You know things are bad in Miami when 200 people show up on time …
As this expatriate New Yorker soon found out after moving to Miami, meetings don’t often start right on time down here. This 15 or 20 minute “Miami-time” window usually gives you some time to have your cafecito before you get down to business. But I really got the feeling something had changed when 200 people showed up on time last week to see what resources were available at Miami-Dade County Commissioner Katy Sorenson’s panel for small businesses down in Homestead.
More than 200 business owners sought help at Miami-Dade County Commissioner Katy Sorenson’s Small Business Assistance Workshop.
Another thing I’ve learned in my first year working full-time for a microfinance organization, which happened to coincide with the worst economic downturn in 80 years, is that you see the economic crisis played out on the smallest scale everyday in the lending business. After the panel, I was met outside by a line of people, all with questions. Many of them were living out micro-examples of the credit crunch.
I spoke to people who have been laid off and are interested in starting businesses since the job market is so tight. All they need is a little bit of capital, but can’t find willing lenders anywhere. I spoke to existing business owners whose sales are down 50% from last year and can’t get working capital from any source. I spoke to one man who needed $2,500 for his official county carpentry licenses. He promised me he had years of experience and several jobs lined up, but further into the conversation I found out he was in the foreclosure process. “I can’t get credit if I’m behind on my mortgage payments, but I can’t get back on time with the payments with out the credit to help me get the jobs,” he told me.
Some people had driven from Palm Beach, a three hour drive in rush-hour traffic, just for information. ACCION USA’s products can be an answer for many people, but let’s face it, they can’t work in every situation. That’s the hard part of hearing all these real stories. It helps to remind myself that helping people during these tough times happens one business at a time.