June 18, 2018 – Rather than feel defeated during a slow economy, small businesses can turn to experts for assistance to gain access to banking services and get advice on building a favorable credit score.  According to a survey conducted by the National Small Business Association (SBA), 43 percent of small businesses seeking loans were unable to get the capital they needed to get started or grow. That statistic does not have to be an obstacle, especially for minority and women-owned businesses in rural areas. For example, in Fort Bend County, Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension Program (CEP) county agent, Derrick Banks, conducts workshops to inform families from the community, like couple Camille and Justin, and father Billy Hicks, about micro-loans that offset the challenges they might encounter when seeking channels to capital.

Workshops of this type have proven to be the lifeline for many businesspersons struggling to keep their start-ups financially sound. Last month in May, Banks hosted an event, open to the community, where experts discussed using funding from the USDA to expand and improve their agricultural operation. After providing an overview of the sponsored programs with time for Q&A, subsequent arrangements were made for one-on-one consultations to discuss an outline to improve their practices. Banks informed participants about the best market to target and how to create a business model that maximizes their profits and sustains revenue. In the coming months, he plans to partner his clients with more resources and introduce them to other people in his network who can further assist them with success.

Banks expects that presenting entrepreneurs with proper business plan development will increase their knowledge about the value of their ideas and potential success. Their success will then transfer to other farm families who adopt these best practices, maximize production, and ultimately strengthen the local economy in Fort Bend County, Texas.

This work was supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture 1890 Extension Formula Program project under Section 1444.

 

Derrick Banks
Agriculture and Natural Resources Fort Bend County Extension Agent
ddbanks@pvamu.edu
(281) 342-3034