Mark S. Lee: Being Flexible, Seeking Advice Are Essential to Small Business Success
August 24, 2020Mark S. Lee, president and CEO of The LEE Group, MI LLC, discussed with the Detroit Regional Chamber the state of the city’s small businesses amid the COVID-19 global pandemic, including how businesses are managing throughout the crisis and the resources they need to survive.
Challenges at Hand
It is undeniable that small businesses across the Detroit region are struggling with many having closed temporarily or permanently. A particular struggle for Detroit-based small businesses – most of which are minority-owned – has been access to capital. Lee noted that what has prevented these businesses from securing capital, especially in the form of support like PPP loans, are a lack of relationships with financial institutions and minimal resources in the bank.
Best Practices for Small Business
Other strategies that small businesses have found success with include teaming up with their business “neighbors” to pool resources from marketing and/or offerings perspectives, which taps into a larger community of ideas and customers. Similarly, scaling offerings to make do with changing resources by hosting pop-up shops – getting outside of their storefronts or meeting customers where they are.
Who Can Help
There are a host of organizations, incubators, and programs that can support the region’s small businesses in this turbulent time. A few examples are:
- Detroit Regional Chamber Business Restart Center
- Local university entrepreneurship programs
- Small Business Administration (SBA) Emerging Leaders Program
“Small businesses are economic generators across not just our city, but into our country.”