Mollis, EDC team up to ease burdens of bureaucracy

It’s no secret that entrepreneurs can face a fair number of complications when they try to open a business in Rhode Island. For instance, to open a gas station in Pawtucket, you will need to apply for 28 different permits and licenses.
Cities and towns are generally the first place business owners go to for information, and then they are transferred to the R.I. Office of the Secretary of State to acquire the government forms and applications they need to fill out for various state agencies.
Now, aiming to make the process faster and less arduous, Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis and the R.I. Economic Development Corporation’s Every Company Counts program have teamed up to guarantee that business owners will be less frustrated by the process of collecting the information they need from the government.
The initiative, called “We Mean Business,” will be formally announced at the first annual We Mean Business Expo from noon to 7 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Kirkbrae Country Club in Lincoln. The event is free, and there is also a Web site, www.wemeanbusinessri.com.
About 75 state and federal agencies and 11 cities and towns, in addition to legislators and small-business-oriented nonprofits will have booths at the expo. There also will be a series of presentations by experts on topics such as branding and ways to grow business.
But the main goal of the event is to give business owners the opportunity to discuss the issues that impact their businesses with people from agencies that regulate them, said Sherri Carrera, operations manager for Every Company Counts, a program that helps small business owners get access to capital and to a network of 150 service providers in the state.
Business owners can go to the expo with a list of questions they want answered, Carrera said. Or, if they are starting a business, staff from the secretary of state’s office will be there to direct them to the state and federal agencies they might need to talk to about getting permits and licensing, or about regulations.
Mollis said he plans to make attendees aware of a new division within the secretary of state’s corporations division, the First Stop Business Information Center at 148 West River St. in Providence.
The center is a one-stop clearinghouse of information that provides access to all government forms and applications, instructions for filling out those forms and applications, a checklist of agencies that regulate businesses and additional resources such as those provided by the Every Company Counts.
“It was a natural fit,” Carrera said.
“What I like about it is that it’s taking two government groups that normally don’t work together but that small businesses need to interact with to accomplish their goals,” said Jeff Deckman, a senior partner at the Providence-based think tank New Commons, co-founder of the Enterprise Club of Rhode Island and a serial entrepreneur.
“Relationships are the lubrication of all commerce,” Deckman added. “New businesses or very small businesses having efficient access to these people is just crucial.”
Mollis said his office and Every Company Counts are trying to show the private sector a different side of government, one that communicates: “We’re here to help.”
Carrera added: “We’re raising the bar … and hoping the other agencies follow suit.”
In addition, We Mean Business staff will create workshops throughout the year based on surveys filled out by expo attendees.
“It’s a great time to ask them what their needs are,” Carrera said.
Mollis anticipates the First Stop Business Information Center will be critical in collecting information about what businesses need to make starting a business more efficient.
“I think the businesses themselves will help us decide on additional long-term goals [for the initiative],” he said.
In the meantime, with every step the initiative takes to eliminate red tape and make government more accessible to small businesses, “we’re freeing up time for them to do what they do best – and that is to manage, and that is to be innovative,” Mollis said. •

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