New City Reforms Help Entrepreneurs And Small Businesses
CHICAGO (CBS) - The city is proposing sweeping changes to make it easier for entrepreneurs to open new businesses and promising to reduce the red tape.
Entrepreneurs like Trez Pugh will potentially benefit from the changes. Trez Pugh is opening his fourth coffee shop.
Today he gave Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel a tour of the space. Pugh says he still remembers the frustration so many first time entrepreneurs experience trying to do business in Chicago.
"You have to fill out a lot of paperwork and when inspectors come out, they tell you one thing and that's not right. It's very tedious and it's not clear on what needs to be done, Pugh said.
The Mayor is trying to clear up some of the confusion.
"We used to do inspections only 9 to 5. Now we're coming out after hours and weekends and we're going to tell you before you come so it's not a pop quiz," said the Mayor.
Business owners will get the results of city inspections much sooner. New business licenses will be cut in half, from $250 to $125 and pop-up permits will allow first time owners to sell their products in a retail space for only 10, 30, or 90 days.
Ebony Jones plans to apply for a ten day pop-up permit for her fare trade shea butter. She said, "When I look at opening a store, the cost was $50,000. I couldn't afford that. When I found out about the popup I was super excited."
For current restaurant owners like Norman Bolden, a new rule means the sidewalk café he puts up March 1st doesn't have to come down in December, but can stay all year long.
"You're paying a guy to break it down, put it up twice a year. That can be time consuming, as well as expensive," said Bolden.
The city estimates 2,000 entrepreneurs a year will benefit from the reduced license fees. City officials say they'll release information regarding the cost of the pop-up licenses in a few months.
