The President:
Well, thank you very much.
Good afternoon, everybody.
Audience:
Good afternoon.
The President:
And thank you, Lisa.
I think you can see that she's
pretty good at making a pitch.
(laughter)
And we're grateful for sharing
your story and your enthusiasm
with all of us.
And congratulations to you and
everybody who is being honored
here today as some of America's
most outstanding business owners
and lenders and
counselors and coaches.
I want, also, all of you to know
that I am so pleased with my
selection as SBA Administrator.
Karen Mills is somebody who is
passionate about small business;
she understands the ins and
outs of it, the nuances of it.
She is fighting for bringing
SBA into the 21st century.
So I think you'll find just an
outstanding partner in her,
please give her a big
round of applause.
(applause)
Running a successful small
business is impressive in any
year -- but it's especially
impressive this year,
at this moment when we're facing
the most serious economic
downturn in generations.
And I know that what
you do isn't easy.
I know that for every
contract you've won,
every sale that you've made
and job you've created,
you've had plenty of setbacks
and false starts and late nights
wondering how on earth you're
going to keep everything
together and why you decided
to take this path in the first place.
But you kept on going.
You scrimped and you saved and
you borrowed and you improvised.
And your failures didn't
discourage you -- they educated
you and they motivated you to
succeed the next time around.
And today, we honor that courage
and determination and daring
just as much as we honor the
success that it ultimately
brought you.
And that's the spirit that
led Lisa -- a single mom,
a former hairstylist -- you
know, the hair looks good, so you --
(laughter)
Ms. Pineiro:
I'm good.
I cut hair in the back room.
(laughter)
The President:
In the back room, while
she's scooping ice cream --
(laughter)
Ms. Pineiro:
Running the
construction company.
The President:
-- running the
construction company,
she's been doing her hair.
(laughter)
Ms. Pineiro:
I do.
The President:
I think there was a song
about you, wasn't there?
(laughter)
Ms. Pineiro:
"She works hard
for the money" --
(laughter)
The President:
To set out a little over a year
ago -- a little over 10 years
ago with nothing but a loan from
her parents and a big idea,
and her company now
has 78 employees;
it's grossed nearly $4
million in sales last year.
It's what led Tom
Masterson -- where's Tom?
Tom's right here -- Tom, after
working for 30 years in the
electrical industry,
to co-found T.E.M.
Electric, funded it entirely on
his own and working out of his
living room until he won
his first major contract.
Today, the company employs 75
people and has over $12 million
in revenues.
It's what led Andy Wells, a
member of the Red Lake Ojibwa
Tribe, to invest $1,300 back
in 1989 -- where's Andy?
Right here -- $1,300 back in
1989 to found Wells Technology,
manufacturing industrial tools
and fasteners and creating jobs
near reservations in
Minnesota, where he lives.
In 2008, his company generated
$54 million in revenues,
and his customers include
Coca-Cola and Boeing and Oshkosh.
So small businesses like these
are driving our economy.
You're the job creators,
responsible for half of all
private sector jobs.
You're innovators, producing 13
times more patents per employee
than large companies.
You're the starting point for
the products and brands that
have redefined the market.
After all, Google started
out as a small business;
that was a research project.
Hewlett-Packard began
with two guys in a garage.
The first Apple computers were
built by hand, one at a time.
McDonald's started with
just one restaurant.
And small businesses don't just
strengthen our economy -- they
also strengthen our communities.
Your customers aren't just
anonymous folks who buy what you
sell -- they're your friends,
they're your neighbors.
The place where you set up shop
often isn't just your business
address, but it's
also your hometown,
and sometimes it's your home.
And I know what you do to give
back -- sponsoring sports
leagues and service
projects, serving on boards,
donating to charities, mentoring
other small business owners to
help them be as
successful as you are.
So with all that you
do for this nation,
I think our nation's government
should be there to support you
-- to help you grow
and expand and succeed.
So I'm pleased that nearly all
of you have benefited from SBA's
services -- from SBA loans,
programs, advice, counseling.
And I'm pleased about that,
but I'm not satisfied.
I think we can do more.
We can do more to help
small business owners,
especially right now.
And that's why our recovery plan
raises the guarantees on SBA
loans to 90 percent, eliminates
costly fees for borrowers and
lenders, and includes a
series of tax cuts for small
businesses, as well as
incentives to encourage
investment in small businesses.
And that's why my proposed
budget reduces the capital gains
tax for investments in small
or startup businesses to zero.
Zero capital gains tax.
That's why I intend to pass
comprehensive health care reform
this year, so we can lower
costs, raise quality,
and make it easier for many of
you to not only get health care
for your employees, but
also for yourselves.
And that's why we're announcing
a new SBA loan program -- the
America's Recovery
Capital, or ARC, program.
And this new program will provide up to $35,000 to help
struggling, but
still credit-worthy,
small businesses pay off non-SBA
debts -- money they can use to
pay suppliers and vendors, or
pay down credit card debts.
And the loans will be guaranteed
100 percent by the SBA,
and they'll be available
starting June 15th.
And I believe they will be a
lifeline to help viable small
businesses through
these difficult times.
So all of this is a good
start, but it's only a start.
We still have much work ahead to
support our small businesses and
restore our economy.
It won't be easy.
We'll need to be bold and
creative and take risks,
just like all of you have done.
But that's always been the
American story -- that belief
that all things are possible,
that we are limited only by our
willingness to take a chance and
work hard to achieve our dreams.
And I'm confident that
we will do exactly that.
Together, we are going to meet
the challenges of our times.
So congratulations again to
all of you for what you have succeeded.
And please make sure to
keep feeding us good ideas,
so that we can help you help
the American economy and the
American people.
Thank you very much.
(applause)