York County officials brainstorm small business solutions

11/21/2011

York County, South Carolina, councilman Curwood Chappell recently discussed ideas for improving small business lending in the county during last week's State of the County breakfast, the Herald reports.

While Chappell was a proponent of providing incentives to small businesses to promote relocating to York, there currently isn't a "one-stop place" for owners to get help.

A group of economic developers and area representatives will interview several local companies to determine what's helping and what's not. They also mulled over the idea of forming a local chapter of the Service Corp of Retired Executives (SCORE), filled with members who have "been there, done that," and know about the difficulties and challenges small business owners are facing.

Frank Knapp, president and CEO of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, added that the county needs to create access to microloans between the $8,000 and $10,000 range, as that's the amount of funding many smaller companies start out with.

The Washington Business Journal reports the Small Business Administration recently pushed to enact microloan reforms that would simplify the process for both borrowers and lenders. The SBA's program has awarded around 12,500 loans worth more than $112 million since its inception in 1992.