Hartford Business Journal

8 Hartford Business Journal • May 2, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com FOCUS SMALL BUSINESS Small businesses urged to consider exporting for growth By Matthew Broderick Special to the Hartford Business Journal A s the District Director for the U.S. Depart- ment of Commerce, Anne Evans remains bullish about Connecticut, despite a recent report showing that the state's exports declined last year for the first time since 2009. Revenue from Connect- icut's commodities alone were down 4.25 percent in 2015, according to a report published in the April edi- tion of the Connecticut Economic Digest. The Nut- meg state — ranked No. 27 for state exports — still fared better than the U.S. average, which saw exports decrease by 7.5 percent. "Some have said that the strength of the U.S. dol- lar has [been a factor] in decreasing exports, including Connecticut's," Evans said. She's responding by trying to educate more Connecticut small businesses about the potential benefits of exporting and the assistance that is available at both the state and federal levels. To drive home that message, her agency sponsored its first-ever Connecticut Export Week, a five-day event that featured 13 training sessions ranging from global-focused websites and cyber security to financing and internation- al patents. The event attracted more than 400 companies, including many small businesses new to exporting. "We wanted to make a statement to Connecticut busi- nesses: We're the government and we want to help," Evans said. "We can't just be reactive. We need to be proactive." Overall, Connecticut exports more than $15 billion annually, driven largely by the aerospace sector, the fastest-growing industry in the state. Evans says that while major corporations like United Technologies Corp. produce the lion's share of exports, smaller sup- ply chain companies — especially those with advanced- manufacturing capabilities — are expanding their reach internationally to meet clients' global demands. Victor Morando, chief technology officer for Elling- ton-based Dymotek, said his company — which started exporting eight years ago — now exports to 35 coun- tries to support one United Kingdom-headquartered cli- ent alone. Dymotek provides advanced-manufacturing technology to bond plastic. "We've grown our revenue to more than $25 million annually," Morando said. "And 55 percent of that comes from our export business." In March 2015, Dymotek received the prestigious Presi- dent's Export Award in recogni- tion, in part, of its successive export growth in recent years. In fact, six Connecticut compa- nies won Export Awards out of 45 awarded nationwide last year. Morando says that success reflects directly on the resourc- es the Department of Com- merce provides the state's busi- nesses. Even as Dymotek has steadily increased its exports, Morando said his company continues to find benefits in working with Evans and her team. "Anne is trying to help us get our foot in the door with a large UK-based engineering firm," Moran- do said. "Having the weight of the U.S. Department of Commerce [advocating] is a big help." Q&A Hunt takes helm of CT's SBA office Q&A talks with Anne Hunt, the new Connecticut district director of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Q: You recently became the new head of the Small Business Administration's Connecticut office. What in your background made you suited for the new position? What do you think your strengths are? A: I have worked for the SBA for about 35 years in Bos- ton, serving most recently as the dep- uty district director. Most of my career, however, was as the chief of finance and lead lender relations specialist. During my many years, I developed wonder- ful relationships with lenders. The Massachusetts office was always a top producer of SBA loans, ranking in the top three SBA offices out of 68. I am hoping to bolster SBA lending in the state of Connecticut. I am very familiar and have worked very closely with a lot of Connecticut lenders over the years. I also had a tremendous rela- tionship with our other partners, SCORE, Small Business Develop- ment Centers and the Women's Business Centers. I am hoping to create great working relationships with the Connecticut partners. Q: What are some initia- tives you would like to under- take for the SBA in Connecti- cut? What are some of your plans for the office? A: I am a big believer in col- laboration. I am hoping to build stronger relationships for the Con- necticut District Office. We have a great SBA team here and I am hop- ing to bring the SBA programs to every corner of the state and to make sure that all small business owners are aware of our many programs and services and know how to take advantage of them. I want to make sure that the citizens of Connecticut know that the SBA stands for Smart, Bold and Accessible. Q: You're coming from a long career in the Massachu- setts SBA office. What are some of the differences you see between the two states when it comes to small business? A: Massachusetts has been growing at a faster rate than Connecticut. I know that as of the end of 2015, the unemploy- ment rate in Connecticut was just above the national average, where Massachusetts was below. I am also hearing about layoffs that have been recently announced. Laid- off employees who may want to start their own small business, may want to connect with our office. Q: There was a report recently issued by American Express OPEN that showed Connecticut lagged the nation for the growth of women-owned busi- nesses. Do you see that as an opportu- nity for the SBA? A: The SBA has been in the fore- front of lending to women-owned businesses both nationally and in the state of Connecticut. In fact, SBA's lend- ing to women entrepreneurs is up significantly. Nationally, over the past three years, lending to women is up over 36 percent and in Connecticut the increase is over 58 percent. Additionally, when we look at March 2015 compared to March 2016, women loans are up over 35 percent. For the first time ever, the government met its 5 percent stat- utory goal for contracts awarded to women-owned small business- es. Women entrepreneurs received $17.8 billion of federal business last year. That's an all-time high. Q: What are some of the misconceptions people have about the SBA? A: That we offer grants to peo- ple to start their own business. This, unfortunately, is not the case. The SBA does not lend money directly to small businesses. What we do is provide up to an 85 percent loan guaranty to a bank willing to make a loan that they are unable to make conventionally. This may be because the small business owner does not have enough collateral to secure the loan fully, or the busi- ness needs longer terms to pay the loan, or the business may be a startup, with unproven results. SBA is here to take some risk to help businesses get much needed capital and to help the bank get to the "yes" decision. Another myth is that it can take an excessive amount of paperwork and time to get an SBA loan. In the last decade, the SBA has made significant improve- ments in our processing times and to make our loan programs more ANNE HUNT Connecticut district director, Small Business Administration Top 5 CT Exports by Commodity Type 2014 2015 Aircraft, spacecraft, and parts $6,946,448,340 $6,733,094,175 Industrial machinery, computers $2,251,943,035 $2,011,170,369 Electric machinery, sound and TV equipment $1,623,143,166 $1,328,232,986 Optic, photo, and medical or surgical instruments $1,202,104,356 $1,189,597,966 Copper and articles thereof $373,489,759 $383,553,678 Total all commodities $15,930,667,663 $15,255,894,729 S O U R C E : S T A T E D E P A R T M E N T O F E C O N O M I C A N D C O M M U N I T Y D E V E L O P M E N T Continued Continued Anne Evans, director of the U.S. Department of Commerce's trade outpost in Middletown, recently hosted "Export Week" to encourage more small businesses to seek foreign customers. Victor Morando, chief tech- nology officer, Dymotek P H O T O | C O N T R I B U T E D

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