July 31, 2007
ICE cools entrepreneurs' funding fears
By Matthew L. Brown
Grants, loans, financing, lines of credit and where to find and receive any of them can be difficult for small businesses, but the folks at ICE, Inner City Entrepreneurs, say it can help.
ICE held a seminar this morning with representatives of those funding sources, particularly public funding sources. The city of Worcester's office of economic development, the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency and the Commonwealth Corp.'s economic stabilization trust all offer different types of funding for small business, and detailed how to go about getting that funding for the approximately 30 business owners in attendance.
According to Andrew Goldberg, ICE's national program director, small business owners too often approach agencies like the city or Mass Development unprepared. The result is discouragement.
But for the prepared business, agencies like Mass Development and Commonwealth Corp. bend over backward. Through ICE's programs, Optim Inc., a Sturbridge-based manufacturer of fiber optic and endoscopic equipment for medical and industrial uses, has turned itself around from a company that was just breaking even fewer than 10 years ago.
According to Robert Griffin, the company's CFO, understanding and being prepared for the documentation requirements, business plan requirements and financial requirements not only helps businesses get funding from public agencies, but helps business owners better understand their own business.
ICE held a seminar this morning with representatives of those funding sources, particularly public funding sources. The city of Worcester's office of economic development, the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency and the Commonwealth Corp.'s economic stabilization trust all offer different types of funding for small business, and detailed how to go about getting that funding for the approximately 30 business owners in attendance.
According to Andrew Goldberg, ICE's national program director, small business owners too often approach agencies like the city or Mass Development unprepared. The result is discouragement.
But for the prepared business, agencies like Mass Development and Commonwealth Corp. bend over backward. Through ICE's programs, Optim Inc., a Sturbridge-based manufacturer of fiber optic and endoscopic equipment for medical and industrial uses, has turned itself around from a company that was just breaking even fewer than 10 years ago.
According to Robert Griffin, the company's CFO, understanding and being prepared for the documentation requirements, business plan requirements and financial requirements not only helps businesses get funding from public agencies, but helps business owners better understand their own business.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments