As an Indiana bankruptcy attorney who’s always blogging about the importance of job growth in our state, I need to remind readers of the crucially important role small Indiana businesses play in providing job opportunities. Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show that 50% of jobs in Indiana actually are in small businesses (with “small” being defined as having fewer than 500 employees). As a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana for almost twenty-five years, I’ve dealt with tens of thousands of people. In many of these situations, small business difficulties were intertwined with personal financial difficulties, leading to bankruptcy (See Yes, Your Business Can File Bankruptcy Without You).

This late summer and early fall season, in addition to economic woes, many small businesses in Indiana were hard hit by storms and flooding. As you may imagine, while some businesses were able to move to different locations or restore their own property to working order, many jobs were lost (see Floods Of Trouble Can Cause Bankruptcies In Indiana). Now, I learned from Inside Indiana Business, The U.S. Small Business Administration one week ago opened two Business Recovery Centers in Northwest Indiana. Businesses will be able to borrow up to two million dollars to repair or replace damaged real estate, equipment, and inventory, as well as for operating costs. Interest rates on the loans can be as low as 4%. Hopefully, these measures will suffice to save employees’ jobs in many cases, while providing some new jobs related to the cleanup efforts. Since my bankruptcy law practice serves Indiana citizens in 38 counties, I take an interest in the economy all around our state.

With 99% of employers nationwide being small businesses (This is an amazing statistic!), federal and state governments realize the urgency of helping small businesses get back on their feet, back to doing business – and back to hiring employees! And since, as I’m fond of saying, the most important chapter of any bankruptcy book is the sequel, the part where, post-bankruptcy, people begin to rebuild their financial lives, any help extended to small business owners can potentially be of help to my Indiana bankruptcy clients, not to mention helping Hoosiers who are fighting to stave off bankruptcy.