Special letter to the Tribune about the Job Creation Program; Commissioner Murman spearheaded the Small Business Job Creation Program.
By ELLEN BROWN | Special to The Tampa Tribune
Published: December 19, 2011 Updated: December 19, 2011 – 12:00 AM
The importance of the role that small businesses play as “job creators” in their local communities is often heralded as one of the keys to a successful economic recovery. But high unemployment, rising costs and a depressed economy present great challenges to today’s independent business owner.
We have choices. Do we “wait it out” by decreasing staff, inventory and marketing, adding to the downward cycle and slowly going out of business? Or do we work to expand our share of the market?
Is there any help out there for us? The answer is yes. Hillsborough County’s Small Business Job Creation Reimbursement Program provides funding to businesses with 10 or fewer employees to help facilitate job creation in the county.
My husband, David, and I have faced a number of obstacles since we opened the Old Tampa Book Company, a used and rare bookstore in downtown Tampa, in 1995. We were often told that our store was the first sign of revival in a city of empty storefronts with few reasons for people to come downtown.
Seventeen years later, our store is now a destination in a revitalized city. The vacant stores of the 1990s are now unique cafes and restaurants.
Last fall we signed a five-year renewal lease demonstrating our commitment to, and faith in, the future of downtown Tampa. Our mission is to build a more profitable business that will secure the store’s future. To that end, we were fortunate to find out about Hillsborough County’s job-creation program.
The Small Business Information Center staff was extremely helpful in guiding our application efforts; within two weeks our request was approved. We hired two full-time employees, and the county will reimburse us for 50 percent of three months of their total salary.
By doubling our staff, we have been able to extend our store hours to 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
By listing many of the 40,000 books in our inventory on Internet websites dedicated to selling books, we will expand our share of the global market to generate a significant increase in income, enabling us to maintain our full-time staff and continue to grow our business.
Ellen Brown is a Tampa businesswoman.
