Resources Available for Starting or Expanding Your Small Business

If you’re thinking of starting or expanding your own small business in Oswego County, there are several resources for you to consider as you plan your successful entrepreneurial future.

SBA 504 Loan Program: Operation Oswego County is authorized to finance projects using the Small Business Administration (SBA) 504 loan program which is designed to promote economic development growth and job creation in small businesses. The program can make the overall financing structure for a new business or project more attractive and affordable.

The program offers accessible, fixed-rate, long term financing for land, buildings and equipment. Businesses eligible for SBA 504 loans are independently-owned, for-profit businesses that are ready to expand and create jobs. They must have a net worth less than $6 million. An SBA Certified Development Company (CDC), such as OOC, finances 40 percent of the project with an SBA 504 loan, with a bank lending 50 percent and the small business provides ten percent equity.

Some of the key points to know about the SBA 504 loan program are:

• for every $50,000 of the SBA 504 loan, the project must create at least one new job;
• machinery and equipment financed must have a useful life of at least 10 years;
• for construction of a new building, the small business borrower must plan to occupy at least two-thirds of the space;
• for purchase or remodeling of an existing facility, the small business borrower must plan to occupy at least 51 percent of the space; and
• the minimum size of a SBA 504 loan is $50,000, while the maximum is typically $1.3 million; and
• the interest rate is fixed for the entire 10 or 20 year term of the loan.

In the past year, the SBA 504 program through OOC helped finance businesses throughout Oswego County including Caughdenoy Creek Country Club and Hazen’s Athletic Center in the town of Hastings, Mahalaxmi Motels, LLC (Red Carpet Inn and a Scottish Inn and Suites) in Pulaski, The Reservoir Inn and Reservoir Gas & Mart in the town of Redfield, Checkered House Corners Inc. in the town of Williamstown and Checkpoint Enterprises, LLC in the town of Constantia.

County of Oswego Industrial Development Agency (IDA): The public benefit corporation administers several revolving loan fund (RLF) programs that can be used to provide gap financing for small businesses. The program can be used to finance real estate, machining and equipment, construction and other eligible soft costs. Loan terms vary with the use of funds and interest rates are typically prime minus two percent. Businesses that have recently benefited from the IDA loan program include Great Lakes Veneer in Oswego, Fitness Whenever in the town of Schroppel, The Laser Center of Pulaski, New York Bold in the town of Volney, EVM, Inc. in the town of Scriba and Lower Falls Development in Fulton.

Small Business Development Center (SBDC): Located at SUNY Oswego’s Rich Hall, the SBDC provides a wide range of management and technical assistance such as business plan development, exploring funding options, business expansion, marketing and training, workshops and seminars.

OOC works cooperatively with the SBDC and the cities of Oswego and Fulton to provide a Micro-Enterprise Training Program which is designed to guide the entrepreneur through all aspects of starting and running a small business. Step-by-step classroom instruction is presented by area business professionals on topics including business planning and financing, accounting and tax issues, marketing and business insurance. Graduates of the program are eligible to apply for a Micro-Enterprise loan to expand or start their business in Oswego County. For a current schedule of classes, visit www.oswegocounty.org/micro.html.

Business Incubators: OOC manages two incubator buildings with affordable rental space for non-retail industrial and service businesses. The Start-up Facility (SUF) in the Oswego County Industrial Park in Phoenix, and the Oswego County Business Expansion Center (BEC) in Oswego are designed to help businesses achieve significant growth and development during the first few years of business with the intention of eventually moving out of the building and into private commercial space. The SUF consists of 1,500 square feet of office space, 8,500 square feet of manufacturing space and three receiving docks. The BEC has about 10,000 square feet of office space, 9,000 square feet of factory space and one receiving dock.

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