BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter�fspielman@suntimes.com September 13, 2011 2:42PM
Dina Powell, president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, announces the program Tuesday. | Brian Jackson~Sun-Times
Updated: September 14, 2011 12:23AM
Small businesses that desperately need the know-how and the capital to survive in a down economy would have access to both, thanks to a $25 million program bankrolled by an investment banking heavyweight.
Chicago will become the sixth U.S. city to benefit from the 10,000 Small Businesses initiative launched by Goldman Sachs in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, New Orleans and Long Beach, Calif.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel made his fortune in investment banking. He lobbied the company to add Chicago and delivered, with an assist from his longtime friend and adviser Penny Pritzker, who?s a member of the Goldman Sachs National Advisory Board for 10,000 Small Businesses.
Penny Pritzker served as President Barack Obama?s national finance chair in 2008 and was appointed to the school board by Emanuel. She and her husband contributed $1 million to the $5 million pool of money the mayor plans to use to provide merit pay for principals.
In Chicago, the 10,000 Small Businesses initiative will provide $20 million worth of loans to small businesses that often have a tough time accessing capital.
The remaining $5 million will go to the Chicago City Colleges to provide ten, all-day Saturday classes that provide small business owners with 100 hours of ?customized? training in such critical areas as marketing, negotiations and how to navigate the maze of government contracts.
?The deck was stacked against small businesses,? said Emanuel, who has reformed and simplified city contracting to even the playing field.
?The way procurement was designed across different city agencies, it was prohibitive to small- and minority-owned businesses. You could only absorb the cost if you were a large business.?
Dina Powell, president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation, added, ?Of course, capital for growth is critical. But, if you don?t know how to use that capital, and you don?t have that knowledge and the growth plan along with it,? money alone doesn?t do a small business any good.
During a news conference Tuesday at Harold Washington College, Pritzker told the story of Demolition Diva, a residential and commercial demolition company formed by a New Orleans woman after Hurricane Katrina.
Before participating in 10,000 Small Businesses, the owner of Demolition Diva was saddled with more than $2 million in receivables that threatened the long-term health of her business.
Since graduating from the program in June, the woman has secured more than fifteen new contracts, collected over $1 million of her outstanding receivables and implemented an incentive program for her employees, Pritzker said.
?We couldn?t be more pleased with the success that 10,000 Small Businesses has had ? and that success is coming to Chicago,? Pritzker said.
To qualify for the 8 a.m.-to-5 p.m. classes, small business owners must be in business for at least two years, have annual revenues ranging from $150,000 to $4 million and employ at least four full-time workers.
The Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the Chicago Urban League, the Women?s Business Development Center and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will ?spread the word? and help recruit top-notch teachers and mentors.
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