Chamber official combats low rate of new business startups

A chamber of commerce official says the nationwide lack of new businesses startups — the U.S. is at a 40-year low — will cripple, or at least hinder, any economic recovery. And Frank Knapp, the official sounding the alarm, is taking his case for solutions on the road.

Knapp, president and CEO of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, recently came through Florida, where he met with reporters in nine cities, including Tampa, Sarasota, Port Charlotte and Lakeland. The core of the issue, Knapp contends, is new businesses lack access to capital, a problem that will require reforming, and rethinking, the way the SBA operates. He says many new business can get going on loans of $10,000 or $20,000 — too small for most banks to handle. “We’re not taking anything away from banks,” Knapp says. “They don’t want to do these kinds of loans.”