Office Of The Governor | A Message From Darin Early

by: Darin Early, President, RI Commerce Corporation

Rhode Island Provides the Fuel to Launch Small Businesses to Success

Launching a new business can be a bumpy process. There is a lot of turbulence along the way that can send even the strongest ideas astray. Startups and aspiring small business owners often find themselves with little support to take their business plan off the page and into reality. We’re doing something about that in Rhode Island.

We’ve introduced several new programs to attract and retain businesses: The Qualified Jobs Incentive credit boosts employment across the state, Rebuild Rhode Island creates new development in our cities and communities, and the Wavemaker Fellowship supports our young professionals by helping pay their student loans. All of these are having an impact on Rhode Island’s bottom line. But most recently, we added another key instrument to our business development toolbox with aim to assist small businesses.

In collaboration with Governor Raimondo, the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation introduced the Small Business Assistance Program in November, a measure that will help smaller companies accelerate their growth and find lasting success in the state and beyond.

We take particular pride in bringing this offering forward because it is the small business that forms the foundation that Rhode Island’s growing economy stands upon. There is an organic link between our efforts and the small business owner. We are, after all, the smallest state in the nation—we understand feeling like the underdog, and we also know how to stand out from the pack, making size irrelevant and letting our ideas and ambition speak for themselves.

Starting a small business and nurturing it to success is no small feat, but we want the task to be easier for Rhode Islanders and we’re here to help.

If having the “big idea” for a new business venture or a vision on how a business can grow is the launching pad, then capital is the fuel that will propel those ambitions further. But, that’s often where the ideas can come to a screeching halt. The facts aren’t on your side—according to the Small Business Association, one half of small businesses don’t survive past the first five years. This makes lending organizations all the more hesitant to loan funds to small business owners. That’s where we come in.

With the Small Business Assistance Program, we are making it our mission to create a strong financial environment that fuels small businesses and propels them to a sustainable future.

This program was designed specifically to connect businesses that may have trouble finding credit with reliable and reputable lending organizations that are making loans available and providing businesses with greater access to capital—the fuel for your engine. These lending partners stretch across the region and will play a key role in making Rhode Island a refuge for up-and-coming businesses, helping them to start up and grow across the state, and ultimately providing hundreds, if not thousands, of job opportunities to Rhode Islanders. Regardless of the industry, the demographic or where in the state businesses want to set up shop, we and our partners have the tools that will help guide businesses forward.

We know starting or growing a business can be a turbulent process. But thanks to the Small Business Assistance Program and the other incentives we’ve put into place, Rhode Island businesses of any size can launch to new heights.

 

Darin Early is president of the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation

 

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Avatar About the Author: The Rhode Island Small Business Journal is a printed monthly magazine and an online resource for the aspiring and start-up entrepreneur and small business owner.

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