By: Anna MillerWhen Quality Markets closed its Kenmore Avenue location, a loan from the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corporation helped finance renovations which turned the space into Budwey’s Supermarket, keeping the needed service in a community that had lost it. When Urban Valet found a new location down Elmwood Avenue, a BERC loan financed nearly all of the cost of the move to the beautifully renovated building (with drive-up service).
BERC is a city agency in the business of helping the small businesses that have come to dominate our city's landscape to get established and keep building up. Owners can take advantage of any number of loans, programs and other incentives that make starting a business a bit easier, with the comfort of professionals by your side. In many cases BERC loans help finance what local banks will not, often teaming with the bank to fill the gap in funding of a small business loan.
“What we’re saying as a city is that we’re here to support small businesses and take the risks that come with them,” said Tim Wanamaker, president of BERC. “We want to stress the point, at the beginning, that the odds are against small businesses. We want owners to recognize that, and take advantage of all the technical assistance we offer, because that will be a large part of why you’re successful.”
Until February 16, BERC is running its winter loan sale, to remind business owners that the resources the agency offers of available and easy to access. For the next two weeks, all loans will have just a 5 percent fixed interest rate for the first year.
BERC offers four variety of loans, alongside numerous technical incentives and assistance: the neighborhood micro enterprise loans to encourage businesses in the city to start-up or expand operations, the EAP micro loans for those who have completed the entrepreneurial assistance program, the SBA micro loans as a smaller alternative to bank funding, and the business loan program, which provides fixed loans for any larger undertaking (up to $300,000).
“We like to see the businesses grow further and become able to qualify for their loans from the bank,” Wanamaker said. “Ultimately, to be successful, business owners need to be able to capitalize on the resources available to them on their own.”
In the last fiscal year, BERC gave out more than $1 million in loans to local business owners. Though that number was down significantly from the previous year, the loans closed will generate more than $3 million in private investment and create a targeted 69 new jobs in the area.
Wanamaker said he hopes the low interest rates and incentives BERC offers help to level the playing field for people trying to start businesses in our tax-burdened State. He said BERC is at the point where they know what small businesses need, and they try to keep on top of the changing business environment and the needs that come with it. In a country where 80 percent of all small businesses fail after the first five year, I imagine it’s nice to have someone like them on your side.
“We get great feedback from business owners,” Wanamaker said. “And in the instances when there are criticisms, we take them as challenges to remove the barriers and make the programs more user-friendly. We make sure to fully fund the start-ups and enable them to be as successful as they can be.”
