Small Business

Doing Business in Iowa
THE IOWA DISTRICT OFFICE
The Iowa District Office is responsible
for the delivery of SBA’s many programs
and services. The District Director is
Jayne Armstrong. The District Office
in Des Moines is located at 210 Walnut
St., Rm. 749, Des Moines, IA. The Cedar
Rapids Branch Office is located at 2750
1st Ave. N.E., Ste. 350, Cedar Rapids, IA.
Office hours are from 8:00 AM until 4:30
PM, Monday through Friday.
CONTACTING THE IOWA
DISTRICT OFFICE
For program and service information,
including information on financing,
please contact the Des Moines District
Office at 515-284-4422 or the Cedar
Rapids Branch Office at 319-362-6405.
SERVICES AVAILABLE
Financial assistance for new or existing
businesses through guaranteed loans
made by area bank and non-bank
lenders.
You might not think of Iowa as having
much of an “Arts Scene,” but if you look
beyond the corn, soybeans and hogs the
state has become famous for, you’ll find a
healthy and vibrant art community. When
the members of that community want to
showcased their talents, or need fine art
consulting or appraising, they turn to Suzy
McGrane-Hop and the Gilded Pear in
Cedar Rapids.
Suzy has worked in the fine art and
framing industry for the past 20 years.
Upon earning her BA in Fine Arts at Coe
College in Cedar Rapids, she worked her
way up from an intern to gallery manager
and frame shop manager at the gallery she
was working at.
She learned every aspect of running a
gallery along the way, and in 2007 she
began training to become an art appraiser
with the International Society of Appraisers
(ISA). She quickly attained her “Accredited
Member” status and in 2009 she received
her “Certified Member” status with ISA –
the highest designation in her field.
Free counseling, advice and information
on starting, better operating or expanding
a small business through SCORE, Small
Business Development Centers (SBDC)
and Women’s Business Centers (WBC).
They also conduct training events
throughout the district - some require a
nominal registration fee.
Assistance to businesses owned and
controlled by socially and economically
disadvantaged individuals is available
through the Business Development
Program. Government contracting
assistance is available as well. Please
contact Dawnelle Conley at 515-284-4913
or e-mail: dawnelle.conley@sba.gov.
A Women’s Business Ownership
Representative is available to assist
women business owners. Please contact
Lori Hackney at 515-284-4811 or e-mail:
lori.hackney@sba.gov.
Special loan programs are available for
businesses involved in international
trade. Please contact Vicente Vazquez at
515-284-4562 or e-mail:
vicente.vazquez@sba.gov.
SUCCESS STORY
Gilded Pear Gallery
Cedar Rapids, IA
Suzy McGrane-Hop
In 2011, Suzy decided to open her own
fine art and framing gallery, Gilded Pear
Gallery, at which Suzy also offers fine
art consulting and appraising. She began
working out of an existing photography
studio which had a frame shop that was
not being used and she quickly began to
grow her business.
In November of 2012, Gilded Pear Gallery
was one of two businesses in Iowa to
receive a grant from a collaborative effort
between Sam’s Club and SCORE. SCORE
is a counseling and management assistance
resource partner of the U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA). Through SCORE,
entrepreneurs can get free, one-on-one
business counseling and advice to help
them start and grow their small business.
Suzy and Gilded Pear Gallery were one
of 102 businesses nationwide to receive a
$1,000 gift card from Sam’s Club and access
and travel to a special “High Speed Growth
Seminar” from SCORE. Suzy’s business
was nominated for this opportunity by the
Cedar Rapids SCORE Chapter.
The SBA helps business
owners grow and expand
their businesses every day.
A Veterans Affairs Officer is available to
assist veterans. Please contact
the Cedar Rapids Branch Office at
319-362-6405
For the SBA’s listing of events in Iowa,
go to: www.sba.gov/ia and select “Click
Here for Local Events.”
We Welcome Your
Questions
For extra copies of this publication or
questions please contact:
Des Moines District Office
210 Walnut Street, Room 749
Des Moines, IA 50309-2186
Tel: 515-284-4422 Fax: 515-284-4572
Website: www.sba.gov/ia
She had worked with SCORE in getting
her business started and appreciated their
continued support. “Working with SCORE
has provided a foundation to help my
business grow,” Suzy says.
Suzy recently requalified to maintain
the designation of “Certified Appraiser
of Personal Property” (CAPP), which
the International Society of Appraisers
requires its members to retest every 5
years. Members must pass examinations
and submit documentation of earning
the required points for professional
development activities, such as continuing
education, for their designation level. She
is one of a very few fine art appraisers in
Iowa and the only CAPP at her level with
ISA in the state of Iowa and surrounding
region. In fact, there are approximately
1,000 appraisers in the International Society
of Appraisers and of that only about 10%
art at the “Certified Appraiser” level. Of
those 100 or so “Certified Appraisers”, only
about 36 specialize in Fine Art Appraising
across the United States and Canada.
In the past year, she has expanded her
gallery space to nearly 5,350 square feet,
added two full time staff and now has a
roster of over 70 local, regional, national
and international artists that she exhibits.
Visit us online: www.sba.gov/ia Iowa Small Business Resource — 13