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Local Voices

Sam's Club Supports Our Local Business Community

On the heels of National Small Business Week, I have been reinvigorated by the opportunities and success of our local Brandon business community. As the market manager of our neighborhood Sam’s Clubs, I am proud to work for a company that not only supports our local small business community, but also provides tools and resources that can help those entrepreneurs and business owners succeed amidst this recovering and often troublesome economy.

 

Many of you who know me or are Business Members of Sam’s Club may be aware of some of our unique business offerings. Just last month, we held a Business Savings Expo with savings of up to $2,800 on more than 125 items in 10 Tampa-area locations. I was pleased to see so many of our entrepreneurs and business owners taking advantage of the great deals, from office supplies to food goods and more.

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However, Sam’s Club offers much more than low prices, a convenient shopping experience and exciting merchandise, and I want each of you to have the opportunity to take advantage of these great tools and resources.  

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Sam’s Club serves an estimated 600,000 Business Members daily in over 621 clubs across the U.S. -- a majority of whom are microenterprises with fewer than 7 employees. In addition to providing numerous products, Sam’s Club also offers members increased access to capital through an SBA Loan program, credit options and merchant payment processing support. With access to early shopping hours, truckload savings, invoice comparisons and increased access to capital, Sam’s knows that it can only be successful if you are successful, so we put our best foot forward to help you in any way we can.

 

Last year, Tampa-based business owner Kimberly Niblack of 3 Heartbeats CPR, Inc. received a loan through Sam’s Club SBA Loan program. “The loan came at a great time, and helped me get all of the tools I needed to grow and expand my business. With the help of Sam's Club, I was able to purchase additional CPR equipment and class materials so that we could expand our program and provide more life saving training and educational services for pet emergencies, CPR, First Aid, and AED usage."

 

Last year the Sam’s Club Giving Program pledged more than 2 million dollars focused directly on micro-lending for small businesses, as well as programs aimed at women-owned and Latino-owned businesses. These grants allowed:

·      3,600 small business owners to receive special training and education

·      Access to 265 Small Business loans.

·      Creation and maintenance of 1,200 new jobs.

·      Education for approximately 35,000 students on small business creation and entrepreneurism.

 

 

“Sam’s Club wants to provide local business owners with the tools and goods they need to lead each day with increased confidence and optimism,” said Betty Marshall, Vice President for Southeast Operations at Sam’s Club. “Every day our associates strive to positively impact and serve small business members, who are so important to the fabric and success of our country. We hope by offering savings atop low prices that Sam’s Club can contribute to increased small business success in 2013.”

 

I want to offer my support and resources to you. Please feel free to contact me directly of visit SamsClub.com/SmallBusiness for more information.

 

Darrell Arnold is a Market Manager and oversees 10 Sam’s Club stores in the Lakeland-Tampa Bay area.

 

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