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Three Small Business Owners Who Love Obama's Stimulus
But effective use of the money will require a coordinated spending plan. "Just putting an Ethernet connection on every widget in the field will not make things work together," said Erich Gunther, co-founder and chief technology officer of electrical engineering and consulting firm EnerNex, No. 1709 on the Inc. 5000.
"It can't happen overnight—it's going to take a lot of work."
That work will mean increased opportunities and more employees for both companies. Both Esposito and Gunther expect they'll be hiring soon. EnerNex's biggest problem is finding electrical engineers with IT knowledge. But he hopes that the attention given to smart grid tech in the bill will attract qualified candidates.
"We think the stimulus will let us pull a few more people out of the woodwork," he said.
But the potential for long-term growth is enormous. Esposito believes the United States could become the global leader in smart grid technology. Many emerging markets have less-developed power systems, and if the United States develops the products now, companies like Augusta Systems will reap the benefits when the economy recovers.
"There's a tremendous opportunity for when the economy turns around for this technology to be deployed, and for stimulus-backed smart grid programs to be selected in those emerging economies," he said.
Renewable Energy
Of all the industries targeted by the stimulus, renewable energy is one of the most closely-watched. With the funding promoted as a way to create thousands of new "green collar" jobs and reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil, these provisions are a big part of new president's long-term agenda. And this sector is glad for the attention.
"There are so many ways that this is a good thing," says Aaron Hall, the CEO of Borrego Solar Systems, No. 261 on the Inc.500.
"A lot of the manufacturing and technology and R&D are in Asia and Europe, and we're importing that technology," he says. "We should have those jobs." Energy companies are only 2 percent of the Inc. 500|5000, but that could change with the stimulus.
The slowdown has hit the solar energy industry especially hard, because tax cuts are the main incentive to go solar, Hall says. For corporations with less revenue, that's no longer appealing. So despite having raised millions in capital, several of Borrego's money-making large projects are on hold.
"It's just a completely frozen landscape," he says.
And the problems aren't limited to the solar industry. The financing environment is a challenge to these large-scale energy projects.
"It is critical to get credit flowing again, in order to allow these capital-intensive projects, such as large wind farms, to get built," says David Hernandez, CEO of Liberty Power, No. 462 on the Inc. 500.
To boost the renewable energy industry, the bill provides $20 billion in tax incentives and $13.9 billion to subsidize loans for specific projects.
"If this were to be implemented quickly, there would be a windfall of projects and we'd be putting people to work and hiring subcontractors, as well," Hall says.
Richard Deutschmann, vice president of policy at No. 757 groSolar and former CEO of Inc. 500|5000 Chesapeake Solar, agrees that the stimulus bill could jumpstart a boom in the industry.
"If we can open up the markets that are tight right now, the industry is ready to be a major partner in growing jobs and providing energy security, homegrown energy, and solving the tremendous dangers of global warming," he says.
For Hall, the advantage of the bill's focus on alternative energy is its potential to address the long-term threat of climate change.
"We have to deal with global warming eventually, so let's create jobs in an industry that does," he says.
Beyond expressing enthusiasm for opportunities in their own industries, these Inc. 500|5000 CEOs were largely upbeat about the package as a whole. Esposito, pointing out that Americans still drive on bridges built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, expressed confidence in the way the package is structured.
"It's got a nice distribution of resources across multiple sectors and I think we will see it stimulate the economy as a whole," he says.
But Bill Schwartz is concerned the bill wastes money and doesn't fix the long-term problem of Americans. "The only way to fix the economy is to allow free enterprise to take its course," he adds.
