Focus of conference is starting a business

SCORE Las Vegas on Friday hosted its first Doing Business in Southern Nevada event, a daylong conference to help small business owners and entrepreneurs navigate the maze of starting a business.

The nonprofit organization, which is affiliated with the U.S. Small Business Administration, assists both new and existing business owners with marketing, financing, business plans, operations, planning and licensing.

The focus Friday morning was on dealing with state, county and municipal regulations and paperwork, and talk was mostly on steps to simplify the business licensing process.

"We want to make it easier for you to do business in the county," Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani told about 200 people who attended the event at the Clark County Government Center in downtown Las Vegas.

Giunchigliani said cities and the county were already working on a "one-stop shop" to simplify the licensing process. She said businesses with multiple outlets in Southern Nevada should only need a single license to operate, rather than one from each local jurisdiction.

"We'll figure out how to split the fees,'' she said.

Both Giunchigliani and Commissioner Larry Brown said the recession has forced local governments to change the way they do business. Brown said the recession "changed the face of government." He named public safety, infrastructure, social services and a ensuring vibrant business community as the four basic responsibilities of government.

"We need to be more pro business," Brown told the supportive audience. "We take the relationship for granted in the good times. We need to create a relationship where businesses can succeed."

The business group also held panel discussions on writing business plans and business financing.

Another session, on financing a business, focused on educating business owners on how the loan process works, while also educating people about "micro loans," or short-term loans that don't require giving equity to the lender.

Representatives from SBA, Wells Fargo and local governments attended the conference to assist business owners with financing or licensing issues.

"We (had) all the resources in one place," said Raj Tumber, a business mentor with SCORE Las Vegas.

Terry Johnson, director of the Nevada Department of Business and Industry in Carson City, said his agency's job is to protect the state's business community and especially consumers. He credited Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval's year-long moratorium on new regulations and review of current rules for creating a better environment for businesses.

"We under-regulated ourselves into the recession," Johnson said. "We need to be careful not to over-regulate ourselves out of the recession."

Contact reporter Chris Sieroty at csieroty@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893.