SBA Unveils New Website, Launches SBA Direct -- a Tool Delivering Personalized and Targeted Resources

As part of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s mission to ensure that small-business owners and entrepreneurs have access to accurate, timely and helpful information, SBA Administrator Karen Mills [pictured] today unveiled a newly redesigned SBA website.

The new site also features the launch of SBA Direct, a dynamic new Web tool with a variety of personalization features that will help small businesses start up, succeed and grow.

"With the launch of the new SBA.gov," said Mills, "we have reached a significant milestone in how the agency has evolved in using interactive Web tools, social media and blogs to engage with, and better meet, the needs of small-business owners.

"While the SBA website has traditionally been an information-rich site, we wanted to make it easier for small-business owners to navigate. With the new and improved SBA.gov, business owners can access the answers they need -- specific to their business profile -- in an instant. It truly presents the face of the future of SBA."

While the site features a variety of enhancements -- including a full redesign, new content and improved navigation -- the centerpiece is a dynamic new Web tool called SBA Direct.

SBA Direct allows visitors to personalize their browsing experience according to their business type, geography and needs. SBA Direct then delivers relevant and targeted information on all aspects of running a business; e.g., steps involved in getting started, business growth strategies, how to stay compliant with current laws and regulations.

SBA Direct also provides information on the available SBA programs that can help businesses succeed -- such as financial assistance; exporting and government contracting opportunities; and counseling and training.

"Transforming the SBA into a proactive, responsive and 'customer-centric' organization that better serves the needs of the nation’s more than 29 million small businesses is an exciting, yet enormous, effort," said Mills.

"We’ve made significant progress," Mills added. "The new SBA.gov is just one example among many -- including record growth capital financing, expedited loan approvals and the acceleration of disaster assistance resources and funds -- of how SBA has, and will continue, to support the growth of small businesses and job creation.”

Other new features to the website include:
* SBA’s small-business search that improves the accuracy and relevancy of search results -- saving time and frustration.
* Improved navigation that gives users one-click access to the information they need. Combined with the personalization features of SBA Direct, users no longer have to mine through pages of information to find answers.
* Integration of Business.gov content -- including a variety of guides and tools that collate information from across government agencies to help business owners comply with laws and regulations, and take advantage of government programs.
* Interactive, location-based maps that allow users to quickly find small-business resources in their area -- including local SBA offices, plus other sources of training and support.
* User-rated content gives visitors to the site-direct control in determining the most useful and relevant information to feature by small-business topic.

SBA’s commitment to using Web services to provide small businesses with greater access to the pool of government resources available began in 2006 with the launch of the award-winning Business.gov website; later, with the Business.gov Community initiative in 2009 [the first government-sponsored online community built specifically for small businesses]; and, more recently, with SBA’s own social-media presence on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

The new SBA.gov built on these achievements and best practices as a driver for its transformation. The project is also a flagship for the agency’s Open Government Plan, with the goal of building an online presence for SBA that is transparent, participatory and collaborative.

GoodBiz113's Take
SBA's new website is a vast improvement! It's far more user-friendly and visually appealing, and provides a wealth of at-a-glance links and info for small-business owners who are often too time-pressed to do much of anything besides focus on growing or launching their enterprises.

Once again, Administrator Mills and her team have delivered on their promise to actually help current and would-be small-biz owners easily navigate funding, contracting and counseling opportunities. Oh, and the unprecedented, "one-stop-shopping" transparency re agencywide staff contacts, Recovery Act-funded opportunities, congressional testimonies, etc., is also appreciated.

Kudos to all involved in effectively designing and developing this valuable resource. It epitomizes form and function for the small-business community and our stakeholders.

See for yourself. Take the two-and-a-half-minute tour of SBA's new website here.

SOURCE: U.S. Small Business Administration
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New SBA Website to Go Live This Fall; Revamped SBA.gov Will Deliver Essential Information and Services to Small Businesses

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced today that a complete redesign of its website, SBA.gov, will launch this fall.

The new SBA.gov will make it easier for small businesses, lending institutions, small-business counselors and other members of the small-business community to more quickly find the information they need through a simplified navigation structure. In addition, new features will allow users to tailor their experience to provide information that is specific to their needs and location.

SBA.gov also will also offer a dedicated lender area that helps banks and other financial institutions that partner with the SBA.

"Our goal as an agency is to get information, tools and services into the hands of small-business owners more quickly, so they can spend more time doing what they do best: creating the jobs that will drive our economic recovery," said SBA Administrator Karen Mills [pictured]. "Through a new, personalized and dynamic SBA.gov, we will be better able to support job growth across the country."

The website redesign is part of the SBA’s goal to create a dynamic online presence that delivers information to customers wherever they are online. To achieve this goal, the agency recently began using social media to reach constituents through a variety of online channels, such as Facebook and Twitter.

In advance of this fall's launch of the new site, the agency also recently launched an improved search function on the current SBA.gov website, which vastly improves the speed at which users can find the information they are seeking.

SBA's website redesign is also the Flagship Initiative of the agency’s Open Government Plan, and addresses all three of SBA’s Open Government goals -- i.e., transparency, participation and collaboration -- by providing direct access to agency programs and operations. It also allows users to customize their online experience and, beginning next year, incorporates community features, such as discussion forums and public feedback tools.

For more information on the SBA’s online expansion, please visit www.sba.gov/next.

SOURCE: U.S. Small Business Administration
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Staples Names Sen. John Kerry Small Business Champion of the Year

This week, Framingham, Mass.-based Staples Inc. honored Sen. John Kerry [D-Mass.] with their Small Business Champion of the Year award for his 23 years of service in the U.S. Senate on behalf of America's 27 million small-business owners -- including Massachusetts' 650,000 small businesses. Kerry chairs the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

"I'm deeply honored to receive this award from Staples," said Kerry. "I'm working everyday in Washington to do just what we ought to do: level the playing field for small businesses, and foster innovation and entrepreneurship -- from Brighton to Boston, and from Salem to Springfield."

Staples, which began as a start-up in Brighton, Mass., in 1986 with 42 employees, used the Small Business Investment Company [SBIC] program, managed by the Small Business Administration [SBA], to fund its initial expansion. That investment helped spur Staples’ growth to become one of the largest office products suppliers in the world.

"Staples is a tremendous small-business success story," Kerry noted, "demonstrating the power of a public-private partnership that uses a federal small-business financing program to bolster the good idea and hard work of an entrepreneur."

Sen. Kerry was recognized for his leadership efforts to get several small-business initiatives signed into law last year. Among his achievements: Winning legislation to increase funding for core small-business programs; expand energy efficiency resources; secure permanent funding for successful Women's Business Centers; e.g., the Center for Women & Enterprise, in Boston, Worcester and Providence, R.I.; increase funding for small firms to develop military projects; and restore transparency to the Transportation Security Administration's contracting process. Presenting the award on behalf of Staples was Mike Miles, company president and chief operating officer.

This year, Kerry will continue to work on behalf of Massachusetts small businesses and entrepreneurs around the country by fighting to reduce health-care costs, increase access to capital, foster green technologies, and boost energy efficiency. He also aims to expand access to federal contracts – especially for underserved communities, including women, minorities and veterans.

SOURCES: Staples Inc., U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
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Kerry Pushes for Increased Lender Oversight in Wake of $76 Million Loan Fraud Scheme

Today, Sen. John Kerry [D-Mass.] pushed for more aggressive oversight of small-business lenders, and called on the Bush administration to strengthen its commitment to preventing future fraud. The hearing was prompted by $76 million in fraudulent loans originated by Business Loan Center LLC [BLX], one of the Small Business Administration’s [SBA] largest lenders. Kerry raised concerns that the SBA’s oversight had been ineffective or nonexistent due to staffing shortages, insufficient funding and a lack of other necessary resources.

“Government-backed small-business loans for minorities, women and veterans are more important than ever as we brace for the full fallout from the subprime mortgage loan crisis,” said Sen. Kerry, chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. “The Bush administration’s lax oversight of these important loan programs ultimately costs the taxpayers money. It’s crucial that the agency fixes these problems in the light of day and works to make sure that these failures don’t happen again.”

Last month, the SBA Office of Inspector General publicly released a report summarizing its audit of the SBA’s oversight of BLX. The SBA requested a large amount of the report to be redacted, including many of the Inspector General’s recommendations and the agency’s plans to respond to those recommendations. Kerry pressed SBA Administrator Steven Preston to increase transparency and make changes to the agency’s lender oversight procedures publicly.

Inspector General Eric Thorson testified that, “Whether SBA has effective safeguards, and a means of overseeing lenders that facilitates the prevention and detection of fraud, has been an area of concern and focus for my office for a number of years.

“Our audits and investigations have identified significant weaknesses in the agency’s oversight of its lenders and, since 2000, we have identified lender oversight, guaranty purchase reviews, and loan agent fraud as major management challenges facing the agency. SBA has been slow to develop its lender oversight program and, only in recent years, has the agency made progress in addressing longstanding weaknesses.”

Sens. Olympia Snowe [R-Maine] and Kerry recently introduced legislation to measure the economic outcomes and improve the oversight of SBA’s 7[a] [working capital] and 504 [fixed assets] lending programs. The Small Business Lending Oversight and Program Performance Improvements Act [S. 2288] will ensure that the SBA fully assesses the quality and performance of lender portfolios so that these loan programs remain strong and benefit small businesses to the greatest extent possible.

The National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders and the National Association of Development Companies – trade associations for the 7[a] and 504 programs, respectively – both support the bill.

GoodBiz113's take: Once again, Sen. Kerry and his colleagues are moving federal agencies -- in this case, SBA, supposedly our nation's small-biz watchdog -- closer to full accountability and transparency. Small-business owners and all U.S. citizens deserve nothing less.

SOURCES: GovTrack.us, Library of Congress, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
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Snowe and Kerry Introduce SBA Lender Oversight Legislation

U.S. Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Ranking Member Olympia J. Snowe [R-Maine, right] and Chairman John F. Kerry [D-Mass.] today introduced the Small Business Lending Oversight and Program Performance Improvements Act of 2007 to measure the economic outcomes and improve oversight of the Small Business Administration’s signature 7[a] and 504 lending programs. The legislation will ensure that the SBA will assess the quality and performance of these loan programs, so that they benefit small businesses to the maximum degree possible.

“The 7[a] and 504 lending programs will not survive if we cannot prove to taxpayers that the money spent to guarantee small-business loans actually produces economic vitality, opportunity, and new jobs for our nation,” Sen. Snowe declared. “The only way to protect these vital programs and prove their effectiveness is through oversight and concrete measurements. The legislation we are introducing today is necessary for the SBA’s lending programs to expand and reach all of the small businesses that need access to capital.”

“Access to capital remains one of the top concerns for America’s entrepreneurs, so I am pleased to work with Sen. Snowe to ensure the government’s vital small-business lending programs remain strong,” said Sen. Kerry. “This bill will protect the integrity of the programs by establishing tangible performance measures, provide oversight transparency, and mitigate fraudulent lending. Ultimately, these improvements will get loans to the businesses that need them and provide us with details about the return on investment in these small firms.”

Based, in part, on recommendations made by the U.S. Government Accountability Office in a July 2007 report, Small Business Administration: Additional Measures Needed to Assess 7[a] Loan Program’s Performance, the bill would:

* Require a report on borrowers’ economic performance. Currently, the SBA estimates job creation, but the GAO recommends further measurements to demonstrate the economic growth that companies create after securing 7[a] and 504 loans. This will help the SBA and Congress measure the return on investment;

* Increase the transparency of lenders’ portfolio quality. The SBA’s lender monitoring system does not explain how some measurements determine a lender’s risk rating or where there are problems, so that lenders can act proactively to mitigate defaults or losses. Codifying portfolio quality principals will enable all lenders to understand the standards to which they are held. This will help to protect the programs’ performance;

* Create a 7[a] and 504 portfolio default rate that can be compared directly to commercial lenders’ default rates. At this time, the SBA does not calculate a portfolio default rate that is directly comparable to commercial lenders’ default rates, which makes it hard for Congress and the public to accurately track the programs’ performance; and

* Require the SBA to follow cost containment and cost control practices to hold down lender oversight fees and enable banks to use their capital for lending.

In May, Kerry and Snowe passed their bipartisan legislation to expand the 7[a] and 504 loan programs out of committee. The Small Business Lending Reauthorization and Improvements Act [S. 1256] now awaits consideration by the full Senate.

Sources: GovTrack.us, U.S. Government Accountability Office, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
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