Publication:Monroe Evening News

Cornell Sample said he closed his Pitmaster BBQ and Daily Grind Sweet Shop in Monroe Township last week because revenue just wasn’t enough to cover his expenses.

“It broke my heart,” Mr. Sample said. “I put a good product out and people in the community loved it, but when the bills come in and you don’t have the revenue to cover it, you have to close up.”

Mr. Sample said he wants to reopen a Monroe area location and, after attending a business roundtable meeting with U.S. Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Dearborn, on Friday, planned to explore what help he might get from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Mr. Sample was among about a dozen invited Monroe area businesspeople who took part in a forum with Rep. Dingell where they could voice their concerns or air problems they might be facing. As the economy limps along, Rep. Dingell has been holding a series of such sessions with businesses around his district in recent months.

The late-morning gathering was held in a conference room at the Sygma Corp. distribution facility off Ternes Dr.
Mr. Dingell told some of the small businesspeople attending that although the SBA doesn’t usually make direct grants, they underwrite loans with low interest rates and involved less red tape than previously.
“The thing we’re finding of late is that the Small Business Administration applications for assistance are much easier to fill out and much less complex,” he said.
He also told Mr. Sample that the SBA has programs that emphasize help to minority-owned small businesses such as his. “You can anticipate getting a good reception there,” he said.

Tight money, cheap imports from China and the availability of job training assistance were among the other topics discussed at the session.

Read more at Monroenews.com.