Photo courtesty of Flickr user 401(K)2012
Innovations and those who bring it about are keys to a thriving economy. From those ideas come small businesses that can grow into huge ones. We’ve seen it happen many times. Apple. Google and Microsoft all had humble beginnings.
But there are roadblocks. A big one is money. If innovators behind those small businesses don’t get access to capital, it hurts not only them but all of California.
In fact, this topic continues to be a priority for many people and it was discussed at the first California Economic Summit in May.
It appears two regions are taking on this task of helping innovators succeed by shelling out some cash for entrepreneurs hungry to pump life back into the economy.
If you’re looking to start up a new company, you may want to look in the city of Turlock.
“During the recent economic downturn, Turlock has been busy finding ways for our business community to work together and make it easier to survive and to thrive. The number of entrepreneurs who are starting new small businesses has increased month over month for the last 15 months. New policies and procedures have been put in place at City Hall and others have been streamlined to make it easier for the small business to call Turlock home,” said Al Seaton, lead consultant of Alliance Small Business Development Center Turlock Entrepreneur Center.
Here’s something else to lure you in: the City Council will give $1,000 cash incentive to any entrepreneur who takes up a vacant space or expands to fill vacant space and gets a business plan coordinated through Alliance SBDC.
Further north in Sacramento, Opening Doors is doing just that—helping entrepreneurs open their own doors to their small business by providing small loans, usually $50,000 or less, to folks who often can’t get funded by banks.
Thanks to a recent $300,000 loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the program is offered to all newcomers.
“We are doing in the community what banks can’t or won’t do,” David Blicker, Executive Director of Opening Doors told the Sacramento Bee. “We know from our experience there are people who, with a $15,000 loan, can make a business more successful.”
Most lenders are apprehensive to loan to start ups because, quite frankly, most new businesses have a low success rate.
“They don’t like to make these small loans because they can’t make money on it,” Blicker told the Sacramento Bee. “They incur the same expense if it was a $250,000 or a $50,000 loan.”
Under the new program, the interest rate will be about 8 percent.
Sounds like there is hope for California after all, thanks to those who still believe working together, we can make California golden again.
