Sounds like a good plan. The only “small neighborhood businesses” in Philly that weren’t plagued by the bureaucracy when I lived there were crack houses. A friend who tried to start a home film processing business (long before digital photos of course!) had his business shut down by the city even though it caused no additional neighborhood traffic! So this is a welcome change… IF he wins and IF it’s more than election year baloney.
Mayoral candidate Chaka Fattah announced his plan for city small businesses, at one of his alma maters, the Community College of Philadelphia, yesterday. Under his plan, small businesses would have the opportunity to take part in emergency loans in cases of financial crises, as well as tax relief for those businesses affected by larger-scale city development projects.
Fattah said a loan program, funded by the Philadelphia Community Development Corporation (PCDC), would help small businesses by changing its loan-making strategy focusing on the short term. Fattah said this would act as a no-interest emergency loan provided to qualified applicants.
These loans would be available to specific applicants, like those establishing a small, neighborhood business or someone working from home.
Additionally, Fattah plans to endorse consulting services for struggling small businesses. These would offer consulting services like tax advice, strategic planning and financial statement analysis. This private, nonprofit, government-funded agency would be around to give marketing advice to beginner entrepreneurs.
“I’m signaling a new direction for the city, both in symbol and in substance,” Fattah said. “The opportunity to revitalize our neighborhoods lies with small businesses.”
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