[00:00:00] Speaker A: The Journey Hometown Journal Having access to.
[00:00:02] Speaker B: A business coach, to the Small Business Development center, or calling somebody with the SBA and connecting them with the resources that's needed.
[00:00:09] Speaker C: Welcome to the Hometown Journal. I'm Mark Edwards. As small businesses are the backbone of our nation's economy today, we look at how they are being recognized this week as we are wrapping up National Small Business Week and what you need to know when considering starting a small business.
We are joined by Jim Spencer. Jim is the Mid Atlantic Region Administrator for the Small Business Administration.
Jim, welcome. Tell us why this week is so important to recognize small businesses in our country.
[00:00:39] Speaker B: Well, studies show that about 98 to 99% of businesses in the United States are termed small business, which means typically 500 employees or less. So that's the backbone of your economy. And when you think about the importance of the businesses that are 500 less, even the mom and pop operations that are eight to 10 employees, that is the backbone of the U.S. economy. And this week we celebrate those businesses with recognition and awards. So it's a great time.
[00:01:06] Speaker C: Tell me a little bit about the Small Business Administration, sort of the history of the administration and how it supports small businesses.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: First off, I've been privileged to be with the SBA for a little bit over a month and as my understanding was created in 1953 with the goal to help small business. They basically focus in two areas, entrepreneurship and supporting small business. And we have a lot of partners that we work with. For example, the Small Business Development Center, SCORE Chapters, Veterans Business Centers, Women Business Centers and things like that. Because economic development is not an individual sport, it's a team sport. So there's a lot of partners that we have. We work I'm in the Mid Atlantic region, so there's five states that I work with in D.C. so we work with the economic development teams in the states, the economic development authorities in the locality. So again, we work regionally.
It's a team of folks working together to support existing business and entrepreneurs.
[00:02:03] Speaker C: When you look at the national effort that the SBA is involved in and then that regional effort as well, tell me a little bit about some of the services that are available to an individual who is looking to start a business and wants to find out if their idea would be a success and then also the services to existing small businesses.
[00:02:27] Speaker B: Right. And you know, the best definition I've ever heard of an entrepreneur is seven words, solve people's problems for profit and fun. If you're going to do a business, first off, you've got to make a profit or try to. And then, you know, secondly, you know, you should have fun at that. And when you think about starting from the concept, you were talking about the idea. Not all ideas are good ones. So having access to a business coach, to the Small Business Development center, or calling somebody with the SBA and connecting them with the resources that's needed.
A lot of times colleges and universities will have programs as well, but to vet that idea and go through and have a business plan. A lot of times people want to skip the business plan, but it is vital, it's crucial. That is your guideline of what you're doing and then from that part start looking for your financing, whether you know that you're self funding or looking for other opportunities. A lot of people are looking for grants, but if you think about it, a lot of times the federal government is not going to give funds to a business to where they have no risk and things like that. So a lot of people are looking for that. But the SBA's programs typically are for the folks that are not bank qualified, that may need help with the loan guarantee, working capital, purchasing large equipment or real estate, you know, things like that. So the again, the Small Business Administration is there to help not only with technical assistance through our partners, but also with financial support. We don't do direct loans, we do more working with local banks and have a security program.
[00:03:55] Speaker C: This week on the Hometown Journal, we are highlighting small businesses and the work of the Small Business Administration.
Our guest is SBA Mid Atlantic Region Administrator Jim Spencer. We'll hear more from him in our next segment. To find out more about the services the SBA offers, visit sba.gov we'll be back with more in a minute.
[00:04:16] Speaker A: Looking for that sweet album art for some of your favorite songs? Want to know what music played recently or wanting to support the journey and help us share the hope of Christ? Maybe you just want to take the journey with you wherever you go. There's a simple way to do all of that and more. Download the MyJourney FM app today, wherever you get your apps. Now back to more of the Journey, Hometown Journal, Mark Edwards back with you.
[00:04:38] Speaker C: As we continue to highlight small businesses and the work of the Small Business Administration. Our guest is Jim Spencer, the Mid Atlantic Regional Administrator for the sba. While we're recording this, Jim is actually traveling to West Virginia for some Small Business Week functions, so we appreciate him making some time in his schedule to talk with us. Jim, Right before the break, we were discussing some of the initial steps to consider before starting a Small business, once the business is up and running, what is the really crucial timeframe for the owner to determine if their business will hopefully be successful?
[00:05:13] Speaker B: It's a very good question because there is a high failure rate in the first three to five years of a startup business. And in my previous job I was working in Bluefield, West Virginia over the Economic Development Authority. And one of the things that we did is we tried to be like the training wheels for the bicycle. We tried to support those businesses in a crucial area through training offerings, things like that. And we would have programs based off the needs of business. For example, making sure that your credit score is where it needs to be and also that they have financial tools in place, human resources. You know, small businesses today, they have to be a jack of all trades. You know, have to be everything from the janitor to the production to payroll and HR and things like that. So there's a lot of times businesses need resources and just knowing who they can reach out to. The SCORE chapter is one that SBA supports and they are retired executives, so you can have access to information from them for people that have done that before. And I think that's crucial. And networking, you can't never underestimate the power of networking events that can be hosted where businesses can get together and talk about best practices and things like that.
[00:06:23] Speaker C: What's the status of small businesses today in our country overall? How are they doing?
[00:06:28] Speaker B: I think they're doing pretty well, to be honest. Now I'm just looking at from the region that I'm in, not the full United States, but especially in. I've worked in my career in Virginia, Southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia, now in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and D.C. but there's challenges, there's no doubt about that. But I think that the businesses, the ones that came through Covid, are strong, learn from some of those things. There's still challenges they're going to face, but if nothing else, I think we built a network of resources to where people are understanding that they can reach out, that the SBA is there for them and other programs like that.
[00:07:08] Speaker C: Do you think the entrepreneurial spirit, is it alive and doing well in our country?
[00:07:13] Speaker B: I want to say yes, and I'll tell you why.
One of the programs we did when I was in Bluefield is we had a youth entrepreneurship program on Small Business Saturday.
So and it was a pop up retail. So kids that are 18 and under that had a little bit of business opportunity were making things. And I'm talking about quality products. I'm not talking about just, you know, hand sketch on a piece of paper. I'm talking about things that the public would buy and we had pop up retail for them. We coached them, we tried to help them. The parents were supportive and they've done that. I think we need to do a better job in K12 education for teaching entrepreneurship. I think that is a huge opportunity for young folks and encourage a lot of our younger people to look at that as a career pathway. The best way to learn to be a restaurant owner is to have worked in a restaurant. So sometimes it may be that you work in whatever field could be engineering, you know, science field, whatever it is. And then a few years later, after you've learned the skills that you need to successfully operate your business, then try the entrepreneurial path.
[00:08:13] Speaker C: Well, again, we want to thank our guest on the Hometown Journal, Jim Spencer, Mid Atlantic Region Administrator for the Small Business Administration. If you have questions about the process of starting a small business, visit their website. That's sba.sba.gov and there you can find out more information about the services they offer. Also, be sure and check your community small business training organizations as well. I'm Mark Edwards. Thank you for joining us for the Hometown Journal.
[00:08:41] Speaker A: You've been listening to the Journey Hometown Journal. If you're a part of an organization or know of one in the communities we serve and would like to be considered as a guest, please make your
[email protected] email officeyjourneyfm.com or call 800-424-9594. The Hometown Journal is a presentation of the Journey.
