“If you are going to be in a recession, this is the place to be,” said David Iannucci of the Baltimore County Department of Economic Development.
We were recently invited to join the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Maryland Bankers Association, the Turnaround Association and business lawyers in a program with the government agencies.
The program, designed to help small businesses during this slowdown, was titled “Surviving the Economic Slowdown” and was sponsored by Baltimore County's Department of Economic Development and the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. The program was Iannucci's vision and could be a model for future programs to be held around the state. We saw this as a way to give back to the Maryland community and to highlight the added value that CPAs bring to small businesses.
Economist Darius Irani of Towson's Regional Economic Studies Institute (RESI) gave some interesting and optimistic facts about Maryland versus the national statistics. He talked about the three big strengths of the Maryland economy as Eds, Meds and Feds. He also gave statistics that showed we are nowhere near a depression. He compared current national unemployment stats of 7 to 8 percent to the depression stats of 26 percent and the GDP decline of 3 to 4 percent to the depression decline of more than 25 percent — and Maryland's stats were even better.
Then it was the CPAs' turn. MACPA instructor par excellence Frank Ryan captivated the audience of more than 200 small business owners as he talked about tips for surviving the recession. He talked about several key areas on which we should focus:
- Knowing your financial (cash) needs.
- Communicating with lenders.
- Communicating with suppliers.
- Communicating with customers.
- Communicating with employee.
- Communicating with government (tax authorities).
Frank also added a touch of humor and talked about the need for optimism to counter the fear being broadcast everyvday.
I grabbed Frank before the program for a quick interview about why CPAs were invited to the program:
More good news (because we all need it):
- Economic Allliance says Maryland region still holding its own: BBJ reporter Ryan Sharrow says, “Greater Baltimore is riding out the recession better than most of the Top 25 cities.”
- CPA Success blog post: Why we can beat this recession
- CPA Success blog post: CPAs … Takin' Care of Business
Press about the event:
- North County News article: Seminar Offers Advice for Small Business Owners
- Ideas to Help Small Business
- Photos from the event
Resources from the event:
- Managing Your Business in Difficult Times, a PowerPoint presentation by Frank Ryan
- Cashflow / financing spreadsheet, from Frank Ryan
- Guide to U.S. Small Business Administration resources
- MACPA's Economy Resource Center
- AICPA's Economy Resource Center
Don't miss 100 exhibitors, 60 workshops and more tha 2,000 people as we bring together the Maryland business community to Collaborate, Innovate and Grow our way out of this recession! Plan to attend the Maryland Business Expo on June 16-17 at the Baltimore Convention Center.