Minority, veteran small business expo attracts hundreds to Lake City

LAKE CITY, S.C. (WPDE) — Small business owners gathered Friday at The Continuum to network and share their businesses as well as talk with U.S. Small Business Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman.

More than 200 people came out for the event, including small business owners, held at The Continuum in Lake City.

Guzman is the 27th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and serves in President Biden’s cabinet as the leading advocate for America’s 33 million small businesses and innovative startups.

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The SBA’s website says

Guzman has made advancing entrepreneurship her life’s work. Growing up, she worked alongside her father in his chain of veterinary hospitals, an experience that shaped her understanding of entrepreneurship and its transformative effect on customers and on communities. She went on to launch her own businesses across a range of industries and advise other founders in paving their way to the American Dream of business ownership. She served as SBA’s Deputy Chief of Staff in the Obama-Biden Administration and then led the California Office of the Small Business Advocate. In early 2021, President Biden asked her to lead the SBA, and her nomination was confirmed by a bipartisan vote in the U.S. Senate.

Under Guzman’s leadership, the agency manages a $500 billion portfolio and deploys $50 billion in funding annually to America’s small business owners. As administrator, she spearheaded key agency initiatives to deliver essential pandemic assistance to the most vulnerable small businesses and underserved communities. She has also implemented effective strategies that help small businesses and innovative startups gain unprecedented access to capital, contracting, professional networks, technical training, digital tools and disaster support. As a result, more than ever before, millions of America’s entrepreneurs have the resources they need to start, grow and build resilient businesses.

Guzman hosted the Small Business Boom Tour which highlighted the more than 18 million new business applications filed during the Biden administration, including 316,000 in South Carolina alone.

She took part in a fireside chat and answered questions regarding how the SBA is helping those to grow their existing small business and others who are looking to start a business.

Lake City Mayor Yamekia Robinson said that she enjoyed Guzman’s visit and believes Guzman and her team have empowered community members to take advantage of the resources for small businesses.

Many of those who came out for the event said they learned a lot that will put them in the right direction to grow their business.