his mind.” I think, if people have a heart for business and a
heart for creating opportunities, we should be in the business
of helping them. Our offi ce is doing a better job every day of
listening and learning. SBA employees know a lot about SBA
but not necessarily all of them are business owners. I want to
make sure that we’re listening to these small business owners
in these communities and that our products and services are
relevant, and you have access to that relevant information.
Stacey: So, it sounds as if you’re setting some goals for
yourself here. What are your mission and your vision for the
SBA moving forward?
Ashley: Coming from my background, I know this region well.
I can tell you that there is no such thing as a national economy
or even a regional economy. If you look at the housing crisis,
what happened in Florida was bell weather for what would
happen with the rest of the country. Not everyone feels the
economic effects of what’s happening at the same time. So, it’s
important that the South Florida region be responsible to the
South Florida economy. For me, it’s important that our staff
embrace the diversity of this region and what we’re doing to
serve the different populations better. So that’s a big goal for
South Florida but also, as I mentioned, to have more access
to capital and to make sure we have more partners who are in
the community and can spread the word about the services we
offer but are also able to offer people access to capital.
Stacey: Well this brings us to a great success story for the
SBA, Mr. Paul Morrow. He was the 2017 small business person
of the year for the South East Region.
Ashley: With Mr. Morrow’s story, he can tell it better than
most, but I think what you should take away from his story is
one of absolute resilience. I think that anytime you hear a story
of someone who had successes, but suffered a setback yet, was
able to get back up and build bigger and better than where he
started is great. We’re glad to say that SBA was a part of that
story. When you have someone who’s that talented and that
determined all I can do is be there to offer them the tools to
build the dream they’re trying to build.
Stacey: And boy did he build it!
Ashley: Exactly! And that’s a great example of what we’re
trying to do. We’ve got a lot of folks who are chasing dreams
and some people who are building magnifi cent enterprises, and
he’s one of the great stories in our Country.
Stacey: Joining us here is Mr. Paul Morrow, owner of SDAC,
SBA’s 2017 small business person of the year for the state of
Florida.
Ashley: I want to say, on behalf of SBA and the region that
we’re proud of what you’ve accomplished. What you’ve done
in Florida, Alabama and across our region is amazing. You
are a success story worthy of all the accolades that you’ve
received. Anything that we can do to continue to work with
you, we’re excited about, and we’re looking forward to
having you as one of our mentors helping other business out
to do what you’ve done, and that’s being a trailblazer in our
community.
Special thanks to Hampton Inn & Suites Miami Midtown and
305livetv.
For more on our interview with Mr. Ashley Bell go to www.
updmediagroup.com and subscribe to
our YouTube channel at UPDTV.
read more…