Kander begins Growing Missouri Business Tour

(From the Jason Kander campaign)

Secretary of State candidate Jason Kander will begin his Growing Missouri Business Tour later today, Monday, October 15, 2012, when he will unveil his plan to make the Secretary of State’s office a hub for entrepreneurship in Missouri.

Kander will travel across the state to talk to Missouri small business owners, innovators and community groups to explain how he will help create a better business environment in Missouri as Secretary of State.

“The most important issue any statewide officeholder can take on right now is helping to create jobs and grow Missouri businesses. As Secretary of State, I will turn the office's Business Services division into a hub to connect small business owners with existing resources that can help their businesses succeed,” Kander said. “While Shane Schoeller was ‘chief administrative aide’ in the Secretary of State’s office, fees to start a business were 50 percent higher than today, and small business owners were buried in paperwork just to renew an existing business. Missourians can’t afford to return to the way the office was run during Schoeller’s tenure.”

In stops across the state, Kander will unveil his plans to make it simpler to start small businesses in Missouri and to use the Secretary of State’s office to connect aspiring small business owners with community resources to help them succeed.

As Secretary of State, Kander will champion legislation to make the process of starting and renewing small businesses in Missouri easier. Kander will propose: 

• Removing uncertainty for small business owners by decreasing the frequency of fee or paperwork changes in the Business Services Division. Adjustments could only be considered during a specific time period every four years, rather than on a rolling and unpredictable basis.
• Creating a “fee credit” for each job a business creates in Missouri the previous year to lessen the annual filing fee.
• Eliminating all fees associated with starting a business for members of the Missouri National Guard and active duty military returning home to Missouri.

Kander will also take a more active role in helping Missourians start and grow their businesses by connecting aspiring business owners to the many non-profits and other community organizations across the state that could help Missourians transform their great ideas into successful businesses. Kander will help connect Missouri entrepreneurs with those groups to ensure we grow more jobs right here in Missouri, without costing taxpayers any money.

Growing Missouri Business Tour stops:

Monday, October 15, 2012

Hannibal, 2 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Java Jive (211 North Main Street, Hannibal)

Kirksville, 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Truman State University, Magruder Hall Room 1090
Jason will attend the Future Business Leaders of America - Phi Beta Lambda weekly meeting and speak to students about the Secretary of State’s role in promoting business in Missouri. Jason can meet with media prior to the event if necessary.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

St. Louis, 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.
10th Street Gallery (419 N. 10th St., St. Louis)

Thursday, October 18, 2012
Columbia, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
D. Rowe’s Restaurant (1005 Club Village, Columbia)