Businesses have had a challenging year in 2020, with some unable to sustain themselves under these extraordinary circumstances and a lucky few finding increased success. Many business owners fall somewhere between those two extremes, having adapted to new ways of doing business with a hope that conditions will improve in 2021. In part one of this two-part podcast, Diane Donato talks with Steve Bulger, Small Business Administration (SBA) Regional Administrator for NY, NJ, and portions of the Atlantic Region, about assistance for small businesses in obtaining capital, opportunities with federal government contracting, and mentoring services provided through the SBA. Bulger also talks about recent moves to simplify the process for loan forgiveness through the Paycheck Protection Program.
In part two, Diane talks with Emil Baker, SBA SCORE and Boots to Business mentor, about how businesses are faring in Upstate New York, and about advice he is giving to would-be entrepreneurs about starting a new business in this time of uncertainty.