at ASU
Alabama SBDC at JSU
Alabama SBDC: South Alabama
Alabama SBDC: University of North Alabama
Alabama SBDC at Troy University
UAH SBDC Small Business Development Center
Small Business Development Center at UWA
America's SBDC
U.S. Small Business Administration - Alabama District Office

07/17/2026

Congratulations to Andrea Rogers Mosley on her retirement and on an extraordinary career of service to Alabama's entrepreneurs and small business community. For more than 16 years, Andrea's leadership, dedication, and passion for helping others have made a lasting difference across the Alabama SBDC Network. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to work alongside her and witness firsthand the impact of her servant leadership. Thank you, Andrea, for your many contributions! The SBDC team wishes you all the best in the exciting opportunities ahead!

07/01/2026

This afternoon: SBIR Fundamentals and Navigating Agency Differences

TOMORROW: America’s Seed Fund Summit begins!

The month-long event will connect entrepreneurs, innovators, and researchers to America's largest source of early-stage funding for high-growth tech startups. Tomorrow's webinar focuses on program basics.

Topics include:
• How to prepare to engage with program managers and strengthen proposals.
• Panel discussions featuring experts from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of War, and National Science Foundation (NSF).

Register now: https://bit.ly/ASFSummit

05/30/2026

At the Birmingham Business Resource Center, connecting you to opportunities that help your business grow is what we do — and we have a great one to share!

Birmingham AI and Anthropic are bringing a free AI Training Day to Innovation Depot on June 12 (10:30am – 4:30pm CST). It is hands-on, practical, and designed specifically for small business owners with zero technical background.

This training is especially valuable right now — Anthropic just released Claude for Small Business, which puts AI to work inside tools you already use: QuickBooks, PayPal, HubSpot, Canva, DocuSign, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365.

Best fit for businesses with fewer than 5 employees and brick-and-mortar businesses. Free to attend — but registration closes June 5.

Register here → https://anthropic.swoogo.com/claude-smb-workshop-birmingham/rta

05/18/2026

If your company has been in business for at least three years, has benefited from an SBA 7(a) or 504 loan, or has been awarded an SBIR/STTR, and have gross annual revenue in excess of $100,000, this competition may be for you.

$1M is available to small businesses through a new pitch competition.

05/11/2026

We are fortunate to have a great team of SBDC Business Advisors - and Yolanda Devine Johnson is one of our stars! Check out this great profile on Yo and learn more about her many passions and community-building efforts in Baldwin County and beyond:

Do you know Yo?

Yolanda Devine “Yo” Johnson is a fifth-generation Baldwin County native whose warm, energetic presence fuels civic life along the Gulf Coast. She has devoted her life to serving our local communities as a business advocate, a volunteer leader, a civic champion, an artist, and a fierce friend to all. Read more of Yo's story on page 14.

What does strong leadership look like to you?

https://citylifestyle.com/gulfcoast/issues/2026-05