’burg and Beyond

Lewisburg

Launching and owning a small business can be intimidating and stressful. Fortunately, entrepreneurs in central Pennsylvania have a free local resource equipped to help. Bucknell’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) matches business owners with student consultants who share financial management, marketing, capital acquisition and product development guidance.

What They’ve Done

The SBDC serves six counties, including Union, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Perry and Juniata. In the past fiscal year, Bucknell students assisted 416 clients, helping launch 29 startups and enabling businesses to secure over $7.4 million in capital to grow their markets and operations.

The Impact

Jack Krasulak ’25, a business analytics major, was eager to share what he’s learned in the classroom with Albert and Laura Payne, owners of Comics Metropolis in Lewisburg. “One of their objectives was to attract new customers, especially after the pandemic,” Krasulak says. “We devised a two-pronged strategy that involved enhancing their social-media marketing and strengthening their ties with the community.”

The Reward

Serving as an SBDC consultant gives students a client-facing role in which they encounter real-world questions and obstacles not necessarily covered in textbooks. “It’s been valuable to dive into a client’s reality and research their business sector to come up with solutions,” Krasulak says. “Watching them succeed because of the services we provide has been extremely rewarding.”

—Katelyn Collins ’23