It's prime time for small businesses in the Twin Cities as the MN PROMISE Act Loan Program rolls out the welcome mat for loan applications, available to disadvantaged small business honchos operating in specific areas of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. The Providing Resources & Opportunity & Maximizing Investments in Striving Entrepreneurs, abbreviated PROMISE, is a state-banked initiative with $24 million up for grabs over the next couple of years.
Underprivileged Saint Paul organizations, including non-profits and developers, can now scoop up these funds, as long as they're earmarked for capital improvements like building purchases or business revamps. Administered by the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA), the dough aims to uplift areas knocked down by structural racial discrimination, civil unrest, and economic stagnancy. According to the Small Business Newsletter, applicants better tick all the boxes – being registered with the Minnesota Secretary of State, having operations grounded in Minnesota, bagging less than a million bucks annually in the last two years, and being situated in the hard-hit neighborhoods.
The loans are just the tip of the iceberg as PROMISE is high-fiving the Neighborhood Development Center, which is bracing to launch its grand grant program come spring. These grants are designed to fuel typical business operations, stretching from salaries to monthly bills. Workshops to teach applicants the ropes kick off in mid-February.
Meanwhile, sunny days hover on the horizon for Saint Paul's youth as the city's Right Track program aims to turbocharge its internship placements this year. The initiative, according to a statement obtained by the Small Business Newsletter, matched more than 800 whippersnappers with industry gigs last year, and this year, it's looking to push that number to 900, with the help of employer partners. They are a springboard for the City of Saint Paul’s hefty $1.5 million target from summer gigs alone.
Saint Paul is rewriting the rules on amplified sound permits, making it a breeze to crank up the volume at events, with bureaucracy brought to a whisper. Job creators with an eye on inclusion are also in luck, with Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development now offering a pot of gold for workplace accommodations for employees with disabilities. Small and mid-sized enterprises are slated to get reimbursed for shelling out on this front, making the workplace a level playing field for all.
The city's not just throwing a lifeline to businesses. With wire theft becoming an irksome game of cat and mouse, authorities are rallying citizens with a simple but potent mantra: “see something, say something.” In response to pilfered cables that left many street lights agonizing in the dark, Public Works and Parks and Rec are getting hands-on with the police to clamp down on the wire-gobbling culprits.
On the wages front, the newsletter heralds the new year with an uptick in the minimum hourly wage for Saint Paul's macro businesses – employees can now pocket $15.57 an hour. Other businesses maintain their wages until July, but the hike in the minimum amount is as inevitable as a tick of the clock.
Aspiring entrepreneurs sitting on the edge of their seats, hungering for more, can eyeball DEED's new guide on launching a business in Minnesota, or suck in the knowledge from an array of upcoming events designed to stoke the fires of trade and commerce. The full list, Isabella-style cronked in the newsletter, promises a bustling month ahead for Twin Cities' business brains.
