By Bruce LeVell, Region 4 Advocate
It was a great start to the month of October as I brought business leaders together at Grub Burger in Atlanta, Georgia. Grub Burger’s owner hosted the small business forum on October 6, 2018. Grub Burger provided an appetizing brunch for the small businesses. The small business leaders came together to discuss how the Office of Advocacy supports small business leaders. The discussions also included the following issues: Dodd-Frank, banking regulations, and competition for small business owners in Atlanta.
This forum was special thanks to the representation of minority small business leaders from Atlanta, Georgia. I encouraged CBS46, a local television station, to promote the event where small business leaders Travis Stegall and Jerome Edmondson provided their testimonies. “Washington is making a serious effort to engage business owners,” noted Stegall. This live coverage of the Advocacy discussion will increase the productivity of businesses in the Southeast region and will motivate small business owners to take ownership for their learning, as witnessed at the event.
This small business forum allowed business owners to have a voice and served as an avenue to provide business owners with advice, mentorship, and support. The discussions were very productive and centered around how to improve the lives of employees with workers compensation insurance, access to capital, and ways to adjust Dodd-Frank from local bankers.
Bruce LeVell serves as the Region 4 Advocate for the SBA Office of Advocacy, representing small businesses in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. LeVell works with small business owners, state and local governments, and small business associations to bring the voice of Region 4 to Washington DC. He can be reached at Bruce.LeVell@sba.gov.