The UCF Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at its clients recently received two separate honors.

The SBDC, part of the College of Business Administration, received an Excellence in Economic Development Award for its Advisory Board Council in the category of Entrepreneurship for communities with populations over 500,000 from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The honor was presented at an awards ceremony during the IEDC Annual Conference in Charlotte, N.C. Founded with the purpose of strengthening Central Florida’s economy, the SBDC conceived and developed the Advisory Board Council (ABC) in 2003 to help small businesses reach the next level. Funded by Orange County Government, the ABC provides established businesses with no-cost advisory boards comprised of area professionals who volunteer their expertise.

In other news, six clients of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at UCF made Inc. Magazine’s prestigious 2011 Inc. 500/5000 list of the nation’s fastest growing private companies. The list measures revenue growth from 2007 to 2010.

The six SBDC at UCF clients named on this year’s Inc. 500/5000 list include:

  • Hooah LLC, (Jorge Suria, President) – ranked 336 with 988% three-year sales growth. Hooah is a minority-owned interactive communications firm located in Winter Park.
  • Dignitas Technologies, (Elizabeth Burch, President and CEO) – ranked 410 with 834% three-year sales growth. Dignitas Technologies is an Orlando-based, woman-owned small business providing system and software engineering services for the Modeling and Simulation industry.
  • Innovative Data Solutions, (Joshua Brown, CEO) – ranked 1,801 with 147% three-year sales growth. Innovative Data Solutions is a compliance management software company serving a wide range of industries.
  • A+ Tutor U, The Kimball Companies, (Neal Kimball, President) – ranked 3,223 with 60% three-year sales growth. The Kimball Companies operates four businesses devoted to “making families stronger” through several different educational products and strategies, including A+ Tutor U.
  • Common Sense Office Furniture, (Craig Caswell, President) – ranked 3,681 with 42% three-year sales growth. Common Sense Office Furniture sources and sells office furniture to Florida businesses.
  • American Home Companions, (James Mark, President) – ranked 4,826 with 8% three-year sales growth. This is the fourth year in a row Orlando-based AHC made the Inc. 5000 list. AHC is Florida’s largest live-in companion care agency.

    • Visit the SBDC website to learn more about its services.