Karen Mills Named SBA Chief | Payday Loans For Small Business?

Creating jobs and supporting small business, in much the same way that payday loans keep consumer budgets out of temporary trouble, is on Obama’s mind. But he seeks to build the backbone of this country long term to keep it out of real trouble. By naming Karen Mills head of the Small Business Administration (SBA), he may just succeed.

Small business is the key to our economy

At a Chicago press conference, Obama exclaimed that “with Karen Mills as administrator, America’s small businesses will have a partner in Washington” who will help create jobs as faxless payday loans can create cashflow, and keep an eye on their unique needs.

Mills is currently the president of MMP Group. She was also a founding partner and managing director of Solera Capital. She is also lead director of Scotts Miracle-Gro and a devoted proponent of green energy business.

Mills and the position she will inherit

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) had this to say regarding Mills:

Karen has a tremendous background in venture capital and lending, which will prove beneficial during these times in which small enterprises require every tool at their disposal to create new jobs.

House Small Business Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez (D-New York) pointed to the fact that budget cuts to the SBA during the Bush administration had made it practically a non-entity. Hence, Mills will have her work cut out for her to help rebuild both the agency and the state of small businesses across America. A temporary solution, much like payday loans for larger budgeting issues, would not be appropriate.

Yet Mills has the skills

According to the SBA’s VP of Public Affairs Molly Brogan, Mills has the essential experience with key business and economic administration that will make her a good choice for the job. This comes despite her apparent lack of hand-on small-business experience, but as Brogan stated, “We’re not overly concerned.”

Sandy Baruah, current SBA director, was also happy to hear that Mills received president-elect Obama’s nomination.

Karen Mills has been a friend and professional partner over the years in both my roles as the assistant secretary of Commerce and the head of the SBA. She is ideally suited to lead the agency. Her background is a combination of management, venture capital and public policy, three elements key to leading the agency successfully.

Rebuilding a strong backbone

One of the most important things Obama must achieve during his presidency is to right the wrongs that have led to America’s current economic downturn. With a strong small business community, America’s standing on the world stage will be solidified to its previous levels. According to the SBA, “companies of fewer than 20 employees account for half of the non-farm gross domestic product and have generated 60 to 80 percent of new jobs in the past decade.”

Small businesses must have the strength, unity and freedom to operate in a climate that has been less than hospitable, thanks to gigantic big-box stores that drown mom-and-pop operations with sheer, monolithic volume. It is this author’s hope – and President-elect Obama’s – that Karen Mills will help steer the pendulum in the other direction, toward a more hospitable equilibrium. Similarly, payday loans must always be a choice that free, informed consumers can consider, rather than having to depend upon the impersonal, inconvenient service of big bad banks.