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February 2012 Archive
Earlier this month, the White House Business Council and SBA held an Urban Economic Forum in New York City to help small businesses create an economy built to last. The Urban Economic Forum is a multi-city series designed to connect urban entrepreneurs and business owners to local and national resources and networks they need to start, grow and create jobs. The next city we are hitting up is Birmingham, Alabama on March 5. The Urban Economic Forum in Birmingham will be live streamed at White House Live and you can follow and join the...
by Solovic, Former Guest Blogger on 02/29/2012 - 09:10
So you want to go into business with someone. Good for you. Maybe your potential partner is a family member, long-time friend, investor or business associate. Whatever the relationship, the start of a partnership is much like the beginning of a romantic relationship. The parties are euphoric and it may seem as though nothing could go amiss. Time for a strong dose of reality. Just like every personal relationship has its ups and downs, so do business partnerships. So before you tie the knot (so to speak), you need to enter into what is...
by plester, Community Moderator on 01/09/2013 - 09:19
Changing a business name is a costly and disruptive process, especially for established businesses. You can’t just start calling it something different. Print and online marketing materials and bank accounts will have to change, websites adjusted, domain names registered, email addresses updated, and so on. This is all assuming your chosen new name is even available! So before you take the leap, familiarize yourself with these steps. Most of them are required by law, but others are simply good business practice. Check Trademarks...
by plester, Community Moderator on 01/09/2013 - 09:19
Changing a business name is a costly and disruptive process, especially for established businesses. You can’t just start calling it something different. Print and online marketing materials and bank accounts will have to change, websites adjusted, domain names registered, email addresses updated, and so on. This is all assuming your chosen new name is even available! So before you take the leap, familiarize yourself with these steps. Most of them are required by law, but others are simply good business practice. Check Trademarks...
by plester, Community Moderator on 01/09/2013 - 09:19
Changing a business name is a costly and disruptive process, especially for established businesses. You can’t just start calling it something different. Print and online marketing materials and bank accounts will have to change, websites adjusted, domain names registered, email addresses updated, and so on. This is all assuming your chosen new name is even available! So before you take the leap, familiarize yourself with these steps. Most of them are required by law, but others are simply good business practice. Check Trademarks...
by wgregory, Community Moderator on 04/30/2012 - 17:59
Written by Caron Beesley Did you start a home-based business in 2011? Confused about what home office costs you can deduct when you file your tax return for 2011? The IRS home office deduction gives many small business owners a tax advantage allowing them to write-off certain home costs. However, it’s important to understand the rules of the road so that you don’t raise red flags with the tax authorities. The following tips will help you assess whether you are eligible to claim the deduction, what it covers, and how to go...
by janied, Community Moderator on 02/24/2012 - 12:20
When a friend or family member asks what you do to help small businesses, what do you say? I’m the Administrative Officer at the Customer Service Center for the Office of Disaster Assistance. Our Department provides support functions for the Center. This includes making sure our employees who help the disaster victims/businesses get paid. We also assist in the coordination of traveling employees to disaster sites as well as the day-to-day office functions for our Center. The Office of Disaster Assistance offers...
by wgregory, Community Moderator on 03/05/2012 - 07:50
Social coupon sites have been around for a few years now, and they still continue to attract and perplex small business owners. Companies such as Groupon, Living Social and EverSave have created a marketing phenomenon, delivering huge benefits to consumers – but not always delivering the return on investment that businesses might have expected. If you’re exploring the use of social coupons, here are some tips for assessing whether they will work for your business and how to plan a successful campaign. What Can Social Coupons Do for...
by Michael Chodos, SBA Official on 02/22/2012 - 17:08
Every year, the President honors small businesses and champions of small businesses for their outstanding contributions during National Small Business Week(NSBW). This year, SBA is proud to announce the addition of three awards to honor resource partner staff and volunteer to NSBW. These are the, SBA Counselor of the Year: Small Business Development Center, SBA Counselor of the Year: Women’s Business Center and SBA Counselor of the Year: SCORE. Through SBDCs, WBCs, and SCORE Chapters, the SBA resource partner network offer small business...
by AshleyC, Community Moderator on 02/22/2012 - 11:04
SBA employees had the opportunity to hear from Cathy Hughes, the founder of Radio One, who also serves as the Chair of the SBA’s Council on Underserved Communities. Hughes, who herself started Radio One with the support of an SBA loan in 1979, now runs the largest black-owned media company in the country, and in 2004 launched TV One, a national cable and satellite television network. During the event to celebrate African American History Month, Hughes shared her views on the importance of changing the perception of black...
by wgregory, Community Moderator on 04/30/2012 - 17:59
Several blog posts on SBA.gov offer plenty of advice on how to hire, mentor, and motivate employees. We also frequently tackle the issue of dealing with difficult or disruptive employees. But what happens when you find yourself at the end of the road with no choice but to terminate an employee? What steps must you take? What does the law require? What are the employee’s rights? What should you do about employee benefits and continuing health care coverage? Doing everything right won’t always protect you from a lawsuit, but it will...
by Caron_Beesley, Guest Blogger on 07/19/2012 - 09:09
Once you have established a corporation or limited liability company you will need to obtain a Federal Tax Identification Number also known as an Employer Identification Number (EIN). An EIN number is mandatory, because without one, your corporation will be ineffective for building business credit. A Federal Tax ID or EIN is the corporate equivalent to a social security number. It’s a nine-digit number assigned by the IRS to business entities operating in the U.S. in order to identify each company. This number is what identifies your...
by Caron_Beesley, Guest Blogger on 07/19/2012 - 09:09
Once you have established a corporation or limited liability company you will need to obtain a Federal Tax Identification Number also known as an Employer Identification Number (EIN). An EIN number is mandatory, because without one, your corporation will be ineffective for building business credit. A Federal Tax ID or EIN is the corporate equivalent to a social security number. It’s a nine-digit number assigned by the IRS to business entities operating in the U.S. in order to identify each company. This number is what identifies your...
by Caron_Beesley, Guest Blogger on 07/19/2012 - 09:09
Once you have established a corporation or limited liability company you will need to obtain a Federal Tax Identification Number also known as an Employer Identification Number (EIN). An EIN number is mandatory, because without one, your corporation will be ineffective for building business credit. A Federal Tax ID or EIN is the corporate equivalent to a social security number. It’s a nine-digit number assigned by the IRS to business entities operating in the U.S. in order to identify each company. This number is what identifies your...
by Tim Berry, Guest Blogger on 02/21/2012 - 18:39
One of the lesser-known benefits of good business planning is collaboration. And it comes from the three r-words: review and revise regularly. What’s collaboration? In business it’s about dividing tasks, optimizing use of resources, sharing information, and working together. Collaboration includes agreeing about what’s supposed to happen and then making it happen. It also includes tracking and sharing information about results, understanding and sharing what went right or wrong, and agreeing on course corrections. And...
by Sean Greene, SBA Official on 04/30/2012 - 17:59
We are tremendously excited by the recent reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) program. The program is an important one to small businesses, each year providing more than $2 billion of R&D funding to innovative small business across a broad range of technologies. After a long series of temporary reauthorizations, Congress voted to reauthorize the program and the President signed the bill into law on December 31, 2011. At SBA, we are now laser-focused on...
by wgregory, Community Moderator on 04/30/2012 - 17:59
Collecting sales tax is one of the most confusing aspects of transacting business – online and off! In fact, questions about sales tax are among the most frequently asked on the SBA.gov Community “Filing and Paying Taxes” discussion thread. Questions abound. When does sales tax apply? What transactions are exempt? What happens if you are selling online or to someone outside your sales tax jurisdiction? Whether you’re starting a new business or expanding into e-commerce, here’s what you need to know about...
by nicoj, Community Moderator on 02/17/2012 - 16:45
Today, SBA Deputy Administrator Marie Johns and Washington, DC Mayor Vincent Gray kicked off a new initiative – HUBDC -- to help District of Columbia small businesses participate in SBA’s HUBZone program. HUBDC is a partnership between the DC government and SBA designed to help small businesses in the District get access to federal procurement opportunities and set-asides. Today...
by vkodre, SBA Administrator on 02/13/2013 - 11:02
Today, the Obama Administration is launching a new online platform, BusinessUSA, to help small businesses and exporters of all sizes find information about available federal programs without having to waste time and resources navigating the federal bureaucracy. BusinessUSA, currently in “beta”, combines information and services from 10 different government agencies through one consolidated website and coordinate telephone support through a single 800#. The site already presents hundreds of business resources, in one place....
by Karen Mills, SBA Administrator on 02/16/2012 - 12:20
Right now, small businesses across America pay an average of 18 percent more to provide health insurance than large businesses. While the insurance exchanges included in the Affordable Care Act will bring these costs down starting in 2014, we need to make it easier for small business owners to provide insurance to their employees right now. One important part of President Obama’s Fiscal Year 2013 budget proposal expands a tax credit that does exactly that. The Small Business Health Care Tax Credit has benefitted hundreds of...
by Rieva, Guest Blogger on 02/16/2012 - 10:58
Great customer service is a small business’s best marketing tool. If you want your customers to be loyal to your business, show them some love by providing outstanding customer service. Just how important is customer service to a business’s success? In a survey last year by American Express, 70 percent of consumers said they would be willing to pay higher prices if a company offered great customer service. And 81 percent believed that generally, small businesses provide better customer service than big businesses do. To make...
by wgregory, Community Moderator on 03/05/2012 - 07:48
How are you backing up your small business data? If you are like most small businesses, you could be compromising your business and its data on a daily basis. A 2011 survey by Carbonite, a provider of online backup solutions, found some facts about data loss that may surprise you: Forty-eight percent of American small businesses with between two and twenty employees have experienced data loss, up from 42 percent in 2010. Top causes of data loss include hardware/software failure (54 percent), accidental deletion (54...
by wgregory, Community Moderator on 04/30/2012 - 17:59
Are you or your partner trying to exit or dissolve your business partnership? Business partnerships dissolve for many reasons – one partner may have lost interest, is no longer committed to the business or just wants to retire. Sometimes things just don’t work out. But how do you plan and execute a clean dissolution of your partnership? What are your options and what legal steps must you take? Let’s take a walk-through your options and your obligations. Revisit Your Partnership Agreement and Review Your...
by Marie Johns, SBA Deputy Administrator on 04/30/2012 - 17:59
As we celebrate Black History Month, we are reminded of the remarkable men and women who have made an impact in our communities. For me, one of those individuals is my grandfather, an entrepreneur and business owner. My grandfather owned a landscaping company that became the first African American-owned firm in Indiana to win a state contract—for cutting the grass along state highways. My grandfather’s business exemplified the positive role that small business owners play throughout the country. He made a point of...
by mheffner, Guest Blogger on 05/21/2012 - 17:40
Mobile technology has enabled us to run our businesses on the fly. It has also helped us to simplify some of the tasks involved in operations, not the least of which is taxes. Here are three ways you can use mobile technology to simplify tax-required recordkeeping, stay updated on tax changes, and keep in touch with your tax advisor. Note that the specific apps listed here are not recommendations but merely used to illustrate the type of apps to consider for a particular purpose; it’s up to you to explore the ones best suited for your...
by plester, Community Moderator on 01/09/2013 - 09:20
Did your business incur expenses before you were technically “open for business”? Did you know that you can write off some of these expenses against your business as soon as you are operational? Read on for tips and information about deducting startup costs, plus advice about when you may not want to immediately claim these deductibles. What Are Deductible Startup Costs? The IRS defines “startup costs” as deductible capital expenses that are used to pay for: 1) The cost of “investigating the creation or...
by mheffner, Community Moderator on 04/30/2012 - 17:59
SBA’s small business programs range from guaranteed loans to disaster assistance and procurement programs. But how can you know if your business qualifies for SBA assistance? After all, what makes a small business “small” and a large business “large?” The short answer lies in size standards. Size standards are definitions SBA has established to ensure that a business is eligible to participate in an SBA program. These standards are matched to the North American Classification System...
by vkodre, SBA Official on 02/13/2013 - 11:14
Recently, SBA kicked off the 2012 Emerging Leaders (known as the e200) executive-level training initiative for small business owners in 27 cities, including 10 Native American communities. The e200 is an intensive training program for small companies that have the potential for quick growth and job creation. I’m excited that e200 continues to reach our Native small business communities with training, mentorship and resources to help them take their businesses to the next level. Native American small businesses are an important...
by wgregory, Community Moderator on 03/05/2012 - 07:46
How’s your business networking strategy doing? Have you even got one? It doesn’t matter what type of business you run, networking with potential partners, customers, suppliers and even your peers is an essential part of business ownership. For many of us though, the term “networking” conjures up images of schmoozy sales pitches and painfully difficult networking events. Let’s face it – it can be downright scary throwing yourself into a room with a glass of wine in your hand as your only defense from the...
by Caron_Beesley, Community Moderator on 12/26/2012 - 15:16
Did you know the U.S. federal government buys nearly $100 billion worth of goods and services from small businesses each year? It’s a lucrative business opportunity, indeed! However, selling to the federal government demands a completely different go-to-market approach than does the commercial sector. And because a certain amount of Uncle Sam’s budget is specifically set aside for small businesses, you’ll also need to meet a few regulatory formalities to make sure you’re qualified and registered to sell to the...
by Caron_Beesley, Community Moderator on 12/26/2012 - 15:16
Did you know the U.S. federal government buys nearly $100 billion worth of goods and services from small businesses each year? It’s a lucrative business opportunity, indeed! However, selling to the federal government demands a completely different go-to-market approach than does the commercial sector. And because a certain amount of Uncle Sam’s budget is specifically set aside for small businesses, you’ll also need to meet a few regulatory formalities to make sure you’re qualified and registered to sell to the...
by byrned, Community Moderator on 02/07/2012 - 14:34
In late January, SBA Administrator Karen Mills spoke before an audience of entrepreneurs at one of the top business forums in the country. Here’s what she told them: “We all know the facts. Small businesses create two out of every three new jobs. More than half of working Americans either own or work for a small business. And they are the foundation of the middle class. They are part of the economic bloodstream of this country; one of our greatest assets. America’s entrepreneurs have a strong spirit, a resiliency...
by John Shoraka, SBA Official on 02/06/2012 - 12:47
As a former government contractor, I know how hard it can be to succeed in federal government procurement. You face challenges every day as a business owner, an employer, and a service provider. That’s why as the Acting Associate Administrator of Government Contracting and Business Development at the SBA it is a priority of mine to make sure that we provide as much information to you as possible about our efforts to support small business government contracting. We want to provide you, the small business owner, pertinent and...
by Sean Greene, SBA Official on 02/06/2012 - 10:04
Co-authored by SBA Associate Administrator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development Michael Chodos. We know firsthand how important mentors and counselors can be in helping an entrepreneur succeed in business. Whether that is honest advice from having walked down a similar entrepreneurial path or unbiased feedback on a tough business decision, mentors are important allies for entrepreneurs to have on their side. A strong mentor can help you identify the right sources of capital. Or a trusted counselor could give...
by wgregory, Community Moderator on 04/30/2012 - 17:59
Establishing good credit is essential if you intend to apply for a business loan. But it’s not just for loans anymore – a good credit score can also help you: Secure a business credit card Open a merchant account Benefit from lower insurance premiums Build relationships and get flexible payment terms from suppliers Rent commercial property Lease or buy business vehicles But how do you establish and maintain a healthy business credit score? What if your personal credit score isn’t as good as it should be?...
by Karen Mills, SBA Administrator on 02/03/2012 - 12:05
This blog is co-authored by Karen Mills and Marie Johns Today we’re kicking off our Urban Economic Forum events in New York City. The forum, presented by the White House Business Council, the White House Council on Women and Girls and SBA, focuses on helping women business owners start and grow their companies. President Obama understands the importance of women entrepreneurs for the economy. When the two of us began our careers, only about 5% of businesses were owned by women. Today it’s about 30% - and...
by kmurray, Guest Blogger on 01/03/2013 - 15:57
I’d wager that the first thing that comes to mind when you think of franchising is some type of food franchise. I do too. Most of the food franchises that we tend to think of are almost always in the *fast-casual genre. It’s a huge business sector. If you’re thinking of becoming the owner of a food franchise, I have a way for you to get a leg up on your search for the right one; become a trend-watcher. For example, did you know that some fast casual franchises are serving, “Mini-treats?” Or, that there’...
by wgregory, Community Moderator on 04/30/2012 - 17:59
Are you interested in the restaurant or food service business, but don’t know whether to go the franchise route or start your own business from scratch? The food service industry is the largest and most prominent sector in franchising today, and while not entirely risk-free, it’s often perceived as a safer bet for new business owners. Of course, restaurant franchise ownership isn’t for everyone. Being a franchise owner requires a particular type of personality, solid research, and a willingness to work within the confines of...
by nicoj, Community Moderator on 02/02/2012 - 15:19
Bo Davis was a student at George Washington University when he developed the technology behind Blackboard, an online course manager now used by millions of college students. Three SBA-backed loans later, Davis is now expanding another successful business venture, Wasabi sushi restaurants – and he’s still working with SBA to help him create jobs and expand. When Davis started his company, he didn’t have the deep pockets that competitors had; but SBA was there to help put him on a level playing field with...
by plester, Community Moderator on 01/09/2013 - 09:18
Starting a business? Confused about whether you need a business license or permit? Virtually every business needs some form of license or permit to operate legally. However, knowing which one you need, however, can be a little tricky. It depends on the type of business you are operating, where it’s located, and what government rules apply. The problem is that many businesses overlook this basic requirement of starting a business often because they simply aren’t aware of what the law requires. This can lead to costly penalties, tax...
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by Stephen Morris, Community Moderator on 02/29/2012 - 18:09