Chicago Community Ventures Blog

U.S. DOT Presents the Chicago Small Business Day

Chicago Small Business Day

Connecting Businesses with Opportunities

When:       Thursday, April 22nd

Where:     Chicago Transit Authority
 567 West Lake Street
 Chicago, Illinois

Time:      11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Networking with Federal, State, and Local Agencies

Panel: Federal, State, and Local Officials

Exhibits: Meet One on One with Federal and State Agencies for contracting opportunities

Workshops: Access to Capital How to Contract with the Government

On Thursday, April 22nd, at 11:00 AM CST, The Department of Transportation presents the Chicago Small Business Day. The purpose of this event is to connect small businesses with federal, state, and local government contracting opportunities, while educating small business owners on the resources available to help their business grow. In addition to the informational fair exhibits, DOT-OSDBU will present workshops on Access to Capital and How to Contract with the Government.

Online Registration: Go to www.osdbu.dot.gov/conferences/

Please provide your name, business contact info, and notification as to whether you plan to attend one or both workshops. For questions or registration assistance contact Erin Hawkes at (202) 366-0841.

Presented by:

 The Department of Transportation Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization 

Co-Sponsors :

The Small Business Administration
The Minority Business Development Agency
Great Lakes Region Small Business Transportation Resource Center

  

SBA Awards – Applications Due November 24!

Do you know a stellar small business owner?  Nominate him or her for a 2010 Small Business Administration award.  All nomination forms are due November 24.  Winners will be honored during next year's National Small Business Week, scheduled for May 23-29, 2010.

Award categories include:

• Small Business Person of the Year – developed an outstanding business or unique product; increased jobs; sales growth; community involvement; overcome an adverse situation
• Small Business Exporter of the Year – increased profits and job creation through export sales
• SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year – owner should not reach 30 years old by June 1, 2010; need a 3-year record of success
• Jeffrey Butland Family Owned Small Business – family-owned business passed from one generation to the next; need a 15-year track record
• Entrepreneurial Success – business must have received SBA assistance
• Home Based Business Champion
• Minority Small Business Champion
• Veteran Small Business Champion
• Women in Business Champion

Mr. Samuel Ko, president of Glendale Heights-based Philos Technologies Inc, was the 2009 Small Business Person of the Year in Illinois. 

There are several statements and forms required so carefully read through the requirements check-list to make sure your application is complete.  Here is a list of tips from the SBA to help fill out your nomination.

For more information contact Mark Ferguson at 312.353.5430.

SBA Online Training Course for Women Entrepreneurs!

For women-owned businesses looking to secure government contracts, the following SBA Online Training course proves to be a valuable resource! Check it out!

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SBA recently launched a new online training course: Winning Federal Contracts – A Guide for Women Entrepreneurs which is part of an ongoing government-wide initiative to promote opportunities for women-owned businesses in the area of government contracting.

This free online tutorial is a practical and easy to use guide that walks a woman-owned small business through the contracting process. SBA is committed to ensuring that women-owned businesses receive at least 5 percent of federal contracts and believes better training opportunities are central to meeting this government-wide goal.

The Winning Federal Contracts course is designed to help women entrepreneurs learn about the federal procurement process and to prepare them to compete for contracting opportunities. The self-paced guide uses audio and script to provide information about contract rules, how to sell to the government and where to find contracts. The Winning Federal Contracts course is available on SBA’s Web site at www.sba.gov/fedcontractingtraining. It is indexed by subject matter, and includes direct links to additional contracting resources such as our Illinois Procurement Technical Assistance Centers.

Illinois Small Business Economic Recovery Forum II

The SBA is offering a day of information, training and networking about the programs and projects in Illinois available through the stimulus funds. 

Tuesday, September 29, 2009
8am - 3pm

Crowne Plaza Springfield
3000 S. Dirksen Parkway
Springfield, IL  62703

For more information please view the attached flyer. Download IL SBA SB Economic Recovery Forum II - Springfield

SBA Expands Eligibility for Loans to Spur Growth

The SBA just released an announcement today that more small businesses will now be eligible for SBA backed loans due to temporary alternate size standards. More than 70,000 additional businesses are expected to now qualify for the loan as a result of the temporary changes made. Read more below from the SBA. _______________________________________________________________________________________

SBA Expands Eligibility for 7(a) Loans To Spur Recovery Opportunities for Small Businesses

WASHINGTON - More small businesses will be eligible for U.S. Small Business Administration-backed loans, meaning greater access to much-needed capital in this tough economy, as a result of a temporary alternate size standard for the agency's largest lending program.

SBA's alternate size standard for its 7(a) loan program will go into effect early next week through Sept. 30, 2010. As a result of the temporary change, more than 70,000 additional small businesses - including auto and RV dealerships, auto industry suppliers and others - could be eligible to apply for SBA 7(a) loan.

"This is just one more step we are taking to make sure small businesses have access to capital to keep their doors open and employees working during these tough economic times," SBA Administrator Karen Mills said. "We have seen signs that small businesses that are just outside the traditional 7(a) size standard are being shut out of the conventional lending market. This temporary change will help those businesses weather these tough times and help move our nation closer to economic recovery."

The temporary 7(a) loan size standard will parallel the standard for the agency's 504 Certified Development Company loan, and will allow businesses to qualify based on net worth and average income. The net worth for the company and its affiliates can't be in excess of $8.5 million and average net income after federal income taxes (excluding any carry-over losses) for the preceding two completed fiscal years can't be more than $3 million. The alternate size standard is available at the offices of The Federal Register today and will be published as an interim final rule early next week.

The temporary change to the 7(a) loan size standard is not unprecedented. SBA took similar actions in 1993, as a result of the recession of the early 1990s, and again in 2005 as part of a program aimed at helping small businesses in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

This change also means more small businesses can take advantage of benefits made possible through the Recovery Act. On March 16, the SBA implemented two key provisions of the Recovery Act that raised the guarantee on 7(a) loans to 90 percent and reduced fees for borrowers. Since then, the agency has seen average weekly 7(a) loan volume increase by more than 25 percent and new SBA loans made by nearly 450 lenders who had not made loans since October 2008.

Visit the website for more information about SBA's revisions to its small business size standards.