Starting today, Monday, October 14, Florida SBDC at Pinellas County will be on-site at the Pinellas Mobile Assistance Center (MAC) at the Tradewinds, located at 5500 Gulf Boulevard in St. Pete Beach, to assist businesses affected by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. FSBDC consultants will be on-site to offer no-cost one-on-one consulting and assistance daily through Thursday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
In partnership with the SBA and state and local officials, the MAC is deployed to hard-hit communities of the state, where physical facilities are not easily available, to provide a resource where impacted business owners can come for in-person assistance in understanding and applying for state and federal disaster loans.
No appointments are necessary and walk-in visits from business owners are welcome. Business owners are encouraged to stop by and meet with professionally certified consultants to receive assistance with the following critical business recovery programs:
- SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)
- SBA Physical Disaster Loan
- Florida Small Business Emergency Loan Bridge Program
“Pinellas County small businesses have been hit with a one-two punch by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. These powerful storms have caused widespread damage to Pinellas County, especially to areas that are part of our economic engine, the beach communities. The FSBDC at Pinellas County team is working around the clock to provide recovery assistance to small businesses impacted and to connect business owners with available disaster resources. We encourage them to use this resource, which is available at no cost to them,” said Dr. Cynthia Johnson, Director of Pinellas County Economic Development.
Mobile Assistance Center Location: Tradewinds, 5500 Gulf Blvd, St. Pete Beach, FL 33706
Dates: Monday, October 14 – Thursday, October 17
Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Ongoing consulting assistance will be available to assist businesses with recovery. Business owners who cannot attend the MAC can request an appointment with a consultant online. Visit pced.org/sbdc to request a consulting appointment.