[caption id="attachment_230318" align="aligncenter" width="833"] Senator Coons visited the minority-owned Delaware Limo to hear about concerns, challenges, and opportunities for growth. | PHOTO COURTESY OF SENATOR CHRIS COONS OFFICE[/caption] WILMINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) met with small company owners from all around Delaware to hear their experiences as part of a stop on the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Companies Voices policymaker series, "Small Business. America's Future." The group gave the senator a firsthand account of the difficulties and possibilities encountered by small firms and entrepreneurs in the current environment. The leaders participated in a discussion while riding in one of Delaware Limo's largest cars, a tiny local business. Alums of the 10,000 Small Businesses Voices programme included Coleman Bye of Mercantile Press, Greg Finkle of Trinity Subsurface, Markevis Gideon of NERDiT Now, Devon Mitchell of DSN Corporation, Mareya Steinbacher of Shoreline Medical, Suzanne Swift of Spec Simple, Sandy Taccone of Blue Blaze Associates, and Marian Young of BrightFields, who served as co-founder and CEO.

Major topics of discussion included access to affordable capital, workforce competitiveness, and leveling the playing field for small businesses, along with modernizing and reauthorizing the Small Business Administration for the first time since 2000. This included the Senator’s efforts to reauthorize the SBA’s SCORE program.

“Small businesses are the backbone of communities across Delaware, demonstrating the resilience and innovation that makes our state and country strong,” Senator Coons said in a statement. “It was wonderful to hear from a handful of the 10,000 Small Businesses Voices to learn how I can continue to help them unleash their potential, including by fighting for the reauthorization of the Small Business Administration, and SCORE in particular. I look forward to continuing to work every day to support and empower small businesses and entrepreneurs across Delaware.” 

“It was an honor to host Senator Chris Coons at Delaware Limo. Small businesses like ours have faced all kinds of obstacles over the last few years, but we’ve persevered. I was grateful to join with other Delaware small business owners to talk about our difficulties as well as opportunities for growth. Senator Coons was an excellent listener when we discussed our experiences, and he heard and appreciated what we have all fought through over the last few years. I’m thankful he took time out of his schedule to come to Delaware Limo and hear from the constituents that are the lifeblood of our great state,” Ahiamadjie said. “I’m also thankful for Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses for providing me with the knowledge I need to develop my business, along with organizing this event today that united Delaware business leaders for this important discussion,”

The series, “Small Business. America’s Future.”, seeks to spotlight reauthorization of the Small Business Administration, which a survey conducted by Goldman Sachs shows 94% of small business owners support and believe is important for Congress to accomplish.