400 Meridian Street, Suite 102

Huntsville, Alabama 35801 

(256) 539-8002

 www.hagacpas.com

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U. S. Small Business Administration is now offering a new set of three export-oriented podcasts offering valuable information on issues and challenges small business exporters may find when dealing with specific countries.  The interviews focus on what U.S. companies can expect when exporting to those countries and provide information relevant to their respective business and import environments.
 
"U.S. small businesses looking to increase sales and profit should look beyond the U.S. borders. Nearly 96 of the world's consumers live outside the U.S. and small business need to factor that in to their strategic planning," said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. "We're hoping these tools will help them do that, so they can grow and create jobs here at home."

 

 

Read the entire SBA Press Release here.

 

Source: SBA Press Office, July 16, 2010

 

Borrego Springs Bank offers 48 hour turnaround for initial credit screening.  Find out how they can help your small business with your working capital by visiting their website or calling:

 

http://www.borregospringsbank.com/loan.asp 

 

1-866-644-0042 Toll Free

 

Community Express Loan Program
POTENTIAL BORROWERS: 
Loans up to $25,000 include all SBA eligible businesses and/or borrowers nationwide and for loans over $25,000 all SBA eligible businesses and/or borrowers nationwide located in Low to Moderate Income Areas (LMI), Hud Zones and other SBA designated areas.  
 
Patriot Express Loan Program 
POTENTIAL BORROWERS: 
Veterans (other than dishonorably discharged), Service Disabled Veterans, Active Duty Military service members participating in the military's Transition Assistance Program (TAP), which is applicable to potential retirees within 24 months of separation and to discharging Active Duty members within 12 months of discharge and Reservists and National Guard members.
 
Current spouses of any of the above Veterans or qualifying service members.

 

Loan Program Features:

Eligibility Requirements:

• All SBA eligible industries considered
• Start-up businesses allowed
• Loan proceeds for business acquisition not allowed
• Working capital loans to businesses after acquisition has been fully completed is permitted
• Franchise must be on the SBA approved Franchise Registry (www.franchiseregistry.com) 
• Liquid Assets of individual owner cannot exceed $100,000 - does not include IRA, 401k or other restricted accounts
• Utilized Fair Isaac Small Business Credit Score System for pre-approval of credit, which evaluates credit history of applicant and industry data including type of business, length of operations, etc. 
• Personal credit issues like past due accounts, collections, accounts settled for less than the full balance owing, etc. have very negative effect on the applicants business score and loan decision.

 

Did you know that your chances of obtaining business financing can increase by more than 250%

if you have good business credit?

 

The problem for many business owners is that they think that just because they're in business, they're automatically building the good business history required to get credit. But unlike personal credit that we build (almost naturally) by paying our credit card and other bills on time, building good business credit requires a different approach. And if you're not actively and purposefully building your business credit history, then you're probably not building it at all.

 

In this "E-Myth Your Business" podcast, learn from an interview with Trent Lee, whose company specializes in helping business owners and entrepreneurs smartly obtain lines of cash credit to launch, operate and grow their businesses-and, most importantly, create a valuable and transferable Business Credit Asset™.

 

Listen to the podcast. 

 

Source: The E-Myth.com

 

Washington, DC - The National Women's Business Council (NWBC) is pleased with the findings of the U.S. Census report which indicates a 20% increase in women's business ownership. Estimates from the 2007 Survey of Small Business Owners (SBO) indicate that majority-owned (51%+), women-owned businesses increased from 6.5 million to 7.8 million over the years 2002 - 2007. This number, however, does not reflect the current economic downturn, first evidenced in December 2007. 
 
"The Council is pleased with the growth of the number of majority-owned, women-owned businesses during this five year span, but we are particularly interested in the impact of the economic downturn, the effects of which we do not yet have statistics. We'd like to know whether the downturn has created more opportunities for entrepreneurs, or, in fact, has forced small businesses to close," observed Margaret Mankin Barton, Executive Director of the National Women's Business Council.
 
Last fall, the NWBC, in collaboration with WIPP and Wal-Mart, released an economic impact study which measured the total contributions of women's entrepreneurship on the economy. The findings suggest that women-owned businesses provide over $3 trillion to the U. S. economy, despite only 20% of these firms having employees. The economic growth potential for both women-owned businesses and the overall U.S. economy is simply enormous. 
 

 

Source: The National Women's Business Council, July 14, 2010 

 

Source: SBA

 

In just three years' time, the U.S. Small Business Administration's Patriot Express Pilot Loan Initiative has supported nearly $500 million in Patriot Express loans to small businesses owned and operated by veterans, reservists and their spouses.
 
Patriot Express Loans, which can be used to start or expand a small business, increased over the past two years due in part to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which raised loan guarantees to 90 percent, and temporarily eliminated fees for borrowers on all SBA loans. To date more than 6,000 loans have been made.
 
Patriot Express was launched June 28, 2007, to expand upon the nearly $1 billion in loans SBA guarantees annually for veteran-owned businesses. SBA also offers counseling assistance and procurement support each year to more than 200,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans, reservists and members of the National Guard.
 
"America's veterans have the leadership skills and experience to become successful entrepreneurs and small business owners," SBA Administrator Karen Mills said.  "As we celebrate Independence Day, we renew our commitment to more than 26 million veterans and service members across the country, including the thousands returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Patriot Express initiative, in conjunction with other SBA programs, puts more capital and more tools in the hands of veterans as they grow their businesses and create the jobs America needs."
 
Patriot Express is a streamlined loan product based on the agency's highly successful SBA Express Program, but with an enhanced guaranty and interest rate.  Patriot Express loans are offered by SBA's network of participating lenders nationwide and features one of SBA's fastest turnaround times for loan approvals.  Patriot Express loans are available for up to $500,000. 
 
The Patriot Express loan can be used for most business purposes, including start-up, expansion, equipment purchases, working capital, inventory or business-occupied real-estate purchases.  Local SBA district offices can provide lists of Patriot Express lenders in their areas.  Details on the initiative can be found at www.sba.gov/patriotexpress.
 
 Patriot Express is available to military community members including veterans, service-disabled veterans, active-duty service members participating in the military's Transition Assistance Program, Reservists and National Guard members, current spouses of any of the above, and the widowed spouse of a service member or veteran who died during service, or of a service-connected disability. The average loan amount is almost $82,000.  Nearly 15 percent of those loans have gone to military spouses.  After a loan application is approved by a commercial lender, it is submitted to SBA for approval. Most applications are approved by SBA within 24 hours.

 

Additionally, SBA has entered an agreement with six major universities to expand and deliver entrepreneurship training for service-disabled veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in a program called Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV). For more information go to http://www.whitman.syr.edu/ebv/ .

 

SBA also offers business counseling through veterans' business development officers in district offices in every state and territory to provide access to SBA's range of programs and services. SBA recently expanded the Veterans Business Outreach Centers to 16 locations. Click here for more information. 

 

In addition to district offices, SBA's resource partners SCORE, Counselors to America's Small Business, an expanded Small Business Development Center program for veterans, and Women's Business Centers, provide local and online assistance with: writing a business plan, financing options to start or grow your business, managing the business, expanding the business and selling goods and services to the government. The agency, along with other federal agencies, recently entered a joint agreement to help Native American/Alaska Native Veteran-owned businesses with an entrepreneurship education program at The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
 
For those who are already small business owners and who expect call-up, the SBA and its resource partners can help with preparing their businesses before deployment, managing their businesses, selling goods and services to the government, obtaining other SBA financing and financial assistance, and obtaining loans for economic injury - Military Reserve Economic Injury Disaster Loans (MREIDL). Loans of up to $2 million are available for small businesses sustaining economic injury because an owner or essential employee has been called to active duty as a military reservist.  
 
The SBA and its Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) provides comprehensive assistance, outreach and support to veterans.  Each year SBA helps more than 200,000 veterans, service-disabled veterans and reservists.  To learn more about additional opportunities for veterans available through the SBA, please visit the website at www.sba.gov/vets.

 

Do you have experience starting and growing a non-profit organization?
 

The WBCNA and our clients need your expertise.  It has been a challenge to meet with all our non-profit clients. You can help by volunteering as little as 1-2 hours per month as a Business Coach.

 

For every two hours of volunteer time, we will provide a $25 gift certificate to use toward WBCNA workshops (one per workshop; excludes Lunch and Learn & FastTrac).

Call Stephanie at (256) 535-2038 if you are interested and want to know more about how YOU can make a difference!

 

Source: National Association of Women Business Owners

 

[July 15, 2010]-Preliminary results released this week by the U. S. Census Bureau from the 2007 Survey of Business Owners (SBO) show an increase of 20.1 percent in women-owned businesses since 2002, accounting for 7.8 million non-farm U. S. businesses. In 2007, women-owned firms held 28.7 percent of all non-farm businesses in the United States, 6.4 percent of total employment and 4.0 percent of total receipts. The SBO Survey defines women-owned businesses as firms in which women own 51 percent or more of the stock or equity of the business.

 

A 2010 Member Survey by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) indicates the trend will continue, not only in women starting new businesses, but also in the growth and expansion of existing businesses. The NAWBO survey shows 34 percent of members expected to hire new workers and 21 percent planned to increase capital investment in 2010.

 

This is good news for the women's business community and the economy at large. "In the past decade, the number of privately owned companies started by women in America has increased twice as fast as the number owned by men," said NAWBO President and CEO Helen Han. "Even in the current business landscape where all businesses are forced to do more with less, and for less, women business owners are holding their own and contributing significantly to the overall economy."

NAWBO believes there are many reasons for the success of women-owned businesses. "Women business owners are often very resilient because of the challenges they face in starting and growing their businesses," said NAWBO Chair Kelly Scanlon. "Women also have a natural aptitude for business marketing and tend to be more creative and grassroots in their campaigns-all key to helping them thrive."

 

Other notable highlights of the SBO survey include:

 

For the complete release of data, go to http://www.census.gov/econ/sbo/.

The WBCNA is currently overwhelmed with demand for our services (which is a good thing). We welcome your time and support as a WBCNA volunteer.   Here's just a few ways to get involved:

 For every two hours of volunteer time, we will provide a $25 gift certificate to use toward WBCNA workshops (one per workshop; excludes Lunch and Learn & FastTrac).

Call Stephanie at (256) 535-2038 if you are interested and want to know more about how YOU can make a difference!

 

Every Tuesday on Your Morning Drive

8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
 
WTKI (1450 AM) Huntsville and WEKI (1490 AM) Decatur have returned to the air with a business-slanted format they call "Talk Radio for Real Life."   
 
"Talk Radio for Entrepreneurs" is a weekly hour-long program focusing on a topic of interest to small businesses.  Subject matter experts and entrepreneurs will be invited as guests to provide useful information and share their stories with listeners.  Our guests will take calls to answer any questions on the topic. 
 
A WBCNA client or small business owner will also be invited to the studio each week to inform listeners about their products or services.  If you would like to come on the air, please contact the WBCNA at 256-535-2038.  There is a small fee for participation.

 

 

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

2:00 p.m. CST

 

Ready to talk to a bank or investor? Create a strong presentation and compelling pitch to close the deal. Learn exactly what you need to know in order to get the investment your business needs. Designed for small business owners with a proven history of success.

 

Course Instructor: Mary Ellen Hickman, Brand Management and Marketing Strategy, Hickman Consulting Partners, LLC

 

Participants must be WIPP dues-paying members.

 

Click here to register.