Each year, since 1963, SBA’s Small Business Week Awards have recognized outstanding individuals from America’s small business community for their achievements and contributions to our nation’s economy. In 2010, this celebration will honor the estimated 27 million small businesses in America, and is an opportunity to showcase and recognize some of the best and brightest of these with the SBA’s annual Small Business Week Awards.

Small Business Week 2010 Award Categories include:

• Small Business Person of the Year
• Small Business Exporter of the Year
• SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year
• Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Business of the Year
• Financial Services Champion of the Year
• Home-Based Business Champion of the Year
• Minority Small Business Champion of the Year
• Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year
• Women in Business Champion of the Year
• Entrepreneurial Success Award
• Phoenix Awards (for disaster recovery)

State winners of the Small Business Person of the Year awards attend the national Small Business Week celebration in Washington, D.C., in May to compete for the title of National Small Business Person of the Year. Award winners in other categories go on to compete at the regional and national level, with national Champions, who are small business advocates, invited to attend the national event.

For nomination guidelines and a list of all awards, go to:
http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/ia_des_moines/sbwnominationguidelines2011.pdf or go to the “2011 SBW Nomination Guidelines PDF” link under “Spotlight” at: http://www.sba.gov/localresources/

More information about these and other SBA programs is available on the SBA Web site at www.sba.gov. Contact information for your local SBA field office can be found at http://www.sba.gov/localresources/index.html.

2009 Winner Waymon Armstrong pictured below:

The Federal Register: Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program

Washington, DC – In just three years’ time, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative has supported nearly $500 million in Patriot Express loans to small businesses owned and operated by veterans, reservists and their spouses.

Patriot Express Loans, which can be used to start or expand a small business, increased over the past two years due in part to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which raised loan guarantees to 90 percent, and temporarily eliminated fees for borrowers on all SBA loans. To date more than 6,000 loans have been made.

Patriot Express was launched June 28, 2007, to expand upon the nearly $1 billion in loans SBA guarantees annually for veteran-owned businesses. SBA also offers counseling assistance and procurement support each year to more than 200,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans, reservists and members of the National Guard.

“America’s veterans have the leadership skills and experience to become successful entrepreneurs and small business owners,” SBA Administrator Karen Mills said. “As we celebrate Independence Day, we renew our commitment to more than 26 million veterans and service members across the country, including the thousands returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Patriot Express initiative, in conjunction with other SBA programs, puts more capital and more tools in the hands of veterans as they grow their businesses and create the jobs America needs.”

Patriot Express is a streamlined loan product based on the agency’s highly successful SBA Express Program, but with an enhanced guaranty and interest rate. Patriot Express loans are offered by SBA’s network of participating lenders nationwide and features one of SBA’s fastest turnaround times for loan approvals. Patriot Express loans are available for up to $500,000.

The Patriot Express loan can be used for most business purposes, including start-up, expansion, equipment purchases, working capital, inventory or business-occupied real-estate purchases. Local SBA district offices can provide lists of Patriot Express lenders in their areas. Details on the initiative can be found at www.sba.gov/patriotexpress.

Patriot Express is available to military community members including veterans, service-disabled veterans, active-duty service members participating in the military’s Transition Assistance Program, Reservists and National Guard members, current spouses of any of the above, and the widowed spouse of a service member or veteran who died during service, or of a service-connected disability. The average loan amount is almost $82,000. Nearly 15 percent of those loans have gone to military spouses. After a loan application is approved by a commercial lender, it is submitted to SBA for approval. Most applications are approved by SBA within 24 hours.

Additionally, SBA has entered an agreement with six major universities to expand and deliver entrepreneurship training for service-disabled veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in a program called Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV). For more information go to www.whitman.syr.edu/ebv.

SBA also offers business counseling through veterans’ business development officers in district offices in every state and territory to provide access to SBA’s range of programs and services. SBA recently expanded the Veterans Business Outreach Centers to 16 locations. They can be located at http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/ovbd/OVBD_VBOP.html.

In addition to district offices, SBA’s resource partners SCORE, Counselors to America’s Small Business, an expanded Small Business Development Center program for veterans, and Women’s Business Centers, provide local and online assistance with: writing a business plan, financing options to start or grow your business, managing the business, expanding the business and selling goods and services to the government. The agency, along with other federal agencies, recently entered a joint agreement to help Native American/Alaska Native Veteran-owned businesses with an entrepreneurship education program at The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

For those who are already small business owners and who expect call-up, the SBA and its resource partners can help with preparing their businesses before deployment, managing their businesses, selling goods and services to the government, obtaining other SBA financing and financial assistance, and obtaining loans for economic injury – Military Reserve Economic Injury Disaster Loans (MREIDL). Loans of up to $2 million are available for small businesses sustaining economic injury because an owner or essential employee has been called to active duty as a military reservist.

The SBA and its Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) provides comprehensive assistance, outreach and support to veterans. Each year SBA helps more than 200,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans and reservists. To learn more about additional opportunities for veterans available through the SBA, please visit the website at www.sba.gov/vets.

• State University of New Jersey – Newark, New Jersey
• Old Dominion University – Norfolk, Virginia
• University of Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Fayetteville State University – Fayetteville, North Carolina
• New Mexico Department of Veterans’ Services – Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Southwest Louisiana Business Development Center – Jennings, Louisiana
• Chippewa Cree Tribe – Box Elder, Montana
• University of Guam – Mangilao, Guam

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SBA Press Release:

WASHINGTON – Eight new Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs) funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration will join seven existing SBA centers to provide entrepreneurial development services to eligible military veterans and reservists who own or start small businesses. SBA is providing a total of $2.5 million in grants to the centers, continuing funding to the existing centers, and new funding for the new centers.

“Our service men and women have made invaluable contributions and sacrifices for our country and supporting them as they pursue their life’s dreams to start or grow their own business is one of our highest priorities,” SBA Administrator Karen Mills said. “Through these centers, we stand ready with a myriad of support, from entrepreneurial education and training to linking them with opportunities to compete for federal contracts and access much-needed capital – critical tools that will help them take their business to the next level, drive economic growth and create jobs.”

Services provided by the VBOCs include outreach, assessment, long and short- term business training, counseling, directed referring, electronic or on-line assistance and other technical assistance services to veterans, service disabled veterans, and U.S. Military Reserve Component business owners and entrepreneurs.

Veterans Business Outreach Center locations include:

REGION I (Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New
Hampshire)
• Northeast Veterans Business Resource Center – Existing Lawrence, Massachusetts

REGION II (New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands) • State University of New York SUNY at Farmingdale – Existing Albany, New York • Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey – New Newark, New Jersey

REGION III (Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, District
of Columbia)
• Old Dominion University – New
Norfolk, Virginia
• University of Pennsylvania – New
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

REGION IV (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina) • University of West Florida, Pensacola – Existing Pensacola, Florida • Fayetteville State University – New Fayetteville, North Carolina

REGION V (Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana) • VetBiz Central – Existing Flint, Michigan

REGION VI (Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma) • University of Texas – Pan American – Existing Edinburg, Texas • New Mexico Department of Veterans’ Services – New Santa Fe, New Mexico • Southwest Louisiana Business Development Center – New Jennings, Louisiana

REGION VII (Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska) • Veterans Advocacy Foundation – Existing Saint Louis, Missouri

REGION VIII (Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado) • Chippewa Cree Tribe – New Box Elder, Montana

REGION IX (California, Arizona, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada) • Vietnam Veterans of California – Existing Sacramento, California • University of Guam – New Mangilao, Guam

In addition to these grants to the Veteran Business Outreach Centers, SBA recently awarded grants to 10 local SBA Small Business Development Centers
(SBDCs) to increase entrepreneurial assistance to veterans. See the SBA press release on those grants at:
(http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/news_releas
e_10-10.pdf.)

For more information about SBA’s Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs), visit www.sba.gov/VETS . For information about all of the SBA’s programs and services, visit www.sba.gov. Follow SBA news on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/smallbusinessad

“This revision to the Scorecard will provide greater clarity and transparency on how well each agency is doing in meeting its small business prime contracting goals,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “Federal contracts provide critical opportunities for small businesses to grow and create jobs. This revision builds on our ongoing efforts to strengthen the integrity of the overall process for small business contracting, while also expanding opportunities for small businesses to compete for and win federal contracts.”

The revisions will appear when SBA issues its report later this year for federal contracting in fiscal year 2009. Over the past year, SBA has worked collaboratively with contracting and small business officials to develop the new system. The new system better reflects the unique needs of individual agencies while maintaining a focus on achieving the statutory small business contracting goals.

The overall small business prime contracting goals have been established by Congress to ensure that small businesses get their fair share of federal contracts. The government-wide goal for prime contracts to small businesses is 23 percent of total qualified contract dollars, with additional goals of 5 percent for small disadvantaged businesses, 5 percent for women-owned businesses, 3 percent for HUBZone small businesses, and 3 percent for service- disabled veteran-owned small businesses.

SBA negotiates individual goals for each agency, while ensuring that when combined they meet the overall statutory goals for the federal government. SBA’s small business procurement goal, for example, is 67.05 percent. While Scorecards will measure subcontracting activity, that information is not factored into the determination of whether the federal government meets the statutory small business prime contracting goals.

The new scorecard holistically assesses an agency’s entire small business procurement performance. An agency’s overall grade will be comprised of three quantitative measures: prime contracts (80 percent), subcontracts (10 percent) and its progress plan for meeting goals (10 percent).

The letter grades for prime contracting and subcontracting will show an A+ for agencies that meet or exceed 120 percent of their goals, an A for those between 100 percent and 119 percent, a B for 90 to 99 percent, a C for 80 to 89 percent, a D for 70 to 79 percent and an F for less than 70 percent.

In last year’s Scorecard rating performance for the FY 2008 contracting year, small businesses won 21.5 percent of contract dollars, or about $93.3 billion out of a small business-eligible base of about $434 billion. More than half of all agencies met their individual goals. The small business eligible base for FY 2009 was about $437 billion.

An example of the new Scorecard format can be accessed at http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/score_card_mock_up.pdf

Federal Court Gives HUBZone Program Priority

The Small Business Act makes it mandatory, not optional, to give HUBZone companies a preference over other small businesses, a judge rules

A federal judge has thrown a wrench into the Obama administration’s small-business contracting policy by ruling that agencies must give priority to businesses in economically depressed areas when setting aside contracts for small businesses.

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims determined that the Small Business Act requires contracting officers to consider companies in the Small Business Administration’s Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program before opening contracts to firms in the 8(a) and service-disabled, veteran-owned small business set-aside programs.

The Obama administration had argued that the HUBZone preference was simply an option available to contacting officers, but not a requirement. But Federal Judge Emily Hewitt disagreed, noting the text of the provision left little room for debate.

“The court interprets the language of the HUBZone competition provision—‘shall be awarded’—to be mandatory,” the judge wrote in an opinion released March 2.

__________________________________________________________

Would welcome your opinion on what this will mean!

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Small businesses realized $7 billion in first-year cost savings and $745 million in annually recurring savings as a result of fiscal year (FY) 2009 efforts to help agencies comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). The law requires agencies to review the economic impacts of proposed regulations on small entities and consider less burdensome alternatives. The figures are reported in the FY 2009 edition of the Office of Advocacy’s annual Report on the Regulatory Flexibility Act. (http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/flex/09regflx.html)

“Small firms are better equipped to do what they do best—grow the economy—when they are given regulations that are less burdensome and duplicative,” said Acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy Susan M. Walthall. “Federal agencies are learning that the RFA is an extremely valuable tool to help them consider the impact of their rules on small business while still meeting regulatory goals.”

The Regulatory Flexibility Act was enacted in 1980 in an effort to give small businesses, small nonprofits, and small government entities a voice in the rulemaking process. Together with Executive Order 13272, the RFA as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act encourages agencies to enact regulations that are more rational without negating the intent of the rules. The law requires the Office of Advocacy to report annually on agency compliance with the RFA.

In FY 2009, Advocacy reviewed hundreds of regulations to assess RFA compliance, convened numerous roundtables to solicit the priorities and comments of small entity stakeholders, and submitted more than 30 public comment letters to federal agencies on regulatory proposals.

The Office of Advocacy, the “small business watchdog” of the federal government, examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small businesses to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats, and it funds research into small business issues.

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The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policymakers. For more information, visit www.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.

Follow SBA news and announcements via Twitter at: http://twitter.com/smallbusinessad/

Mary Landrieu

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1  – Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today praised the Small Business Administration (SBA) components of President Obama’s budget proposal. For the second year in a row, the President has proposed increasing funding for the SBA and its programs, taking decisive steps to rebuild the SBA after eight years of cuts. The request proposes to increase funding to the agency by $170 million from last year’s enacted level, to $994 million. This, along with new small business job-creating proposals the President outlined in his State of the Union address last week, show the Obama Administration’s strong support for small businesses.
“By requesting more money to help our small businesses succeed, President Obama’s budget proposal emphasizes that small business remains a top priority for the Administration and is central to the President’s efforts to create jobs,” Sen. Landrieu said.

“As part of his budget, the President again showed his support for increasing the caps on small business loans as a way to provide small businesses with immediate capital to grow and hire workers. This is a proposal I, along with Ranking Member Olympia Snowe, introduced last year. It has since gained even more bipartisan support and passed the Committee. It is my hope the proposal will be included in any job-creating measure introduced in the Senate.

“While this budget request shows the President’s strong dedication to small businesses, I will work to increase funding for critical counseling programs and restore funding for the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program. The FAST program increases small business innovation opportunities and is vital for the growth of rural areas. The program received funding last year for the first time since 2004 and must not disappear.”

The President’s proposed budget:

Expands Access to Capital

• Supports the increase of the maximum 7(a) loan size from $2 million to $5 million, 504 from $1.5 million to $5.5 million and microloans from $35,000 to $50,000. Sen. Landrieu introduced, and the Committee passed, legislation that matches these increases;

• Supports more than $28 billion in small business financing, including $17.5 billion for the 7(a) loan guarantee program, $7.5 billion for the 504 loan guarantee program and $3 billion for the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program – which provides venture capital financing to small firms;

• Supports $25 million in microloans, allowing intermediaries to provide small loans to entrepreneurs and start-ups; and

• Provides $5.9 million for the SBA’s international trade and export promotion programs, allowing the Agency to support more than $1.1 billion in capital to small exporters and maintain their network of 18 export finance specialists.

Supports Counseling and Contracting Programs

• Provides $113 million to support about 900 Small Business Development Centers;

• Provides $14 million to support about 100 Women’s Business Centers;

• Provides $7 million to support about 370 chapters of SCORE, a mentoring program involving retired executives;

• Provides $2.2 million for the Historically Underutilized Business Zones program (HUBZones), which creates incentives for contracting with small firms to create jobs in underserved communities;

• Provides $3.4 million for the 7(j) technical assistance program, which provides small disadvantaged businesses with training in financing, business development, management, accounting and marketing;

• Provides $3 million to increase the reach of Emerging Leaders. Graduates of this program – often in distressed areas – have reported significant increases in revenues, government contracts, local hires, and access to financing; and

• Provides $11 million to support the job growth potential found in regional clusters of businesses. These clusters will involve public-private partnerships, which align federal resources with existing regional strengths and economic growth opportunities.

Provides Help for Those hit by a Disaster

• Supports $1.1 billion in direct disaster assistance loans, in line with the 10-year average;

• Includes a legislative proposal that would extend, from three to seven years, the maximum term for businesses that want an SBA disaster loan but have an existing line of credit with a bank or have enough cash on hand where they could get a conventional loan from non-SBA sources; and

• Requests $203 million to support for administrative expenses for the disaster program – an increase of $126 million from last year’s enacted level. These funds are critical in supporting SBA’s effort to efficiently and effectively service its $8.4 billion active loan portfolio.

Reduces Risk and Increases Oversight

• Provides $2 million to strengthen lender oversight and on-site reviews to ensure taxpayer dollars are going to those who need help the most;

• Provides $4 million to improve oversight of government contracting programs, including the HUBZone program, and to strengthen performance assessment and management of the Small Business Innovation Research program; and

• Provides $1.1 million to evaluate the SBA’s loan, counseling and other programs to optimize effectiveness.

SOURCE U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship

Contact:
Vicki Ekstrom, +1-202-224-9431, Victoria_Ekstrom@sbc.senate.gov or Richard Carbo, +1-202-224-3655, Richard_Carbo@sbc.senate.gov, both of the Office of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship

“During these difficult economic times, it is imperative that we provide small and minority businesses with the necessary tools to drive economic growth and create jobs in their communities,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “Far too often, minority-owned small businesses and entrepreneurs encounter hurdles to getting capital, contracts and other assistance to help them succeed in the marketplace. Making sure we do all we can to remove these hurdles is a top priority for SBA and the Obama Administration.”

The strategic alliance is part of SBA’s ongoing effort to support small business development initiatives in underserved communities. The agreement allows the organizations to share resources and educate minority entrepreneurs on how to use SBA products and services to establish and grow their businesses.

SBA has supported substantial financing to minority-owned small businesses under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Since the Act was signed into law on Feb. 17, 2009, minority-owned small businesses have received more than $4 billion in SBA-backed loans, about 23 percent of the more than $18.5 billion in small business lending SBA has supported under the Recovery Act. Minority-owned businesses continue to account for about 29 percent of the agency’s overall lending and 37 percent of its microloans.

Minority-owned small businesses also have received more than $3 billion worth of federal contracts under the Recovery Act.

MBRT is a national membership organization for minority CEOs that serves as a unified voice for minority businesses. Through this partnership, the SBA and MBRT intend to help more of these businesses succeed and stimulate economic
growth in their communities and the nation’s economy.

The SBA and MBRT alliance is intended to strengthen and expand small business development across the nation for minority entrepreneurs. SBA will provide MBRT with timely information on the agency’s programs, services and resource partners, participate in roundtable discussions and conferences and advise them on events that will impact their mission.

As part of the resource pooling, MBRT will cooperate with SBA and its resource partners to provide information to members about its business development programs and services, and share current SBA news and information.

The two-year agreement is a renewal of the partnership between the SBA and MBRT and was implemented on January 11, 2010.

Release Date: January 25, 2010
Contact: Tiffani Clements (202) 401-0035
Release Number: 10-01
Internet Address: www.sba.gov/news/
Twitter: www.twitter.com/smallbusinessad/
MBRT: www.mbrt.net/

WASHINGTON – President Obama signed the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) appropriations bill on Saturday, which included $125 million to continue through Feb. 28, 2010, the enhancements made possible through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to SBA’s two largest loan programs.

The SBA estimates the additional funding will support $4.5 billion in small business lending.

New approvals of loans with the higher guarantee and reduced fees made possible by ARRA are expected to begin by Dec. 28. Loan applications from borrowers who chose to be placed in the SBA’s Recovery Loan Queue will be funded first, followed by new loan approvals beginning on or before Dec. 28.

“This Administration and Congress recognize that these key programs were successful in helping jump-start the economic recovery for America’s small businesses,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “The increased guarantee and reduced fees on SBA loans helped put more than $16.5 billion in the hands of small business owners and brought more than 1,200 lenders back to SBA loan programs. The extension of these programs through February is important to continuing our path toward recovery and will mean thousands more small business owners have access to the credit they need.

“Just two weeks ago, President Obama laid out key aspects of his jobs plan, including significant ongoing support for small businesses. We will continue to work with Congress on moving those proposals forward, including extending these loan enhancements as the President has called for, to ensure that small business owners have the tools they need to drive economic growth and create jobs in communities all across the country.”

As part of ARRA, SBA received $730 million, which included $375 million to increase the SBA guarantee on 7(a) loans to 90 percent and to waive borrower fees on most 7(a) and 504 loans. More information about the waived fees can be found here. The funds for these programs were exhausted on Nov. 23.

SBA created the Recovery Loan Queue as part of its transition back to pre- ARRA lending on Nov. 23 because previously approved loans are sometimes canceled or never disbursed for a variety of reasons. Eligible small businesses, in consultation with their lender, could choose to be placed in the queue for possible approval of an ARRA loan if funding became available. Currently there are 1,069 loans totaling almost $530 million in the Recovery Loan Queue.

The extension included in the DOD bill authorizes the higher guarantee levels through Feb. 28, 2010. The fee relief is authorized until this additional funding is exhausted or the end of the fiscal year, whichever comes first. As was the case in November, SBA will transition into a queue system as the funds start to wind down in order to ensure the maximum stimulative effect of the programs and disbursement of funds.

For non-ARRA 7(a) or 504 loans funded during the transition period, this extension does not provide a retroactive guarantee or waived fees. Loans that were funded under non-ARRA terms cannot be canceled and resubmitted to take advantage of the ARRA extension provisions.

This extension does not affect other SBA ARRA programs, including the America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) loan program or the agency’s microloans. ARRA funding still remains for both of those programs.

Links:
SBA Web site: http://www.sba.gov
SBA Tweets: http://twitter.com/smallbusinessad
SBA Recovery Loan Queue: http://www.sba.gov/recoveryq/index.html