Maria Contreras-Sweet, the newly appointed Administrator of the Small Business Administration, recently announced an updated formula for defining “small” at the SBA. The bottom line is that starting July 14th thousands of companies that were considered too big to qualify for SBA programs will now be considered small. This new status means access to cheaper financing and new sales opportunities. It’s kind of a big deal. SBA small business size standards: how the SBA measures the size of your … [Read more...]
Easier SBA lending requirements are in your future
There's good news for entrepreneurs: Small business lending is hot again. Since the financial crisis of 2008, small businesses have had a difficult time accessing loans through traditional banks. But with small-business confidence on the rise and a slowly-but-surely improving economy, small-business borrowers are once again front and center on the competitive stage of business loans. Numerous non-bank lenders that are focused on small business have emerged in the past few years, with some … [Read more...]
SBA Proposes Major Changes to 504 and 7(a) Loans
SBA plans to make it much easier for small businesses to qualify for its loan programs. The Small Business Administration recently published in the Federal Register proposed changes to its most popular small-business loan guarantee programs. The goals of the changes are to streamline the application process for borrowers, speed up the approval process for lenders and expand the number of companies that qualify for SBA programs. The 504 Loan Program provides long-term fixed asset financing to … [Read more...]
Why Aren’t Small Businesses Applying for Hurricane Sandy Assistance?
Small businesses affected by Hurricane Sandy aren't taking advantage of numerous Hurricane Sandy Assistance programs at the federal, state and local levels. Several months after Hurricane Sandy devastated many parts of the Northeast, many eligible small businesses have failed to take advantage of the numerous assistance programs made available by federal, state and local agencies. Many businesses that have applied are facing delays because documents containing important information were lost as … [Read more...]
SBA Opens Business Recovery Center
Finance expert Mike Periu on the SBA efforts to help small businesses with a Business Recovery Center in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. November 08, 2012 The Small Business Administration has opened a business recovery center in Staten Island to assist business owners affected by Hurricane Sandy. The center has a team of SBA staff available to offer personalized support to owners that have experienced physical damage to their businesses or lost revenues due to the hurricane. Staff members … [Read more...]
How The SBA Helps Bigger Companies…Get Smaller
The 2011 U.S. federal budget consists of approximately $3.82 trillion of expenditures. With a projected U.S. Gross Domestic Product of $15.3 trillion, federal government expenditures account for nearly 25 percent of our economy. As a business owner, if one customer type accounts for 25 percent of your potential sales universe then you shouldn’t ignore them. On the other side of the equation are the federal agencies that have to spend their budgets. The current policy is to increase procurement … [Read more...]