The climate in Rhode Island for small businesses has generally been on the upswing – by one recent study it’s the second-best in the country – and R.I. Commerce Corp. isn’t resting on those laurels.
One example was a June 28 forum held in Providence that was part of the state’s Supply Rhode Island program that drew representatives from about 100 companies, officials said.
The program brings together small firms and larger companies and institutions that could hire them as contractors and vendors. It is one of several small-business initiatives started in recent years and administered through the state’s economic-development agency.
“We’re recognizing that [small businesses] are the lifeblood of the economy,” said Stefan Pryor, appointed in 2015 as the state’s first secretary of commerce.
Consumer-research website ValuePenguin recently affirmed Rhode Island as a good place for entrepreneurs, concluding that the Ocean State is the second-best state for small-business owners, behind only Montana.
Rhode Island rated especially high in small-business survival rate, which measures the percentage of small firms that stay open for at least two years.
Rhode Island topped the nation in that category with 76 percent of new firms making it past the first two years.
That high number is likely due to the state’s relatively strict regulatory process, said Ed Huttenhower, executive director of Rhode Island’s Small Business Development Center.
Businesses here “seem better equipped [to deal with market fluctuations] after going through the regulatory process,” he added.
One of the ways they get help is through Rhode Island’s state-funded Small Business Assistance program, which has provided 64 loans, each starting at about $2,000, up to $25,000 or more, Pryor said. The state also administers a federally funded Small Business Loan Fund.
And the state has provided help to 56 companies under the Innovation Voucher program started by Gov. Gina M. Raimondo. It provides small businesses with up to $50,000 worth of research and development work from Rhode Island universities and medical and research centers.
Of course, not all small-business owners think Commerce is on the right track in its efforts to help small businesses.
Ken Block, owner of Warwick-based Simpatico Software Systems and a former gubernatorial candidate, says the state should focus on eliminating or cutting certain taxes and costs for all businesses.
Block said giving selected companies tax abatements and other financial incentives is like bribing them to do business here.
“I really don’t think government should be in that business,” he added.
Commerce spokesman Matt Sheaff said economic incentives offered by the state help it attract and grow businesses.
“If we’re going to be in that game, we have to compete with other states,” he said.
