May 2, 2006: Banks, Fed Contracting Officers, CakeLove Owner Score Big at Norton Small Business Fair
Banks, Federal Contracting Officers, CakeLove Owner
Score Big at Norton D.C. Small Business Fair
May 2, 2006
Washington, DC—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said that today’s Small Business Access to Capital Fair surpassed all expectations with 300 D.C. residents and small business owners attending the event at the Washington Convention Center. “The increase in banks willing to lend and agency contracting officers on hand to take on-the-spot applications and give nuts and bolts, one-on-one counseling was particularly useful for people seeking business opportunities and know-how,” Norton said. The Congresswoman, who sponsored the fair for the third year, said that she expected strong attendance by her constituents based on their positive feedback from past small business fairs. However, the record turnout of representatives of federal agencies, contracting and procurement officers, private vendors, banks and credit unions, many with contracts and loans to give, was especially encouraging.
The fair’s popularity provides another example of the ripple effect of the District’s hot economy, fully in line with the housing boom fueled by many factors, including Norton’s $5,000 homebuyer tax credit, and construction cranes going up as businesses take advantage of the Norton business tax incentives. The Congresswoman said that the fair had lived up to its promise to provide access to capital and commercial loans, as opposed to consumer loans, the chief complaint of small businesses here and elsewhere.
Warren Brown, owner of CakeLove and Love Café at 15th and U Streets NW, was a “real hit as the keynote speaker, and a genuine inspiration to the small business people in attendance,” the Congresswoman said. Recently named Small Business Person of the Year for the District by the Small Business Administration, Brown recounted how he overcame hardships, including a trip to the emergency room for exhaustion from working as a full time lawyer during the day and getting his cake business off the ground nights and weekends. Brown said that the risk he took in deciding to concentrate on his cake business full time and the SBA loan that he received have helped him fulfill his dreams. Brown now has expanded his business to open CakeLove in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Among the agencies participating today were the SBA, GSA, HUD, 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, HEW Federal Credit Union, and Clark Construction Group, LLC, the largest construction company in the District.