Special Delivery: Help for Small Businesses

Having the right equipment, personnel or amount of capital at the right time is often what separates success from failure for small businesses.

In the special session on jobs this fall, state lawmakers approved a $180 million funding package to quickly deliver the resources Connecticut small businesses need to survive.

Now, the Department of Economic and Community Development is on a “Reinventing Connecticut” tour across the state, taking information and applications for this package.

VIDEO: ‘A Really Good Sign’ — Small Businesses React to DECD Tour

Packed into the special session’s jobs bill were several new or improved state programs designed to get badly needed capital into the hands of small businesses for new equipment, expansion of operations and facilities, the training of existing employees, and hiring of new workers.

Most, but not all, of the programs apply to businesses with up to 50 employees or manufacturers with up to 100 employees. Each story in this edition describes the programs, their purposes and eligibility.

But small business owners can get firsthand, face-to-face help with each of the programs just by attending one of the DECD events and speaking with agency experts on hand.

Reinventing Connecticut will require these kinds of smart, quick and targeted actions to help employers gain the resources they need to succeed. But it will also take long-term, fundamental work to change Connecticut’s business climate–such as reducing the high costs of doing business here, cutting job-stalling red tape and producing new generations of skilled workers.

These new programs are good first steps to reinventing Connecticut. CBIA now encourages lawmakers to keep up the commitment.