Federal officials traveled to Atlanta this week to ask more than 100 small business owners how Washington could help them. The emphatic answer: Help us get access to capital and cut red tape.
"We got a couple earfuls," said Marie Johns, deputy administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The Startup America: Reducing Barriers Roundtable is part of the Obama administration's effort to boostsmall business and entrepreneurship. The Atlanta event was the sixth of eight being held across the country. The administration will use the input from businesses to produce a report.
Business owners discussed a variety of barriers they face, but a common complaint was what they described as a stifling lack of access to capital.
David McDougall, who is starting a business is Atlanta to provide services to small and medium franchise companies, said that in recent years, franchisees have had trouble getting the capital they need to grow.
"If you don't have stellar credentials and, typically, a lot of liquidity then its very hard to get money to grow the business," said McDougall, who said he'd like policymakers to help ease credit access.
Officials said it's a problem they are addressing. They pointed to two $1 billion funds designed to help promising high-growth companies in which SBA-guaranteed bonds will match privately-raised capital.
Other business owners said they'd like to see less government processing and simpler regulations.
Sanjay Bhatia, CEO for Izenda, an Atlanta software company, held up an iPad to make a point.
"This is really the future of business," he said. "And it doesn't have a printer. I can't do any paperwork with this. I'd like a reduction, perhaps a complete elimination of the more traditional paper processes that involve the government."
Johns said many of the barriers cited are being address, "and we're making good progress."
"We really do listen," she said.
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