May 29, 2008--Starting or Expanding
a Small Business in Oswego County?
By L. Michael Treadwell, CEcD, Executive Director, Operation
Oswego County
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
Dr. Allison Duggan’s general surgery practice and Bosco and
Geers Food Market in Oswego, D&D Logging and Lumber in Palermo,
Oley’s East in Scriba and River House Restaurant in Pulaski.
County of Oswego Industrial
Development Agency (IDA): The public benefit corporation
administers several revolving loan fund 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 Kodiak,
LLC and Tavern on the Lock in Fulton and Riccelli Enterprises in
Volney.
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/trainingnetworking.htm.
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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