Business

Each week I host a small business networking/mentoring group called Coffee Club. Recently, we welcomed Angela Salva as our guest speaker to share her personal journey about starting her own business with the 100 or so small business owners in attendance.

After graduating from UCF with a master’s degree in computer engineering she worked several years in the modeling and simulation industry. It was here that she saw the foundation being laid for the medical city in Lake Nona and decided that she was going to take the leap, do it her way and become a not-so small business owner.

Today, Angela is the CEO of her own small technology firm that she started from the ground up. When she was speaking to the group, I asked her, “Why here and why right now?” Her answer, point blank, was: “Because it is the right time and Orlando is the right place.”

Throughout the last year, I have met with multiple companies interested in creating real-wage jobs in District 4 – one is a national defense industry simulation company with a current location in Research Park. They have the federal go-ahead to take one of their clean-tech based research projects into commercialization.

That translates into real value positions and opportunities in the next 18 months – starting with 50+ jobs at $75,000+ per year. They want to be in the east/southeast Orange County region. Why? Because of Innovation Way, our proximity to the airport and the Beachline Expressway.

The District 4 region is appealing to dozens of companies just like this one, as long as our next leaders of Orange County are doing what it takes to get them here. The next county commissioner for District 4 needs to be focused on a long-term strategic development plan.

It is critical that we have a clear understanding of the environment that the business community is looking for when considering Central Florida as a potential home. It is also critical that Orange County is ready to retain those businesses looking to expand in our community – like the ones currently growing within the Central Florida Research Park and the surrounding areas.

As Orange County Commissioner, I plan to cultivate the strong business environment that will bring those real-wage jobs to the residents that are here now and those that will be here for future generations.

It is my firm belief that diversifying our economy and investing in jobs is our best bet for improving the housing crisis and creating needed economic stability and growth for the future.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there are an estimated 27.2 million small businesses across the country. Small businesses employ nearly half of our entire workforce, hire 40 percent of American technology workers and generate a majority of the innovations that come from United States companies. With that being said, wouldn’t it make more sense for government at all levels to focus its efforts on creating an environment where our small businesses can flourish and entrepreneurship can thrive? Rather than offering bail-out packages to big companies and outdated industries already on life support, it seems more appropriate to invest significant dollars into programs and services that encourage business ownership and entrepreneurship. Rather than allowing struggling small businesses to defer tax payments during tough times, I ask, would it make more sense to forgive certain tax burdens in order to stimulate growth?

As a small business owner myself, I can comfortably say that I am extremely nervous about our current economic outlook. Owning your own business is hard work, requires long hours and more often than not, is less lucrative than any corporate job. Small business owners worry every day about keeping the lights on, paying and retaining employees and keeping customers and vendors happy – not to mention, liabilities, cash flow and access to credit during tough times. As the costs of goods and services continue to rise, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep everything afloat. And, it seems like for every dollar we make, we are writing checks to the government to pay our ‘fair share’ of the tax burden. If we truly want to stimulate the economy, it’s time to invest in small business.

The federal stimulus package does provide certain opportunities for smart, forward thinking entrepreneurs. At the time of this writing, the $700+ billion package includes allotments of $90 billion in infrastructure investments such as the modernization of federal buildings, highway construction and flood control, and some $58 billion for green energy projects such as an electric smart grid. Savvy entrepreneurs will likely take interest in the allocation of these funds as an opportunity to explore new business ventures. Expect to see significant innovations, discoveries and emerging industries as a result of entrepreneurs working on these infrastructure and green projects.

To help small businesses specifically, the stimulus bill includes more than $500 million towards temporarily reducing fees associated with the most popular SBA loans, including $100 million toward the temporary waiver of fees associated with loans for companies looking to grow by purchasing equipment, facilities or fixed assets. The bill also includes funding for SBA microloan programs, which provide very small loans to qualified small businesses. It has also allocated $24 million to provide complimentary counseling to entrepreneurs and small business owners.

In Central Florida there is one specific economic bright spot. It’s called Innovation Way and it is home to the University of Central Florida, International Corporate Park, the Orlando International Airport and an emerging “medical city.” While there are many pieces to completing this puzzle, Innovation Way provides an economic opportunity like no other – emerging industries, high wage employment centers, significant tax dollars to fund government programs and services, access to a world class research institution and geographic proximity to one of our nation’s busiest airports. Rather than use our share of the government bail-out to repave Central Florida roads, why not put those tax dollars towards realizing the overall vision for Innovation Way. After all, a completed high technology corridor running from UCF on the north to the medical city and onto OIA will surely create a much more sustainable workforce and business environment than resurfacing a handful of roads. Already, $26 million has been spent to build a road to nowhere: it’s time to complete the Alafaya Trail / 528 interchange project, a critical first step to making Innovation Way a reality and getting our economy back on track.