Page 34
% Minority & Small Business Week
September 29, 2010
Helping Small Businesses Prosper
SBA
administrator
speaks to the
challenges
states that have some major players,
which is a good thing and a bad thing
because when that industry falters it
crushes the economy.
What are some other advantages o f
having an economy with so many
small businesses?
They have the potential to adapt to
changing economies and industries. They
can focus their attention faster and
quicker. They're the jet ski versus the
battleship. Bigger guys underestimated
it. The small business owner who won­
ders how they're going to make payroll
has to be nimble.
What are some changes businesses
made when the economy went sour?
Some were able to add new product
lines or change their expense struc­
ture. A lot of companies slowed down
their inventory because that's money
in limbo that can't do anything for you.
Some took great advantage of it and
saw it as an opportunity to fill market
niches.
going down one path, and it's been a
successful path they can't think of where
else to go. That's when it's absolutely
vital to seek out counsel.
What are some underutilized ad­
vantages at SBA?
There are three free resources.
You've got Small Business Develop­
ment Centers, which provide free
by J ake T homas
counseling and free training at a re­
T he P ortland O bserver
duced price. It's a very underutilized.
Oregon may have a couple big name
SCORE is a bunch of volunteers who
companies like Nike or Intel, but for the
don't charge for counseling who come
most part our economy is dominated by
from a wide range of industries. They'll
small businesses. The Small Business
sit down and look at your business
Administration is a federal agency that
plan. A little bit smaller scale is the
aids and counsels small businesses in
Women Business center at Mercy
hopes of helping them prosper.
Corps Northwest. SCORE and SBA
The Portland Observer recently sat
Harry DeWolf
have clients that have been going on
down with Harry DeWolf, SBA district
their most productive customers were for the last four or five years. Some
director for Oregon and southwest Wash­
and stopped spending time on the ones clients see a counselor every quarter.
ington, to talk about what the agency
that weren't. Sometimes that's really This is free consulting. It's prepaid.
does and what’s going on in Oregon’s
hard for a small business person. Rela­
Do you have specific resources fo r
business environment.
tionships are great, but they don't pay minority businesses?
What role will small businesses play
salaries.
If a business wants to get a federal
in the economic recovery?
What’s an example o f that?
What are some o f the challenges contract we have the Central Contrac­
As far as job growth, they're essen­
There are some smaller construction small businesses face?
tor Registration, where businesses can
tial. They can hire faster and grow faster, firms that shifted gears from commer­
Some businesses are going to have a register as minority-owned. It's on a
but their ability to get capital and infuse cial or residential real estate and started really hard time keeping up with their
huge amounts of cash into an economy looking for new industries like public money requirements. A lot of businesses public website that demonstrates to any
is not anywhere near what the larger works. Time is just as valuable as cash, created a capacity that has a certain federal contracting officer what they
corporations can do. They're going to so how you spend your time really mat­ expense structure built into it. It's a can do and how they can get in touch.
Large corporations use it when they
bring us out slowly.
ters. If you're chasing the same dollar, machine. You either feed that machine
In Oregon about 97 percent of busi­ and it’s not there, it's going to hurt you. at the same rate or you make it smaller. want to sub-contract to meet goals. It's
nesses are small. There are a lot of other The smarter businesses figured out who When businesses owners have been an excellent tool.
SBA has the 8a small business de­
velopment program. It's for socially
and economically-deprived business
owners and it's a nine-year program.
We help beef them up so that they can
walk alone by offering training and
guidance. We're not trying to make
them dependent on federal contracts.
By the end of the nine years the legs of
their stool will be balanced. It's a
really good program, but it's not easy.
We have about 60 firms. Some shut
down, but many graduate early be­
cause they got too big.
How has federal legislation like the
stimulus or the jobs bill done to help
out Oregon?
From the visibility I have on it, it has
helped loans get back up to 2008 num­
bers. It's really helped with construction
and infrastructure. A few agencies were
Since 1947
given money for technology upgrades
that were long overdue. Some firms in
the engineering design have done really
well. The stimulus has helped some in­
dustries, but not all.
My concern comes into place when
we've been doing this for well over a
DESIGN I BUILD REMODELING CUSTOM HOMES
year and we pull the rug out from under
people who’ve become dependent on it.
HOME PERFORMANCE HANDYMAN HOME REPAIR TEAM
Have we solved the problem or put a big
band aid on it?
503.288.7461 www.neilkelly.com
It has been good on the business side
of banks. A lot of banks were getting
sloppy. They weren't following their own
OR C C B # I6 6 3 :W A Reg# 18702
historical ways of doing business.
Be th e change th a t you
w a n t to see in th e world.
-M ohandas G andhi
Neil Kelly