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Small Businesses, Big Challenges: Worker, Housing Shortages Are Prime Issues

Posted on: Saturday, 13 May 2006, 09:05 CDT

By Tom Wilemon, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.

May 13--GULFPORT -- There's money to be made after a hurricane for small businesses -- if they can get open and find workers.

Restaurants have done a brisk business selling meals to construction workers and Coast residents tired of eating canned cuisine. Other businesses have had slower starts.

"We've got an informal census from the Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce members," said Duncan McKenzie, the chairman of the small-business committee. "We've lost probably 25 or 30 percent of our chamber businesses. Many of them simply aren't back in business yet."

Some of the goals established by the small-business committee of the Governor's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal have higher priority than others. For instance, affordable housing is a more critical need than building a new business incubator.

Worker shortages have caused many businesses, even Wal-Mart, to operate with abbreviated hours. The shortage of affordable housing and higher land prices are aggravating worker shortages. Joe Cloyd with the Mississippi Development Authority said the state agency is looking at the possibility building modular, dormitory-style apartments to house workers.

Some businesses took advantage of bridge loans to reopen. The MDA offered interest-free loans of up to $25,000 per small business so they could have the operational funds and payroll to open their doors again. The state issued more than 500 loans worth $12.3 million.

As a follow-through, one of the goals was to create a small-business emergency-recovery center in a mobile van. The van, which was a gift, is equipped with telecommunications and computer technologies.

"We lent it out to Hancock County," McKenzie said. "They've been using it for their disaster recovery. We're going to use it eventually. Our plan is to take that unit from area to area, but we're going to allow (Hancock County) to use it for as long as they need it."

The committee has developed recovery booklets to address the needs of the small businesses that will be distributed, he said.

Several of the goals to help small businesses rely upon local governments, such as restoring historic downtowns and creating business-improvement districts. These districts would subscribe to a "self-help doctrine" with "self-taxing" mechanisms to fund shared outdoor spaces and other attractions.

Tom Wilemon can be reached at 896-2354 or tewilemon@sunherald.com

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.)

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