NFIB

The SBA: The Small-Business Owner's Gateway to Government
04/ 20/ 2004

by Tamara E. Holmes

If you haven't investigated what the Small Business Administration can do for your company, you might be missing out on a valuable and, in some cases, lucrative resource.

Established in 1953 under the administration of President Eisenhower, the SBA was charged with protecting the interests of small businesses. While the agency has headquarters in Washington, D.C., local SBA offices are dispersed throughout the country. You can find a list of locations and phone numbers at the SBA's Web site, www.sba.gov.

For companies in the early stages of growing their business, the SBA lays out the steps entrepreneurs should take to get their firms up and running, such as securing necessary business licenses. Among the resources on its Web site are tips for figuring out start-up costs, guides for estimating business taxes and suggestions for financing a small business.

Even if your business has been up and running for some time, the SBA has training programs that can guide you toward expansion. For example, the Entrepreneurial Business Institute, found at www.sba.gov/training/aboutus.html, is a Web-based interactive learning environment that offers small business owners free online classes on such topics as management, marketing and e-commerce.

The online courses aren't the only SBA source of helpful information. Peppered throughout the agency's Web site are articles and instructions on topics such as thinking strategically, confronting change and maintaining business ethics.

The SBA is also a source of funding. Loan programs exist for both start-up businesses and long-existing companies that meet certain criteria. The Web site features an interactive guide that helps you determine whether or not your business will qualify for an SBA loan.

A number of SBA-sponsored grants and programs exist for small business owners. Among them are the 8(a) Business Development Program, which sets aside federal contracts for minority and other categories of businesses; the Procurement Preference-Goaling Program, which ensures that small businesses get a piece of the pie when it comes to selling products and services to the government; and the HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program, which gives federal contracts to small businesses in urban areas.

When it comes to laws affecting small businesses, the SBA is particularly helpful. Its Office of Advocacy represents small businesses when new regulations are proposed that would affect them. Located online at www.sba.gov/advo, it also a good place to find statistics pertaining to small businesses in the United States if you're compiling business strategy research.

The Office of the National Ombudsman is where small business owners can send comments on any concerns they may have pertaining to business and government. The Ombudsman, whose online presence can be found at www.sba.gov/ombudsman, also rates how well federal regulatory offices enforce small business laws each year.

For information on the specific federal and state laws that affect small business owners, you can check out the SBA's BusinessLaw.gov Web site. There you can also find tools for complying with federal guidelines, such engines for applying for a Federal Employment Identification Number and determining visa classifications for foreign workers.

Running a small business requires knowledge of a wealth of information outside of the landscape of the products or services your business provides. The SBA puts much of that information at your fingertips.

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