The Small Business Watchdog

On June 19, the Office of Advocacy’s Request for Quotations (RFQ) for economic research was posted on FedBizOpps.gov. These RFQs, described below, are for competitive contracts and are not research grants. The deadline for submitting proposals is Thursday, July 18, 2012, at 4 p.m. Eastern (2 p.m. Mountain).
There are several ways to view the proposals: [...]

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Advocacy has just published its Small Business Quarterly Bulletin with data through first quarter 2012. 

While small firms with 20-499 employees provided three-quarters of the net employment growth since the end of the downturn, more recently, even the very small firms (fewer than 20 employees) and large firms (500 or more employees) showed solid net [...]

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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) proposes to amend its regulations governing size and eligibility for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs.    The proposed rule addresses ownership, control and affiliation for participants in the SBIR and STTR Programs. This includes participants that are majority owned by multiple venture capital [...]

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The President’s Export Council, Subcommittee on Export Administration (PECSEA) has developed a survey on the impact of export controls and priorities for export reform. This is an opportunity for small firms to make their voices heard on the important issue of export controls and reform.  The survey is designed to take only 15 minutes to complete.  [...]

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During President Obama’s January 2012 State of the Union Address, the president discussed progress of the National Export Initiative. The program, begun in 2010, aims to double America’s exports by 2014. To help reach this goal, the Obama administration added 20 percent to the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration budget, which now totals $540 million. [...]

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Immigrants make a significant contribution to business ownership and formation, according to a new study from the Office of Advocacy.  Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners, and their Access to Financial Capital found that 10 percent of immigrants own a business. Nearly 20 percent of immigrant-owned businesses started with $50,000 or more in startup capital, [...]

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Quarter by quarter, small busi­nesses with fewer than 500 work­ers continued to outperform large firms in net job creation three out of four times from 1992 through 2010, when private-sector employ­ment rose, according to data in the latest edition of The Small Business Economy.
The newest edition is formatted to improve the accessibility of the [...]

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Like advocates for veterans everywhere, I was saddened to learn of the passing of my dear friend John K. Lopez on Friday.  John was truly the father of the “veteran entrepreneurship community” and I am proud to have known and worked with him going back for many years.  A Korean War veteran, John spent a lifetime [...]

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With his wife Trish, Gary Walker, Missouri Small Business Person of the Year for 2011, opened a cleaning service. Their company, Magic Touch Cleaning, has thrived using environmentally friendly cleaning products. The company’s clients include banks, medical facilities, eye surgery centers, and car dealerships.
Kelly Terrien, 2011 Small Business Person of the Year for Colorado, went [...]

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In March, Chief Counsel for Advocacy Winslow Sargeant, Senior Advisor Michael Landweber, Region IV Advocate Mark Berson, and Region VI Advocate Caitlin Cain participated in a listening tour to locations in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Photos courtesy Stennis Space Center.

Advocacy staff toured the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology (MSET) Small Business Technology Incubator at the Stennis [...]

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