 | | Cassius F. ButtsRegional AdministratorU.S. Small Business Administration |
You may have noticed recently that you are not only swiping your credit card, but also placing it in the same machine to read the chip card from your credit card. This is actually a very good thing that is happening- over $7 billion in credit card fraud was lost in the United States in 2013. The use of the chip technology will drastically decrease this number as it will become more and more difficult to perform credit card fraud. As of October 1st, the use of chip cards becomes critical to large and small business. We will see a "liability shift" for business owners when it comes to credit card fraud. There are many affordable options for small business owners to take advantage of to be sure and stay on top of this chip technology. SBA has teamed up with Square to help deliver the message across the United States to small business owners that this change is happening and to assist them in transitioning. To learn more about this topic, please join a webinar on October 14th, 2015 at 2:00 pm. The webinar is hosted by SBA and Square: EMV 101: What Small Businesses Need to Know About The Switch to Chip Card Technology. To learn more and to register, please click here. Mississippi District Director Janita Stewart, presented Rhonda Fisher, Supervisory Lender Relations Specialist, a Certificate of Government Service and pin for 30 years of federal government service. Staff of the Mississippi District Office were present. Rhonda has served all 30 years with SBA in Mississippi. Congratulations to Rhonda on achieving this milestone! | |  |
What's Happening for Small Business In Your Area?State By State | | Alabama DistrictTom Todt, Alabama District Director Regional Administrator, Cassius F. Butts was in Birmingham this week. He began as the keynote speaker at the general session of the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) Small Business Procurement Conference. He called up several of the small business people in attendance to allow them to tell their story to the other attendees. |
Regional Administrator Cassius Butts speaks to one of the attendees at the ALDOT Conference. | |  |
 | | Regional Administrator Butts and Alabama District Director, Tom Todt met with Andrea Taylor, President and CEO of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) to discuss ways the SBA and BCRI can work together, including signing a Strategic Alliance Memorandum between the BCRI and SBA. |
 | | North Florida DistrictWilfredo J. Gonzalez, District Director Annette Paulson, Economic Development Specialist and Nayana Sen, Public Affairs Specialist participated in a Youth Entrepreneur Summit as part of Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week in Jacksonville, Florida on September 15. The event was sponsored by the First Coast Business Alliance. Students from various high school's in Duval County participated in the one-day event hosted at the Beaver Street Enterprise Center. Participants listened to speeches from local business owners and the Small Business Development Center. One speaker at the event previously participated in the summit a few years ago, and has since started his own business. The summit concluded with a business plan/product competition that was reviewed by a panel of judges, and the winning team showcased their product in front of their peers. |
Annette Paulson, SBA Economic Development Specialist (back row in pink) pictured with other members of the First Coast Business Alliance | |  |
 | | Nayana Sen, SBA Public Affairs Specialist, and Marice Hague of the Small Business Development Center at the University of North Florida during the Youth Entrepreneur Summit in Jacksonville, FL. |
SBA participated in the Florida Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (FLAGGL) Annual Lender's Conference September 16-18, 2015. Rosalind Bryant, North Florida Lender Relations Specialist and Miguel Gonzalez, South Florida Lender Relations Specialist provided updates about changes in SBA lending policies, as well as news and statistics from their respective districts. Regional Administrator Cassius Butts spoke at the conference about regional lending statistics and offered insight into how the SBA can partner with lenders to further strengthen their joint objective of small business lending.  | |
L to R: Rosalind Bryant, SBA North Florida Lender Relations Specialist, Cassius F. Butts, SBA Regional Administrator, Nicky Roberts, VP of Sales, Reni Publishing, and Miguel Gonzalez, SBA South Florida Lender Relations Specialist |
 | | South Florida DistrictFrancisco "Pancho" Marrero, District Director The SBA South Florida District Office will be participating in the upcoming OPEN for Government Contracts "Grow Your Business Through Government Contracting" event in Miami on Friday, October 2nd. This free, day-long informative event will focus on helping small businesses access government contracting information and opportunities to position them for growth. These OPEN events are being held around the country and provide interactive workshops (with topics such as teaming, federal contracting 101, learn to work with the Department of USAID & DHS, Marketing To The World's Largest Customer, etc.), keynote speakers and panels composed of Federal, State and Local Government Officials and Large Corporations/Primes as well as small business owners. The Contract Connections sessions provide buyers and sellers with matchmaking and networking opportunities. The program provides education for both, small business owners who are new to government contracting as well as experienced contractors looking to grow their businesses further! SBA staff will help kick off the day, conduct Federal Contracting 101 workshop session, and participate in the matchmaker. Event Details: OPEN for Government Contracts is a FREE event hosted by American Express OPEN Friday, October 2nd at the Conrad Miami - 1395 Brickell Avenue, Miami, FL, 33131 This event will take place from 8:00am – 5:00pm (breakfast, lunch and afternoon snacks will be provided free of cost. Complimentary cocktail reception will be hosted at the end of the event) Details and registration here: |
 | | Georgia DistrictTerri Denison, District Director The Georgia District Office will participate in Congressman John Lewis' small business forum on Thursday, October 15, 2015 from 11 AM till 3 PM At Clayton State University, 2000 Clayton State Blvd, Morrow, GA 30260. Learn about opportunities for small businesses and meet other small business owners in the local area. Topics of discussion: Utilizing your resources to help your business grow; Assessing the financial strength of your business; Gaining opportunities for contracting with the government; and Exporting. Click below for registration information: Growth For Younger Companies Starting A Business Certifications and Doing Business With the Federal Government |
 | | Kentucky DistrictRalph Ross, District Director KY Has Two Accelerator Grant Recipients The SBA recently announced 80 winners of the second annual Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, and two of the winners, XLerateHealth and LVL1 Inc., are located in Louisville, Kentucky. XLerateHealth helps early stage healthcare companies build out their commercialization strategy, including early stage healthcare companies, affiliate companies and "corporate lift out," or innovative new business that originated within existing for profit and not-for-profit organizations. LVL1 Inc. is a hackerspace, a non-profit open community lab and workshop that attracts "tinkerers, makers, engineers, educators, scientists, artists, hackers and overall geeks," according to its website. Ralph Ross, SBA District Director for Kentucky, stated, "This is exciting news for small businesses in the region. Most of the employment increases in the U.S. is created by small, rapid growth, often high-tech companies. Accelerators create an environment in which smart people with transformational ideas can start fast growing companies with very attractive job opportunities." Accelerators serve entrepreneurs in a broad set of industries and sectors, from manufacturing and tech start-ups, to farming and biotech, with many focused on creating a diverse and inclusive small business community. This was a highly competitive process, with over 400 proposals submitted nationwide. Applications were judged by more than 40 experts with entrepreneurial, investment, startup, economic development, capital formation and academic backgrounds from both the public and private sector. Each organization will receive a cash prize of $50,000 from the SBA. In accepting these funds, the accelerators are committing to quarterly reporting for one year on metrics such as jobs created, funds raised, startups launched and corporate sponsors obtained. This will allow the SBA to continue building upon its database of accelerators and their impact, and to develop long-term relationships with the startups and constituents in these innovative and entrepreneurial communities |
 | | Mississippi DistrictJanita Stewart, District DirectorOn August 25, 2015, the Mississippi SBA District Office in partnership with AARP connected Encore Entrepreneurs who are interested in starting or growing their existing businesses. The Encore Entrepreneurs Business Forum was highly successful and a "win-win" for everyone. The Forum included two panels discussion: (1) Access to Capital, Contracting and Procurement Technical Assistance presented by SBA and Mississippi Development Authority; and (2) Counseling and What Lenders Look for in Loan Applications by MSBDC and Community Bank. The Encore Business Forum was hosted by Alcorn State University Technology Incubator in Natchez, MS. Alcorn State University is a HBCU under a SAM with the SBA Mississippi District Office.
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 On, August 28th, the Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC) in the Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park held a ribbon cutting event celebrating its grand opening at Mississippi State University (MSU). SBA District Director Janita Stewart and Deputy Director Gary Reed traveled to Starkville, MS to participate in this event on behalf of the SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development The center is designed to help veterans and their spouses either start a business or grow an existing one. MSU received an $825,000 grant/cooperative agreement from the U.S. Small Business Administration to operate this VBOC, which will serve veterans and their spouses in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Louisiana. Since October 2012, VBOCs have helped more than 136,000 small business owners and entrepreneurs nationwide, supported small businesses in receiving $23.7 million in capital infusion, and assisted small businesses in winning $124 million in federal government contracts, said Mississippi SBA Director Janita Stewart. For more information on MSU's VBOC, visit www.vboc.msstate.edu/~vboc/index.php. | |  |
 | | North Carolina DistrictLynn Douthett, District Director During June, July, and August, SBA and AARP hosted events across the country to match entrepreneurs with mentors and business owners who can provide advice, expertise and technical assistance. On August 19, the North Carolina District Office held its third and last 2015 Summer of Encore Mentoring event on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Over 90 attended the Encore Entrepreneur Fair, which featured an encore entrepreneur panel, a business resource panel (including SCORE, the SBTDC, the Women's Business Center and others), and several speed coaching tables. The keynote speaker, Dr. Jim Johnson of the UNC Kenan-Flagler School of Business, gave a presentation on "the Silver Tsunami" which highlighted demographic projections and the role of baby boomers in the broader economy.
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Over 90 attended the Encore Entrepreneur Fair on August 19 in Chapel Hill, NC. | |  |
 | | SBA North Carolina Deputy District Director Mike Arriola delivers opening remarks. |
Patrick Rodriguez (standing at left), SBA Senior Area Manager for the Raleigh area, leads a business resource panel. | |  |
 | | South Carolina DistrictElliott Cooper, District Director This Thursday, September 24, the SBA South Carolina District Office will be working with the South Carolina Department of Commerce and the City of Columbia to present the Small Business-Lender Matchmaker in Columbia, S.C. The Matchmaker will feature one-on-one speed networking opportunities with 18 area lenders and financial resources, including local banks, credit unions, microlenders, and more. The event will also feature financing seminars and a panel discussion with selected lenders. This event provides small businesses with a unique opportunity to assess their financing options and make invaluable connections to financial resources. The Matchmaker will run from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center at 1101 Lincoln Street in downtown Columbia. Pre-registration is required. Registration is available through https://2015-south-carolina-lender-matchmaker.eventbrite.com. |
The South Carolina District Office also gives kudos to Lead Business Opportunity Specialist Michael Corp, aka the "Webinar King." In the first two weeks of September, Michael hosted 10 government contracting webinars, each on a different aspect of federal procurement. Through his efforts, Michael reached hundreds of entrepreneurs and helped them to understand the contracting programs available and to better navigate the various contracting systems. Great job, Mike! | |  |
 | | Tennessee DistrictWalter Perry, District Director District Director Walter Perry presented the Start-Up in a Day Award to the City of Memphis and Mayor A.C. Wharton, Jr., on September 2nd, highlighting that Memphis was the only city in Tennessee to receive a $50,000 award which will streamline processes to expedite the start-up time for a small business to become open for business. And now is a great time to start a business with SBA financing -- loans continue to be up in dollar and volume statewide, presently at 567 loans totaling $318 million as of August 31, 2015. The District supported the Nashville Mayor's Small Business Forum on September 3rd with Economic Development Specialist David Tiller highlighting financing opportunities along with programs to help small businesses participate in federal contracting opportunities. The automotive industry is big in the Volunteer State and SBA participated in an automotive supply chain boot camp for small businesses held by SBA accelerator grantee Tech 2020 on September 17th in Oak Ridge. The District Office also participated in Hispanic Heritage Month with a kick-off event at Belmont University on September 15, featuring Nashville's outgoing Mayor, Karl Dean, Nashville Hispanic Chamber CEO, Yuri Cunza, and SBA District Director Perry. The District Office will be participating in other events in the state during Hispanic Heritage Month which continues through October 15. On October 17th, Regional Administrator, Cassius Butts, appeared on WFSK Radio, "The Money Show" to talk about the 45% increase in SBA loans in Region IV, the LINC program (which connects borrowers and lenders), and to take questions from listeners to Nashville's oldest Historically Black College & University radio station originating from Fisk University. Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week will begin September 26th and go through October 6th in Nashville. Tennessee District Office has planned a two day conference during Nashville's celebration of MED week with two full days of SBA seminars on federal contracting on September 28th and 29th with SBA HQ's John Shoraka, Associate Administrator for Government Contracting & Business Development, and Jackquline Robinson-Burnette, Associate Administrator of 8(a) Business Development; and GSA's Office of Small Business Utilization Manager of the Southeast Region, Mildred Quinley. How to Obtain Certifications--How To Leverage Certifications in the Gov't Marketplace WHEN: Monday, September 28th -- 10am- 4:30pm Tuesday, September 29th – 10am- 4:30pm WHERE: Nashville Public Library, Southeast Branch--5260 Hickory Hollow Parkway, Antioch, TN—Free Parking www.library.nashville.org THIS IS A FREE EVENT BUT PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED--- tn@sba.gov For more information: 615-736-5881 |
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