Chafee: State eager to aid small-business growth

GOV. LINCOLN D. CHAFEE / PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
GOV. LINCOLN D. CHAFEE / PBN FILE PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

At a business-community outreach forum on June 5, Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee made it clear that despite the dark cloud of 38 Studios LLC’s implosion hanging over Rhode Island, the state remains ever-ready to help small-business development.
The governor and the state’s economic leaders gathered at the Community College of Rhode Island’s Liston campus in the city to spread the word to small-business owners on how the administration can help them succeed, grow and create jobs. It’s all part of an ongoing program put forth by Chafee as part of his declaration of this being the “Year of the Cities and Towns.”
Chafee couldn’t help but to at least acknowledge 38 Studios and the associated changes under way at the R.I. Economic Development Corporation caused by its collapse. “As you know, EDC is going through some introspection as we adjust to some of the things that have happened over the last few weeks, but I know it’s going to be positive. Things are starting to go in the right direction,” he said.
The programs that are available are needed now more than ever. The Rhode Island unemployment rate was 11.2 percent in April 2012. That rate is 3.1 percentage points higher than the national rate for the month. Across the border in Massachusetts, the total unemployment rate dropped to 6.3 percent in April.
“The [Dept. of Labor and Training] offers a variety of services to business free of charge,” said Susan Chomka, assistant director of workforce-development services. The department operates one-stop career centers throughout the state that work with the unemployed, regardless of skill level, to find work. Their workforce-development program also partners with employers to assist in recruitment and on-the-job training, where companies are reimbursed up to 50 percent for six months for training.
They work with students that have completed their technical training at institutions of higher education. They can also provide information on available tax credits. Short-term training is also available online.
According to Janet Raymond, a senior vice president at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, more than 85 percent of its membership is comprised of employers with a staff of 50 or less. “Our goal is to advocate, grow and protect that portion of the Rhode Island business community,” she said. Mayor Angel Taveras, who hosted the event, said “We have a lot of resources available in our cities and our state. I think the governor focusing on Main Street, where he has visited several cities, has helped businesses in the state.”
Earl Queenan, managing director of financial programs at the EDC, discussed their job-creation program, small-business loan fund, two loan programs, a bond program and a renewable energy fund.
“That’s how you get cash back in the pocket of companies that may be struggling at some time or companies that are looking to expand,” he said of the agency’s programs.
“Rhode Island is built on small-business companies, they need capital and we’re here to help them get that capital,” he said.
Leslie Taito, director of regulatory and quality management at EDC, said that according to a U.S. Dept. of Commerce report, businesses with less than 25 employees pay 42 percent more in comparison to other employers to comply with regulations.
“Folks shouldn’t have to have a whole team of people behind them navigate the regulatory system,” she said. “It should be clear, predictable and reliable. The purpose of this department is to cut red tape and attempt to make the process run smoothly.”
U.S. Small Business Administration Director Mark S. Hayward preached the benefits of several loan programs available from the administration. “There are programs that provide technical assistance to the small-business community – free of charge,” he said. “That’s important because businesses don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.”
Henry A. “Bud” Violet, president of the Ocean State Business Development Authority explained that organization’s loan program for fixed assets. “It really works well for particularly small businesses that are leasing property and would possibly like to buy it and rehab it,” he said.
Violet said the program doesn’t apply to investment property but is strictly for a business that wants to buy and occupy its own building. As with the SBA, the loan program can lend between $200,000 to $12 million. The development authority, however, can assist the loan process by obtaining additional funding through EDC, the Providence Revolving Loan Fund, an independent bank and its own programs. •

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