St. Louis County announces millions in small business funding
West News Magazine
February 10, 2012
The St. Louis County Economic Council on Feb. 9 announced millions in funding to sustain and grow small business and create jobs.
Officials said the council has re-launched a series of area business assistance funding programs, including loans, bonds and private equity opportunities ranging from $200,000 to $10 million. Depending on the type of program, the funding may be used to hire more employees, invest in new technology, upgrade a facility and provide working capital for certain types of companies.
"Small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of the St. Louis community," St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley said in a press release. "We must provide them with the tools and the funding necessary to expand and create jobs to spur our economic recovery."
Funding options include SBA 504 loans, for which the company puts up 10 percent, the Economic Council provides 40 percent and a traditional bank lends the remaining 50 percent, with the current 20-year fixed rate at 5.3 percent. An alternative to SBA 504 is the BOOST loan, introduced by the council last year, which offers fewer restrictive options, lower costs and less red tape for St. Louis area companies. Both programs offer a fixed rate, allowing businesses to control costs.
"We keep hearing how banks are still tightfisted in their lending, which is slowing the economic recovery of this area," said Rick Palank, senior vice president for the business finance division at the economic council. "It is hard for smaller companies to find loans, much less loans with fixed rates. That's why we are putting the word out about the loans, bonds and private equity opportunities offered by St. Louis County Economic Council."
Response to the funding programs has been encouraging, officials said.
Several St. Louis companies and organizations, including Davidson Surface Air, Schlafly Bottleworks, the Ronald McDonald House and E-Sponder, have taken advantage of the loan programs to grow their St. Louis footprint.
"We were able to obtain an interest rate that was two percent less than what we would have paid for a traditional bank loan, allowing us to save money and time," Tom Schlafly, CEO of Schlafly Bottleworks, said.
Considerable funding is still available for local businesses, officials said.
"We want to make sure every St. Louis business has an opportunity to prosper, hire and expand as we strive to grow our economy," St. Louis County Economic Council President & CEO Denny Coleman said. "We know that some businesses have had difficulty securing financing and that's why our programs are available."
Palank agreed.
"This is such a great asset to St. Louis area businesses because many smaller companies are unable to secure traditional bank loans at the moment," Palank said. "That, of course, impedes growth and economic recovery. The Funding Your Future program is available for all kinds of companies, not just long-established ones."
Additional information on the loan programs is available at slcecfundingyourfuture.com.
Founded in 1984, St. Louis County Economic Council provides services through six divisions: business development, business finance, economic development collaborative, real estate and community development, St. Louis Enterprise Centers and World Trade Center Saint Louis.
