Southeastern Minnesota entrepreneur advocates for small business support in Washington D.C.
The town of Cannon Falls, Minnesota is home to a small business known for big sound.
"We design and build everything inside of this unit right here in Minnesota," said Lori Ann Clark, co-owner of Danville Signal Processing.
Electronic audio products from Danville Signal Processing are found in some of the most famous recording studios in America.
"Analog to digital, we throw some fast math at it, so the bass sounds wonderful, the mids sound nice and warm, the tweets sound beautiful, and then we kick it back out to analog and back through the loudspeaker," said Clark.
She is doing what she can to amplify the voice of small businesses.
"We normally don't have access, easy access to our elected officials," said Clark.
As a member of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, Clark recently got that opportunity.
She was one of 60 who traveled from rural communities to Washington, D.C. — including five from Minnesota — to say that they're poised for growth but need Congress to address the persistent challenges they face.
One of her company's biggest issues is access to loans backed by the Small Business Administration (SBA).
"Increasing the limits on those programs but also making it easier for bankers to actually lend to us since it is a guaranteed program," said Clark.
The group also called on policymakers to address workforce challenges, expand affordable childcare and reduce regulatory burdens.
The Minnesota delegation met with SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, and Representatives Tom Emmer and Pete Stauber.
"Representative Stauber met with us. Of the five of us in Minnesota, two of us are in his district. We had a wonderful conversation with him, so it was really nice to be heard there," said Clark.
It's about more than being heard. Clark and the other entrepreneurs are counting on their awareness leading to action.
"We need all the help we can get to keep growing our communities. Whether it's the loans, whether its housing and childcare, all the things that are important to small business owners. It's because it's important to our employees and our communities, too," said Clark.
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses also provides an educational curriculum, one-on-one advising and networking opportunities.
