Robert Weygand: “I am here to support Senate version 1139 because I think this is good for my State of Rhode Island, the small State of…”

“I am here to support Senate version 1139 because I think this is good for my State of Rhode Island, the small State of Rhode Island, but also good for other businesses throughout this country. This bill authorizes SBA and its programs which will provide access to capital and services that might not be available to many of the small businesses throughout this great country. I am a former small business owner, and I remember when I started my business in the basement of my house 15 years ago. I went down to the SBA because I knew I was a good landscape architect, I knew I could provide the services that were necessary, but I thought maybe I could extend my market area into maybe some Federal programs. So I went down there 15 years ago, and when I came back, they had piled me down with literature and propaganda that most small business owners cannot even take the time to read, and I immediately threw it in the basket. My first impression of the SBA was a very negative one. That is not so today. Today in Rhode Island, the SBA has done tremendous deeds to improve the small business climate of our State.”