ICYMI: Rhode Island’s Small Business Climate Among Nation’s Best??
PROVIDENCE, R.I.-??ValuePenguin, a consumer-research firm, recently ranked Rhode Island as the second-best state in America for small business owners. Their survey called out Rhode Island’s best-in-the-nation small business survival rate. Three out of four small businesses started in Rhode Island are still in business two years after they start.
Small business is the lifeblood of our economy, and Governor Raimondo has led efforts over the last three and a half years to cut taxes, cut red tape and cut regulations to make it easier for small businesses to thrive. Under her leadership, the state has created a new small business loan program and launched SupplyRI — an initiative that is helping connect local vendors and suppliers with some of the state’s largest employers. Small businesses in Rhode Island are thriving and employ more than half of the state’s workforce.
Governor Raimondo visited a number of small businesses in Bristol and Warren and met with leaders and employees at Aquidneck Custom Composites, a local manufacturing company that’s growing on the East Bay.
Check out excerpts below from an article in the Providence Business News about Governor Raimondo’s work to support and foster a friendly environment for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
PBN: R.I. Tops in Small-Biz Survival
By Scott Blake
August 10, 2018
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. …
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. …
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.”
Click here for a link??to the full story (subscription required).