Encouraging words precede sober facts

Steve Sink • Business editor • October 18, 2009

Some 1,400 people filled the fieldhouse at St. John Fisher College on Friday to get revved up about Rochester.

Actually, a lot of them were amped up before the third annual Eyes on the Future conference started. These are people who already are committed to this region as a good place to live, work, volunteer and, for many of them, build businesses.

"You have a distinct competitive advantage " said keynote speaker Richard Bendis, a Philadelphia-based authority on innovation, referring, among other things, to Rochester's educated and skilled work force.

When 21st century businesses look to relocate or expand, Bendis said, the No. 1 question they ask is, "How do we get the 'knowledge' workers we need to grow?" Rochester is well-equipped in that regard, he said.

But Bendis didn't come to Eyes on the Future just to be a cheerleader. His talk focused on some of the serious problems in the U.S. economy, including a worrisome shortage of money to help new businesses get off the ground. The flow of venture capital is at a 12½-year low, and many state governments are too strapped to be of significant help. It goes without saying that New York is among them.

He suggested federal stimulus money could plug the capital gap, but the Obama administration and Congress misdirected the allocations and small business isn't getting its fair share. That's a huge mistake, Bendis added, because the vast majority of new jobs after the 1990-91 and 2001 recessions were created by small businesses. The chance for that to happen this time is hindered by the shortage of capital.

As if to emphasize his point about money still being tight, Bendis asked the bankers in the fieldhouse to stand. Some who did get to their feet appeared to rise hesitantly.

But Bendis didn't want to criticize them. He just wanted the small businesspeople in the audience to see the money men and women they really need to get to know.

www.democratandchronicle.com