Mike Fong: Take a moment this week to celebrate small businesses

By Mike Fong

When I was growing up, my dad and other relatives were in the Chinese restaurant business in Spokane and North Idaho. This was in the 1980s and 1990s. Some might even remember the Gung Ho restaurant on Division Street that my great uncle owned and where my dad worked as a cook for many years or the Pagoda Restaurant on Seltice Way in Post Falls that he owned and operated. With every business opportunity my family had, it was “all hands-on-deck,” long hours, incredibly hard work and seemingly always on a knife’s-edge with whether the doors would stay open. To be honest, I wondered to myself at times why anyone would choose to be an entrepreneur. But I also saw the pride, the passion and dedication in my dad that would give him the drive to keep moving forward even when encountering enormous obstacles in front of him.

To describe what our small businesses went through in 2020 and 2021 as obstacles would be an understatement. The global pandemic ground our economy to a halt and has in many ways fundamentally changed the way people will be doing business forever. With restrictions on mobility and travel in place, small businesses in our neighborhoods and communities became our lifelines. At the same time, there was a rediscovery and deeper appreciation of how much our entrepreneurs mean to our economy, jobs and local vibrancy and culture.

Here at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), we exist to serve the interests of small businesses and emerging entrepreneurs across the country. During the pandemic, our agency was responsible for distributing over 170,000 loans and grants to small businesses in Washington State valued at over $11B in financial relief. These resources along with the support from local communities helped many small businesses survive, but not without tremendous challenges and sacrifice.

Going forward, our agency under the direction of the Biden-Harris Administration and the leadership of our Administrator, Isabel Guzman, is focused on pivoting our support from helping small businesses survive the pandemic to becoming more resilient and thrive through growth and expansion as part of our nation’s recovery. SBA is committed to increasing access to capital and financial resources, making sure entrepreneurs can access free business development advice and support, and help open new opportunities to revenues and markets through government contracting, e-commerce and exporting assistance.

This week, I invite you to join Americans across the country to take a moment to celebrate and honor our small businesses during National Small Business Week, which starts today. Our theme this year is to recognize how we are building a better America through entrepreneurship. Small businesses account for two out of every three jobs being created in the private sector. We are celebrating the resiliency and tenacity of small business owners that are powering our historic economic comeback.

During the week, we encourage you to shop local, visit and thank small business owners and their employees in your neighborhoods and help us acknowledge their amazing contributions to our communities. SBA will also be hosting a free four-day virtual summit online where we will include access to critical federal resources, information on new business strategies, opportunities to meet other business owners and chat with industry experts. You can register for this event at National Small Business Week (sba.gov). Finally, take a look at our list of local businesses and our resource partners in Washington State that we will be recognizing and honoring next week for all that they do for our communities.

I am excited and optimistic about the economic future for the Inland Northwest and the state of Washington. On my recent visit to Spokane, it was obvious to me the entrepreneurial spirit is strong. From the downtown restaurant owner sharing with me their plans for expanding into North Spokane and Hayden to the science display manufacturer locking in a major new order from Malaysia or just seeing the remarkable transformation of Riverfront Park and the economic development happening in the surrounding area – all signs are pointing in a positive direction.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs: on behalf of the Biden-Harris Administration and SBA, we see you, we appreciate you and thank you for all that you do!

Mike Fong was appointed by President Biden as Pacific Northwest regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration in November 2021. He was born and raised in Spokane and is a graduate of North Central High School. He lives in Seattle.