Water cooler: Get some help getting a business loan

If you run your own business, or if that's your dream, then you know what a headache it can be to secure a loan.

By Times Staff
Published August 26, 2007

Get some help getting a business loan

If you run your own business, or if that's your dream, then you know what a headache it can be to secure a loan. The Pinellas County Business Development Center is hosting a fair for small businesses to meet with lenders. You can chat with the lenders one-on-one, or just browse the options available to small business owners. The fair will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Tuesday at St. Petersburg College's EpiCenter, 13805 58th St. N in Clearwater. As a bonus, lunch will be provided. For more information, visit www.pced.org.

Tune into the HiLife of Tampa

Richard Florida would be proud: The Tampa Downtown Partnership plans to launch a Web site next month called HiLife Tampa. It will keep urban dwellers informed about "restaurants, events and other insightful tips about downtown living" here. (Florida, for those who have forgotten, is the social economist who argues that, unless a city attracts the creative class, it "will wither and die.") Urban dwellers, or those interested in that scene, can register for the mailing list at www.hilifetampa.com.

Join the trade mission to Brazil

Go south of the equator and write it off as a business expense. Enterprise Florida, the state's public-private business recruitment agency, is organizing a trade mission to Sao Paulo, Brazil. The trip, led by Gov. Charlie Crist, runs from Nov. 3-8. Nearly $8-billion in goods were shipped to Brazil from Florida last year, making it the state's No. 1 trading partner. The deadline for registration is Sept. 21. For more information, visit www.eflorida.com.

[Last modified August 24, 2007, 19:50:51]