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By Nathan Peck | MiBiz
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WEST MICHIGAN — There’s nothing like a summer road trip.

The U.S. Small Business Administration and the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center are taking their show on the road this summer to bring businesses the help they need. The SBA Small Business Outreach Tour will hit 15 cities around the state when it wraps up Sept. 30.

The tour had stops in Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo in late August.

Gerald Moore, district director for the SBA’s Michigan office, said the trip was designed to bring a host of business support services and organizations directly in their communities. Speaking to MiBiz by phone from Marquette, Moore said that it became very clear in roundtable discussions with Congressional representatives and small business owners that few people knew the breadth of services available to help them grow.

“What was pretty clear, as we started to talk about services, was that many people were not aware of what the SBA provides, our leveraged partners, and the services that are available to them,” Moore said. “We are the small business economic development agency. We have to connect businesses with appropriate resources so that they can grow and expand. If we can’t do that, we need to shut the doors.”

The tour brings together state and federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, MI-SBTDC, and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. to meet with business owners. The agencies are working to develop close ties with accountants, insurance agents, bankers and attorneys, who often have the first contacts with small business owners. Moore hopes these professionals will form the backbone of Economic Management Teams, local groups that will help direct entrepreneurs to the SBA and other agencies.

“At the end of the day, we need to understand the how — the actionable employable plans we can do to reach that vision of connecting businesses with the resources out there,” Moore said. “The typical business owner doesn’t know where to start.”

Dante Villarreal, regional director of the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center, said that the tour brings many of the agency players together to help business owners.

“The concept of bringing resource providers to local communities of small business owners is a dynamic way to foster economic development in Michigan,” Villarreal said in a statement.

Moore said that the conversations with business owners have helped shine light on why businesses remain unaware of the SBA and other programs.

“We’re trying to understand better the whys — why aren’t they getting info, why aren’t they aware of the products,” Moore said.

Part of that is breaking down the misperceptions among business owners about the SBA and other programs. Moore is working with Michael Finney, president and CEO of the MEDC, to develop new approaches to getting businesses connected to capital.

“We’ll ride shotgun with our businesses and organizations,” Moore said. “For businesses that are trying to get access to capital, we are willing to get involved and work directly with the lender. At the end of the day, the SBA is a powerful tool we can use to help mitigate risk for the lender. We want to rope in the MEDC and other entities to see if maybe there is a hybrid approach that can work. We believe this is a great model that will help bridge the gaps.”

The SBA’s efforts are paying off: Michigan is approaching $1 billion in SBA loans for the first time. Michigan ranks first in the nation in SBA 7a loan volume and second for overall SBA loan activity.

“Businesses are getting access to capital that they so desperately need,” Moore said. “The only reason deals don’t get done is that they don’t see the light of day and have the appropriate exposure. We will do everything that we can do to make sure this deal gets done. Good deals get done.”

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• gerald moore
• michigan small business and technology development center
• small business administration
• west michigan