West Virginia Small Business Development Center Story Archives

W.Va. Small Business Leader Touts CARES Act Funded Programs, Asks For Continued State Aid

Speaking to the legislative Joint Commission on Economic Development, Steve Johnson, director of West Virginia’s Small Business Development Center spoke of the success of three CARES Act funded programs that may end if the state doesn’t step in.

CARES Act funding will soon end for three programs helping West Virginia’s small businesses.

Speaking to the legislative Joint Commision on Economic Development, Steve Johnson, director of West Virginia’s Small Business Development Center spoke of the success of three CARES Act funded programs that may end if the state doesn’t step in.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (2020) provided fast and direct economic assistance for American workers, families, small businesses, and industries. Funding from the act ends in September.

First, Johnson said hiring 15 subject matter experts like CPAs, attorneys and tech innovators has led to 67 rolling projects helping create and sustain small businesses. Johnson said this is helping West Virginia gain traction in the growing cybersecurity field. The experts are also helping with succession planning, since many family owned businesses are aging out in the state.

“It’s been a huge help to the businesses,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately I’ve got to start narrowing down and get them done because I’ve got to have all the money spent by September 30.”

Second, Johnson spoke of a research and development program that has developed federal and state matching funds and is keeping bright young minds in-state.

“It’s definitely an incentive for people from WVU and Marshall to do the research and stay here when they’re spinning out companies,” Johnson said. “We want to become more technology savvy and more technology friendly in this state. They’re just going across the border because there’s more money to get for free.”

Third, a first time endeavor for the SBDC is the West Virginia Business Link, a one stop resource shop connecting 130 public and private resource partners to the state’s 113,000 small businesses.

“If you’re out there in a small business world trying to figure out where you can get help, either to start or to grow, or whatever it may be, it’s a daunting task,” Johnson said.

At the end of his presentation, Johnson asked that the legislature consider continued funding for these programs.

“There’s no denying small businesses are a huge part of what we do in West Virginia and our economy,” Johnson said. “This can really be a linchpin for stability and diversity in the economy in West Virginia.”

Additional Federal Funding Will Soon Be Available To W.Va. Small Businesses

The Appalachian Regional Commission is awarding $6 million to several programs across West Virginia. This money is meant to help support small businesses that were impacted by COVID-19.

According to the SBA, more than 113,000 businesses in West Virginia are considered small businesses — almost 99 percent of businesses within the state.

In June, Gov. Jim Justice asked the ARC to fund six organizations which that provide loans and technical assistance to small businesses.

This ARC package includes:

$1,500,000 – Natural Capital Investment Fund
$1,500,000 – Wyoming County Economic Development Authority
$750,000 – New River Gorge Regional Development Authority
$750,000 – Woodlands Community Lenders
$500,000 – Center for Rural Health Development
$1,000,000 – Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Planning and Development Council

This funding will be made available to small businesses for things like technical assistance — and will enable equipment purchases and upgrades for entrepreneurs and small businesses. The funding can go toward expenses beyond what’s covered by the Paycheck Protection Program, or other funding assistance programs through the Small Business Administration. Small business owners who want to learn more about how to apply should contact one of the six organizations, said Debra Martin, director of the West Virginia Small Business Development Center, a division of the state Development Office.
Additional funding assistance to small businesses will also be available, Justice said in a virtual press conference on Friday. Justice said the state plans to begin accepting applications soon from small businesses that need funding. Up to $150 million is coming to the state from the federal CARES Act which was passed by Congress in March. According to Justice, any small business in the state with up to 35 employees will be eligible to apply.

Future of Small Business to Be Further Discussed in 2015 Legislative Session

Owning a business is a dream many people have, but it’s not always easy to start it up and keep it going. Delegates met last week to discuss the future of small businesses in the state.

In the House Small Business Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Committee meeting, legislators met to learn what the state is doing to help small, budding businesses succeed in West Virginia.

A presentation was given by Kristina Oliver, the State Director for the West Virginia Small Business Development Center, and she discussed the biggest focus of the SBDC right now; Business Coaches.

“Our coaches help companies implement successful business practices and strategies,” Oliver said, “The SBDC program does not give grants, loans, or free money. The business coach walks the journey with the business as a trusted advisor to help that business discover what it needs to do to become successful.”

Oliver says small business is big business in West Virginia. She thinks small businesses are the wealth creators of the state, but to succeed they need a business coach to help them get there. Oliver says the role of a business coach is to help the budding business avoid bad decisions, mitigate risks, and strategically make decisions for success.

She also explained four key skills a business coach would help bring to the table:

Leadership Skills
Business Expertise
Management Processes Skills
Project Management

Oliver says since she took the role of state director five years ago, the SBDC has helped nearly 4800 clients, 400 new businesses get started and about half of those businesses are still in business today. She says that clients of the SBDC have access to over 72 million dollars in capitol access if they are approved.
But Delegate Tim Miley was concerned about some small businesses not knowing about the services offered.

Oliver responded saying what they really need is more people to help expand.

“I’m out now, you know marketing and letting people know about the services at the SBDC,” Oliver said, “We’re in a better position now to actually assist.”

Oliver hopes by the end of 2015, the SBDC will have 25 business coaches stationed across the state to help guide even more small businesses on the path to success.

At the end of the meeting, Chairwoman, Delegate Carol Miller was inspired to push the committee forward with a mission statement.

“We’ve all heard the stories of people aren’t helping us along with business, and I talked about maybe in our committee we could do a mission statement or a resolution that would strongly urge the cities, the counties, and the state to all get on the same page and work using our technology that is available, be it a portal or whatever, so I think we’ll work toward having some type of resolution come out of this Small Business, Economic Development, Entrepreneurship Committee, that we are strongly pushing towards making our state business friendly,” said Miller.