ATLANTA — Small businesses are getting help from a few sources normally associated with the splashy announcements of major corporations bringing hundreds of jobs to the state.
Monday, the Georgia Department of Economic Development premiered a short video highlighting the services it offers small businesses — both startups and those looking to expand. As the modish cartoon features “Jon” and “Jen,” it illustrates how department assets can help Jon learn about business licenses, labor laws, taxes and other details for starting his business. Jen discovers information about tax breaks, academic research and export assistance as she looks for ways to grow her company.
“The main goal with this video is to educate and inspire Georgians on what small-business resources are available to them, and how they would go about taking advantage of them,” said department spokeswoman Stefanie Paupeck. “The purpose of the small-business video is to also provide further details on what can be found at Georgia.org/SmallBusiness in a contextual, engaging and informative way.”
The video directs viewers to the state website where they can begin searching for information. It’s to be incorporated with the department’s social-media marketing and electronic newsletter.
Last year, the department’s director of small business, Mary Ellen McClanahan, directly assisted 1,300 companies and advised 150 communities and organizations.
The department unveiled the video at a meeting of the Georgia Economic Developers Association meeting at the Georgia Aquarium, with private-sector and local industry recruiters from around the state. Like the state agency, the members of GEDA have traditionally been associated with ribbon-cuttings at giant factories.
But both groups devote significant energy to businesses smaller than 500 employees, and even to those with as few as a couple of workers.
For instance, to gain ideas on how to help them, the main speaker at Monday’s meeting was Deborah Perry Piscione, a best-selling author on small-business innovation.
After studying fast-growing small businesses in Silicon Valley, she concluded that their success is due largely to a willingness to try new ideas from any employee and the understanding that failures are not fatal.
“They start from a place of trust ... in collaboration and openness,” she said.