This video is Tim Norman’s testimony before the House of Representatives Small Business Committee on Wednesday, May26, 2010. Mr. Norman was invited by Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson to speak as a “small business hero” representing the 11th District in Illinois in honor of National Small Business Week. He is the CEO of STL Technology Partners in Bloomington (an EDC investor, as well as a participant in the EDC’s 2010 One Voice trip). Congratulations to Tim for this great honor!

Congresswoman Halvorson and Tim and Katie Norman were also featured on the EDC’s BNBiz Show on Tuesday, May 25 to discuss their expectations about this hearing. Click here to listen to the podcast of the interview.

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Press release from Congresswoman Halvorson’s office:

Local Small Business Owner Testifies in DC on Access to Capital, SBA Assistance

Tim Norman, Bloomington, IL: “The SBA 504 loan program, with the re-finance option, allowed us to re-capitalize our business.”

WASHINGTON, DC – Highlighting ways the Small Business Administration is able to assist small business owners looking to expand their business, Rep. Debbie Halvorson invited Tim Norman, a Bloomington small business owner to testify before the House Committee on Small Business yesterday on how the SBA helped his small business grow during the recession.

Tim Norman and his wife Katie own and operate a small business called STL Technology Partners, which specializes in computer repair and information technology services. Norman offered testimony about his work with SBA financing. Halvorson followed Norman’s testimony with a question and answer session regarding making the SBA more user-friendly to small business owners.

“Over the 19 years STL has been in business, we have seen two recessions, and undergone a number of corporate changes in order to remain aligned with our clients’ goals and needs,” said Tim Norman in his testimony. “At first, we were not pursuing the use of the loan through the SBA, but as the economy started to turn, it became more and more essential for us to secure the government financing. As we grow, we will definitely be looking at additional SBA loan programs we can leverage to create more jobs and expand our business.”

“We have seen progress in putting our economy back on track so far this year, but if we are going to keep that progress going, we need to give our small businesses the resources they need to create jobs, and that means increasing access to capital,” said Halvorson. “But we also want to make sure small business owners understand the resources that are already available to them, which is why I invited Tim and Katie to DC, to talk about their company and their interaction with the Small Business Administration during National Small Business Week. They’re truly small business heroes, and their story gives me great encouragement that we’re on a path towards economic recovery.”

During his testimony at the House Small Business Committee’s “Small Business Heroes” hearing, Norman spoke about STL’s recent period of growth. “We’ve put to work over 150 people in the last two and a half months, throughout the Midwest… So we are trying to use it [SBA financing] as an advantage to get moving and get growing because now is the time to grow.”

Norman also told a story of a friend who serves in the military and who was leaving to serve overseas. Norman said that he told his friend, “I feel we need to do something. I respect you for what you’re doing in the services you’re offering our nation.” Norman continued, “And he looked at me and he said, Tim I want to tell you something – we’ll defend this country, you create jobs. And that’s what we’re doing.”

As a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Halvorson has worked to introduce and pass legislation to increase access to capital for small businesses. Fighting to increase SBA loan sizes and extend short-term business stabilization loans, Halvorson introduced HR 3723, the Small Business Credit Expansion and Loan Markets Stabilization Act, and has worked to pass HR 4311, the Bonus Depreciation and Enhanced Expensing for Small Businesses Extension Act, which increases incentives for businesses to make new capital investments.

For more information about Congresswoman Halvorson’s efforts to empower small businesses and create jobs, visit the Congresswoman’s website by clicking here. To view small business assistance available though the Congresswoman’s office, click here.

Video of the question and answer panel including Halvorson and Norman can be found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIFUC-I6RTI

Photo Credit: Kristie Baxter, US House of Representatives Photographer.