Money is tight.

“Banks are doing everything they can for the small business owner,” said Norm Mangano, chairman of the Citrus County Chapter of SCORE. “But they are under a lot of pressure. This is a difficult time for them.”

At the county’s recent economic summit, it was not surprising to Mangano and John Siefert, executive director of the Citrus County Economic Development Council, that owners of small businesses said they often were frustrated in attempts to seek funding.

“Businesses are slowly coming out of the recession,” Siefert said, “but banks are having to offer loans to people who would be hiring 20 people or more. We wanted to find options for the smaller businesses. Norm has worked to locate the people who look at businesses differently than banks do.”

In response to business owners’ request for other sources of funding, SCORE, the EDC and other business support groups have organized the “Small Business Funding and Incentive Resources Workshop” that will meet from 8 to 10:45 a.m. Wednesday at the conference center of the College of Central Florida in Lecanto.

Mangano will speak and introduce three guest speakers from outside the county.

n Will Leaming represents Root Theory, an Ocala-based advisory firm that specializes in sales and marketing solutions, relevancy testing, leadership development and business essentials. One specialized area in which this group advises is developing tools to effectively partner with the business’s bank.

n Greg O’Dell is the regional account manager for the Tampa branch of CIT Small Business Lending Corporation. His job is to assist small business entrepreneurs. His company offers Small Business Administration (SBA) 7(a) loans for commercial real estate financing, professional practice finance, franchise financing, business acquisition and business succession financing.

n John Ehlenbeck is senior vice president with Bank of America in Brooksville. He is responsible for business development and for servicing business clients in Hernando and Citrus counties and surrounding areas. He will speak about what banks look for when considering loans.

Whether with a bank or any other form of lending, SCORE will offer to help business people get their necessary information together.

“No matter when you attempt to seek financing, you need to have a business plan in place,” Mangano said. “And that’s what we do.”

“There are certain things you need to prepare for a loan application,” Siefert said. “They want a financial picture and a business picture. Banks still give loans, but it is not as easy as it was two or three years ago.”

During the second session of the funding information, Mike Orlito, a certified business analyst with the Small Business Development Center, will speak about the center’s services and resources. Siefert will describe the work of the EDC.

For the third session, Siefert, along with Gary Maidhof, Citrus County operations and projects officer, will describe the incentive program resources offered through the EDC and the county. They are exploring adding two new incentives. One would be for small businesses that want to add between two and six employees and the other would be to offer tangible tax relief on medical equipment. These incentives would need the approval by the board of county commissioners.

  This will be the second of three workshops. The first one sought input from the business community about updating the land development code. The third one, yet to be scheduled, will be about marketing the different businesses in the county.

The workshop is free, but people who want to attend are asked to register by calling 795-3149 or by e-mailing Jackie@citruscountychamber.com. Questions also can be sent to that e-mail address.

Spread the word about events, opportunities

Whether it’s tourist or economic development, too often the tendency is to focus efforts outward. Not surprisingly, therefore, the county’s tourist and economic development efforts over the years have aimed at hitting a home run beyond the fences rather than scoring with “Texas league singles” by looking closer to home.

For decades, residents from across the state have visited Citrus County to enjoy hunting, fishing and boating. Today, our county offers even more for local and other state residents to enjoy. And, with the nation’s sputtering economy resulting in fewer out-of-state visitors, Florida residents can buoy local tourism.

Gov. Charlie Crist’s decision to begin the annual recreational scallop-harvesting season 12 days early at the urging of state Rep. Ron Schultz, R-Homosassa, and others illustrates that tourist development begins at home. Despite the short time to spread the word to Floridians of the June 19 kickoff, local motels and hotels have experienced a surge in bookings instead of suffering the usual early dog days of summer.

Accordingly, the county’s Tourist Development Council (TDC) that’s charged with developing a marketing plan and recommending the use of “bed tax” revenue, should consider focusing its tourist development more toward Floridians, expanding its outreach venues and providing funding assistance to promote the county’s signature events.

A tourist is someone who travels for pleasure whether it’s 10 or 1,000 miles. Thus, with fewer leisure dollars available, our county’s numerous land and water attractions make it an ideal one-gas-tank destination for Tampa and Orlando area residents, as well as nearby counties. Also, with Citrus County residents now numbering approximately 150,000, they are home-grown tourists who should not be overlooked.

Getting the word out about the county’s many attractions and events is key to tourism beginning at home. Presently, tourist promotion by the Citrus County Visitors and Convention Bureau, the TDC’s day-to-day staff, is primarily Internet based. While it is a superb website with a plethora of information, it’s only available to those who have Internet access and know of its existence. Consequently, multiple marketing venues should be employed. State welcome centers and interstate rest stops should have literature touting the opportunities in Citrus, and newspapers, TV and radio could get the message out to a mass audience.

Citrus County’s signature events such as the manatee, seafood and cooter festivals are magnets for tourists from near and far. With the success of any event, a function of how well it is publicized, TDC promotional funding assistance would certainly strengthen their draw.

Marla Chancey, director of the Citrus County Visitors and Convention Bureau, best sums up the potential value of tourism beginning at home with her website comment that what she loves best about her job “… is that I get to learn my county inside and out and open others’ eyes to how fantastic our little big town is.”

Fantastic Citrus is certainly a gem on the Nature Coast. From near and far, ya’ll come and visit for a spell.