Charleston West Virginia Economic Development

Discussions on Economic and Community Development in West Virginia and the Charleston MSA as well as issues of the Charleston Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Friday, October 06, 2006

SBA OFFERS SMALL BUSINESS FINANCIAL & COUNSELING ASSISTANCE

Second Annual Contract Connections Event October 11 in Charleston



CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The U.S. Small Business Administration will be providing FREE small business financial counseling AND an opportunity to apply for an SBA guaranteed unsecured business loan during the 2nd annual Contract Connections event on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 at the Charleston Civic Center.

Representatives from local and national lenders, the Region 1 Workforce Woman's Business Center, and the SBA will be available to meet with existing and potential entrepreneurs to provide expert financial and small business guidance on issues such as: contract lines of credit; commercial loan products; small business financing; utilizing contracts as collateral; and much more.

Entrepreneurs interested in learning about business financing options and expansion into government contracting will receive personalized one-on-one assistance during two sessions set to begin at 10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. To reserve your time slot for the financial counseling sessions, contact Barbara Carder (email: barbara.carder@sba.gov) at the SBA's West Virginia District Office at 1-800-767-8052 option 8 then extension 222. Companies interested in meeting with federal, state or prime contracting officers to learn more about government contracting opportunities can call 888-982-7232 or email lcoffman@wvsbdc.org. Registration can also be made on the Contract Connections web site at www.contractconnections.org.

Information will be provided on SBA's 7(a) Loan Guaranty and 504 Certified Development Company loan programs. The 7(a) loan program provides loan guarantees through lending institutions for business related purposes of up to $2 million. The 504 loan program provides affordable long-term, fixed-asset financing to help healthy, expanding small businesses grow. The maximum SBA guaranty amounts range from $2 million to $4 million. Also featured will be SBA's CommunityExpress loan program which provides financial, technical and management assistance to for-profit businesses with a maximum SBA guaranty up to $250,000. One segment of CommunityExpress provides UNSECURED working capital loans up to $50,000.

The UNSECURED segment of the CommunityExpress loan requires no tax returns or business plans. Qualified small business owners can apply for loans up to $50,000 which have a 7-year term. Interest rates are based on Prime plus 4.75 percent. CommunityExpress lenders require an application fee which is refundable if the loan is not approved. Loan proceeds are to be used for any business related purpose, such as the purchase of machinery/equipment; working capital; business expansion; inventory; or hiring of personnel. To be considered for an SBA-guaranteed loan, eligible applicants must have good credit and must not have defaulted on a prior government loan, be delinquent on child support or have an IRS tax lien filed against them or the business.

Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn from the EXPERTS about the various types of financial and small business assistance available to help your small business start or expand!

All SBA programs are extended to the public on a non-discriminatory basis.

1 Comments:

At 8:01 PM, Blogger RoseCovered Glasses said...

There are many good points in your article. I would like to supplement them with some information.

For an all-volunteer site, dedicated to small businesses who wish to succeed in federal government contracting, please see the below site:

http://www.smalltofeds.blogspot.com/
The federal government will contract in excess of $80B to small businesses in the next fiscal year.

There are over 50 agencies or "Departments" in the federal government. Each of these agencies has a statutory obligation to contract from small business for over 20% of everything it buys.

Contracting officers must file reports annually demonstrating they have fulfilled this requirement. Not fulfilling the requirement can put agency annual funding in jeopardy. Small business has a motivated customer in federal government contracting officers and buyers.

Large business, under federal procurement law, must prepare and submit annual "Small Business Contracting Plans" for approval by the local Defense Contract Management Area Office (DCMAO) nearest their headquarters. These plans must include auditable statistics regarding the previous 12 month period in terms of contracting to small businesses and the goals forecast for the next year.

The federal government can legally terminate a contract in a large business for not meeting small business contracting goals. Approved small business plans must accompany large business contract proposals submitted to federal government agencies. Small businesses have motivated customers in large business subcontract managers, administrators and buyers.

There are set-aside opportunities available for small entities,veterans, disabled veterans, women and minorities.

All it takes is navigating the system, persistance, asking questions, registering, marketing, teaming and work hard.

Small Business America is good at that.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home