By Alex Muhindura/reporter

Aspiring entrepreneurs seeking help can find plenty of it at the TCC Small Business Center, a consulting service in downtown Fort Worth that provides free counseling for business planning.

“We provide small business assistance so they [entrepreneurs] can survive, grow and prosper,” senior office assistant Kathy Hudson said.

The Small Business Center can be helpful for people interested in starting a business but lack information or resources. Counseling includes business plan development, marketing and record-keeping.

The center offers one-on-one sessions on topics such as intellectual property, which can help people secure patents and copyrights.

“We like to see businesses grow,” David Edmonds, director of the small business center, said. “We have been doing this for 20 years and have seen companies thrive after starting from very little.”

Hudson said the center also provides several two- to four-hour workshops for a $25 fee. The workshops cover a wide range of topics and are given by experts in their respective fields. For example, an IRS agent teaches a small business tax workshop. Some other topics include import-export issues and franchise ownership.

The center also offers non-credit classes through the continuing education programs ranging from $30 to $150. These classes cover even more aspects of running a small business. Through the small business administration financing class, students can gain information on available loans and the procedure for getting SBA funds. Lawyers address local business law and legal issues in the legal forum class.

When people come to the center, they are often surprised, Edmonds said.

“Many people didn’t know it existed, and the quality of the program is higher than they expected,” he said.