Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The Linn-Benton MicroBusiness Program has helped a number of businesses throughout the region, including four in Sweet Home during its first year of operation.
The City Council approved a resolution on Feb. 13 supporting the organization’s request for a grant to continue.
The program is in its second year of operation, City Manager Craig Martin said. It “has been successful in targeting low- to moderate-income entrepreneurs in the two-county area, including the city of Sweet Home.”
The previous funding grant secured by this group has been expended and a new grant request is going to the state of Oregon to continue the program’s economic development activity, Martin said. Since its inception, it has conducted four 30-hour workshops serving 40 interested individuals.
Of those individuals, 17 have started or maintained a business enterprise, Martin said, and four of those are located in Sweet Home.
This does not include Corvallis, which is funded by a separate source, Coordinator Matt Holton said. The businesses taking advantage of the opportunity in Sweet Home included a furniture store, a jet-ski rentals, artwork and picture frames.
In the workshops, the MicroBusiness Program helped entrepreneurs look at the feasibility of their ideas, Holton said. It also provided help with business plans and a match savings program, where the business owner could receive up to $3 for each $1 they used.
The program also has an arrangement with OSU Federal Credit Union to provide loans to its clients.
The program currently offers networking workshops and tradeshows for its alumni and current participants, Holton said.
Networking workshops offer participants the chance to continue gaining knowledge related to running a small business.
Topics include e-commerce, bookkeeping, business management, marketing financial health and capacity building.
Tradeshows are an opportunity for participants to display marketing materials and sample products, practice presenting their business and network with other business owners.
To qualify, persons must have an income of less than 80 percent of the local median income. For Linn County, that is $29,900 for a household of one; for two, $34,150; for three, $38,450; for four, $42,700; and for five, $46,100.
For further information, contact Holton at (541)752-7220.