OBAMA: Everybody please have a seat...
So, I'm just gonna hang out here for 20 minutes. Karen's the one who's actually in charge.
KAREN: Yeah, he's my boss. We have no better advocate for small businesses than the president, so... I don't know if you want to hear some of the stories or thoughts that people were starting to come out with?
OBAMA: You know, I think all I want to say by way of introduction is I had the chance to have breakfast with a couple of your panelists here and...three of them actually...and I was just struck by the creativity and the "stick-to-it-ness" that so many businesses here are exhibiting. The good news, Karen, is all of them uniformly on a bipartisan basis felt that the SBA--their local SBA office-- is doing a great job.
KAREN: Well, I want to point out our office-head there.
OBAMA: So, there you go. I just wanted you to know. There were talking behind your back and it was good. At the same time I think there was a sense--in the conversation that I had in breakfast this morning-- that issues of credit are still a problem. In particular, small businesses and start-up businesses--100,000 dollars, 200,000 dollars that getting that initial start-up capital often times was a challenge. And we also heard that getting help on things like marketing could make a big difference for businesses that want to break out beyond their immediate communities. And particularly if they're competing with larger businesses even if they think they think they have a better product. So, what I said to them is the same thing I'd say to the entire group: we genuinely believe that small business is the backbone of America. It's gonna be the key for us to be able to put lots of folk back to work. What we're looking for is how can we do our jobs better. How can the SBA or USBA or any of the other federal agencies that touch on rural America on a regular basis help you create the jobs and businesses and ideas that I think are so evident in a lot of communities across the country. We also heard by the way that there are a lot of young people, I think, who want to be more entrepreneurial. And so, are there ways that we can connect the community colleges...but even beneath that, high schools-- to help young people think about how they go about organizing getting a business firm.
So, that's my initial report from breakfast, and what I want to do is just--what I want to do is hear from all of you and--Karen will be taking copious notes, and she is somebody who I know is gonna execute on any ideas that make sense. So, with that-
Thank you. Perfect transcription.