NFIB

Small Businesses Urged To Prepare For National Guard And Reserve Call-Ups
02/ 03/ 2003

Small business owners and small businesses with essential employees who are members of the Reserve or National Guard should have a plan in place to work through any potential disruption that may result from a broad call-up to active duty.

"A call to duty of a key employee can be disruptive for a small business that is not prepared," said SBA Administrator Hector Barreto. "It is essential that we at the SBA provide small business owners and employees involved in defending our country with the information they need to prepare for time away from the workplace."

The SBA Office of Veterans Business Development has created a new Web site where small business owners or small businesses with key employees who are members of the Reserve or National Guard can find relevant information. The first phase of the information Web site, www.sba.gov/reservists, is part of a comprehensive plan to provide members of the National Guard and Reserve who own or are an essential employee of a small business with timely information on all SBA programs and services available to them if and when they are called to active duty.

Through a vast array of programs and services, the U.S. Small Business Administration provides tools to assemble and enact a plan designed to prevent or reduce the potential disruption caused a business by the sudden absence of a key player. The SBA and its resource partners offer managerial, technical and financial assistance, counseling and training to assist small business with any conceivable business-related issue, from how to market their products and services, to financial assistance, to what to do if called to active duty.

Salient among these programs are: basic 7(a) loan guarantee, SBA's primary loan program to help small businesses obtain financing while they may not be eligible through conventional channels; disaster loans for eligible small businesses affected by the call-up; debt relief on SBA loans in the form of repayment deferrals, interest rate reductions and other assistance.

The site has a list of Veterans Business Development Officers nationwide, information on financial options, business counseling and training and other SBA resources.

Thus far, since the attacks on America on Sept.11, 2001, more than 100,000 Reserve and National Guard members have been called to active duty. In anticipation of additional call ups, the SBA has taken these steps to ensure that eligible small businesses are informed of these services.

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