May 1, 2006: Norton Access to Capital Fair to Feature CakeLove's Warren Brown
Norton Access to Capital Fair to Feature Small Business Person of the Year CakeLove’s Warren Brown, Government Contracting and
Financing Opportunities for D.C. Small Businesses
May 1, 2006
Washington, DC—Named recently by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as the Small Business Person of the Year for the District, Warren Brown of CakeLove and Love Café located at 15th and U Streets, NW will be the keynote speaker at Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton's (D-DC) annual Small Business Access to Capital Fair. The fair will take place Tuesday, May 2, 2006 from 8 AM to 4 PM at the Washington Convention Center (801 Mount Vernon Place, NW, near 7th and New York Avenue). Brown will speak at the 9 AM plenary session. The event is an innovative, nuts and bolts conference, putting small businesses face-to-face with banks, credit unions and financing companies that lend to small businesses, and with government contracting officers with contracts to let. The fair is free and open to D.C. residents and businesses only. Norton said, “Everybody in D.C. will be interested in how Warren Brown did it and did it so fast! He created his two businesses from the ground up and has been so successful that he is featured on the Food Network and has become Small Business Person of the Year for D.C. His remarks will be both an eye-opener and an inspiration to the conference.”
About 300 people have pre-registered to be sure of seats at the popular event that will give participants valuable information based on the most frequently asked questions of small businesses--how to get commercial business loans instead of using personal loans, how to get on the General Services Administration (GSA) procurement schedule for federal government contracts, and how to start a business here, among other information. Bank loan officers, SBA specialists and government contracting officers will give one-on-one advice. Loan applications will be taken on the spot.
Many who have registered are seeking to start a business, but many will be small business owners looking to deepen their knowledge and find funding and loans. Of particular value to minority, disadvantaged and women-owned businesses will be a presentation on subcontracting by representatives of Clark Construction Group, LLC, the largest construction company in the District; and presentations by representatives of Innovative Bank, PNC Bank and SBA District Director Joseph Loddo, who will participate in a morning panel. Forty-three entities and organizations, including federal and District government agencies, financial service groups, prime contractors and grassroots organizations, will be on hand to give one-on-one counseling. Among them: SBA, GSA, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Pepco, D.C. Office of Contracting and Procurement, City First Bank of D.C., Eagle Bank, BB&T, PNC Bank, Innovative Bank, National Women's Business Center, and HEW Federal Credit Union.
“The single largest complaint by business owners is the lack of access to capital and commercial loans, as opposed to consumer loans, causing them to go in debt to keep their businesses afloat. This free fair will allow businesses to begin negotiating with banks on the spot. This year’s fair is particularly aimed at getting a significant slice of the unusually high economic growth the city is experiencing for small businesses. Residents who want to start a business also will find this conference especially valuable,” Norton said.