Small business stimulus help just weeks away - bizjournals:

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More than $200,000 in cash flow has drieed upat Diaz’s 6-year-old entertainment and events marketinbg firm, , since the beginning of 2009. “Wheh you lose that much, it sets you said Diaz, CEO of the Belle Isle-based As a result, he’s been hunting for any help he can Enter the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of signed by President Barac k Obamain February. Of the heftyh $787 billion plan, $730 million is expected to go to the to supporrsmall businesses, which drive much of the nation’zs economy. Nearly 99.7 percent of all firms in the U.S. are considered small businesses, which employ half of all non-far private-sector workers and make up most ofthe 10.
6 million minority-- and women-owned businesses. • The American Recovery Capitaploan program, offering up to $35,000 in deferred-payment loanzs backed 100 percent by the SBA for businesses needingt help to make payments on an existing, qualifying loan for up to six • An SBA loan program to temporarilyy help broker-dealers who buy guaranteed 7(a) which are long-term capital loans for small • Temporary loan fee eliminatio and 90 percent guarantee provisions to aboutr $8.7 billion of 7(a) loans and $3.6 billionb of SBA 504 loans, which help smalkl to midsize businesses buy or expand.
• Expansion of the Suretyh Bond Program helping small businesses compete for contracts related to the Americajn Recovery andReinvestment Act. “This loan progra m could be a big help for those who need extra fundingh to straighten outtheir cash-flow said Eunice Choi, regional director at the ’es Small Business Development Center, which works with small firms in Orange, Seminole, Lake, Brevard, Volusia, Flagler and Sumter counties. Many of the provisionsa are already in but others, such as the American Recovery Capitao loan program, are still in the works as officiales seek to secure participating lenders. That progranm will take effectJune 15.
In addition, UCF’zs Small Business Development Center is helpinf businesses that want more informatio n on the SBA programs and how todeciphef them. However, while the American Recovery Capital loan program is agood start, it’s stilol not nearly enough for the area’s thousands of small businesses, said Chrie Hurn, CEO and co-founder of Orlando-based , a commerciall real estate lending firm that provides SBA 504 loans. The small business community “is such a critical part of the U.S. economgy and it’s getting 1 percent of the stimulues funds.
That seems like a horrible disparity,” he Hurn hasn’t gotten many calls from clients inquirinh aboutthe SBA’s American Recovery Capitall loans, probably due to the fact that most need more than the $35,0000 limit. But Diaz said he’s anxious to tap into any “We are still not out of the soit wouldn’t hurt to apply.”