By : Michael McCord
Source : http://www.seacoastonline.com
Category : Small Business Grant
Monthly Web chats offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration can prove to be a gateway for budding entrepreneurs and small-business owners.
"They can be hugely important in providing concrete information to small-business owners," said Greta Johansson, the Concord-based district director for the Small Business Association. "They also can give you a whole lot of leads on how to get more information for the counseling and training sessions and other programs we offer."
Join in
What: The U.S. Small Business Administration's February web chat will offer business start-up advice for entrepreneurs.
When: Thursday, Feb. 16, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Go online to www.sba.gov, and click on web chat in the What's New box. No registration is needed.
The next Web chat on Feb. 16 will focus on business startup advice for entrepreneurs. Johansson said the Web chats provide small-business owners with an opportunity to discuss relevant business issues with experts, industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs from across the country. The free, one-hour chat this week is designed to help entrepreneurs find a mentor, improve their business skills, and get assistance and training to make their ideas more marketable and financially sustainable. Participants will have direct, real-time access to the Web chat via questions they submit online in advance and during the live session. The chats are also available in transcript form on the SBA Web site.
In the past year, Johansson said Web chat topics have included government contracting, disaster-recovery planning, tax essentials for small-business owners, growing a home-based business, maintaining business success, expanding a business, and regulatory awareness.
"We have seen over the past few years that the number of small businesses starting up is less than the number of small businesses that are closing," Johansson said. "That's all the more reason for the owner of a startup or young business to take advantage of the assistance we can offer."
Janice Washington, state director of the Arizona Small Business Development Center Network, will host the this week's Web chat on "New Year, New Business: How to Start it Right." The SBA said Washington is an experienced business consultant and former business owner who will answer questions about the early steps to take when starting a business — and the tools and resources that can help to get a small-business idea off the ground.
Johansson said while many people know the SBA through its small-business loan guarantee program, demand for its other outreach services is rising. There has been an increase in business with their cooperative ventures through the state's Small Business Development Centers, SCORE (retired executives who become mentor counselors), the recently opened Center for Women's Business Advancement at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, and specialized programs for veterans. There are also a wide range of free, online training programs on starting and managing a business at sba.gov. She said the SBA also has created a special teen site to help young entrepreneurs take their first business steps.
Financing is one of the biggest dilemmas for small businesses. One measure of how busy the entrepreneurial and small-business sector has become in the wake of the recession can be seen in the growing number of loans guaranteed by the SBA in New Hampshire, Johansson said. The total for the fourth quarter (October through December) in 2011 was 204 loans totaling $38 million, up from 104 loans and $18 million in 2008. "It's continuing on an upward swing," she said.
Of equal importance, she added, is that "we have a lot more lenders at the table" and that has been crucial in helping small businesses get the capital they need.
Source : http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120213/BIZ/202130302/-1/NEWSMAP
Source : http://www.seacoastonline.com
Category : Small Business Grant
Monthly Web chats offered by the U.S. Small Business Administration can prove to be a gateway for budding entrepreneurs and small-business owners.
"They can be hugely important in providing concrete information to small-business owners," said Greta Johansson, the Concord-based district director for the Small Business Association. "They also can give you a whole lot of leads on how to get more information for the counseling and training sessions and other programs we offer."
Join in
What: The U.S. Small Business Administration's February web chat will offer business start-up advice for entrepreneurs.
When: Thursday, Feb. 16, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Go online to www.sba.gov, and click on web chat in the What's New box. No registration is needed.
The next Web chat on Feb. 16 will focus on business startup advice for entrepreneurs. Johansson said the Web chats provide small-business owners with an opportunity to discuss relevant business issues with experts, industry leaders and successful entrepreneurs from across the country. The free, one-hour chat this week is designed to help entrepreneurs find a mentor, improve their business skills, and get assistance and training to make their ideas more marketable and financially sustainable. Participants will have direct, real-time access to the Web chat via questions they submit online in advance and during the live session. The chats are also available in transcript form on the SBA Web site.
In the past year, Johansson said Web chat topics have included government contracting, disaster-recovery planning, tax essentials for small-business owners, growing a home-based business, maintaining business success, expanding a business, and regulatory awareness.
"We have seen over the past few years that the number of small businesses starting up is less than the number of small businesses that are closing," Johansson said. "That's all the more reason for the owner of a startup or young business to take advantage of the assistance we can offer."
Janice Washington, state director of the Arizona Small Business Development Center Network, will host the this week's Web chat on "New Year, New Business: How to Start it Right." The SBA said Washington is an experienced business consultant and former business owner who will answer questions about the early steps to take when starting a business — and the tools and resources that can help to get a small-business idea off the ground.
Johansson said while many people know the SBA through its small-business loan guarantee program, demand for its other outreach services is rising. There has been an increase in business with their cooperative ventures through the state's Small Business Development Centers, SCORE (retired executives who become mentor counselors), the recently opened Center for Women's Business Advancement at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, and specialized programs for veterans. There are also a wide range of free, online training programs on starting and managing a business at sba.gov. She said the SBA also has created a special teen site to help young entrepreneurs take their first business steps.
Financing is one of the biggest dilemmas for small businesses. One measure of how busy the entrepreneurial and small-business sector has become in the wake of the recession can be seen in the growing number of loans guaranteed by the SBA in New Hampshire, Johansson said. The total for the fourth quarter (October through December) in 2011 was 204 loans totaling $38 million, up from 104 loans and $18 million in 2008. "It's continuing on an upward swing," she said.
Of equal importance, she added, is that "we have a lot more lenders at the table" and that has been crucial in helping small businesses get the capital they need.
Source : http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120213/BIZ/202130302/-1/NEWSMAP
