Hillsborough County’s program to help kick-start new small businesses for low-income people who are unemployed or under-employed has proven to be wildly popular in its second year. Hillsborough’s SWEP helps local entrepreneurs by teaching them how to start their own business.
The first session for the 2022 Self-Employment Workshop Program, or SWEP, filled up quickly, but another session begins in September.
“We started it last year as an answer to what we believed was a way to help disadvantaged or those unemployed or under-employed as a result of the (COVID-19) pandemic,” said Carol Minor, director of the county’s Small Business Development Center.
“It is to help our small businesses pivot, but also we wanted to help people who are not yet in business to pivot” into the world of entrepreneurs, she said. “Self-employment is an alternative to unemployment, but folks don’t often know how to determine what business to go into.”
Turning a big idea into a small business
There are two portions of the program during the 39-hour training process. One is the Small Business Idea Camp, designed to help people understand the mindset of an entrepreneur. It includes eight classes over four weeks. Enrollees can even take the class online.
“It helps them to think about what is important to a business owner, what are the obstacles they run into. They get a good grasp on what it takes to be an entrepreneur,” Minor said.
Classes in the second half of the program teach participants about marketing, available financing, bookkeeping and how to hire a bookkeeper. “They will also learn about credit, so they understand personal and business credit,” she said.
Participants can also work with Operation HOPE, a nonprofit that helps people understand their credit and correct it, so they are ready to finance a business. It has a six-week business plan class to develop ideas into a plan.
Small businesses play a significant role in the U.S. economy. Each year, the U.S. Small Business Administration helps millions of small businesses get started, grow and succeed. Even those already in business can get help to expand, develop more business skills, recover from disasters, even get government contracts.
There are also special-emphasis programs. SBA serves women through various programs and services and there are women business ownership representatives at every office throughout the country. SBA also offers special services for veterans transitioning from soldier to small business owners.
Last year’s success stories
Last year, Hillsborough County’s SBDC put 19 people through the Self-Employment Workshop Program. SWEP helps local entrepreneurs in a variety of areas. One woman, who worked in a hair salon, started her own business as a notary. The program also produced a doula, a power washer, a food truck owner and a senior caregiver, an online network for pet lovers and a catering business. There is also a graduate of the program who started a mental health referral line, and another became an event planner.
For the 16 March slots, the SBDC received 60 applications, Minor said. “We had to go through a process of elimination.”
Participants must meet income requirements and they must live in Hillsborough County. “A lot of those who apply don’t realize that,” Minor said. “We eliminate those folks and send them somewhere else for help.”
Minor said she plans to do three sessions of the program this year. Each session has a nonprofit partner that provides money to participants to get their business license since that is the first step in starting a business. That is roughly $300 per person.
“Some people apply thinking there is a loan or a big grant,” Minor said. “We can steer them to other programs for that.”
The SBA is one of those destinations, at least to get information on financing a business. Its program focuses on:
- 7(a) Loan Program
- Certified Development Company (504 Loan Program)
- Microloan Program
- Small Business Investment Company Program
Each has a different dollar amount that businesses can borrow. The SBA program teaches about types of lenders, uses for loan proceeds and terms placed on the borrower.
Help from state and federal funding
Additionally, President Joe Biden’s recently enacted coronavirus stimulus bill will provide $1.9 trillion to assist businesses and individuals in the form of grants, tax credits and loans.
Florida, too, has a program to provide help to small businesses. The Florida Small Business Grants program has more than $32 million in grants and an additional $22.6 million in local government funding sources.
Of this state’s 399,819 business establishments, 57,678 have five to nine employees. And 274,647 have zero to four employees.
To learn when registration will open for the September Self-Employment Workshop Program in Hillsborough County, visit https://sbdctampabay.com/.
