Subject:
SOSB (Save Our Small Business)
To:
President Barack Obama
November 3, 2009
I know that you will likely never read this Mr. President, but we need your help. Like so many people around the country, my family is going to lose our small business. My brother, a friend, and myself started a winery a few years ago based around an amazing Port that we discovered in Sonoma County, California. We since have built a custom winery based on sourcing the best grapes in the longitude of 122 west (hence our winery's name 122westwinery). The time any winery starts making money is at about 3 years, due to the time it takes to age the first few vintages. Our business is just about to hit that mark, but we will not go over it without some sort of help.
For the past 9 months, we have applied for a loan with SAFE-BIDCO, a California state assistance fund for small business. My business partners and I have outstanding credit, we own several other successful small businesses which make net revenues over $500,000 a year. However, for the past 9 months, SAFE-BIDCO has been, for lack of a better term, jerking us around. In order to press our next crop, bottle our next vintage, and open a retail tasting room on Haight St. in San Francisco, we requested a loan of $200,000. Considering our credit and our revenue from other operations, we thought this was reasonable. However, we have been constantly, constantly rebuked by SAFE-BIDCO. They constantly tell us how much they love our business plan. They constantly tell us how good our credit is. They constantly tell us how impressive our wines are and how we will open up a niche market in our store in the Haight. We have community support for this project from several Haight St. organizations as well as from the legal system who has overturned several restrictive rulings which would have been placed on our tasting room. Most of these were overturned because of the great community support which we recieved at our appeals hearings. This was the same type of community support which helped elect you President.
Mr. President, harvest has come, and our loan has not. We knew this day was coming, we tried 9 MONTHS ago, constantly updating our information and pestering SAFE-BIDCO to tell us what was happening. But as harvest winds down now, we still have no word....my brother just recieved a personal loan on his own vehicle and his entire tax return to try and prop our business up, I will be doing the same. We have gone from pioneers in the wine industry, to pioneers who might actually have to use horses again to get to work.
Why is this system so broken? Why can we not get a loan when all of our ducks are in order. All of our papers were filed 9 months ago, with everyone at SAFE-BIDCO saying, don't worry, we will get you your money soon. We just want to make good wine Mr. President, we want that opportunity, and we know we can. We know we can and already have made an amazing product which people and restaurants are buying. We are putting in a niche chocolate and wine tasting shop in the Haight that people will come to. We can make this work, but we need help...and yes, we need money.
But we have not asked for handouts, we have not asked for easy money. We want to pay it back, we want to earn it. We have great credit, we have money coming in from other sources as a guarantee for our business. And still SAFE-BIDCO jerks us around and won't let us be a small business.
I don't really know what I am asking for Mr. President, its hard to think what could be done in the short term. Like yourself, I am an attorney, a Deputy District Attorney in fact. I know that, like the wheels of justice, the wheels of the government turn slowly. I understand that. I guess as our small business goes under, I just want you to know that we are out here trying. We are trying to help the economy. We are trying to help the Community. We are trying to help the People of California. We are trying to help you! All I am asking is that someone, somewhere, take a look at SAFE-BIDCO, take a look at EVERY bank. Tell me, please, why those who are the one of the lowest credit risks can't get a loan. Those who want to pay taxes on our revenue and hoist a nice glass of Cab to our success, can't do so.
We have run out of options Mr. President, and this great Nation and the great State of California are going to lose another small business.
I have said my peace, and I know that with everything you deal with, this would hardly be high priority. However, the economy is a priority to all living under our flag. The economy drives all other endeavors which America strives to undertake. It is small business which drives this economy, and small business is losing ground. Thus, so to does our economy. Please, Mr. President, although it may be to late for us, help those who come after. Help them with what they need, help them pay back into the economy, help them save the American worker. It's not all Ford and Apple out there. We are trying, we truly are, but without some sort of help, many of us will fail.
They say only the strong survive, but when the small have no chance to grow, no chance to become strong, only the big survive. Please, help the meek, the small, and the willing, become the strong, the small, and the able.
Thank you for your time,
Sincerely
H. Zachary Balkin
Co-Owner 122 West Winery
Santa Rosa , CA
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