SBA Updates
FDIC and SBA Team Up to Offer Financial Education and Mentoring Support
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and U.S. Small Business Administration today announced new resources to support small businesses across the nation. Acting Chairman Gruenberg and SBAs Associate Administrator for Entrepreneurial Development Michael Chodos released Money Smart for Small Business, a training curriculum for new and aspiring business owners.
Developed in partnership between both agencies, this curriculum is the latest offering in the FDIC’s award-winning Money Smart program.
Money Smart for Small Business provides an introduction to day-to-day busine …
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Small Business Feedback Sparks Popular Changes To SBA’s Website and Social Media Tools
Focus group sessions held in three major U.S. cities resulted in recommendations to the U.S. Small Business Administration on how to improve its award-winning SBA.Gov website and maximize social media tools and tutorials for the 800,000 individuals who visit the site each month.
Focus groups in Baltimore, Richmond and Washington, D.C., helped SBA learn how to better serve the needs of small business owners and entrepreneurs. Feedback from focus groups suggested that small business owners often aren’t aware of many of SBA’s resources or how our partner organizations can help …
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SBA Announces Small Business Video Contest: Tell Us Your Story!
Do you have a small business story to tell? Every business has one. Tell your story to the SBA and your video may appear at National Small Business Week, SBA’s marquee event that attracts hundreds of small business owners, Fortune 500 company executives, Members of Congress and Obama Administration officials.
In celebration of National Small Business Week 2012, SBA is looking for creative videos from small businesses that show how they have been helped by an SBA program or service. The contest will raise awareness of the importance of SBA programs, and the impact …
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SBA Opens Second Round of Applications for Intermediary Lending Pilot Program
The Intermediary Lending Pilot Program (ILP), which provides long-term loans to eligible non-profit intermediary lenders to finance their lending to small businesses, has opened a second competitive application period. As a result, small businesses, especially those in underserved markets looking for loans up to $200,000, will soon have access to twice as many community-based funding sources under the U.S. Small Business Administration program.
“Providing small businesses with the financial resources they need to start, grow and succeed is at the core of SBA’s mis …
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SBA Announces New Partnership to Connect Small Businesses with Corporate Supply Chains
A new private-public collaboration will help small businesses strengthen their revenue streams by gaining access to more than $300 billion in combined supply chain spending by a consortium of 15 of America’s largest corporations, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced today.
Supplier Connection, created by the IBM Foundation, is part of the Obama Administration’s American Supplier Initiative and is designed to help bridge the gap between small, nimble businesses looking for new opportunities and large corporations looking for innovative new ideas and diversity in t …
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Free Webinar - Five Things You May Not Know About SBA Disaster Assistance
In the aftermath of a natural or man-made disaster, you don’t have to be a small business owner to get recovery assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration. But did you know that SBA’s disaster assistance program is the agency’s only direct loan program? Did you also know that SBA can provide assistance to communities in the aftermath of a disaster, independent of a Presidential disaster declaration?
Interesting and useful facts about the range and depth of SBA’s disaster assistance programs will be presented during the April 10 …
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SBA Connects Small Businesses with Team and Federal Contract Opportunities
The U.S. Small Business Administration will host its free Mentor-Protégé Matchmaking Conference series in Denver, Colo., on April 11. The program gives small disadvantaged businesses access to guidance on federal contracting, face-to-face meetings and opportunities to team with larger businesses and graduates of the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development program.
During the forums, small businesses will learn how to market themselves to the federal government and go after government contracting opportunities. They will also get an overview of the SBA&rsquo …
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Office of Advocacy Announces Small Business Data Resources Tool
Information abounds on the Internet, but timely, accurate, extensive, and accessible databases are sometimes hard to find. With more than 30 years of experience mining federal data sources from the Census Bureau to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, the Office of Advocacy today announced its newest research tool for small business researchers and policymakers, a hyperlinked listing of Small Business Data Resources.
“Over many years, Advocacy has used and helped develop some of the best business data available by firm size,” said Chief Counsel for A …
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SBA’s March Web Chat Offers Tips and Advice for Women-Owned Small Businesses
In recognition of National Women’s History Month, SBA’s March web chat will feature an open forum on Women’s Business Ownership. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership helps to promote growth of women-owned businesses through SBA programs offering business training and counseling, access to credit and capital, and business and networking opportunities. It also administers a nationwide network of Women's Business Centers that provide training and counseling to entrepreneurs.
WHO: Ana Har …
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SBA Licenses First Nationwide Impact Investment Fund
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration today licensed the first nationally-focused Impact Investment Fund, SJF Ventures III, LP. The fund will make equity investments in cleantech and technology companies in communities nationwide as part of an impact investment initiative to invest up to $1.5 billion in high-growth small businesses.
“SJF Ventures III, LP is yet another important new ally in SBA’s commitment to foster small business growth and job creation in emerging sectors,” said Administrator Karen Mills. “They’ …
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SBA to Honor Small Businesses at National Small Business Week May 20-22 in Washington, D.C.
The nation’s top entrepreneurs will be honored at the U.S. Small Business Administration’s National Small Business Week events May 20-22 in Washington, D.C. A series of award ceremonies, small business events and educational forums will mark the 59th anniversary of the agency and the 49th annual proclamation of National Small Business Week.
National Small Business Week is cosponsored by the SCORE Association as well as numerous corporate and trade sponsors to be announced.
More than 100 outstanding small business owners from across the country …
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SBA Offers “FREE” Webinar Series Promoting Entrepreneurship Education and Small Business Growth
WHAT: The U.S. Small Business Administration will host a series of webinars in recognition of the sixth annual National Entrepreneurship Week. The emphasis will be on financial empowerment and building the entrepreneurship skills of the next generation of small business owners, using business basics, social networking and business strategizing.
WHEN: February 21-24, 2012, daily at 3:00 p.m. (ET)
WHO: Webinar topics and presenters are
Felipe Wright, CEO
Intelligent Information Technology Solutions
Topic: Entrepreneurship Empowers Everyone …
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SBA Live Web Chat Will Focus on How to Start a New Business
The U.S. Small Business Administration’s February web chat will offer business start-up advice for entrepreneurs. If you are considering starting a business in 2012, SBA can be valuable resource to help you find a mentor, improve your business skills and get training to help boost your ideas.
WHO: Janice Washington, state director of the Arizona Small Business Development Center Network, will host the February web chat on “New Year, New Business: How to Start it Right.” An experienced business consultant and former business owner, Washington will answ …
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Get Tips on Disaster Planning During Free SBA Agility Webinar
Are you Ready to be an Effective Communicator during a Crisis?
Because it’s easy for even the best leader to be overwhelmed when a crisis hits and misinformation shows up in a Twitter feed, managing the flow of information about your company is crucial when an emergency occurs.
Get tips on how to plan a communications strategy that will eliminate confusion and support your recovery efforts during a free webinar on February 14, hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration and Agility Recovery Solutions.
The discussion will help you assess your company’s need …
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SBA Kicks Off Emerging Leaders Initiative for 2012, Maintains Focus on Underserved Communities
Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration kicked off its 2012 e200/Emerging Leaders executive-level training initiative in 27 cities and communities. Since 2008 the e200/Emerging Leaders initiative has helped nearly 1,000 promising small business owners in underserved communities across the country sustain and grow their businesses, providing training they use to succeed and create jobs.
“Over the last few years Emerging Leaders has helped expand opportunities for many promising small businesses in underserved communities – in particular those that have been most impacte …
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New Online Course Introduced for Native American Small Business Owners
Native American entrepreneurs have a new tool to help determine if they’re ready for business ownership and to help them get started. Native American Small Business Primer: Strategies for Success is a free, self-paced online business course developed for Native American business owners. The course provides an overview of basic business principles and makes them aware of the programs and services available from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The new online course: emphasizes business planning and market research as essential steps to take before going int …
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Report Says SBDCs Are Essential for Small Business Access to Programs
The U.S. Small Business Administration’s national network of Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) plays an essential role in the economic development of their states and local communities through their direct, face-to-face counseling for small businesses, according to a report released today by the SBA. The report, produced by the National Small Business Development Center Advisory Board, focuses on SBDCs’ impact on small business access to SBA’s programs and services, including access to SBA capital, procurement, disaster and international trade programs.
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Disaster Planning Tips Discussed During Free Webinar Hosted by SBA and Agility Recovery Solutions
Natural disasters exacted a significant financial toll on the United States in 2011. The Insurance Information Institute reports that insured losses from a series of disasters – which included devastating spring tornadoes in the Midwest, floods in the southeast, wildfires in the southwest, and Hurricane Irene – totaled $35.9 billion.
Small businesses were hit particularly hard as many were forced to close during these disasters, causing economic injury to many that were already struggling. The factors that cause financial losses after a disaster, however, ca …
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SBA Helps Veterans Start, Grow and Expand Small Businesses
With thousands of service men and women returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Small Business Administration is welcoming them home with programs and initiatives to help them start, grow and expand their businesses. SBA provides veterans access to much needed business counseling and training, capital and business development opportunities through government contracts.
Those products and programs include:
·Entrepreneurship Boot Camp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV): training on how to start and grow a small business with programs targeted to service-disabled …
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SBA’s Web Chat to Focus on Tax Essentials For Small Business Owners
With the end of the 2011 tax year right around the corner, small business owners can help prepare themselves for the upcoming filing season by clicking in to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s free December web chat for tips on potential year-end tax savings.
Chat participants can get valuable information on how to prepare now with useful tax savings tips and a set of red flags on mistakes to avoid.
WHO: Edward S. Karl, CPA, vice president of taxation for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, will host SBA’s free December web chat on &l …
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SBA 8(a),HUBZone,Women-Owned Small Business Workshops
The U.S. Small Business Administration's Colorado District Office has announced the 2012 schedule for its 8(a)/HUBZone/Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) workshops.
8(a), HUBZone and WOSB are all programs offered through the federal government. However, many entrepreneurs are not sure how to become involved with them and what the benefits of each program are.
This class will take you through the following:
8(a) Business Development
Definition of the program
How to apply
Meeting the "Burden of Proof"
HUBZone
…
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SBA Kicks Off Young Entrepreneur Series
The White House and the U.S. Small Business Administration announced today the launch of the Young Entrepreneur Series (YES), which will connect young and aspiring entrepreneurs with SBA officials, local business advisors and resources to help them start or grow their own small business.
“For our economy to thrive in the 21st century, we must set about creating the next generation of entrepreneurs,” said SBA Deputy Administrator Marie Johns. “Young Americans need to know that starting a business is a viable alternative to going to work for somebody else. Th …
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Get the Business Case for Preparedness at Free Webinar
Businesses everywhere are now operating on limited resources. Yet the survival of your company rests – particularly when faced with a disaster – on whether or not your key assets are protected. Developing a business continuity plan will not only reduce liabilities, but will ensure employee and customer retention, and may even reduce operational expenses.
On Tuesday, November 15, Agility Recovery Solutions and the U.S. Small Business Administration will host an online webinar focusing on how preparedness affects a company’s bottom line. Agility president &am …
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SBA and the American Red Cross Join to Help Individuals and Businesses Prepare for Disasters
The U.S. Small Business Administration and the American Red Cross have joined forces to intensify outreach efforts to educate the public about the importance of having a disaster recovery plan in place.
"Studies show that between 15 percent to 40 percent of businesses fail following a natural or man-made disaster," said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the American Red Cross. "By partnering with the SBA to get more families and businesses prepared for emergencies, we hope to save both lives and livelihoods."
The core of the SBA-Red Cross agreement is a plan …
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