Gov. Matt Meyer signs a pair of executive orders which he says will make it easier to start and run a small business.
One of the executive orders establishes the Office of Small Business Access. Delaware’s Division of Small Business Director CJ Bell says this creates a “one front door” scenario for business owners needing assistance.
Stephanie Kearns owns Living Well Nutrition in Milford which she started last year. She says the old process might be a barrier for prospective small business owners.
“It was, I don’t want to say ‘jumping through hoops’ but, there was a lot to it just on the paperwork side of things… ‘before you got this, you had to have this- before you got that, you had to have this’” she said.
The state previously offered some guiding materials, but most of the work was the responsibility of the business owner. Kearns says
this new approach would have made things much smoother,
“Honestly, I know they do the one-stop and that was helpful to have the checklist, but to have one funnel for all that- it would definitely be helpful’” she told DPM.
Meyer says the second is meant to strengthen Delaware’s Supplier Diversity initiative, which helps small businesses compete for state contracts.
“I’m passionate that when big business comes to government, they either get what they want, or can pay someone- a lawyer, an engineer, whatever- to figure it out for them." he said. "It’s just the cost of doing business. When small businesses need something, they have to go and, often, figure it out for themselves. Or, they need to pay lawyers or someone to figure it out for them, and that’s a huge financial pressure.”
The Governor’s second executive order will create a 12 member Supplier Diversity Council, composed of 12 members- 8 picked by Gov. Meyer.
Those new members will be selected based on certain criteria, and calls for representatives from woman-owned, veteran-owned, and minority-owned businesses, as well as disability representation.
Delaware’s is home to over 111,000 small businesses.
