Small Business Development Center

CLIMB Center

Small Business Development Center

Business owner smiles while standing in the lobby of his business, with two men working behind counter in the background

Get in touch

Build a Profitable and Rewarding Small Business

The Oregon Small Business Development Center at Portland Community College has helped thousands of business owners in the Portland, OR metro region over the last 35+ years. We combine one-on-one business advising with training programs taught by business experts, giving small business clients the resources they need to grow. We’ve celebrated many successes with clients at all stages of business development.

We encourage you to attend our no-cost Intro to SBDC orientation. At orientation, you will:

Identify where your business is on the small business growth curve
Discover education opportunities, advising services, and other resources available to you
Create a plan for action to guide your next steps in your business journey

Register for Orientation

River Wave Foods owner Rebecca Kawanami smiling with her tapenade product line.

Starting a New Business

Start your business on the right track, from refining your entrepreneurial idea to stabilizing your business for growth.

Celeste from women’s clothing retail store Radish Underground smiling in her shop

Managing Your Established Business

Keep your business growing by making the right decisions. Maintain your competitive edge through innovation.

Global Trade Center

Grow your business through exporting and importing.

Be prepared for the Oregon Construction Contractor’s Board exam, or the Certified Global Business Professionals exam.

Exam Prep

Get ready for the CCB and CGBP exams.

Marilyn Kember, owner at Kember’s Gluten Free, smiles while holding up two bags of her baked goods recipe mixes, one in each hand

Getting Your Recipe to Market

Turn your recipe into a commercial-ready food product.

SBDC Course Schedule

From the SBDC Blog

SBDC Client Success Story: Remote.ly Launches in North Portland Mississippi District

Sat, 30 Mar 2019

The PCC SBDC Capital Access Team helped Oliver Alexander launch his dream business (Remote.ly) in the trendy N. Mississippi Avenue district of Portland. Oliver was finding it difficult to secure and finance a Class A commercial lease until he started working with Tammy Marquez-Oldham (PCC SBDC Director) and Noah Brockman (CAT Team Lead) who were able to connect him with the right people to help get his business off the ground in Portland, Oregon

Tips to Run A Restaurant More Efficiently, from Restaurant Business Builders

Wed, 20 Mar 2019

Restaurant Business Builders is our once-per-year course created specifically for current or aspiring restauranteurs. It doesn't matter if you have a brick and mortar location, or a food truck, or are currently in the planning stage. The fundamental restaurant-centric business practices applied in this program, and curated with the support of Portland foodie experts, will help restauranteurs improve business practices, identify efficiencies and avoid trial and error - while developing support from a network of mentors and peers. Restaurant Business Builders is accepting participants for the next program, beginning in April. To commemorate, we're assembling content from several blogs that our experts have produced over the years:

Business Profile: Deepak Saxena and His DesiPDX Food Cart

Wed, 27 Feb 2019

DesiPDX is a food cart located in Portland’s Mississippi district serving food inspired by Indian spices and flavors that are blended with cooking styles from the West and other parts of the world. OR as Deepak calls it "Local Fare with Indian Flair!"

Deepak participated in the PCC Small Business Development Center Restaurant Business Builders program. This is his story...

What inspired you to start your business? I’ve had a passion for cooking for about 20 years and was interested in turning that into a business when I started getting bored [with] my previous career in the tech industry.