By: Ernest Gurulé
It’s a reality that most people don’t think about when they think about jobs and who creates them. But the fact is, it is not big business nor government that create the majority of the nation’s jobs. That title belongs to our friends, neighbors, even relatives. They’re the job creators. In fact, it is they- –America’s men and women—who are responsible for the creation of nearly one out of every two jobs in the country. And every year, says the Small Business Administration, these are the people who will open more than 600,000 new businesses.
“We help them start, grow and expand,” said Frances Padilla, Colorado District Director of the Small Business Administration. SBA also helps them recover if they’ve been hit by a natural disaster. SBA also does not charge for its help.
Every day countless people have an idea about a surefire business that will set the world on fire. But they have no clue on the best first step toward making it a reality. That’s where the SBA comes in, said the New Mexico native. Padilla was raised in both Santa Fe and Las Cruces, New Mexico.
The federal agency Padilla heads serves as an entry point for turning an idea into a reality. It has experts, she said, who can help put heft and substance to a business idea. SBA has people who can provide direction, answer both the easy and hard questions. It is an A-Z operation. It can even direct a person to the point of making ‘the big ask.’ “If you’re ready for a loan, we can prepare you,” said Padilla.
The SBA, she said, is in business for one purpose; to help a client succeed. From the time a person makes the first call to this federal agency, to climbing the stairs to their dream. They can discuss everything from locations to loans. “We can meet you there.” Just about any question an aspiring or even established business person has, the SBA has someone with the expertise to answer their questions. The agency also has staff consultants who can provide advice and direction in languages other than English.
The federal agency has been in existence since 1953, said Padilla. “I think we’ve learned lessons about the evolution of small business, how they deliver and what they need in return.” She synthesizes SBA’s unique skill in helping budding entrepreneurs as with the alliterative ‘three C’s,’ Capital, Counselling and Contracting. Whether the job is to open a ‘Mom and Pop,’ business or ‘go global,’ Padilla said, “we can help them prepare.”
While most new businesses will open in population centers, SBA sets no restrictions on whom it will help or where their new business shingle will hang. “We get calls across the board,” she said. The agency has fifteen locations across Colorado ready to answer any questions on opening a new business or expanding an existing one. It can also connect with a potential new business owner via Zoom, a method that was perfected during the pandemic.
SBA has had a hand in the start-ups of thousands of Colorado businesses. But one, Maria Empanada, a restaurant that specializes in the Argentinian-style empanada, holds a special place in Padilla’s memory.
The owner/entrepreneur, Lorena Cantarovici, arrived in the U.S. with $300 and a dream. She began making empanadas—a baked or fried pastry filled with meat or fruit—for catered events. A person at one event liked them so much, they made an order for ten dozen. A short while later, Cantarovici, said Padilla, connected with SBA in Denver and things took off. Using the advice from SBA—everything from creating a business plan to lining up financing—the dream became reality. Today, Maria Empanada has restaurants in a number locations across the metro area.
Regrettably, said Padilla, not every idea that a person takes to SBA will have the same results as Cantarovici’s. But everyone who comes to SBA, she said, will get the same time and attention. “Each one of my staff is assigned to work in a different area,” Padilla said. When a person is ready and their plan is ready to present, SBA can connect them with any number of lenders or help them get into federal programs. “There are so many interactions,” Padilla said. “The beauty is that no one walks alone.”
Over the course of her nearly decade in Denver’s SBA operation, Padilla said a number of businesses have been named small business of the year, including Cantarovici’s.
While the honor is a jewel in the crown for the entrepreneur, it’s also a point of pride for Padilla. “I get satisfaction out of somebody who has an amazing idea but just doesn’t know where to start.” Not everyone with time and perseverance will succeed, she said. But no one who succeeds, succeeds without that pair.
SBA works with a number of agencies in taking an idea to reality. A new SBA program, Community Navigators, born in the pandemic, “was designed to reduce barriers that underrepresented and underserved entrepreneurs often face in accessing programs the need to recover, grow or start their business,” she said. Its $100 million budget was part of the American Rescue Plan. Community Navigators, Padilla said, “will work with hundreds of local community groups to improve access to SBA and government resources.” Entrepreneurs wanting to discuss their ideas can visit Oweesta Corportion in Longmont, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Denver or Southern Colorado Economic Development District in Pueblo.
Community Navigators is only one of the programs SBA inspired by the pandemic. “The other is Community Advantage,” she said. It’s a loan program making it easier created “to meet the credit, management and technical assistance needs of small businesses in underserved markets.” It is designed to “increase access to credit for small businesses in underserved areas, expand points of access to the SBA loan program.” Through it, the SBA also provides expertise in certain management and technical assistance to small businesses as well as helping manage portfolio risk.
Padilla says job satisfaction for her comes not just in meeting people with a dream but also being invited to attend the grand opening of their business. “It’s so satisfying.”
