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Last week, I joined Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and other members of the Obama administration for the first meeting of the White House Rural Council. The goal of the council is to advance policies that promote economic prosperity in rural America. I know the SBA will play an important role in this endeavor. Small businesses are part of the fabric of rural communities. They line Main Streets in small towns, and they are crucial job creators in rural economies. SBA is committed to helping these small businesses get the tools they need...
Throughout the spring, SBA officials have been on the road to talk with small business owners and members of the small business community about the Small Business Jobs Act. The Jobs Act is the most important piece of small business legislation in over a decade. We went on the road to talk about the tools that small businesses can take advantage of, as well as hear about how SBA can build on what's working as we continue to implement the over 60 provisions related to SBA in the Jobs Act. After the DC stop of the Jobs Act tour,...
At SBA, we are committed to improving the regulatory environment and making it easier for small businesses to grow and create jobs. This spring, the Startup America initiative went on the road to hold a series of Reducing Barriers roundtables. Top SBA and Obama administration officials heard directly from entrepreneurs and small business owners about how we can remove barriers to growth, at SBA and throughout the government. At the same time, President Obama has called for a government-wide review of rules and regulations to look at ways we...
You may have noticed some changes around this blog and SBA.gov recently. As part of our ongoing redesign, we recently launched the SBA Community—a social networking site and online meeting place for small business owners like you. If you haven’t joined the SBA Community and started participating yet, I hope you will soon. Here’s why: The SBA Community is home to more than a dozen discussion boards that put the collective knowledge of over 20,000 small business owners and entrepreneurs at your fingertips...
We caught up with the just-announced National Small Business Person of the Year: Rick Cochran, Mobile Medical International Corporation, of Vermont. His business manufactures portable health care systems for our military, emergency response, and commercial use. In 2008, his business only made $9,835. In 2010, it grew to make $1.68 million. Here is what he said: Congratulations. How does it feel?! Overwhelming. Exciting. We've worked so many years to do this. It's great to have the visibility...
Each year, SCORE helps give thousands of small business owners and entrepreneurs the tools they need to grow their businesses and create jobs. This year’s SCORE Chapter of the Year is the East Central Iowa SCORE, who we just honored at the Entrepreneurial Development and Lender Awards breakfast here at National Small Business Week. The number of clients the East Central Iowa SCORE chapter served increased an incredible 93% in 2010. I talked with Chapter Chair Greg Tomsic. Here’s what he had to say: Can you...
The forums at National Small Business Week are a great way for small business owners to learn new tips and tricks from entrepreneurs who have “been there and done that.” We just sat in on the forum on Strategies for High-Growth, High-Impact Firms. Afterwards, we stood in line to talk with Seth Goldman, the President and CEO of Honest Tea, which he co-founded out of his home in 1998. Honest Tea is a successful green company, combining an environmentally-friendly approach with a popular product. We only had...
The Procurement Awards Breakfast just finished here at Small Business Week. We caught up with Pat Khamken of J&P Khamken Industries, who just won the National Subcontractor of the Year award. Pat and his brother Jack arrived in the U.S. as refugees from Laos at the end of the Vietnam War. Their company is enrolled in SBA's 8(a) program, and since 2000 they've grown to 45 employees. Here's what Pat had to say: How do feel about winning this award? Did you have any idea you were going to win?...
Happy Small Business Week! It's Nate and Dan from SBA’s Office of Communications and Public Liaison. We're coming to you from live from the main event, where we’ll be live-blogging for the next couple of days. We just ran into Rick McKeel of New Carbon Company, the Indiana State Small Business of the Year. He has grown his business from 31 to 76 employees from 2004 to 2010. We asked him what he’s planning to do here at NSBW: Tell us about your business. Waffles. We...
Happy National Small Business Week to more than 27 million small businesses, their employees, and all Americans! You can read the President’s proclamation here. The facts are clear: small businesses create about two out of every three jobs in the U.S. each year, and roughly half of working Americans either own or work for a small business. Today, we released a report that details the many things the Administration has done over the past two years to help small businesses do what they do best: create jobs. It’s called The Small...
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by Marie Johns, SBA Deputy Administrator on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 - 17:57