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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Google, SBA Launch 'Tools for Online Success' Partnership; Free Small-Business Marketing Tips Offered

Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration [SBA] and Google announced a new partnership and unveiled "Tools for Online Success" -- an array of online resources and training designed to help small-business owners harness technology to grow their businesses.

The "Tools for Online Success" site [http://www.google.com/help/sba] features tutorials, video testimonials, and tips from savvy small-business people who have leveraged the Web to become more efficient, more cost-effective, and more successful.

"The SBA is pleased to partner with Google to put these important tools in the hands of small businesses across the country," said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. "As the Web evolves and consumers adapt accordingly, we know that more customers are finding traditional 'Main Street' businesses online. With these tools for online success, we can ensure that these small businesses reach new markets and customers, so they can continue to create jobs."

"One-fifth of searches on Google are related to location, which shows that people are looking to the Internet to make decisions about where to go and what to do in their daily lives," said John Hanke [pictured], vice president of product management, Google. "We want to connect our users with the businesses that provide the goods and services they need. But the first step is for those businesses to have an online presence. We're excited to team up with the SBA to make that process easier for business owners across the country."

Google and the SBA unveiled the partnership during a forum held today at the SBA’s national headquarters in Washington, D.C., and broadcast live online to press and small-business owners across the nation. Susan Holt, principal and owner of CulinAerie, a recreational cooking school in downtown D.C., shared her experiences working with the SBA, and explained how she has used online tools like Google Places and search engine optimization [SEO] to attract more aspiring cooks.

Holt is just one of the many small-business owners from across the U.S. who are sharing how they've used online tools to reach new customers. Many are featured in the video testimonials found at the Google/SBA "Tools for Online Success" site. Each video documents the unique success stories that these small businesses have created using online technology:

* Masha Hleap-Hershkovitz, owner of Fuego Mundo in Sandy Springs, Ga., uses social media to request feedback from restaurant customers for improvement. Ms. Hleap-Hershkovitz even used social media to name her restaurant. "We bounced back and forth with a potential name for months, and we were kind of bottlenecked," she says. "We put it out there [on social media], and it came back 70 percent 'Fuego Mundo.'" Visit http://www.fuegomundo.com/.

* Sean Vahey, owner of Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream in San Francisco, uses social media and Google Places to launch new menu items and cultivate a worldwide following for his company’s unique ice cream flavors. "I don’t have a lot of time do marketing," Mr. Vahey says. "I don’t have a lot of time to sit down and reach out to people. I’m able to get on the computer and, two minutes later, I’ve gotten the word out… Our Google Places page is important, because it’s got all of our information in one spot -- our website, our phone number. You can see where we are on a map, and you can even get directions." Visit http://www.humphryslocombe.com/.

* Sumul Shah, owner of Lumus Construction in Woburn, Mass., uses its website and online maps to research projects all over the United States, and to show potential customers examples of its past work. According to Mr. Shah, "Customers can see and visualize the types of projects, and the complexity of the work we do… In the future, our website will not only talk about how much renewable energy we’re building, but we’ll actually quantify it. We’ll be able to take live data coming from all the wind turbines and solar panels that we’ve installed, simulate it, and be able to report not only how much energy we’re producing, but also what the environmental benefits are." Visit http://www.lumusinc.com/.

* Aliyyah Baylor, owner of Make My Cake in Harlem, New York City, redesigned her website to display vivid imagery of its baked goods. Make My Cake is family-owned and operated, and Ms. Baylor says, "Our website is an extension of our business when it’s too busy for someone to answer the phone. It’s our virtual salesperson, and that is very key." Visit http://www.makemycake.com/.

* Mandy Scott, owner of Mandy Scott Flowers in San Francisco, uses highly targeted online advertising to help her premium flower boutique compete with national brands on a small marketing budget. She says, "We are tiny compared to the big players. I can’t hope to compete with them on any kind of national scale, but I feel that, locally, we do very well. Showing up in both natural and paid search results is important for us, because we want to be on a level playing field with the big guns." Visit http://www.mandyscottflowers.com/.

* Jessica Soler, owner of Salon Red in Decatur, Ga., uses a website and local online listings to help her customers find salon locations and to book appointments. She says, "A great example of how the Web helps Salon Red is, we were nominated with one of the local papers to be a 'Best Of' salon in Atlanta, and tons of people went online to vote for all of our locations. We just were flooded with business, and it all came from online." Visit http://www.salonred.com/.

* Christopher Bartlett, owner of Skaters Landing in West Hartford, Conn., uses online videos to teach customers from all over the world how to properly shop for, and use, ice skating products. "We really were able to reach out to new markets," says Mr. Bartlett. "I don’t look at [our online efforts] as a place to go to and hard-sell, but to really talk with people and answer some of the questions that people might have." Visit http://www.skaterslanding.com/.

* Louis Rossetto, CEO of TCHO in San Francisco, brings a start-up mentality to his company’s premium chocolate production. TCHO uses Web analytics to constantly improve its website's layout, ensuring consumers are engaging with its products in the most effective way possible. "You can’t be a modern company without using modern tools, and online is just fundamental to being in business today," says Rossetto. "Our website represents our direct link to our customers. We use it to explain who we are, engage our community, and it’s certainly a storefront for us. You’re inviting the whole world into your store if you do that online." Visit http://www.tcho.com/.

Continued success stories like these are the goal of the Google/SBA partnership. Visit the "Tools for Online Success" website for a full rundown.

Tips for Small-Business Marketing Online
Here are a few easy tips that all small-business owners should be using in order to optimize the free and low-cost marketing power of the Internet:

* Establish your online presence. One out of five searches on Google are related to location. Most local online listings such as Google Places are free, and if your business doesn’t have a website, there are ready-made site templates and free hosting services that make establishing an online presence easy.

* Use free marketing to reach customers. You can build a fan base with free services -- e.g., YouTube, Facebook and Twitter -- that keep your customers in-the-know about new products or specials, and aware of promotions. These services are great "word-of-mouth" platforms -- where a customer following you might tell their friends about your business.

* Know your customers. Easy-to-use Web analytics tools -- e.g., Google Analytics -- can tell you a lot about your customers -- by analyzing what search term brought them to your website, or what they look at while they are there. This information can help you make smart decisions about what you feature and what search terms you should run search ads on.

* Keep an eye on the latest trends. The growing popularity of smart phones means that more and more customers are searching for local information on the go. This makes it all the more important that a business’s online presence be accurate and up-to-date. For example, you can link to your menu, give users driving directions, and even post digital coupons. Oh, and be sure to bookmark Google Trends, too: http://www.google.com/trends.

SOURCES: Google [photo], U.S. Small Business Administration
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CDC Introduces New Website to Help Employers Combat Obesity and Reduce Health-Related Costs

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] today unveiled LEAN Works!, a website designed to help businesses address obesity. LEAN stands for Leading Employees to Activity and Nutrition. The new website was announced at a National Business Group on Health [NBGH] meeting in Washington, D.C.

"CDC LEAN Works! was developed in direct response to organizations asking CDC for help in addressing the obesity epidemic. Specifically they wanted to know what interventions were effective in helping employees maintain a healthy weight," said William Dietz, M.D., Ph.D., director of CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity. "CDC has identified science-based interventions that work to prevent and control obesity. CDC LEAN Works! provides the tools that employers need to take action."

The free website was developed particularly for small and mid-size companies, which typically have more limited resources to devote to obesity prevention efforts. However, the tools and resources available on CDC LEAN Works! can benefit companies of any size. CDC LEAN Works! can help employers calculate the cost of obesity for their organizations, and develop tailored approaches to help control these costs through interventions such as fitness classes, lunchtime health education sessions, weight management programs, and more.

The website provides a variety of resources to employers, including:

* An obesity cost calculator where employers can input employee demographic data to estimate the total costs associated with obesity, and determine annual obesity-related medical costs for their companies.

* Information and resources to help employers plan, build, promote and assess interventions to combat obesity.

* Information on how employers can estimate return on investment -- a measure of the cost of an intervention, compared to the expected financial return of the intervention.

Obesity is a risk factor for high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. Obese individuals spend 77 percent more money for necessary medications than non-obese persons.

"Obesity affects more than just health-care costs. It also has a significant impact on worker productivity, because the more chronic diseases employees have, the more likely they are to be absent from work, or less productive if they come to work sick," said Janet Collins, Ph.D., director of CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Because organizations do not usually publish information about their worksite programs in the scientific literature, CDC visited select businesses to identify promising worksite obesity prevention and control practices. The CDC LEAN Works! website provides case studies from some of those businesses to provide examples of successful worksite obesity prevention programs.

"Workplace obesity prevention programs can be an effective way for employers to reduce obesity and lower their health-care costs, lower absenteeism and increase employee productivity," said Dr. Dietz. Employers may also see other indirect benefits when they implement these programs, such as improved employee morale, increased worker retention, and improved recruitment of new employees.”

To learn more about CDC LEAN Works!, visit http://www.cdc.gov/leanworks.

For more information about CDC’s efforts to combat obesity, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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