Chair Forry Hosts Small Business Resource Forum, Launches New ...

This has been a milestone week for the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Business, as Co-Chairs Representative Linda Dorcena Forry and Senator DiDomenico launched several new initiatives to spread awareness of the issues important to the small businesses community in Massachusetts as well as the best resources available to assist them.

On Monday, April 2nd, the Joint Committee launched the first official Facebook page created by a Committee of the Massachusetts State Legislature. This page, which can be found at www.facebook.com/cdsb.ma, will be used to share information on resources, relay top news stories and connect with the small business community across the state. Along with the new Faceook page, the Committee has instituted a new Online Small Business Contact Form (http://www.facebook.com/CDSB.MA#!/CDSB.MA/app_200103733347528). The form can be found on the committee?s Facebook page and is intended to provide small businesses with easy access to share their concerns and ask questions of the Joint Committee.

On Wednesday, April 4th (today), the Joint Committee hosted a Small Business Resource Forum for legislators and staff designed to inform them of critical resources available to assist their small business constituents with everything from raising capital to designing a business plan. They were joined by Mr. Andre Porter, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Office of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Mr. Robert Nelson, State Director of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) office in Massachusetts and Ms. Lynn Bromley, the New England Regional Advocate for the U.S. Small Business Administration?s Office of Advocacy. Mr. Porter spoke about the diverse array of state-based resources available to small businesses throughout the Commonwealth, while Mr. Nelson and Ms. Bromley discussed the work of the SBA, which has made more than 785 loans worth $173 million to small businesses in the state during fiscal year 2012, the fourth highest loan approval rate in the country. In addition, the Chairs discussed key accomplishments of the legislature on behalf of the small business community over the past several years as well as important bills to watch this legislative session. For more information, contact John High at john.high@mahouse.gov or Huong Phan Huong.Phan@mahouse.gov.

Finally, this week, the Joint Committee sent out the initial invitations to the first ever coordinated celebration of National Small Business Week (May 21-26, 2012) hosted by the Joint Committee. Co-Chairs Forry and DiDomenico will be asking their colleagues to join them in a statewide ?Shop Small Business Monday? to kickoff the festivities on May 21st. Several additional events, including a resource fair and the continuation of the Committee?s Statewide Small Business Listening Tour with a visit to UMASS Boston?s Venture Development Center, will be held throughout the week. For more information, visit Rep. Forry?s page on Small Business Week 2012 at http://lindadorcenaforry.org/national-small-business-week-2012 or www.facebook.com/cdsb.ma to stay up to date on additional events as they are added to the calendar through the Committee?s Facebook page.

?Small businesses are the backbone of our economy in Massachusetts. That is why it is a standing priority of our legislature to do all that we can to understand and address the most pressing challenges faced by the small business community as well as inform them of the many, tremendous resources already available to assist them here in our Commonwealth,? said Representative Forry. ?I hope our new online tools and outreach efforts will spark more small business owners to get in touch not only with the Joint Committee, but also their own representatives and senators. It is through input from small business owners that we have been able to pass some helpful legislation and this continued dialogue is going to be critical to continuing the public-private partnerships that help Massachusetts to grow and thrive.?

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