Baird workshop promotes aid for small businesses

Small businesses in Clark County got a strong message Friday from experts in navigating federal contracting rules and loan programs: Money and help are available to launch a business or to move one forward, despite what you might read, hear or think about the current economic recession.

Need help with figuring out whether your particular dream of starting a business will fly? Call SCORE Chapter #566 Vancouver, a chapter of the nonprofit SCORE Association that provides free business mentoring services to entrepreneurs in the U.S. Mike Bacon, a retired business executive who volunteers for the local chapter of SCORE, told workshop attendees that he teaches would-be small-business owners “how to play the game,” including asking hard questions such as whether your idea will really work or whether you’re really ready to mortgage your home to launch your dream.

Ike Anunciado, clinical director and owner of Vancouver-based 360 Physical Therapy, attended Friday’s workshop to learn more about how to make his business more successful. Anunciado said the federal programs work and the experts who offer their help know their stuff. Using the services of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Anunciado said, he was able to write a solid business plan and let the numbers show him whether he had a good business idea or not. He also got help from Vancouver-based Pacific Continental Bank in consolidating the capital he used to launch his business in 2006.

Anunciado said his business is profitable. Smiling, he added, “I’ve hired my fifth therapist.”

“Money is flowing,” said Robert DuCote, deputy district director for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Portland office. DuCote was among several experts who gave presentations as part of the small-business workshop held by U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Vancouver. The workshop, attended by more than 50 businesspeople, aimed to help both small-business owners and would-be entrepreneurs by demystifying the federal contracting process, introducing local go-to people for help with writing business plans, and by highlighting the money and help that are available.

Friday’s local workshop occurred as the fate of small businesses increasingly draws attention nationally. President Barack Obama, for example, has asked Congress to swiftly adopt his proposal to create a $30 billion program to unfreeze credit for small businesses.

Adam Hudson, communications director for Baird, who voted for Obama’s $787 million stimulus bill, said the congressman held the workshop in hopes of giving area small-business owners tools to succeed during a rough period. “The unemployment rate in Clark County is high,” Hudson said, “and we know it’s tough going.”

As the workshop demonstrated, the tools for small-business owners are myriad. But the numbers show that not enough Clark County small businesses are using them, according to DuCote. He said that of the 37,700 companies registered to do business in Clark County, only 491 are registered in the Central Contractor Registration, a database for federal contracts.

Nevertheless, the money is there, DuCote said: Since Oct. 1, 2009, there have been 1,091 contract actions in Baird’s congressional district representing more than $42.9 million. In Clark County alone, DuCote said, there were 540 contract actions for more than $21.7 million in the same period.