Small firms identified a variety of issues they said were important to the success of their business. Encouraging Stamford businesses to stay local was an issue that was raised and small business leaders provided examples where Stamford area businesses had been approached and encouraged to relocate with incentive packages. Some businesses complained that real estate was an important issue because businesses seeking growth and expansion were frustrated with the lack of availability and cost of space. A labor shortage, particularly in technical vocation was another key issue that was raised. Everyone agreed that all these issues needed to be addressed for small businesses to succeed.

"What we really want to do is understand what the issues are," Malloy said. And after that, "We are going to reshape our economic development efforts to be more in tune with small business."

"Businesses cannot simply finance their way to profitability. It can only be achieved through effective and committed management. Our role will be to help businesses achieve all of the profits they deserve and take full advantage of the billions of dollars of federal resources earmarked for small businesses," remarked George A. Cloutier, Chairman/CEO of American Management.

Mayor Malloy committed to hosting a small business conference and additional preparatory roundtables in order to develop an event that was informative and productive for area small business leaders.

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