Loans, on the other hand, are pretty widely available to small business start-ups. Here are some resources:

SBA 7(a) Loan Program guarantees small business loans from banks and other lending institutions for both start-up and existing small businesses. This is the most common option for SBA guaranteed loans and because most banks and some other commercial lenders participate, loans are widely available. While the lender agrees to structure the loan, it shares the risk with the SBA, making it easier to make loans to small business owners. Find out more about the 7(a) Program on the SBA website.

SBA Micro-Loan Program is another lending option with the SBA that provides. These are small, short-term loans that average $13,000 and max out at $25,000 and are distributed through community organizations with SBA funds. Find out how to apply for an SBA micro-loan here.

New York State’s Community Development Financial Institution Assistance Program (CDFI) provides micro-loans to business owners who may not qualify for bank loans, as well as minority and women-owned businesses. CDFI also offers one-on-one counseling and business development assistance to facilitate credit-readiness. Click here to find more information and a list of participating financial institutions.

New York  Business Development Corporation (NYBDC) is an organization that works in partnership with lending institutions to provide term loans, many of which do not meet the requirements for traditional financing. NYBDC, a WBC resource partner, handles lending for non-profits, veterans, women and minority-owned businesses, business located in Empire Development Zones, and other conventional business ventures. Find out more about these services on the NYBDC website.

If you’re looking for further resources, Business.gov has a lot of  information on small business financing. Check out the user forums for additional insight.

What has been your experience looking for grants and loans as a small business owner or start-up? Leave a comment.

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Yes, this is a post about organization.

I had a conversation with a woman today looking to start a business. We get a few of these calls a day. Daunted, they ask “What do I need to do?” “What are my first steps?” “How can I get funding?”
Well, first, we say, you need to get everything in order. Your market research, your business plan, your financial projections. And we have counselors who can help you with that. If there is one endeavor in your life that you need to be incredibly well-prepared for (apart from having a baby or getting married, maybe), it is entering into a business venture.

But this is only the beginning. Good organization is essential at all levels of business. A business runs like a well-oiled machine if you scrupulously track your book-keeping, update and maintain a robust client database, and if you can properly account for your time as an owner/manager/sole proprietor/independent contractor/CEO.

So for those both in and out of business, we want to share with you the organization tools that we love:

1) Excel. I love a good excel spreadsheet. Stick your formulas in and let the columns add up. I use Excel to track time sheets, to keep registration lists, to import into mail merges, and to generate statistical and financial reports, just to name a few things. I must spend 60% of my time at the office in Excel. However, there’s something of a learning curve if you don’t typically use a spreadsheet program, but it’s worth it. You will want to use it for everything.

2) Google Calendar. This is a *free* online tool that we use here constantly. Schedule your events, organize your tasks, set reminders, share calendars. It’s wonderful. For the visually-stimulated like myself, this is the best way to see just how your time is being spent. Update it from your phone if you are the mobile type, and access it on the web from anywhere.

3) A Filing System. No, I am not talking about manila folders and clunky metal drawers. I’m talking your trusty C Drive. The world is well on its way to going paperless. You can get your bank statements via email, and do your taxes and pay bills online. Do you know where to find documents on your computer? Quick! Where can you find the most recently updated version of your CV or resume? It’s important to have a way to archive and organize your digital records.

In our office, the shared drive – “the K” – contains a folder for every grant, community organization, anything. Those folders then break down into a spiderweb of subfolders categorized by program year, grant year, committee, etc. We can find pretty much any document that was archived since we opened in 2003.

4) A good, old-fashioned pad of paper. Not very fancy, but helpful. I keep a pad of plain old college-ruled paper and write down all my notes for the day. When you’re on the phone or just catch something in passing, it’s nice to be able to keep track of those loose ends. Maggie gets extra “green points” because she saves quarter-sheet cuts of scrap paper to make her notes on.

and a bonus for the social media-inclined:
5) TweetDeck. Integrate your social media presence, activity, and awareness with this tool, which allows to you view multiple online networking accounts (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc), post to them, schedule updates, and receive notifications, all on one screen.

What do you use to get yourself organized? Any special tips or tools? Share them in a comment below.

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The Institute cites these qualities among other reasons for a projected increase in jobs created by woman-owned small business. In fact, by 2018, they forecast that women small business owners will create 5 to 5.5 million new jobs in the US, thereby “transforming the workplace of tomorrow into a far more inclusive, horizontally managed environment.”

Aside from these fantastic economic projections, I think the most interesting point the report makes is that the woman business owner is a more engaged proprietor. Because women are more careful in cultivating their customer base and more invested in creating opportunities, positive working relationships and meaningful contributions to their business and community, the impact of women-owned business will not only be greater by 2018, but it will constructively benefit the environment in which we work and do business.

Click here to find the full report.

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There are lots of programs and opportunities out there for veterans looking for technical assistance and even capital for starting a small business.

A great resource is the Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE) which maintains the VetBiz Registry, a member site that lists your company in a database of other veteran-owned businesses. Through VetBiz, listed companies are given notice of and special consideration for federal contracting opportunities, and are updated with information and news affecting Veteran-Owned and Service Disabled businesses.

Another resource is the SBA Office of Veterans Business Development, the mission of which is “to maximize the availability, applicability and usability of all administration small business programs for Veterans, Service-Disabled Veterans, Reserve Component Members, and their Dependents or Survivors.” The SBA oversees an outreach program that caters to both start up veteran enterprise and those in existing business. Services include business plan workshops, feasibility analysis, counseling, mentoring, and technical training in more specific areas.
Find out more here.
Use this tool on the SBA website to find a Veterans Business Development Officer near you.

The VA Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization is also developing a mentor program, not unlike our Business Coaching Program, which is aimed at assisting veteran-owned enterprises to become “viable and/or more competitive in the small business community.” See the details here.

Other organizations and federal offices advocate on behalf of veterans enterprise, such as the National Veteran Owned Business Association and the VA Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. These organizations help to guide policy, support the veteran community, and promote veteran-owned businesses as preferred vendors.

Are you a veteran business owner?
What is your experience with the available resources?
Leave a comment below.

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We often acknowledge how fortunate we are to have the resources of the College at our disposal, and this Roundtable was no exception – our clients always benefit from these kinds of educational opportunities. Dennis Koch, PhD, coordinator of the Health and Human Performance program at Canisius and our friendly neighbor down the hall, was nice enough to put on the presentation for the Coaching ladies, with the help of some of his graduate students. Together, they facilitated a discussion on the importance of managing health, especially for a small business owner. Covering topics like stress management, body composition, diet and exercise, and blood pressure and cholesterol control, the group was not only given a basic understanding of these vitals, but they discussed goal setting and problem-solving techniques to achieve their health-related goals.

So why is health important to your business?

Owning and operating a business can be an emotionally, psychologically, and physically demanding job. And for women business owners, who often are trying to balance the demands of family life as well, the stresses on personal health are that much greater. So what happens if you’re not 100%?

We’ve been doing some research around here recently on the factors that contribute to business failure; often they are financial and organizational issues, but personal issues facing a business owner or sole proprietor can be damaging. By taking steps to keep yourself well, both physically and mentally, you can prevent possible health problems and ensure that you have the ability and energy to focus on running your business. Your productivity, unhindered by stress, a cold, or something more serious, is valuable.

Simply, your health impacts your performance. To operate at your best, we suggest these helpful health tips:

• Eat a balanced diet: We’re not suggesting you go on a diet… just be conscious of what you eat, get your fruit and veggies, and maybe get rid of the secret candy stash in your desk drawer. At the WBC office, our fridge is usually stocked with yummy yogurt and fresh fruit .
• Be active: Take some time out to go for a walk, play with your kids, or maybe, if you’re feeling adventurous, practice some office yoga. Canisius recently held a “Get in Step” program which gave out pedometers to measure and increase the amount of steps taken in a day.
• Manage stress: Make sure to maintain a balance between work and play. Even if you LOVE what you do, it’s always important to have time to de-stress. Get your 7-9 hours of sleep in, relax, and stay positive.

What health tips do you recommend? How do you think your health impacts running a business? Let us know in a comment below.

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- AllBusiness.com
– Center for Women’s Business Research
– Committee of 200
- ForbesWoman
- The Hot Mommas® Project Mission
- NAFE (The National Association for Female Executives)
- National Women’s Business Council
- NAWBO (The National Association of Women Business Owners)
- OWBO (The SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership)
- SBA (The U.S. Small Business Administration)
- SBDCs (The Office of Small Business Development Centers)
- SmallBizDaily
- Small Biz Nation
- WBENC (The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council)
- WPO (The Women Presidents’ Organization)

Commenters also suggested these additional sites:
- Business.gov
- Women’s Leadership Exchange
– Women Impacting Public Policy
- Women Entrepreneur

Find the full post on the SCORE Women’s Success Blog
You can also check out our blogroll down on the right-hand side.

What sites do you find helpful? Let us know in a comment below.

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Find the the rest of our talk on our youtube channel, CanisiusWBC.

What did you take away from this discussion? Let us know in a comment below.

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In an effort to acknowledge this continued disparity, next week, on April 20th, the Women’s Business Center will be observing Equal Pay Day. This day, which symbolizes how far into 2010 women must work to earn what men made in 2009, was established by the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE) in 1996 to spread public awareness of gender wage disparity. That day, we ask that you wear red to illustrate how women are still “in the red” when it comes to their pay.

We also invite you to an event hosted by the Canisius College Women’s Studies Department and the Women’s Business Center scheduled for that Tuesday: “Equal Pay Day: A Dicussion and Workshop on Closing the Gender Pay Gap.” A panel discussion will address the realities of the gender pay gap issue and the following workshop will present tatics for women and students to effectively negotiate their salary. This event is free and open to the public. Click here for more information.

*all statistics from The World Economic Forum. Click here to access the full reports.

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This past Tuesday, the Small Business Administration released this statement about fraudulent attempts to offer SBA loans:

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WASHINGTON – The U.S Small Business Administration (SBA) is warning small businesses to use caution if they are contacted by firms offering to help them apply for funds available through SBA programs.

SBA and SBA’s Office of the Inspector General (SBA OIG) have received several complaints from small businesses about abusive marketing practices, scams, and exorbitant fees charged by firms offering to help them obtain a loan, grant, or other federal funds, from SBA.

Some of these complaints include:

• Firms charging small businesses high fees to provide assistance applying to SBA funding programs. Some firms allegedly guaranteed that the small business would obtain SBA funding if they paid the fee. SBA does not endorse or give preference to specific private companies or their clients.

• Firms charging small business for services never requested after the small business gave bank account and routing information to a caller claiming to be a firm offering assistance. SBA recommends that small businesses never provide social security numbers, bank account information, or credit card numbers to anyone; and, never over the telephone.
• Firms alleging that a small business would be issued a “foreiture letter” that would make the small business ineligible for any SBA funding for three years if the small business refused to use the firms services.

When electing to use a third party to apply for SBA funding programs, small businesses should also bear in mind:

• Small businesses can get free assistance in person or by calling one of SBA’s 68 District Offices [you can contact the Buffalo District Office at (716) 551-4301] and from information on SBA’s website. They can also get assistance from Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, Veterans Business Outreach Centers and SCORE Chapters, either free or for a reasonable fee. Location and contact information can be found on the SBA’s website.
• Small businesses should ask for references and confer with trusted colleagues and institutions, such as the Better Business Bureau, when selecting service providers.
• Small businesses should clearly establish and document: (1) What they are being charged; (2) When they will be charged; (3) What they must do; and (4) What services they will receive.

SBA’s Office of the Inspector General will investigate and respond to all complaints. SBA encourages anyone with knowledge of a misrepresentation regarding SBA Business Loan Programs, or any other SBA program, to contact SBA OIG by calling the OIG Hotline toll-free at (800) 767-0385, or submitting an online report at the SBA OIG website, and click the link for “Report Fraud Waste or Abuse.”

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In other small business news, the SBA also announced that it will be extending Recovery funding through the month of April.
The $40 million extension is estimated to support about $1.4 billion in small business lending.
The SBA will continue to waive loan fees and provide higher guarantee levels for 7(a) loans until April 30th, 2010, or until the funds provided by the bill are exhausted.

To find out more about securing small business funding through the SBA, click here.

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Whether or not you agree with the legislation, the benefits it brings to small business owners and employees is indisputable. Steve Strauss, small business expert and USA Today contributor writes (in this article) that, overall, the bill is good for small business. Just consider the status quo, he says.

• Only 49% of businesses with 3 to 9 employees (the vast majority of small businesses) offered any type of health insurance to their employees in 2008, down from 58% less than a decade ago.

• 29% of employees at businesses with 25 employees or less were uninsured in 2007, and the number is certainly higher today.

Strauss goes on to say that, “the main reason health insurance is so expensive for small business is that there is a narrow pool of people being insured. Bigger companies with more employees are better able to spread the risk, so premiums are lower, and they also have more buying power due to their size.”

What the bill does is allow small businesses and the self-employed to purchase insurance plans through cooperative pools, or exchanges. “By pooling small businesses together,” Strauss writes, “these purchasing cooperatives are expected to offer rates that should be lower because of 1) increased group purchasing power, and 2) bigger pools of insured customers.”

But mandates for small business employers to provide health care coverage is what seems to have most people upset. These mandates, he says, will have little effect on small businesses, and exempt businesses with less than 50 employees. But even those companies are expected to buy in because of incentives like low cost through exchanges and the various tax breaks and credits included in the legislation.

Additionally, these benefits are also expected to lead to a boost in employment at small firms now offering coverage, or where affordable coverage has become available through purchasing pools.

So even if you think health care reform is a pill you just can’t swallow, know that these changes do in fact benefit small business and hopefully you’ll be seeing these changes soon.

What do you think about the bill? Leave a comment.

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