Thank you to everyone who came to Hanson Bridgett this morning for Access to Capital: Government Resources & Policy implications. We had a great turnout, awesome panelists and catered breakfast to boot! Just in case you missed it, let us recap the event. We were joined by Mark Quinn of the SBA, Barbara Kasoff of Women Impacting Public Policy and Martha Yanez from the SF Office of Small Business. Our panelists spoke about the services that each of their organizations offer, including loans, counseling and permitting. Below are some highlights from each panelist.
Mark Quinn, Small Business Administration – www.sba.gov
Two main types of SBA Loans:
- 504 Program – High leverage real estate loans. Good for entrepreneurs who want to purchase the building in which they operate their business.
- 7A Program – Loan guarantee program in which the SBA guarantees 75% to 85% of the loan.
Interesting Fact: The loan default rate in San Francisco is lower than any other city in the United States!
Martha Yanez, Office of Small Business – www.sfgsa.org
The Office of Small Business in SF City Hall was set up to foster, promote and retain small businesses in San Francisco. The offices are open Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm – make it your first stop if you’re thinking of starting a business! For existing businesses, do you know about the tax credits and hiring incentive programs that the SF Office of Small Business offers?
- Payroll Tax Credit: If your small business has annual revenues of under $250,000, you are exempt from the City of San Francisco’s 1.5% payroll tax.
- Jobs Now Hiring Program: If you are a small business owner looking to hire an employee, you are able to get a $1,000 tax credit per month for up to 5 months by working with the Office of Small Business. They will screen candidates for you and if you choose to hire from their pool, your business will receive the credit with no obligation to keep the employee on past the 5 month period.
Interesting fact: 99% of San Francisco businesses employ less than 100 people!
Barbara Kasoff, Women Impacting Public Policy – www.wipp.org
Women Impacting Public Policy is a nonpartisan public policy organization that advocates for an on behalf of women and minorities in small business. Barbara shared her thoughts on the future of small business regarding the election in November. She urged participants to stay informed and active because the decisions being made in Washington affect us here in San Francisco and all over the country.
Interesting Fact: Women are the fastest growing demographic in law schools, medical school and business schools, yet 42% of hearings on Capitol Hill this year had no female testifying on the issue being discussed.
As questions were being answered and panelists were asked to give their final thoughts, all three agreed that San Francisco is unique in the way that it supports local small businesses. In addition to government programs, there are so many non-profit resources out there, including organizations like PCV and Working Solutions, which make it their goal to support small business. If you’re not using all of the resources in your community, start TODAY!
A great website to check out to discover even more local resources is www.sfeda.org, of which PCV is a part. Reach out to Amelia or Kendra if you’re a small business owner than has questions about any of these community programs and services!