 Meet SBA's 25th Administrator Linda McMahon  SBA Online Courses Go to www.sba.gov for information on SBA programs and services.
 Veterans, whether you are starting or growing your business, SBA can help. Visit the resources SBA has for Veterans here. No Business Credit? Here's a Simple Strategy to Get Credit and Conserve Cash Flow Having business credit is essential. But if you have no credit established in your company's name what steps can you take to make your company attractive borrower? 8 Easy Businesses to Start Sam Walton was an ex-retail employee who got the idea to buy a little five and dime store in a small town in Arkansas. That small beginning eventually became Walmart, a global giant that today has over 11,000 stores. Sometimes entrepreneurs dream about an aha, world-changing tech business. They struggle to come up with a unique idea. But the most enduring businesses often begin as simple ideas. Writing YOUR Success Story It's the classic opening to our favorite fairy tales. As children we dream of magic potions and knights in shining armor that will provide our happily ever after. How were we to know that our own hard work, skill and determination could be far more effective? 5 Mid-Year Tax Planning Strategies For many small business owners, thinking about taxes occurs only twice a year … when returns are being prepared and perhaps at the end of the year. This is a mistake. With half of 2017 over, now is a great time to assess where you stand and to take action that will be helpful to your 2017 tax bill. How To Overcome The Fear Of Being Your Own Boss
I'd like to start out by telling you that it's perfectly normal to be fearful about owning a franchise business-or any business. As a matter of fact, if you weren't afraid, it would cause me worry. But if you'd really like to be your own boss, there are ways to overcome some of the fears you're feeling. I'll go over a few of them in this post.  Contracting: Does Your Small Business Qualify? Small businesses do big business with the federal government. Think about the possibilities of generating sales and revenue with the government. Did you know the federal government buys nearly $100 billion worth of goods and services from small businesses each year? Government contracts can offer significant opportunities for small businesses, but selling to the government requires a very different approach than selling to the commercial sector. Understand how to: - Qualify as a small business
- Determine your NAICS code
- Register for government contracting
Learn more  SBA Region IV Office 233 Peachtree St. NE Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30303 region_4@sba.gov 470-891-5509
Leadership: Mark S. Hayward Regional Administrator (A) SBA Region IV Office Staff:
Tawana Farley, Regional Office Manager tawana.farley@sba.gov 470-891-5512 Lola Kress, Regional Communications Director lola.kress@sba.gov 470-891-5514  | | @SBASoutheast |
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Thomas A. Todt, District Director |
The SBA Alabama District is pleased to host monthly meetings of the Birmingham SCORE chapter, along with providing office space for SCORE mentors to meet with clients. Plans are in progress for the ALDO to relocate from its current location to a downtown location in the coming months. Director Tom Todt assured the SCORE mentors that there were space provisions for them in the new location. Among its other outreach events, Birmingham SCORE conducts weekly counseling/mentoring sessions at Birmingham City Hall, under the terms of a Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) between the Alabama District and the Mayor's Office of Economic Development.  | | Earl Heath, outgoing SCORE Alabama District Director, presents a SCORE Challenge Coin to Jim Forte for his service to the Huntsville SCORE Chapter, as incoming Director Dale Smith looks on. |
| Dale Smith, incoming SCORE Alabama District Director, speaks to SCORE members from the Birmingham and Huntsville chapters recently. | |  |
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Wilfredo J. Gonzalez,
District Director |
North Florida District Office Emerging Leaders FY17 This year's Emerging Leaders program has just completed its 6th session. Small business owners from across the North Florida region are again receiving the innovative support needed to further develop and assist with the challenges facing them. To date, we have had over 50 participants that have expressed satisfaction with the material being delivered. Small Business owners are excited to have the opportunity to learn through self-directed study and peer-to-peer learning with other business owners in their community. The curriculum has allowed the participants to not only engage in classroom sessions, but to meet in CEO mentoring groups to discuss business challenges. The Emerging Leaders Program is proving to be successful in learning growth strategies, fostering mentorships and building business relationships.  | |
Francisco A. Marrero, District Director |
Extra! Extra! Read All About It! SBA South Florida Office 'Three Peats' Lending Success The SBA South Florida District Office has done it again! For the third year in a row, the Miami office has exceeded the $1B mark in small business lending. This "three-peat" is welcoming news for small business owners. As of June 30, the South Florida District has backed 2078 loans for $1.09B dollars - 7A 1829 loans $875,841,400
- 504 249 loans $219,268,000
Top 5 YTD 7A Lenders: - Suntrust 104 loans/$75,211,600
- Wells Fargo 235 loans/$51,893,300
- Live Oak Banking 33 loans/$38,120,000
- First Home Bank 662 loans/$37,164,500
- TD Bank 307 loans/$35,620,900
In comparison to last year this time, the South Florida District totaled $931.7M and 1951 loans. Currently, they are on track to exceed last year's volume of nearly $1.3B. Words cannot express the gratitude the office has for their lending network and resource partners. In a few months, they will be communicating these sentiments during the 5th Annual Florida Association of Guaranteed Lenders (FLAGGL) conference in Orlando from Sept. 13 - 15. Upcoming events the SBA South Florida District is participating in: - July 27: Government Contracting Symposium and Expo in Ft. Myers, FL.
- August 18: Florida Veteran Business Conference in West Palm Beach, FL.
- August 24: weVenture IMPACT Business and Leadership Summit in Melbourne, FL
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Terri L. Denison,
District Director |
The Georgia District Office, Area 3 Office of Government Contracting, Office of Disaster Assistance and the General Services Administration's Office of Small Business Utilization hosted an update briefing for congressional staffers from Georgia's 14 districts. The attendees received SBA and GSA programs and services overviews as well as updates on ongoing small business initiatives. The annual event armed the staffers with not only district specific lending, contracting and economic development information, it also afforded them the opportunity to address small business concerns from their constituents. The three-hour meet and greet event was hosted in the Area 3 Office of Government Contracting's new conference room in downtown Atlanta.  | |
Ralph E. Ross,
District Director |
Multiple Contracting and Veterans' Events Offered This August in Kentucky The SBA Kentucky District Office is participating in a series of free Small Business Certification workshops in Louisville this August. The series is entitled "Opening Doors: Federally Recognized Certification" and addresses the certification process for 8(a), the HUBZone Program and the Woman Owned Small Business Program. On August 4, the Kentucky District Office is participating in the Bluegrass Area Minority Business Expo in Lexington, KY. This expo connects small business owners with major corporations interested in working with minority and women owned businesses in Kentucky. Also in Louisville this August is a 3-day Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Conference. V-WISE is a training program in entrepreneurship and small business management. The program helps women veterans and female military spouses and partners find their passion and learn the business skills necessary to turn an idea or start-up into a growing venture. V-WISE is operated by the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University (IVMF) in cooperation with the SBA. The conference phase of the V-WISE experience involves training offered to 200 women at locations across the country. Participants must have attended Phase I, the online course, before attending Phase II, the conference. The Kentucky District Office also offers a Boots to Business/Boots to Business Reboot Program monthly at Ft. Knox and Ft. Campbell. The 2-day events includes curriculum on how to start and grow a successful small business presented by subject matter experts, including representatives from the Kentucky SBDC, SCORE and WBC. Event details are available at www.sba.gov/ky under "Small Business Events."  | |
Janita R. Stewart, District Director |
Mississippi Meet the Lenders @The Crossroads On June 29th, the Mississippi District Office conducted a "Mississippi Meet the Lenders @ The Crossroads" Small Business Borrower and Lender" Match-Making Event at The Bank in Clarksdale, MS. The event provided small business owners and entrepreneurs the opportunity to meet with Banks, Certified Development Companies, Microlenders, Alternative Lenders and SBA to discuss resources to help start or grow their businesses. Attendees were asked to bring their business plan to make available to lending prospects. Those that did not have a business plan were provided SBA's "Build a Business Plan" online tool to create a basic, downloadable business plan. SBA's network of Local, regional and statewide resource partners were available to provide counseling services as needed.  Mississippi District Director Janita Stewart is pictured above addressing the audience  | |
Lynn L. Douthett, District Director |
July is National Ice Cream Month! In 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day. According to the International Dairy Association, the ice cream industry in the United States contributes more than $39 billion to the national economy and creates more than 188,000 jobs in communities across the country.  SBA Funding Helps Husband and Wife Serve Ice Cream and Sweets
in Western North Carolina for Nearly a Decade Marcy and Tom Gallagher worked for over twenty years at a large law firm in Fort Lauderdale, Florida -Tom as a trial attorney and Marcy as a litigation paralegal. Choosing to "reinvent" themselves in their 50's, they left their careers in Florida and moved to Asheville, North Carolina, in 2008 to open a Kilwin's Chocolates, Fudge & Ice Cream. As Tom puts it, "I wanted to serve smiles rather than subpoenas!" The couple secured a $466,000 SBA loan from Comerica Bank for build-out, inventory, and working capital. (Keep reading) SBA State Trade and Export Promotion Program Does your company export?
Don't miss this opportunity! SBA and the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina are offering funds through the State Trade and Export Promotion program (STEP) and Passport to Export Program to qualifying businesses. Funding is still available until September 29, 2017. STEP assists exporters with reimbursement funding by offering up to $3,500 for airfare and lodging expenses for companies exhibiting at an international trade show. The program also offers up to $2,000 for the translation of websites and/or marketing materials to promote their products and services effectively in foreign markets. Companies may take advantage of one or both offers. For more information, contact the NC STEP Program Manager, Jen Vogelsberg, at jen.vogelsberg@edpnc.com or (919) 447-7778.
For more details about the STEP program in North Carolina, click here. For general STEP information, click here.  | | Richard(Gregg) G. White, Deputy District Director |
The SBA South Carolina District Office conducted 7j Training on Proposal Preparation July 12-13th and the latter part of June. The training averaged 20 attendees. Carl Faison, Business Opportunity Specialist has been very active in securing and coordinating 7j Training in SC. The office is on schedule to hold a record 11 individual 7j classes including topics such as Marketing and Capture Management, Proposal Preparation, Quick Books, Cost Accounting, Human Resources and GSA Schedules in FY 2017 and has requested five additional individual training sessions for current 8(a) businesses. The program's assistance encompasses a wide spectrum of business courses such as accounting, marketing, strategic and operational planning, financial analysis, business development, contract management, compliance and various business related software applications.  Pictured above: Robin Booth, Instructor-Quality Compliance & Management, Inc. (QCM) and Carl Faison-Business Opportunity Specialist  | | LaTanya D. Channel, District Director |
Nashville to Host ChallengeHER for Women Business Owners On August 2, 2017, The City of Nashville will host ChallengeHER from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. CST at the Sonny West Conference Center. ChallengeHER is a national initiative designed to promote the Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract Program, to bring more women-owned firms into the federal government's supply chain and provide an avenue for government agencies to meet qualified women-owned small business contractors. This free event will educate attendees on growth opportunities in government contracting as well as how to participate in the U. S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) WOSB Federal Contract program. Additionally, business owners can sign up to participate in Matchmaking – one-on-one meetings with procurement officials, government buyers, and large prime contractors. ChallengeHER is a joint initiative from the SBA, Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), and American Express OPEN, the small business division of the financial services company. The largest number of local partners are participating in the Nashville ChallengeHer event in the history of ChallengeHer. A sample of participating organizations include: - City of Nashville – Office of Minority and Women Business Assistance (METRO BAO);
- Tennessee National Guard;
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers;
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory;
- Bechtel Parsons Bluegrass JV;
- Tennessee Department of Transportation; and,
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
- General Services Administration
ChallengeHER will give women-owned they need to federal contracting. Topics to be covered during this event include: - Successfully Navigate Federal Contracting;
- Leveraging your Woman-Owned Small Business Certification;
- Techniques for Proposal Writing;
- The Importance of 'Sources Sought';
- Understanding GWAC and IDIQ; and,
- Advocacy*Budget*Continuing Resolution – and what it means to federal contractors.
This special contracting event for Women business owners is designed to empower them to success in federal contracting. Aspiring women entrepreneurs are encouraged to attend the free conference. To register for ChallengeHER in Nashville, please access: REGISTRATION. |
