NEWS For Small Businesses Across the @SBASoutheast

Innovative news for entrepreneurs across the Southeast

@SBASoutheast News to Share August 2017 --- In This Issue --- Learn About: Resources Available for Entrepreneurs Events for Small Business Happening Across the Southeast Region SBA Blogs  SBA Tutorials Contracting Opportunities Proud to Introduce To You: Your SBA Region 4 Leadership Team Back row left to right: Tom Todt, SBA Alabama District Director, Rosemarie Drake, SBA Georgia Deputy District Director, Gregg White, SBA South Carolina Deputy District Director, Jonel Hein, SBA South Florida Deputy District Director, Ralph Ross, SBA Kentucky District Director, Robert Coffey, SBA Kentucky Deputy District Director, LaTanya Channel, SBA Tennessee District Director, Gary Reed, SBA Front row left to right: Willie Gonzalez, SBA North Florida District Director, Shawn McKeehan, SBA Tennessee Deputy District Director, Tawana Farley, SBA Regional Administrative Resources Coordinator (Atlanta), Mark S. Hayward, Regional Administrator (A), Gil Colon, SBA North Florida Deputy District Director, Michael Arriola, SBA North Carolina Deputy District Director, Lynn Douthett, SBA North Carolina District Director, Terri Denison, SBA Georgia District Director SBA is proud to celebrate another year of serving small businesses. Learn how we support you! Learn more about SBA loan programs Get started as a contractor  Find an SBA District Office Manage your staff and employees Choose your business location and equipment  Resources of Interest: About The SBA Region IV Office Mark S. Hayward is the Regional Administrator (A) for Region IV of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Region IV includes the states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee. Nearly $6.1 billion in SBA-backed loans were approved to small businesses across the Southeast this past fiscal year. Learn more about the SBA Region IV Office: https://www.sba.gov/offices/regional/iv or contact the office: region_4@sba.gov.  Follow us on: Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) are located in every state. These centers offer no-cost counseling for existing small business owners. Over 75,000 small business owners were counseled just last year in the Southeast Region. Locate your local SBDC here.  SCORE counselors provide no-cost small business mentoring, advice, and seminars to help you better operate your small business. SCORE is a great resource to utilize when starting your own small business. Over 57,000 entrepreneurs in Region IV were assisted by SCORE volunteers this past year. Find your local SCORE Chapter here. The Women's Business Centers (WBC) offer mentoring services as well as educational programs and networking events for women who own small businesses (as well as all entrepreneurs).  Over 18,000 women entrepreneurs were trained and counseled through WBC's in the Southeast last year. Locate your local WBC here.    Veteran's Business Outreach Centers (VBOC's) are located strategically across the Southeast to service Veteran entrepreneurs every step of the way. VBOC's located in the Southeast have counseled and trained nearly 6,000 veteran entrepreneurs; assisting them in reaching and surpassing their entrepreneurial goals.  Be sure to find a VBOC near you: Click HERE for a list of VBOC's that service the Southeast.  BELOW: Discover What's Happening For Small Business Across YOUR SBA Southeast Region (Region IV) Meet SBA's 25th Administrator Linda McMahon SELF Help for Small Business Owners 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.  SBA BLOGS 10 Things Savvy Online Marketers Do To Get Web Traffic If you want to get traffic to your website, you're going to have to take the right steps. Training the Staff You Envision  Small businesses often times have to compete in the job market with large employers offering an attractive menu of fringe benefits. A possible solution for small businesses is finding workers who can be trained for the jobs they have. 4 Marketing Mistakes That Can Get You in Legal Trouble Here are some key advertising and marketing mistakes small business owners should avoid.   How To Complain To Your Franchisor To Get An Issue Resolved If you decide to become a franchise owner, who should you communicate with to get an issue you're experiencing resolved? Business Owners: Avoid the Crystal Ball and Chain Have you noticed how sometimes people don't want to plan because they don't want to put future numbers on record? Contracting 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 www.sba.gov SBA Region IV Office 233 Peachtree St. NE Suite 200 Atlanta, GA 30303 region_4@sba.gov 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 404-330-4737   @SBASoutheast Here's What's Happening For Entrepreneurs State By State..... SBA Alabama District Office Thomas A. Todt,  District Director The Alabama District Office along with the Veterans Business Outreach Center at Mississippi State University and the Alabama State University Small Business Development Center conducted a Boots2Business program at Maxwell Air Force Base August 14 and 15. Forty three participants from the Air Force, Navy and Army received a crash course in entrepreneurship. Many of the transitioning active-duty military personnel already had business ideas and just needed to know what was required to get them started. Several of the presenters including professors from ASU College of Business were veterans and enjoyed sharing their expertise with a very attentive audience. Based on their response to the training, it's evident that there were several budding entrepreneurs in the class. SBA Lender Relations Specialist David Ramp explains how SBA supports businesses during the Boots 2 Business program sponsored by the ASU Small Business Development Center at Maxwell Air Force Base. North Florida District Office Wilfredo J. Gonzalez,  District Director The North Florida District Office (NFDO) hosted a roundtable for small business owners in the Jacksonville, Florida area on August 23. Small business owners were afforded the opportunity to speak with Mark Hayward, Region IV Administrator; Wilfredo Gonzalez, SBA NFDO Director; Gilbert Colón, NFDO Deputy District Director; and Janice Donaldson, Regional Director for the Small Business Development Center at the University of North Florida. Participants discussed issues that impact small businesses including tax reform, regulations, and healthcare. Front Row L to R: Gilbert Colón, SBA Deputy District Director; Donna Padgug, Economic Development Specialist; Marice Hague, Communications Director, Small Business Development Center at UNF; Wilfredo Gonzalez, District Director; Mark Hayward, Region IV Administrator; Erica Jackson, CYE Enterprises; Kenneth Hamilton, SBA Supervisory Business Development Specialist; Kelly Munoz, Central Southern Corporation; Tamara Baker, Baker Klein Engineering; Andrew Harold, A. Harold and Associates; and James Van Horn, SBA Lead Lender Relations Specialist. Back Row L to R: Leticia Clark, SBA Business Development Specialist; Jay Choi, Business Development Specialist; Janice Donaldson, Regional Director, Small Business Development Center at UNF; Marla Buchanan, Green Technologies; Debra Klein, Baker Klein Engineering; and Gina Hill, G.M. Hill Engineering. South Florida District Office Francisco A. Marrero, District Director Labor Day weekend marks the official end of summer 2017. While children and educators return to various institutions of learning, this time of year is an excellent time to take an account of your small business, review any applicable tax laws that may impact you or your employees, and educate yourself-free of charge through the SBA! Entrepreneurs can help to optimize their 2017 tax bill by: Meeting with Tax Professional. If you don't already have a trusted CPA or other tax advisors to prepare and file your returns or serve as your business advisor throughout the tax year, then this is the time to consider finding one who will. Assessing your Profitability. If the first half of 2017 was a good year for you, now is the time to consider strategies to help with expansion while saving taxes. The summer is also an excellent time to start planning your holiday marketing strategy. Many large box retailers and consumers are already getting a jump on fall/winter holiday spending. According to a recent report in Forbes, 40 percent of Americans fall into this category. Also, to help with expanding your education and small business ownership knowledge, the SBA has a series of FREE e-learning topics available at www.sba.gov/tools/sba-learning-center/search/training. A few topics included are: Business Opportunities: A Guide to Winning Federal Contracts Crime Prevention: A Guide for Small Businesses Financing Options for Small Businesses Disaster Recovery: A guide to SBA's Disaster Assistance Programs Georgia District Office Terri L. Denison, District Director Show Me The Money Staff members from the Georgia District Office, Area 3 Office of Government Contracting participated in the sixth annual Caesar Mitchell Back to Business Conference in Atlanta. The event, organized by the Atlanta city councilman, brings together local, state and federal agencies, large corporations with contracting opportunities, prime contractors and business owners looking to earn contracts. Attendees that visited the SBA tables learn about the 8a program, the new mentor-protégé program as well as received an overview of the programs and services available. SCORE, the SBDC, and ACE, a WBC, were also present to help attendees. More than 400 people attended the daylong-event hosted on Atlanta Metropolitan State College's campus.   Kentucky District Office Ralph E. Ross, District Director Kentucky Hosted SBA Office of Advocacy Regulatory Reform Roundtable The SBA Office of Advocacy hosted a Regulatory Reform Roundtable in Lexington, KY on July 31st. This was the third Office of Advocacy meeting held in Kentucky in the past 13 months. The Office of Advocacy also held Regulatory Reform Roundtables in Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ohio in early August. The purpose of the Office of Advocacy's Regional Regulatory Roundtables is to: Identify regional small business regulatory issues in order to assist agencies with regulatory reform and reduction in compliance with two new Executive Orders to eliminate burdensome regulations; Compile crucial information for the Office of Advocacy's new report on existing small business regulatory burdens across the nation, identifying specific recommendations for regulatory changes based upon first-hand accounts from small businesses across the country; and Inform and educate the small business public as to how Advocacy and SBA can assist them with their small business. In addition to small business owners, representatives of federal agencies and congressional offices attended the roundtable in Lexington, including Kentucky's Fourth District U.S. Congressman Andy Bar and SBA Kentucky District Director Ralph Ross. Also in attendance were representatives from the Bluegrass SBDC, SCORE-Lexington, SCORE-Louisville and many SBA lenders. Previously, there were two roundtables on this topic held in June, and more roundtables across the nation will be added soon. For additional information, click here. Mississippi District Office Janita R. Stewart, District Director On Wednesday, August 9th, the Mississippi District Office conducted and hosted its Mississippi Congressional Delegation Update to provide pertinent and updated information on SBA to the congressional delegation staff.  DD Janita Stewart along with DDD Gary Reed, SLRS Rhonda Fisher, SBOS Alice Doss and EDS Jeremy Sanford spoke to the group and answered questions.  In addition, representatives from USDA Rural Development, USDA Farm Service Agency, HUD and the Taxpayer Advocate of the IRS were invited and participated to provide updates relative to their respective agencies.  This type of format was developed years ago by the Mississippi District Office.  We, along with the invited federal agencies, as well as the congressional delegation staff, found this means of providing updates, sharing information and networking with several federal agencies at once, has been extremely efficient, effective and beneficial for all involved, and it further assists the congressional delegation staff in responding to inquiries from their constituents. In photo L to R: Austin Fratesi of Congressman Gregg Harper's ofc; Ricky Carnegie of USDA-FSA; Kim Chamberlin of Senator Roger Wicker's ofc; DDD Gary Reed; Jo Ann Clark of Senator Thad Cochran's ofc; Cathy Herrington Taxpayer Advocate-IRS; Brenda Funches of Congressman Bennie Thompson's ofc; Teresa Love of Senator Roger Wicker's ofc; SLRS Rhonda Fisher; Jerrie Magruder of HUD; Bridgette Jones of Congressman Steven Palazzo's ofc; DD Janita Stewart; Nekia Owen of Congressman Bennie Thompson's ofc; Parker Stewart of the VBOC; and Justin Wilkes of USDA-RD. Not pictured are SBOS Alice Doss EDS Jeremy Sanford and AO Tarvis Bethea. The MS District Office's Gulfport Branch Office participated in the Gulf Coast Regional Technology Summit and Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Proposal Workshop on 10 August 2017.  This event was sponsored by the Marine Industries Science & Technology (MIST) Cluster in partnership with the LA-FAST (Louisiana - Federal and State Technology) and MS-FAST (Mississippi - Federal and State Technology) partnership programs. The workshop covered various stages of contracting processes and welcomed speakers from a plethora of federal and private organizations.  Derek Eady, EDS Gulfport Branch Office, welcomed attendees interested in SBA programs and services. Joe Graben, Program Manager MIST Cluster Contract, addressed a group of 60 small business owners during the workshop. The Mississippi Gulfport Branch Office participated in the Stennis Space Center HUBZone Showcase on August 16, 2017.  SBA provided attendees information on SBA HUBZone contracting and other government contracting opportunities.  L-R: Bridget Johnson-Fells, Economic Development Specialist and Kay Doane, NASA Stennis Space Enter, Procurement Analyst. North Carolina District Office Lynn L. Douthett, District Director North Carolina Veteran's Procurement Summit On August 23, SBA North Carolina District Director Lynn Douthett delivered remarks on the state of small business in North Carolina during the North Carolina Veteran's Business Association (NCVetBiz) 2017 Procurement Summit.  Held at NC State University in Raleigh, NCVetBiz hosts the summit to provide an opportunity for North Carolina veteran-owned small businesses to access resources, business education and connection to corporations and agencies seeking to do business with them. The event featured three education tracks including business tools, government certifications and procurement opportunities. The mission of NCVetBiz is to support, educate, and connect all veterans in commerce in North Carolina with resources to become successful in business. Pictured above, from left: Kyle Winder, NCVetBiz President; Annette Hibbert Stevenson, NC VetBiz Vice President; Joe Ann Shaeffers, SBA Business Opportunity Specialist; Lynn Douthett, SBA District Director; and Jim Prosser, Assistant Secretary for Veteran's Affairs, NC Department of Military and Veteran's Affairs. GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING WEBINAR SERIES FOR 2017 – 4th Tuesday of Every Month! •             Did you know the U.S. government buys over $500 billion of goods and services every year? •             Would you like to find out how your business can access the federal marketplace? •             Want to learn about more tools that might help you grow your business in addition to your certification? The SBA North Carolina District Office presents a monthly webinar series to help you learn about contracting with the federal government. In the series you will learn about: - Access to Credit and Bonding - Business Ethics - Financial Analysis and Accounting Tools - Proposal Writing Best Practices - Contract Negotiations 101 For more information click here or contact Erin Connell at 704-344-6590 or erin.connell@sba.gov.   South Carolina District Office Richard(Gregg) G. White, Deputy District Director The South Carolina District Office participated in the Reverse Trade Show held on August 3rd.  The event was held for small businesses, startups, and under-utilized businesses to learn how to maximize the public procurement process and increase networking opportunities. Small businesses had the opportunity to meet with municipalities, school districts, and state procurement agency officials. The event was well attended. Pictured: Angela Brewer-Business Opportunity Specialist Tennessee District Office LaTanya D. Channel,  District Director SBA Tennessee District Office to Host "SBA Day" Free Small Business Entrepreneur Seminar On Thursday, August 31st the SBA Tennessee District Office will host "SBA Day." Featured sessions include: SBDC Overview SBA Loans Overview SBA Lender Q & A Panel Where:  Tennessee Small Business Development Center College of Business & Technology 2109 West Market St. Johnson City, TN  37604 When:  Thursday August 31st 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm RSVP by Friday, August 25th to: Teresa Shipley: 423-439-8505   Unsubscribe | Update your subscriptions or modify your password/email address at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. All SBA programs and services are provided on a nondiscriminatory basis. Reasonable accommodations will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance This email was sent to sjr3gb659yw41fx.jjjzz@blogger.com by Small Business Administration (SBA) · 409 3rd St, SW · Washington DC 20416 · 1-800-827-5722