When Angolia echoed that sentiment, in her interview. “There’s a lot of mom and pop businesses employing a lot of people,” she said.
President Barack Obama introduced his initiatives for small businesses
Monday, Channel 4 in Washington D.C., turned to florist Maris Angolia
for a local angle.
And with 45 minutes to prepare for the interview, Angolia turned to SAF.
“They’re the first people I call. Bar none,” said Angolia, vice president of Karin’s Florist, in Vienna, Va. “It gives you the comfort that you’re not going to blow it when the reporter walks into the store.”
Angolia spoke to Jennifer Sparks, vice president of marketing, Lin
Schmale, senior director of government relations, and Drew Gruenburg,
chief operating officer. The SAF staff gave her talking points about
President Obama’s plans to encourage lenders to make more money
available to small businesses, saying that anything that helps small
businesses is a good thing. (See more about the initiatives, below.)
Angolia’s speedy preparation paid off, with a polished and positive interview.
Reporter Julie Carey, who contacted Angolia on a recommendation by her local chamber of commerce, opened the florist’s segment of her report
by saying “At this florist in Vienna, orders are coming in strong as
ever. Family-owned since 1956, their solid reputation has protected
them from the recession.”
Angolia told the reporter that florists help people celebrate important life events, regardless of the economy.
“We’re very fortunate, throughout the years, we found our customers
still turn to us for their special milestones. There are still
birthdays, still anniversaries, still weddings, still funerals,”
Angolia said during the two-minute segment, which aired on Monday
evening.
Carey asked whether Karin’s Florist was getting the credit it
needed from banks. After talking to SAF, Angolia was prepared to frame
her answer to address the toll the credit freeze has on all small
businesses.
She said her own business hasn’t had trouble getting credit, but it
was important to reduce fees and make capital available so struggling
small businesses can get back on track.
Gruenburg said he’s pleased the Obama administration is recognizing
the importance of small business to the overall U.S. economy. “Small
businesses collectively are huge employers,” he said. “Small businesses
really make up the fabric of so many communities, towns and cities
across America.”
The White House said in a statement released Monday that small
companies have been responsible for about 70 percent of new jobs, over
the past decade. President Obama said in his announcement that, “Our
recovery in the present and our prosperity in the future depend upon
the success of America's small businesses and entrepreneurs.”
Obama's plan includes:
buying up to $15 billion of securities linked to small-business loans.
increasing loan guarantees for small businesses to 90 percent of the loan value, to encourage lenders to extend credit.
waiving the U.S. Small Business Administration’s loan fees.
requiring the banks that received federal bailout money to report how much small business lending they did each month.