On Friday, the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce hosted leaders from the local Small Business Administration (SBA) office and leaders from the San Antonio Manufacturer’s Association (SAMA). Both Mary Hernandez, the District Director at SBA, and Sheena Little, the Deputy District Director, were on hand as well as Dan Yoxall, the new President & CEO of SAMA, with his board chair, Doug Carlberg, President and CEO of M2 Global. The robust discussion focused on how to best share current SBA program opportunities with small businesses in San Antonio, especially the memberships of the Chamber and SAMA. The SBA leaders also sought input from aerospace companies and manufacturers in San Antonio in an effort to ensure the industry receives the proper amount of attention from their organization.
The Chamber shared several legislative initiatives in review as part of preparations for the 88th Texas State Legislative Session in January 2023. Other points of discussion centered on the intersecting issues of continued COVID recovery, supply chain shortages, a sharp increase in prices, and climbing rates. The SBA is looking for ways to assist small businesses outside of its tradition programs like their preferred lender network. The discussion was helpful to all involved, but there is much more to do. The Chamber continues to listen to its members and bring ideas and solutions to SBA for implementation as our local office stives to help small businesses in San Antonio.