LED Seeks Participants For Emerging Business Leadership Program

BATON ROUGE, La. — Recruitment has opened for Louisiana Economic Development’s SEBD Roundtables for small business owners participating in Louisiana’s Small and Emerging Business Development Program. Beginning in July and August, the innovative peer-to-peer learning program will convene groups of 12 to 15 business leaders for a yearlong experience of collaborative learning and problem solving.

Business owners taking part in SEBD Roundtables meet 10 times throughout the year to share best practices, solve business challenges and discover solutions in a supportive environment. Companies must be certified through LED’s Small and Emerging Business Development Program to participate.

“Our Small and Emerging Business Development Program offers valuable managerial and technical assistance for Louisiana small businesses,” LED Secretary Don Pierson said. “With the SEBD Roundtables, business executives can improve their leadership skills and better understand the challenges that come with running a business. We consider the SEBD Roundtables an effective platform for developing solutions and sharing best practices, which helps our small and emerging businesses reach the next level of success.”

Business leaders benefit by improving their decision-making, determining what they are doing right, and identifying what needs improvement, especially amid the uncertainties of COVID-19. Through roundtable discussions, challenges are addressed by practical assistance that enhances management skills.

“The SEBD Roundtable taught me how to be more creative, to know my worth, to stay focused on the importance of being a business owner and how to redirect a bad situation into a workable environment,” said owner Leroy Hayward Jr. of Dr. HVAC in Baton Rouge. “It also gave me a confidence to venture out in to the unknown with the knowledge that I received at the table. We shared our issues and we were able to solve them through our discussions.”

“The LED SEBD Roundtables were instrumental in sharpening my decision-making skills and guiding me through processes that I needed to make my business successful,” said CEO Lisa Williams of Solomon North HomeCare in New Orleans. “Also, I was afforded the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded business owners.”

SEBD Roundtables are based on the PeerSpectives™ Roundtable System developed by the Edward Lowe Foundation and considered a nationwide best practice. SEBD intermediaries – who deliver technical and managerial assistance through the LED program – are certified to ensure a consistent experience.

Intermediaries now recruiting SEBD Roundtable participants are:

• Business and Community Development Center – Southern University, Shreveport

• Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the Small Business Development Center, Greater New Orleans, and Bayou Region – Bayou Region

• Microbusiness Enterprise Corp. of Ascension – Gonzales

• Small Business Development and Management Institute – Southern University, New Orleans

• Small Business Development Center – Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond

• Small Business Development Center – Southern University, Baton Rouge

• Small Business Development Center – University of Louisiana at Lafayette

• Small Business Development Center – University of Louisiana at Monroe

• St. John the Baptist Parish in collaboration with the Small Business Development Center, Greater New Orleans and Bayou Region – New Orleans

• Southwest Louisiana Partnership for Economic Development – Lake Charles

• Technology Business Development Center – Louisiana Tech, Ruston

• TruFund Financial Services – Baton Rouge

• Urban League of Louisiana – New Orleans

Businesses interested in joining the next SEBD Roundtables should contact the nearest SEBD Intermediary for details about the process. For more information on eligibility for the SEBD Program and application for SEBD Roundtables, contact Senior Program Manager Tatiana Bruce at Tatiana.Bruce@la.gov or 225.342.5663.

About LED
Louisiana Economic Development is responsible for strengthening the state’s business environment and creating a more vibrant Louisiana economy. LED cultivates jobs and economic opportunity for the people of Louisiana, and promotes business opportunity for employers of all sizes. In 2020, LED attracted 58 new economic development projects representing over 11,600 new jobs, 8,600 retained jobs and more than $12.7 billion in new capital investment. LED’s Small Business Services team, in conjunction with the Louisiana Small Business Development Center Network, assisted more than 17,500 Louisiana small businesses and entrepreneurs in 2020. For more information, visit OpportunityLouisiana.com.

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