Search
Open For Business
Last week, President Obama signed a bill reauthorizing the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs for another six years. This long-term reauthorization is good news for the innovative small businesses that these programs support. SBIR and STTR invest about $2.5 billion a year in America’s most promising small research and development companies. Through SBIR and STTR, federal agencies with large R&D budgets provide competitive awards to help small businesses...
Yesterday, I spoke with Zalmi Duchman, the founder and owner of The Fresh Diet in Florida. His business cooks and delivers freshly prepared, healthy meals directly to customer doors each day. He talked about how, if Congress doesn’t act, a tax increase will hurt both his hardworking employees and small businesses, like his, that rely on consumers to have money to buy their goods and services. He said that when his employees open their paycheck and see that it got lower, they’ll turn to him and ask why. That...
This week, SBA Deputy Administrator Marie Johns held a roundtable in New York City with Sergio Fernández de Córdova, Founder of Fuel Outdoor and member of the SBA’s Council on Underserved Communities (CUC). The conversation with entrepreneurs and small business owners focused on President Obama’s American Jobs Act, and how the SBA can improve the flow of capital to entrepreneurs and small business owners. While many topics were discussed, two main issues were how to increase awareness of the SBA, and how to make it...
When a friend or family member asks what you do to help small businesses, what do you say? As a Procurement Center Representative (PCR), my focus is to work with federal agencies to ensure that small businesses receive the maximum possible opportunities to bid on contracts. As a Commercial Market Representative (CMR), I work with the large prime contractors by monitoring their compliance with subcontracting plans. As both a PCR and CMR, I counsel and train small business owners on how to do business with the federal government and/or...
This article is co-authored by Gene Sperling, Director of the National Economic Council, and cross-posted on the White House blog. Today, we can do more to increase the amount of capital that flows into the hands of entrepreneurs at every stage in the growth of their companies. Helping these businesses grow is a top priority for the Obama Administration, as we know that small businesses create most of net new jobs that are added to the economy each year. We have an economic imperative to make sure we support...
This oped originally ran in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on 12/1/2011. In 2006, Mark Anderson and Steven Horvath started MASTEQ, a machine shop in suburban Milwaukee that designs and manufactures tooling for foundries. Anderson was 28 at the time. Before starting the company, Anderson received instruction as part of a registered apprenticeship program at Milwaukee Area Technical College. He worked his way up through the ranks as a computer-based designer, where he met Horvath, who served as his boss and a mentor. The two decided to go into...
Last night in Talequah, Oklahoma, SBA’s Deputy Administrator Marie Johns and I had the chance to talk with nearly 20 young Native American entrepreneurs. They had great ideas for building businesses, ranging from construction to IT, to defense contracting. As someone who grew up in a small-business family on a reservation in Cherokee, North Carolina, I could relate to their needs, concerns, and questions. Today, I work with Native entrepreneurs and small business owners throughout the U.S., helping them find the tools they...
This Saturday, President Obama took his daughters to a local bookstore to participate in Small Business Saturday. SBA Administrator Karen Mills went to Boston for the grand opening of a small business called Minerva’s Owl, and many others in the Cabinet went to small businesses in their home cities and towns. I had the pleasure of visiting a number of small businesses in the Adams Morgan neighborhood here in Washington, DC, where I live. Adams Morgan is a vibrant neighborhood with over 250 small...
When a friend or family member asks what you do to help small businesses, what do you say? I have worked with the SBA for thirty-two years and am very proud of my commitment. As a Program Assistant, I provide administrative support to the program offices within the Office of Performance Management and Chief Financial Officer to ensure efficient and effective management of Agency financial resources. Small businesses are the backbone of the world’s economy, accounting for more than 99% of the businesses in the United States....
You’ve heard of Black Friday. And Cyber Monday. But did you know that this Saturday is Small Business Saturday? We’re encouraging everyone to visit a small business to do some holiday shopping this Saturday. As President Obama said in a message out to all Small Business Saturday supporters: From the mom-and-pop storefront shops that anchor Main Street to the high-tech startups that keep America on the cutting edge, small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the cornerstones of our Nation’s promise...
Contributors
Top Rated Articles
Community Help
About This Blog
The Official Blog of the U.S. Small Business Administration with news and views from top SBA officials
Archive
- May 2013 (25)
- April 2013 (29)
- March 2013 (27)
- February 2013 (26)
- January 2013 (31)
- December 2012 (24)
- November 2012 (29)
- October 2012 (26)
- September 2012 (29)
- August 2012 (26)
- July 2012 (29)
- June 2012 (25)
- May 2012 (33)
- April 2012 (35)
- March 2012 (36)
- February 2012 (35)
- January 2012 (30)
by Karen Mills, SBA Administrator on Tuesday, January 3, 2012 - 10:50