= Fred Warren Offers Financial
Assistance To Gty’s
Entrepreneurs
I The null business entrepren
..eur, practically unheard before
L. has in the last several years be
S2come a household word. The pop
~ .ularity of the position is owed in
Impart to Reaganomics and the
•--President's philosophy of
Z "PuUin« oneself up by one's boot
hs traps," which entrepreneurs are
‘ ^nown to do. But most of the en
. trepreneur's popularity is owed to
.. the common knowledge that 80
.. percent of Americans are em
^ ployed by these small business
•“ owners. Therefore, the small
I^bueiness entrepreneur has be
JT.come a sought-after entity.
ZZ 80 •ought-after there are people
STwhose jobs involve finding entre
~j>reneurs.
C- ^ret^ Warren, manager of the
^Economic Development Division
—of the City of Charlotte's Commu
nity Development Department
j*- (CDD), is one of those people. His
^ work days center around seeking
^ out entrepreneurs and assisting
.. them to initiate, increase or ex
I' pand their businesses by way of
financial loans from the City.
*> .finds them in different
5; ways: they may come directly to
j; him for consultation; or are re
•; ferred by banks or the Chamber of
• < Commerce. Warren welcomes
j; callers with information
i> about the loan programs the City
•, has to ofler small businesses.
The first loan program devel
V. oped by the city of Charlotte was
'^established in 1978 and today this
' program, called the Economic
^Development Revolving Loan
Fund (EDRLF) is still utilized to
—-assist individuals and business
es city-wide. Informs Warren,
"The fund provides six percent
interest rate loans and a five
year term."
However, this fund and the oth
er two loan programs of the City,
has certain guidelines to which
potential borrowers must adhere.
They are the 50-40-10 concept and
the criteria for job creation.
In explanation of these guide
lines, Warren begins with the 50
40-10 concept. It is best elucidated
by example. Warren relates,
"For instance, a business owner
needs a loan of $50,000. We re
quire they obtain 50 percent or
$25,000 of the loan from smother
■■ ■ _ I
Pt>oto by Jalyno Strong
Fred Warren pinpoints the Charlotte areas which are in need of ec
onomic development and increased entrepreneurship.
lender (usually a bank), well
loan 40 percent—$20,000— and
the borrower must supply the re
maining $5,000 or 10 percent in
cash."
-The 50-40-10 concept is found
necessary, says Warren "to lev
erage public dollars.” It also has
a security factor. He adds, "It's
understood if private industry
(banks) are involved in a loan,
they’ve looked at it long and
hard. That's one reason why
we'd get involved.”
Job creation is the other guide
line necessary to receiving a
loan from the City and it may be
the most important. "Everytime
we make a loan a primary pur
pose is to make jobs,” stresses
Warren. With each of the loan
programs offered by the .City
there is the stipulation that every
$15,000 borrowed must account for
one job created. By way of help
ing the entrepreneur with finan
cial assistance the city is also,
trying to alleviate some of its un
employment. Essentially, the
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CDD looks looks to the entrepren
eur to create jobs for low and
moderate income people of Char
lotte.
In the second loam program of
by the CDD’s Economic Di
vision. the ereatlbrTbT jobs and~
commercial revitalization is of
utmost importance. This pro
gram, titled the Development and
Revitalization Fund, waa begun
in 1085 for use in four develop
ment areas and a large section of
the city termed the “Pocket of
Poverty."
Die four development areas are
Beatties Ford Rd., West More
head, South Blvd. and Wilkin
»on Blvd. Die "Pocket of Pover
ty" encompasses an area bound
ed by the Billy Graham Pkwy.,
Nations Ford Rd., South Bl,vd.,
Elizabeth Ave.„ and Graham St.
Diese areas have been targeted
because of their large concentra
tion of low to moderate income
inhabitants. And the Develop
ment and Revitalization Fund, a
special loan program just for
these areas is the way the City at
tracts entrepreneurs to construct,
rehabilitate or expand industrial
or commercial projects in these
sections.
This program also has the 50
40-10 concept and the job creation
guidelines. But Warren points
out, "There are exceptions to eve
ry rule and every loan situation
is different." A difference found
in this particular loan program
is, says Warren, "the rates and
terms are negotiable. Rates
range from three to nine percent
and the term is based on the com
pany's ability to repay the debt."
Warren also admits,
"Flexibility is built into each of
our loan programs."
The third and final program
handled by the CDD’s Economic
Division tb targeted for a higher—l
league entrepreneur. This loan
is actually offered by the Char
lotto Certified Development Cor
poration (CCDC) which is a non
profit corporation organized in
1982 by the Mayor and City Coun
cil. The CCDC works in conjunc
-
tion with the CDD'a Economic Di
. vision in finding entrepreneuri
al candidates and in the admin
istration of the loana. Called the
Continued On Page 9B
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