Wednesday, November 30, 2011

SBA’s Disaster Assistance Lending Marks $50 Billion Milestone

SBA’s Disaster Assistance Lending Marks $50 Billion Milestone

Since 1953 the SBA has approved more than 1.9 million loans to U.S. Residents and Businesses

Release Date: November 30, 2011
Contact: Carol Chastang (202) 205-9876
Release Number: 11-66
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

WASHINGTON – Emergency lending by the U.S. Small Business Administration to survivors of natural and man-made disasters since 1953 has surpassed $50 billion, SBA’s head of disaster response told members of the U.S. House Small Business Committee today at a hearing on federal disaster response programs.

“Since the agency’s founding in 1953,” said SBA Associate Administrator James Rivera, “the agency has made more than 1.9 million low-interest disaster loans worth more than $50 billion to homeowners, renters, nonprofit organizations and businesses of all sizes.”

The $50 billion in SBA assistance represents loans made to help residents and business owners recover from many of the most devastating disaster events in U.S. history. Since FY 1989, more than $36 billion in SBA disaster loans have been made, with significant portions of that total going to those rebuilding after the Northridge Earthquake in 1994 ($4 billion), 1997’s Upper Midwest Floods ($738 million), Hurricane Ivan in 2004 ($2.2 billion), and the 2005 Gulf Coast Hurricanes ($10.9 billion).

“Over the years SBA’s disaster assistance program has made it possible for small towns and large cities to rebuild, saving jobs and supporting the long-term economic recovery of areas that would have otherwise failed without the help,” said Rivera. “The SBA’s disaster loan program, with its low interest rates and reasonable terms make it possible for disaster victims to handle the cost of rebuilding and take the steps necessary to prevent the risk of being hit by a similar disaster.”

Disaster loans are the only form of SBA assistance not limited to small businesses. The SBA makes low-interest loans to homeowners, renters and non-farm businesses of all sizes. Homeowners may borrow up to $200,000 to repair or replace damaged real estate. Individuals may borrow up to $40,000 to cover losses to personal property.

Non-farm businesses and non-profit organizations of any size may apply for up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster damaged business assets and real property. Small businesses and non-profits that suffered economic losses as a direct result of the declared disaster may apply for a working capital loan up to $2 million, even if the property was not physically damaged.

More information about the disaster assistance program is available at www.sba.gov/disasterassistance.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

SBA says shopping at small businesses can have a huge impact on local economy

Make a Big Difference on Small Business Saturday®

SBA says shopping at small businesses can have a huge impact on local economy

Release Date: November 21, 2011
Contact: Hayley.meadvin@sba.gov
Release Number: 11-65
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

WASHINGTON – As a proud supporter of Small Business Saturday®, a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year, the U.S. Small Business Administration is encouraging every American to support small businesses by doing some of their holiday shopping on the Saturday after Thanksgiving at small businesses.

This year’s Small Business Saturday® is Nov. 26, 2011.

“Small businesses are the foundation of our economy – half of America’s workers either own or work for a small business,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “Small Business Saturday® is an opportunity to show our support for our friends and neighbors who throughout the year are growing our local economy, as well as supporting many local initiative and organizations.”

Nov. 26 marks the second annual Small Business Saturday®, a day to support the local small businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country. First there was Black Friday, and then Cyber Monday, and now Small Business Saturday® will help drive shoppers to America’s job creators. Small businesses have generated two out of every three net new jobs over the past 15 years and employ over half of all private sector employees.

For more information on how to support Small Business Saturday® in your area, or to get great Small Business Saturday® marketing tips and resources, check out www.sba.gov/saturday or visit Facebook.com/smallbusinesssaturday and follow us on Twitter @SBAgov, #SmallBizSat.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Opportunities for Native American Small Businesses the Focus of SBA’s November Web Chat

Opportunities for Native American Small Businesses the Focus of SBA’s November Web Chat

Wednesday, November 23, 2011, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., ET

Advisory Date: November 16, 2011
Contact: Cecelia Taylor (202) 401-3059
Advisory Number: MA11-30
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

WASHINGTON – In recognition of National Native American Heritage Month, SBA’s November web chat will highlight Native American small businesses. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Native American Affairs helps to ensure that American Indians, Native Alaskans and Native Hawaiians who want to start or grow a small business have access to SBA’s entrepreneurial development tools, and lending and contracting programs.

WHO: Chris James, assistant administrator for the Office of Native American Affairs at the SBA, will host the November web chat on “Small Business Opportunities for Native Americans.” James will answer questions about how SBA’s programs and services can help to promote economic growth and job creation for Native Americans.

WHAT: SBA’s web chat series provides small business owners with an opportunity to discuss relevant business issues online with experts, industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs. Chat participants have direct, real-time access to the web chats via questions they submit online in advance, and during the live session. Participants will gain valuable information on how to participate in the program to gain increased access to government contracting opportunities.

WHEN: November 23, 2011 at 1:00 p.m. (ET)
James will answer questions for one hour.

HOW: Participants can join the live web chat, and also post questions before the November 23rd chat, by going online to www.sba.gov, and click on the web chat event under What’s New.

To review archives of past web chats, visit online at http://www.sba.gov/content/monthly-web-chat.

PLEASE NOTE: URLs may not be live in this plain text e-mail. Please cope and paste or type into your browser the URL you wish to use.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

SBA Helps Veterans Start, Grow and Expand Small Businesses

SBA Helps Veterans Start, Grow and Expand Small Businesses

Entrepreneurship Boot Camp for Disabled Veterans Expands to Eighth School

Release Date: November 9, 2011
Contact: Dennis Byrne (202) 205-6567
Release Number: 11-63
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

WASHINGTON – 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.

“Around Veterans Day, our thoughts turn to the men and women who are serving or have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as to all who have made sacrifices and served our country in the armed forces,” SBA Administrator Karen Mills said. “When you consider the leadership and management skills our veterans develop while on active and reserve duty, it’s no wonder we see so many of them choose a path as entrepreneurs and small business owners.”

SBA provides veterans access to much needed business counseling and training, capital and business development opportunities through government contracts.

Those products and programs include:

Entrepreneurial Development
SBA and Syracuse University are expanding the successful Entrepreneurship Boot Camp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) program to an eighth school, Cornell University. The growing partnership between SBA and Syracuse University, now in its third year, provides training on how they can start and grow a small business with programs targeted to service-disabled veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and their family caregivers, women veterans, and National Guard and Reserve members and their families.

The “boot camp” was created and delivered by a network of some of the best business schools in the country. Last year, the first year SBA partnered with Syracuse University, 129 service-disabled veterans participated in the program.
Since the program’s inception, more than 320 wounded warriors have graduated and more than 150 businesses have been launched by graduates. Participating schools include: Syracuse University, University of Connecticut, UCLA, Florida State University, Texas A&M University, Purdue University, Louisiana State University, and Cornell University.

SBA is also providing $2.6 million through a cooperative agreement over three years for two new programs supporting veteran entrepreneurs.

The first, Women Veterans Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (V-WISE), focuses on training, networking and mentorship for women veterans. The three-day, off-site training

program, online training and network support structures are delivered in several locations around the nation, and anticipates serving up to 1,400 female veterans over a 36-month period.

The second, Operation Endure & Grow, targets National Guard and Reserve Component members, their families and partners. The goal of this program is to mitigate the small business economic hardship of deployed members and their families. The eight-week online course focuses on the fundamentals of launching and/or growing a small business for those who will sustain the business when the service member is deployed, injured or killed. Initially, 550 individuals are expected to participate. Together, V-WISE and Operation Endure & Grow are expected to serve over 1,950 individuals and their families over three years.

Access to Capital
SBA had a near record year lending to veteran-owned small businesses in fiscal year 2011. SBA lending to veterans in fiscal year 2011 amounted to more than 4,300 loans totaling $1.5 billion in its flagship 7(a) and 504 programs. Since 2007, SBA’s Patriot Express loan pilot initiative alone has guaranteed loans of more than $667 million to nearly 8,100 veterans, reservists and their spouses to establish or expand their small businesses. The initiative, extended through 2013, provided more than 1,560 loans totaling $142 million in fiscal year 2011. Patriot Express is offered by SBA’s network of participating lenders nationwide and features one of SBA’s fastest turnaround times for loan approvals.

Government Contracting
SBA worked with both contracting officers and veteran-owned small businesses to deliver the highest-ever percentage of federal contracts to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses in FY2010, totaling $10.4 billion. Also, through parity legislation, SBA reestablished a level playing field for service-disabled veteran-owned businesses that compete with other small businesses for set-aside contracts.

The Office of Veteran’s Business Development provided SDVOSB procurement training to more than 3,000 SBVOSB’s in 2011 to help achieve the 3 percent SDVOSB goal. The SBA is expanding its outreach to service-disabled veterans with an online contracting tutorial to help veterans and military spouses who own small businesses identify and take advantage of federal contracting opportunities.

Task Force Report
SBA chairs the Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development focused on improving and expanding opportunities for veteran business owners. The Task Force recently issued its first Report to the President and included 18 recommendations to increase access to capital, improve business development opportunities, and meet federal contracting goals for veteran-owned small businesses and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. You can read the whole report here.

SBA reaches out to veterans through its 68 SBA district offices, 15 Veterans Business Outreach Centers nationwide, more than 1,000 Small Business Development Centers, 110 Women’s Business Centers and some 12,000 SCORE volunteers. SBA also has numerous programs creating government contracting opportunities for veteran-owned small businesses. For more information, visit www.sba.gov/vets and www.sba.gov/reservists.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Virginia-based Company Wins SBA/VISA Export Video Contest

Virginia-based Company Wins SBA/VISA Export Video Contest

Five Small Business Exporters Split $39,000 in Awards

Release Date: November 7, 2011
Contact: David J. Hall (202) 205-6697
Release Number: 11-62
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

WASHINGTON – SteelMaster Buildings, a company in Virginia Beach, Va., that designs and builds prefabricated steel buildings for a variety of industries, is the winner of an export video promotion contest co-sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration and VISA. SteelMaster received a $12,000 award, including cash and travel costs to participate in the awards ceremony, and a Department of Commerce Gold Key matching service. You can watch the winning video at www.sba.gov/blog.

“SteelMaster and other participants in this contest are great examples of how small businesses are exporting and driving economic growth and job creation all across the country”, SBA Administrator Karen Mills said. As part of the President’s National Export Initiative, this contest promotes programs and resources for small businesses to help achieve the goal of doubling exports in five years and support two million jobs.”

In addition to SteelMaster, four other small business finalists received awards ranging up to $10,000: World Technology Corp. of New York, NY, $10,000; Air Tractor, Inc. of Olney, Texas, $8,000; VSD, LLC of Virginia Beach, Va., $6,000 and Daelia’s Food Company, Ltd. of Cincinnati, Ohio, $3,000. Awards included cash, an expenses-paid trip to participate in the awards event and $1,000 toward the purchase of a Commerce Department Gold Key matching service and/or various other trade related events.

The Commerce Department Gold Key matching service offers small business exporters customized foreign market and industry briefings; appointments with prospective trade partners in key industry sectors, help with travel and accommodations, interpreter services and much more.

The awards were presented by Dario Gomez, SBA Associate Administrator for the Office of International Trade, at the National District Export Council Conference held at Caesar’s Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., on Nov. 5. Janet Zablock, who heads VISA Small Business, shared the stage with Gomez.

The Export Video Contest promoted the advantages of exporting and increase awareness of government assistance available to small business exporters. VISA, which co-sponsored the contest, provided the funding for the cash award to the winners.

The contest was open to small businesses that had completed at least one export transaction. Each participant submitted one educational video of three minutes or less, highlighting how they had ventured into and achieved success with exporting.

Videos were submitted in five categories: manufacturing, consumer products, professional services, technology and agribusiness. A panel of SBA judges selected a winner in each category. The five finalist videos were posted on SBA’s YouTube and made available to the public for voting from Oct. 1 – Oct. 28. Awards were granted based on the number of votes received.

For more information on the Export Video Contest and exporting opportunities for small businesses, visit www.sba.gov/oit.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Get the Business Case for Preparedness at Free Webinar

Get the Business Case for Preparedness at Free Webinar

Advisory Date: November 1, 2011
Contact: Carol Chastang (202) 205-6987
Advisory Number: MA11-29
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

WASHINGTON – 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 & CEO Bob Boyd will review the far-reaching financial impact of having a plan in place to recover after a disaster.

SBA has partnered with Agility to offer business continuity strategies via its “PrepareMyBusiness” website. Visit www.preparemybusiness.org to access past webinars and get additional preparedness tips.

The SBA provides disaster recovery assistance in the form of low-interest loans to homeowners, renters, private nonprofits and businesses of all sizes. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov/disaster.

WHO: Bob Boyd, President & CEO, Agility Recovery Solutions

WHAT: “The Impact of Corporate Preparedness on the Bottom Line” will be presented by Boyd. A question and answer session will follow.

WHEN: Tuesday, November 15 – 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET

HOW: Space is limited. Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/446675577

SBA Kicks Off Young Entrepreneur Series

SBA Kicks Off Young Entrepreneur Series

Five-city tour offers young people advice and tools to start and grow businesses

Release Date: November 2, 2011
Contact: Dan Crawford (202) 205-6920
Release Number: 11-61
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news

WASHINGTON – 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. There is a clear and urgent need to create more jobs for young Americans, and encouraging business ownership is an important way to meet that goal.”

SBA will hold five YES forums that will reach a broad audience, including young veterans, urban and rural entrepreneurs, and others.

Dates and locations include:
• November 7, San Diego, Calif., Veteran Young Entrepreneurs
• November 9, Ames, Iowa, Rural Young Entrepreneurs
• November 17, Charlotte, N.C., Young Entrepreneurs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions
• November 29, Tahlequah, Okla., Native American Young Entrepreneurs
• December 1, Milwaukee, Wis., Apprenticeship to Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship among young people remains below average and young entrepreneurs face unique challenges. With youth unemployment twice the national average in many communities, particularly communities of color and veterans, the Obama administration recognizes a need to promote and better support the efforts of young people to create jobs for themselves and others.

Many SBA programs, such as microloans, business counseling and training, are useful to young entrepreneurs. The YES forums are part of a larger effort to reach out to young people and let them know the federal government has tools to help them start, grow and succeed as small business owners.

The forums will be livestreamed at www.sba.gov/youngentrepreneurs. Participants can also follow along on Twitter using the hashtag #SBAyes. For more information or to watch the forums live, visit www.sba.gov/youngentrepreneurs.