Turner leads the D.C. Small Business Development Center Network, a project funded by the Small Business Administration and Howard University that helps local businesses get off the ground.
How are things for D.C. small business?
It depends upon which business. You know what they say, unemployment is 100 percent when it’s in your house.
Do you think we’ve reached the bottom of the recession here?
It’s hard to tell. I heard there’s another wave coming with commercial real estate. Unemployment in D.C. is relatively high in certain neighborhoods.
How friendly to small business is the local government?
They have some programs. We’re not part of the government, so I don’t really feel comfortable in answering that.
But do you think the local government is doing enough to encourage local enterprise?
From everything I’ve read, no. We don’t work with them, so I’m not sure how much more they could do.
So if someone’s about to go into business, what’s the most important thing they have to know?
Who’s in the market and what is the market. Many people think they have the next best idea, and they don’t do their homework — and they find out there’s already five people on the same street doing the same thing.
What’s the best local success that no one’s heard of?
I guess everyone’s heard of Cake Love. He comes to mind as being a success. … A lot of our clients are folks who’ve taken their profession, their jobs, and turned it into an enterprise that they’re successful at.
What’s the biggest obstacle for a small businessman or -woman in D.C.?
Money. The banks are very cautious right now. And the right kind of money. One of the things we really work with them on is cash-flow analysis, how much money they’ll need over the next three or four years.
– Bill Myers
