SmallBusinessNewz

Big National Small Business Week Celebrations Planned

Small business owners are, with any luck, in for a great seven days.  Sunday, May 23rd marks the start of National Small Business Week this year, and all sorts of acknowledgments and ceremonies have been planned.  One will even benefit from the direct support of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

SBA: Signs of Improved Small Business Lending

The US Small Business Administration says they are seeing signs of improved small business lending. Loan volume has increased over 25% compared to the weeks before President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law. Since May 29th, the SBA has approved $3.15 billion in Recovery loans. It has also supported nearly $4.3 billion in lending to small businesses.

Is Your Small Business Struggling to Make Ends Meet?

Earlier this week the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced they would be providing interest-free loans to deserving small businesses. Small Business Administrator Karen G. Mills made the announcement during her National Small Business Week keynote speech.

New SBA Head Officially Confirmed

Whether you love it or hate it, the Small Business Administration has a new leader.  The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed President Obama's nominee, Karen Gordon Mills, as the organization's administrator late last week.

Large-scale HUBZone Fraud Discovered

Small businesses in low-income communities have been unfairly deprived of federal contracts, according to a new report.  The Government Accountability Office found that the Small Business Administration's Historically Underutilized Business Zone program has sent money to unqualified (and dishonest) companies time and time again.

Scammers Pretending To Represent SBA

It's hard to say "no" to free money under any circumstances.  If the offer's coming in the form of an official-looking letter, as opposed to an untrustworthy email, it may be even more difficult to ignore.  But it's at least wise to do some research before reaching out, as a new scam is making the rounds.

SBA Podcasts to Help Business Owners

The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) announced today that it has upgraded its podcasts to offer additional resources to entrepreneurs. "Business owners can take advantage of this and other business resources from the SBA to help them more effectively manage their firms, including free online training courses and other business tools and resources," the Administration says. Business owners will find useful information and advice in these podcasts on topics such as:

SBA Expresses Approval Of Stimulus Bill

Remember how, while the bailout bill was under discussion, Minority Leader John Boehner help up thousands of sheets of paper and said absolutely no one had read the whole document?  Well, employees of the Small Business Administration have at least done a little skimming now, and they've found some things that may be of interest to small business owners.

SBA Rolls Out Big, Green Loans

Everyone knows that "going green" can save money - think electricity bills, heating costs, and so on.  Now, the Small Business Administration is looking to extend that trend by adding three public policy goals to its SBA 504 Loan Program.

SBA Office of Advocacy Saves Small Businesses $10.7 Billion

The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that it saved American small businesses $10.7 billion in foregone regulatory costs in fiscal year 2008, by helping federal agencies comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act.