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COLLABORATIVE GROUP AIMS TO BRING SMALL BIZ TO PB

By Ezra Mann/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Sunday, September 21, 2008 12:00 AM CDT

A community is only as strong as those that who a part of it and thrives when businesses can gain a foothold and remain as a force within.

The Pine Bluff Entrepreneurship Collaborative, which was founded in 2006 with 47 members representing the private, public and non-profit sectors, strives to spur economic development, especially through small businesses, according to a statement by the organization.

Since the organization started, five main needs were identified and as a result assistance groups were formed including a Mapping Resources Task Force, Promoting Resources Task Force, Health Insurance Task Force and the Creative Financing Taskforce.

“This is a group that really wants to get out there and help,” said Tomekia Moore, chair of the promotions task force for the collaborative, which began at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Business Support Incubator.

“We want to see Pine Bluff grow and do our part in that.”

Some of the successes include the Pine Bluff Entrepreneurship Investment Initiative, which helps small businesses fill the gaps in-between with personal investment loans, unsecured loans and traditional loans, which can be utilized for a defined purpose agreed upon with the collaborative board of directors, added Moore.

To qualify for a loan, a company must be a current business, have business as well as feasibility plans, make a presentation to the investment initiative, agree to ongoing technical assistance, agree to investor participation and attend a training session at one of the technical assitance sites including Southern Good Faith Fund.

“It is important to note that we are not a club and are always open to the public,” said Ines Polonius, executive director of alt.Consulting and a member of the collaborative. “We’re a group of volunteers and we are open to people joining us from the community, even though our focus is on small business.”

Another success story is Rags to Stitches, which opened with the assistance of the collaborative when owner Judith Watson decided to open a fabric store shortly after the longtime Hancock Fabrics store closed in Pine Bluff, added Moore. Rags opened in late 2007 and has participated in the requirements for a business that is assisted by the collaborative.

“The exciting thing is we are getting calls from outside the state with small businesses looking to come here with all the buzz,” said Polonius. “The investment initiative will allow us to use state tax credits to earn more money for future investments.”

Polonius also noted that when the city put together an application for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission they included the initiative and it raised $25,000, which was part of a larger grant for the city and has created assistance with funding methods overall. PBEII also has the ability to receive state income tax credits due to being certified by ADEC that can be sold to a corporation which can be used to start the process all over again because of economic development.

“We’re getting 6-10 referrals on a regular basis and people are reaching out for help when they might have not done so before,” added Polonius.

“It’s exciting that the large groups of folks are meeting, it’s exciting to be a part of it and it’s the community we are investing in with all volunteer work.”

On Oct. 14, Tom Dalton, director of Innovate Arkansas, will be the guest speaker starting at 8 a.m. Dalton will be considering a partnership with the collaborative and discussing what can be done to spur technological development through the small business community as well as ways to bring related jobs to Jefferson County. The meeting will be held at the UAPB Business Support Incubator, 615 S. Main St.

Details: contact Deborah Slayton at 348-5406.

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