By CRISTINE MEIXNER

Express Editor

WELLS - Small steps and perseverance could improve the county’s economy over time, but only where broadband is available.

That is what several experts agreed at a Jan. 12 breakfast meeting on small business held at Memories On The Hill here, organized by Sen. Betty Little.

Eighteen people braved a snowstorm and slippery roads to hear what Adirondack Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Jim Murphy, Business Adviser Kate Barker from the New York State Small Business Development Center in Albany, Coordinator of Vocational Services Alice Huntington from the Workforce Development Institute in Queensbury and Business Advisor Tom Plastino from Citec had to say.

AEDC in Saranac Lake is the “go to” place for small business owners in the Adirondack Park. It provides technical assistance and financing to entrepreneurs and small business concerns.

“Our focus is on mom and pop small businesses,” Murphy said. “Training, lending and networking.” The AEDC, Murphy said, has brokered deals ranging from $2,000 to $200,000.

But, he added, “What a lot of small businesses really need is information, a guide to the process. We do an entrepreneur training class, 45 hours, very intensive. When you’re done you are ready to run a business.”

Murphy said he would travel anywhere to give the course, which would meet several hours a week. “All I need is someone to ask, a place and 15 to 20 people,” he said.

Citec, with offices in Plattsburgh, Potsdam and Watertown, provides technical assistance to increase manufacturing and technology productivity.

Plastino said Citec does not do business plans or training and is not free. “We are an economic development consulting firm,” he said. “We focus on small manufacturing firms.”

SBDC provides free assistance to small businesses. “What we do is tailored to the needs of each business,” Barker said, from a pizza parlor on up.

WCI in Albany provides employment-related services, including job training, for working families. “I developed the program to help people overcome barriers to employment, such as child care, transportation, lack of skills,” Huntington said.

Client families have to be eligible for Aid to Families with Dependent Children, she said. “If enough people are interested Alice is willing to come to Hamilton County,” Little said.

Paul Beaudoin of Piseco turned the conversation to attracting businesses.

“Economic development in the Adirondacks is almost non-existent,” he said. “I am interested in what can be done to attract businesses.

“Hamilton County has been declining for 35-40 years. Starting a business in the Adirondacks, particularly the southern Adirondacks, is more challenging than any place else in the nation.”

He said telecommuting is a real opportunity. “We have to find businesses willing to let their people telecommute.”

“Barriers to technology are the big obstacle in Hamilton County,” SBDC’s Barker replied. “You don’t have the technology.

“It really has to be a grassroots effort by the community,” she continued. “You’re very seasonal right now, but you don’t have to be. But it’s not a quick process.

“A distribution plant won’t happen here, but every job created is a win. Every professional job created is a bigger win. You can’t get that now because you don’t have the [broadband] infrastructure.”

That is coming, however. The recently announced state funding for North Country projects includes two that will bring broadband to most of the county’s hamlets.

Citec’s Plastino said, “The Adirondacks are ideal to house consulting firms, small business telecommuting.” He cited a Lake Clear firm as an example, saying 10-15 people there do tests for laboratories.

“When the owner advertises for one job at $40,000 he gets 70 applications. People want to live here.

“Seasonal residents are a recruiting mechanism; do they own a business? Which kids left 20 years ago? Started a business and want to come back?

“You need someone to focus on just this. It’s a place to start and wouldn’t be a lot of investment to try.”

Little agreed. “A good way to start is with people who know and love the area.”

AEDC’s Murphy advised, “Market specific space, such as an empty storefront, with a funding package.

“Broadband is as critical now as highways once were. People talk about the ‘last mile.’ I talk about the last 10 feet. A business should be able to just plug in. Make it happen.

Barker suggested, “Start by expanding what you have. If a business has five employees help make it six.”

Also, she added, “There are some very large government operations in this area to market to. They are low profile but they are there and they buy goods.”