Program includes SBDC at OCC providing technical support to loan recipientsSYRACUSE — A federal grant will help support a new revolving loan fund for small businesses in rural parts of the greater Syracuse area. The Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board applied for $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund the program. […]
Program includes SBDC at OCC providing technical support to loan recipients
SYRACUSE — A federal grant will help support a new revolving loan fund for small businesses in rural parts of the greater Syracuse area.
The Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board applied for $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund the program. The loan fund will get $400,000, with the rest of the money going toward technical support for loan recipients from the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Onondaga Community College (OCC).
Applicants must come from rural areas in Onondaga, Oswego, Cayuga, Cortland, or Madison counties. The program is specifically targeted at very small firms with fewer than 10 employees, says Michael Rosanio, regional loan manager for the planning and development board.
The maximum loan amount is $50,000, which can cover up to 75 percent of a project’s cost.
“There’s generally kind of a lack of money for small rural businesses all in all,” Rosanio says.
The loans will go toward actions like equipment purchases or they’ll help provide working capital, he adds. Loan terms will generally be limited to seven years or less so major construction projects or real-estate transactions aren’t in the cards.
The goal, Rosanio adds, is to focus on companies that are key pieces of their local communities.
The region’s small villages are important economic assets, he notes. But most of the area’s economic-development efforts focus on Syracuse as the region’s urban core.
The loan fund is a way to help tap into the potential of small businesses in less-populated areas.
“We believe they’re important economic and cultural and social assets in our region,” Rosanio says. “This sort of program could help get economic activity going in those areas again.”
Banks, Rosanio adds, don’t often provide loans at the amounts this program will support. They’d rather see a business owner tap into home equity or open some other line of credit for smaller projects, he says.
“They don’t do smaller commercial loans,” he says. “A lot of these [small businesses] are pretty tapped out. They’ve already tapped into their home equity and their savings.”
Other loan funds sometimes have strict job-creation requirements that very small firms cannot meet, he adds. Worthwhile projects end up falling through the cracks as a result.
The SBDC will provide one-on-one counseling for recipients of the loans. Recipients will also be required to attend the center’s 20-hour class on business basics.
Counselors could work with the business owners on developing a business plan or marketing strategy, depending on what they need, says Joan Powers, the SBDC’s assistant director and a certified business adviser. The center is also developing a workbook targeted specifically at marketing businesses in rural areas.
The SBDC will be able to provide companies some help with market research as well by providing access to the State University of New York research network, Powers says. The businesses will have access to information on trends and various demographic statistics that could help them refine their strategies.
Counselors will also help business owners work on projections to determine if their companies are financially viable.
Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com