Category: Small Business News

 

Guide to Size Standards

This Guide to SBA’s Definitions of Small Business (usually referred to as “size standards”) will help you understand how SBA defines a small business and how it establishes small business size standards.  A small business size standard is numerical and represents the largest a concern can be and still be considered a small business for Federal Government programs.  This Guide provides general information on size standard requirements and addresses most typical concerns about using sizeRead More

What are the Small Business Size Standards?

Your business might be eligible for programs that are reserved for small business concerns. To qualify, your business must satisfy SBA’s definition of a business concern, along with the size standards for small business. SBA defines a business concern as one that is organized for profit; has a place of business in the U.S.; operates primarily within the U.S. or makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through payment of taxes or use ofRead More

Summary of Size Standards by Industry Sector

Small business size standards define the largest that a business concern, including all of its affiliates, may be and yet qualify as a small business concern for SBA and most other federal programs,  The SBA has established two widely used size standards – 500 employees for most manufacturing and mining industries and $7.5 million in average annual receipts for many nonmanufacturing industries.  However, there are a number of exceptions.  For the size standard applicable to any NorthRead More

Table of Small Business Size Standards

To help small business owners assess their small business status, SBA has established a Table of Small Business Size Standards (pdf file/excel file), which is matched to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for industries. The current table of size standards is based on the 2012 NAICS. The table of size standards can also be found online in the Small Business Size Regulations(published by the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations). Certain government programs, suchRead More

Small Business Size Standards Methodology

For its ongoing comprehensive size standards review and future regulatory actions relating to size standards, SBA has developed a “Size Standards Methodology White Paper,”explaining how it establishes, reviews and modifies its small business size standards pursuant to the Small Business Act and related legislative guidelines. The white paper provides a brief review of the following: Legal authority, early legislative history and regulatory history of small business size standards Detailed description of evaluation of industry structureRead More

How to Put “More Serve in Your Sell” to Make More Sales

The shift from sell first to serve first is here and now. We no longer sell by leading with the product.  Sales are made by leading with the person and a relationship with them. Referrals, recommendations and introductions play a huge part in the sales process now. The sales process has changed consistently over the past decade and educating customers is essential and integral to building a trust bond. We no longer buy things and engage with businesses, people and companies that weRead More

Obama Administration Opens Health-Insurance Portal to Small Businesses

The Obama administration has opened a new health-insurance portal to small businesses in five states after a yearlong delay of the Affordable Care Act’s online marketplace for small-employer health plans. The exchange, which was shelved last year amid mounting technical problems, quietly went live for the first time over the weekend in Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey and Ohio. Companies in those states that have fewer than 50 full-time workers can start using the siteRead More

Small Business Development Center Welcomes New Director

The Southern Maryland branch of the Maryland Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has welcomed a new regional director – Ellen Flowers-Fields. Flowers-Fields has a history in the county, having moved to Calvert 14 years ago. She spent 10 years heading federal workforce initiatives with the Tri-County, then went to work for the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation as the deputy secretary of workforce development. She brings her background to her work with theRead More

Free small business help available

MARSHFIELD – A counselor from the Small Business Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will be in Marshfield, by appointment only, Nov. 12. Confidential business counseling is available without charge to current or prospective small business operators on issues ranging from financial management to sources of capital. The SBDC staff member will meet clients at the Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MACCI) from noon to 4 p.m. Appointments must be madeRead More

Start-Up Lendoor Aims to Use Crowdfunding for Small-Business Loans

Crowdfunding — gathering lots of small checks from individuals to finance a company or a project — is a hot area in Silicon Valley at the moment. Now, one fledgling company in New York wants to bring the principles of crowdfunding to a dusty sector of American finance: small-business lending. The company, Lendoor, plans to introduce a way for local businesses to borrow money from their customers and other individuals online. It is the latestRead More