The Small Business Centre South East Metro Inc is a not for profit association that exists to service the small business sector across the south-east metropolitan area. Major sponsors include the Small Business Development Corporation, the City of Gosnells, the City of Armadale and the City of Canning. We trade under the name Small Business Centre South East Metro (SBC South East Metro) from an office on Albany Highway, readily accessible for clients across the region.

As an endorsed Small Business Centre, the SBC South East Metro is part of a national network of organisations formed specifically to help micro and small businesses establish and thrive. In Western Australia, 26 Small Business Centers are now operating and are financially supported by the State Government's Small Business Development Corporation. The SBC South East Metro is authorised to use the Small Business Centre brand, which is monitored and promoted by the Small Business Development Corporation.

The Centre was officially opened in November 2002 and is directed by a Board of Management composed of eight individuals who volunteer their time and energies to improving small business across the community.

Many of our business advisory services are free; however, a range of programs are available to clients for a small fee.

As part of our sponsorship agreement with the SBDC, the SBC South East Metro collected information relating to the provision of business advice and services. The following is a summary of the statistics collected over the past few years.

Activity	02-03	03-04	04-05	05-06
Casual contacts (seeking business-related information)	1327	1839	4637	4744
Client assistance given by SBCSEM	905	733	843	1264
Total Contacts	2232	2572	5480	6008
New clients (using the services for the first time)	427	415	468	383
New business start-ups (estimated)	45	57	84	89
Full-time jobs created (estimated)	47	74	102	101
Part-time jobs created (estimated)	13	4	18	31