March 31: Free SBA Monthly Web Chat to Focus on New Contracting Program for Women-Owned Small Businesses

Are you a woman business owner seeking federal contracts? The U.S. Small Business Administration’s March Web chat will focus on a new Women-Owned Small Business [WOSB] Federal Contract Program aimed at bringing more WOSBs into the federal contracting arena.

From 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 31, Michele Chang [pictured], senior advisor in the SBA's Office of Government Contracting and Business Development, will host the free monthly Web chat, "SBA’s New Federal Contract Program for Women." Chang will answer questions for the full hour.

Participants can join the live Web chat by going online to www.sba.gov, and clicking on the Web chat event under "What’s New." Web chat participants may also post questions before the March 31st chat by visiting http://bit.ly/WebChatWOSB.

Federal contracts can provide women entrepreneurs with the financial oxygen they need in order to take their business to the next level. Celebrate Women’s History Month and visit http://1.usa.gov/ContractsWOSB to get information about the new contract program.

About SBA's Monthly Web Chats
SBA’s Web chat series provides small-business owners with an opportunity to discuss relevant business issues online with experts, industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs. Chat participants have direct, real-time access to the Web chats via questions they submit online in advance, and during the live session.

Participants will gain valuable information on how to participate in the program to gain increased access to government contracting opportunities.

To review archives of past Web chats, visit online at http://1.usa.gov/MonthlyWebChat.

SOURCE: U.S. Small Business Administration
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Dec. 9: SBA Web Chat to Focus on Year-End Tax Planning for Small-Business Owners

It's not too late for business owners to reduce their 2010 tax bills and plan ahead for 2011. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s December Web chat -- to be held from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, Dec. 9 -- will focus on tax preparation for small-business owners. Participants can get useful year-end tax tips and information, and learn more about tax deductions and credits that can help to reduce their taxes.

Edward S. Karl [pictured], vice president of taxation for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants [AICPA], will host the online event, "Year-End Tax Essentials for Small-Business Owners." Chat participants can get valuable information on how to prepare now, with useful tax-savings tips and mistakes to avoid. Karl will answer questions on how to get the most out of year-end tax planning.

SBA’s Web chat series provides small-business owners with an opportunity to discuss relevant business issues online with experts, industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs. Chat participants have direct, real-time access to the Web chats via questions they submit online in advance, and during the live session.

Participants can join the live Web chat by going online to http://www.sba.gov/, and clicking "Online Business Chat." Web chat participants may also post questions before the Dec. 9 event by visiting http://web.sba.gov/livemeeting/chat.

To review archives of past Web chats, visit online at http://www.sba.gov/tools/monthlywebchat/index.html.

SOURCE: U.S. Small Business Administration
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June 22 & 24: SBA Offers Free Webinar and Web Chat to Encourage Disaster Preparedness Planning for Business Owners

No matter what time of year it is, or where you run your business, it’s a good idea to have a disaster preparedness plan in place. Recent disasters, such as the record-breaking flooding which occurred in Tennessee in April, serve as reminders to be proactive when it comes to building strategies to survive a disaster and recover quickly.

Toward this end, the U.S. Small Business Administration will offer two online disaster preparedness events next week:

Tuesday, June 22 -- 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. EDT
Agility Recovery Solutions President & CEO Bob Boyd will discuss "10 Steps to Business Preparedness." Boyd will highlight key aspects of business continuity planning -- including risk assessment, data backup, crisis communications and insurance coverage. A Q&A will follow.

Register in advance at: http://www.preparemybusiness.org/education.

Thursday, June 24 -- 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. EDT
SBA’s monthly Online Business Chat, "Disaster Preparedness for Business Owners: An Inside View," will be hosted by Nashville business owner Genma Holmes [pictured], CEO of Holmes Pest Control. Holmes will share her experience of how another business owner’s losses after Hurricane Katrina inspired her to develop her own preparedness plan. Because she was ready for the disaster, Holmes was able to resume operations just one day after cleaning up after a recent flood in Nashville.

Holmes will take questions and offer advice on disaster preparedness. Those participating in the Thursday Web chat may submit questions before or during the discussion.

Join the event live by visiting http://www.sba.gov/, and clicking "Online Business Chat." Web chat participants may post questions prior to the event by visiting: http://bit.ly/LiveMeetingSBA.

To review archives of past Web chats, go to: http://bit.ly/MonthlyWebChatSBA.

For education, planning, testing, and disaster preparedness tools and information to help keep your business up and running -- after a disaster, power outage, etc. -- please visit: http://www.preparemybusiness.org/.

SOURCES: Genma Speaks [photo], U.S. Small Business Administration
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April Job Creation Highest in Four Years; BLS to Hold Jobs-Related Web Chat on May 11

Today, the U.S. Department of Labor [DOL] announced that employers in almost every sector of work created a total 290,000 jobs in April -- the most jobs created in four years. U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu [D-La.], chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, released the following statement on the announcement, pushing her committee's bipartisan small-business job creation package to keep the momentum:

"The numbers released by the Department of Labor are an encouraging sign that American companies -- from manufacturing and construction companies, to retailers and health services -- are putting people back to work.

"The number of jobs created last month is the highest we have seen in four years. That is great news, but there are still more than 15 million Americans out of work. This Congress must build on the extraordinary steps already taken to stabilize the financial system, provide for those searching for employment, and put even more people back to work.

"As chair of the Small Business Committee, I know that small business can pave the way for more job creation. We have put forth a package of bipartisan bills aimed at spurring small-business growth and job creation, and I am calling on members of Congress to swiftly adopt these measures and continue on the path to economic recovery."

Sen. Landrieu's complete package of proposals can be viewed at http://bit.ly/SmallBizJobs.

May 11: BLS to Hold Web Chat
On Tuesday, May 11, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, DOL's Bureau of Labor Statistics subject-matter experts will conduct a live Web chat to discuss national employment and unemployment data. They will answer as many questions as possible during the allotted time.

To join the discussion on the afternoon of May 11, go to www.bls.gov/chat/. Questions can also be submitted in advance through that link.

SOURCES: Organizing for America [chart], U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
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March 31 @ 7 p.m. EST: HHS, SBA Leaders to Hold Live Q&A Webcast About Health Insurance Reform's Impact on Small Businesses

To help everyone better understand implementation of the new health reform law, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] is holding a live, online Q&A session tomorrow evening, Wednesday, March 31, from 7-7:30 p.m. EST at www.hhs.gov/live. The event features HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius [pictured] and U.S. Small Business Administration [SBA] Administrator Karen Mills clarifying the new health insurance reform law's impact on small businesses.

"A lot of people have questions about this comprehensive and complicated legislation," Sebelius wrote in her announcement of the Web Chats. "This will be the first in a series of weekly webcasts and discussions we here at the Department of Health and Human Services will hold with you, the American people, as we work to implement this new law and ensure health security for Americans who have, until the passage of this bill, been paying more and more for health care and getting less and less in return."

To participate in tomorrow's event, e-mail your questions in advance to HealthReform@hhs.gov. Sebelius and Mills will try to get to as many of them as they can during the Web Chat, then answer more via the HealthReform.gov site afterwards.

"Already, I’ve received countless questions from small-business owners about the new law and its benefits," said SBA's Mills. "In fact, this new law offers many tools to help small-business owners access more affordable health insurance options for their employees. These tools include the creation of 50 state exchanges that will allow small-business owners to access affordable health insurance plans for their employees, as well as new tax credits to help pay for this coverage."

"As the President told me recently, we have a solemn responsibility to make sure health reform is implemented carefully and effectively," Sebelius noted. "And we have an equal responsibility to make sure Americans know what changes are coming and how to take advantage of these new benefits...

"Our health insurance system wasn’t broken in a day. And it won’t be fixed in a day either. It’s going to take a lot of work. But the good news is that, after decades of talking about the need for these changes, that work is finally beginning and we want you to be a part of our efforts."

"I know you want to know what’s in health insurance reform for your small business and your employees," Mills added. "I hope you’ll join Secretary Sebelius and me at http://www.healthreform.gov/ tomorrow night, at 7 p.m. EDT to find out what’s in it for you."

To learn more about the key provisions of health reform that immediately take effect, go to: http://bit.ly/KeyProvisions.

SOURCES: HealthReform.gov [photo], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Small Business Administration, White House
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Jan. 28: SBA’s Export Experts Offer Free Web Chat on Going International, and Accessing Small-Business Capital and Credit Programs

Does your business product or service have potential in an overseas market? Have you considered doing business globally? Exporting can be a means of substantially growing your business. The U.S. Small Business Administration's January VOICE online chat discussion will highlight exporting basics, as well as general SBA capital and credit programs for small-business owners.

SBA offers several loan programs to help small businesses expand or develop an export market. From 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. [ET] on Thursday, Jan. 28, 2010, business owners can find out if they are ready for exporting, and learn more about how to get started.

Richard Ginsburg and Patrick E. Tunison, of SBA’s Office of International Trade, will co-host this month's Web Chat on “Small Business Exporting and Access to Credit.” For one hour, Ginsburg and Tunison will answer questions on how to grow a business through exporting.

SBA’s free monthly Web Chat series provides small-business owners with opportunities to discuss relevant business issues online with experts, industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs. Chat participants have direct, real-time access to the Web Chats via questions they submit online -- in advance and during the live session -- with instant answers.

Participants can join the live Web Chat by going online to http://www.sba.gov/, and clicking “Online Business Chat.” Web Chat participants may post questions before the Jan. 28th event by visiting http://bit.ly/SmallBizJan2010, and posting their questions online.

To review archives of past monthly Web Chats, visit online at http://bit.ly/WebChatArchives.

SOURCE: U.S. Small Business Administration
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