The owners of the Praline Connection were better prepared than other New Orleans businesses to recover from Katrina.

Curtis Moore and Cecil Kaigler, co-owners of the Praline Connection restaurant, were both more fortunate and better prepared than most other businesses when Hurricane Katrina bore down on Louisiana.

As restaurant manager Gloria Moore explains, their primary location on the edge of the French Quarter sustained only a little roof damage, but electricity and gas weren’t available until November because of damage to utility lines. A smaller food court site at the Louis Armstrong International Airport was temporarily closed while the airport served as a triage center. Their biggest losses were their 49 employees and a facility they’d leased near the city’s convention center that was used for large parties and convention events, and a Sunday gospel brunch that served 300 guests each week. It was the only one of their locations to not reopen.

Initially, the U.S. Small Business Administration was very eager to assist, Moore recalled, but a year passed before their loan application was approved. They repeatedly were asked to submit additional information that would then somehow get lost or the loan officer with whom they were working would be replaced by someone who requested other information. At one point the deadline for all documentation even expired because of SBA’s disorganization.

“The most frustrating thing was that they never called you. When I’d call to check on the loan, that’s when they’d go to the file and say they needed [various] documents,” said Moore. “I don’t know if this was others’ experience, but I never got a call unless I initiated it.”

One year after the process began, the agency approved the $285,000 loan for working capital and equipment replacement.

“There are a lot of anecdotal stories like that and we don’t challenge them,” said James Rivera, associate administrator of SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance. Like all other agencies called on to assist in the recovery effort, the level of need was unlike any other they’d faced and they simply weren’t prepared.

When Katrina struck, SBA was in the middle of a transformation that included an internal reorganization, and a major computer system upgrade. Only 800 people could be on the new computer system at a time, so SBA had to incorporate shifts. Now 10,000 people can be on the system at once. The disaster loan processing system, which was located in Fort Worth, Texas, could accommodate only 366 seats; it has since been built up to accommodate 2100. There also are three different ways people can apply for disaster loans: electronically, by mail, or in person. Rivera added that the agency has substantially cut the amount of time it takes to process applications. In response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the SBA disbursed in Louisiana 9,492 business physical disaster loans, economic injury disaster loans and loans to nonprofits for a total of $868,8 million.

Norman Roussell, founder of Capital Access Project, Inc., a nonprofit entrepreneur and economic development program, said that the federal government needs to do a better job of recognizing that following a disaster, small business recovery efforts needs to be given greater priority.

“In the beginning most of their recovery efforts ignored small businesses and they didn’t understand fully the economic impact that those businesses have on the overall recovery of neighborhoods and communities,” Roussell said. Some businesses, Roussell said, had made the mistake of minimizing their tax burdens, which in turn caused loan officers to say they didn’t earn enough income to justify loan payments, which forced them out of business. Others that were able to meet loan requirements weren’t able to borrow enough to completely rebuild.

According to Robin Keegan, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the state began running a $9-$10-billion bridge loan program immediately after the storm that initially offered $25,000 grants with 0% interest loans, later increased to $100,000. “After about a year and a half, we programmed $138 million into a grant and loan program because we realized that SBA had really not helped the most disadvantaged businesses across the state and those most hurt by the storm,” Keegan said.

The new program offered businesses grants of up to $20,000 and they also were eligible to take out a 0% interest loan that could be used to pay down other debt or for working capital and inventory needed to restart. “The only eligible businesses were those that were in business before the storm that intended to reopen their businesses following the storm,” Keegan said.

Thanks to business income insurance and personal savings, the Moores and Kaigler were able to hang on until they were back in business, spending the interim period on cleanup and minor repairs so that when that time finally came, they’d be ready.  They also received a $10,000 grant from Idea Village and a $20,000 grant from the state
Today, the business has almost completely recovered financially, but finding qualified workers continues to be an issue. “A lot of workers have left and not returned,” Moore laments. “The 9th Ward was the backbone for hotel and restaurant workers, but they have nowhere to live and are scattered across the country.”

Landrieu

With layoffs, salary cuts, and a slew of other tactics being implemented to keep the doors open, small business owners struggle to boost morale within their organizations. Whether they know it or not, communication is key to combat the pessimism.

From business to government, people are working to embrace this necessary open dialogue, including Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) As chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, the senator has a daunting task ahead of her: helping small businesses recover.

Last week Sen. Landrieu held several events in north Louisiana to discuss recent economic challenges affecting the area such as manufacturing plant closures. She held the committee’s first hearing in Shreveport, the third-largest city in Louisiana. Not only did she address concerns from small business owners but also provided an update on the committee’s effort to help Louisiana weather the economic downturn. The senator took a moment during those hectic days to speak with BlackEnterprise.com about Louisiana’s current business landscape (which is faring better than one may think), what small businesses across the country can expect to see from the Small Business Administration (SBA), and why she’s brought in reinforcements to help black-owned businesses.

How important is it for the government to assist small business owners in reviving the economy?

It’s very important. In some areas of [Louisiana], the economic downturn is affecting more areas than others. For example, the Pilgrims Pride plant in Farmerville, Louisiana, is on the verge of losing 1,300 jobs. And you’re talking about a parish with a population of 24,000. And in addition to the 1,300, there are chicken growers that have home assets and equity in jeopardy. And in Shreveport, the GM plant is losing 2,400 employees to now employ 800.

What’s happening within the automobile industry has ramifications in so many different places beyond Detroit.

Absolutely. The auto industry in Louisiana is in crisis … And in addition to plants, they have hundreds of car dealerships and related stores that are becoming part of the unemployed downward spiral.

How is the state’s economy doing compared with the country as a whole?

While the economy is strong in Louisiana, we are not immune to the current economic downturn. And we find this out by listening to small businesses and trying to identify their needs. The economy is stronger than average, particularly in southeast Louisiana [as they] continue to work on a post-Katrina economy. Insurance companies’ business is up; people are investing and building. For example, the Lafouche-Terrebonne unemployment rate is 3.5%, unheard of in this country. We’re seeing 3.4% to as high as 16% in other parts of the state.

What are you and the committee’s expectations for the SBA’s Karen Mills as she takes the helm?

She’s going to be focused on unfreezing the credit market on Main Street and throughout the country, which is going to get done by reducing the fees and regulations and expanding the guarantees. And we’ll help her in making sure that as the credit market gives money, it trickles down into these communities.

What are you all have planned for black-owned businesses?

Don Cravins Jr., a former Louisiana senator, is working with us to pull a strategy together. And we [realize the power of] women-owned and minority-owned businesses, so we want to pay special attention to these businesses which are growing significantly.