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Sun, The
(Lowell, MA)
April 11, 2007
Section:
Business
Tom Spoth, tspoth@lowellsun.com
LOWELL -- Starting a small business in Massachusetts is not for the faint of heart. Dozens of federal, state and local boards can create a seemingly indecipherable alphabet soup of permits, waivers and licenses. With that in mind, the city has partnered with the Pioneer Institute, a Boston-based public-policy organization, to create a guide to help entrepreneurs navigate regulations and licensing requirements in Lowell. It's appropriately entitled, "Navigating Through Regulations and Licensing Requirements in Lowell." "We've often heard of ... frustration trying to figure out all the places they have to go," said J. Matthew Coggins, head of the city's Division of Planning and Development. "We're trying to make it as user-friendly as possible in the form of a checklist." The guide identifies 20 different types of small businesses, ranging from auto-body shops to flower shops to dry cleaners. The 222-page document provides specific sets of instructions on how to get off the ground in each industry. The Pioneer Institute took the lead on the project, Coggins said, having already developed similar guides for other Massachusetts communities. Executive Director Jim Stergios said Pioneer, unlike other think tanks, concentrates on small business as opposed to big when promoting economic development. "You guys are doing a great job on small-business development," Stergios told Lowell city officials. "We're hoping to add some value to that." Work on the guide began last summer, and DPD workers assisted the institute throughout the process to create a guide tailored to Lowell. While the new guide does not streamline or expedite the permitting process, it will hopefully help entrepreneurs avert delays or confusion. "Hopefully, this takes a lot of the guesswork out of what can sometimes be difficult waters to maneuver through," Coggins said. Russ Smith, director of the Lowell Small Business Assistance Center, agreed that the regulatory process can be incredibly complex. "Even having done it for five years, there are elements I'm not all that sure of," he admitted. Even the most basic operations must register with the city clerk, get an identification number from the IRS, and register employees with the state, Smith said. Businesses with a physical location have to conform with zoning bylaws and obtain permits for construction and occupancy. And depending on the type of business, any number of additional approvals may be necessary -- often from agencies that at first blush seem unrelated to the company's operations. The Pioneer initiative is "a major step forward" in navigating that bureaucracy, Smith said. The institute is printing up 100 copies of the guide, which is also available on the city's Web site, Coggins said.
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