Take Time this 4th of July to Learn about SBA Programs & Initiatives for Veteran Entrepreneurs

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On this Fourth of July, as we celebrate our freedoms, I want share with you the ways SBA and the Office of Veterans Business Development are celebrating veteran entrepreneurs. 

The Administration and SBA are committed to ensuring that the federal government continues their dedication to our returning veterans.  As part of this, for the first time ever, in FY 2012 the federal government exceeded the three percent goal to contract with Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses. Small businesses won a record $12.56 billion in federal prime contracts – an increase of more than $1 billion from FY 2011. This dollar amount represents 3.03 percent of all federal prime contractor spending.

This news is truly exciting, especially considering that nearly one in 10 small businesses nationwide is veteran-owned.  As a whole, these 2.4 million small businesses employ nearly six million Americans and generate more than $1 trillion in receipts. And, in the private sector workforce, veterans are 45 percent more likely than those with no active-duty military experience to be self-employed.

Additionally, SBA is working hard to improve access to capital for veteran entrepreneurs through the Veterans Pledge Initiative.   With the support of SBA’s top 20 national lending partners, and approximately 100 additional regional and community lending partners across the United States, SBA expects to assist an additional 2,000 veterans obtain loans to start or expand small businesses by increasing lending by $475 million over the next five years.

Veteran entrepreneurs can find more information about this initiative, and locate one of SBA’s 68 district offices here.  The site also identifies lending institutions participating in the veteran lending initiative. In addition, SBA has developed a checklist to assist veterans applying for access to capital. 

And, as we look at how to help those who are dreaming of owning their own business, SBA is laying down the foundation to help service members transitioning from active duty to learn more about entrepreneurship and franchising through its Operation: Boots to Business Program.  Many service members will apply the skills and experience they developed in the U.S. Armed Forces to their civilian communities as doctors and police officers, engineers and entrepreneurs.

Again, I wish you all a happy and safe Fourth of July as we celebrate our freedoms and the essence of what makes this country a great place to live and work as small business entrepreneurs.  

Rhett Jeppson is the Associate Administrator for SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development.Tags: Official SBA News and Views, Open For Business

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Don’t Be a Social Media Marketing Skeptic – Learn Where and How to Start

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by Caron_Beesley, Community Moderator

Created: January 3, 2013, 7:53 amUpdated: March 7, 2013, 11:55 am

There’s no doubt that social media marketing is a proven and established platform for connecting with customers, building a community and generating business. Yet, despite the evidence of its effectiveness as a marketing tool, surveys and studies say few small businesses are making active use of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn to promote products and services.

A report by eMarketer found that just 24 percent of small businesses have integrated social media in a structured way in their businesses. The report also references findings from Constant Contact that only 49 percent of small businesses consider social media marketing effective.

Why the skepticism? Here are a few reasons and excuses I’ve heard:

“I don’t know where to start”“I’m too busy”“I don’t know which social media site is right for my business”“I tried it but it didn’t work”“I’m struggling to build engagement”“I don’t have enough updates to keep my site looking active”

Knowing where to start is perhaps the number one obstacle holding many small business owners back. Knowing what to do when you get there is next. For example, should you use social media to generate leads? For branding? Customer service? Marketing? 

There are numerous blogs on the SBA.gov Community offering tips for getting started in social media marketing. One consistent piece of advice runs through them all: find out where your customers are, start small, and, as you learn, grow out from there.

How?

Last year, I wrote a blog called: How to "Pull Your Head Out of the Sand" and Use Social Media in Your Small Business where I summarized some of the great recommendations from a social media panel at the 2012 National Small Business Week Conference in Washington, D.C. The panel featured experts from Twitter, Constant Contact, Yelp, Google and others. Here’s a summary of their recommendations, a great baseline for getting started:

Which Platform is the Right One? Erica Ayotte, social media manager with Constant Contact, recommends businesses start with one channel to test and nurture it. Then try to diversify: “Spend a little time each week exploring new platforms and figure out if they might be for you.” GrowBizMedia’s Rieva Lesonsky recommends: “...find out where your customers can be found, go there first, and then spread out from there… if you run a restaurant, yes, you probably should be on Twitter, but you should really be on Yelp first.”How do You Find the Right People to Engage With? Use search tools to identify and follow people who are influencers in your industry. For example, if you are in the restaurant business, identify food bloggers in your region, give them a follow, and slowly you’ll start to build and grow your followers and influence. The panel also stressed connecting your social media activity to your loyal email subscriber list. Send them an email to let them know about your social media presence and generate new follows from those who are already engaged.What’s the Best Way to Engage with Followers? This is the one area that takes time. Start with interesting information. Google’s Jeff Aguero recommends starting with quality content – something you do really well – then amplify it with social media. Web chats, contests and surveys are great ways to engage, but the panel cautioned small business owners to resist this form of heavy interaction until their new social efforts have had time to grow. “Once you’ve established awareness and trust, then look to step up your approach,” suggested Constant Contact’s Ayotte. “Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress,” she explained. “It can take some time to figure out what content is going to resonate with an audience… Try something new if no one responds to your Facebook posts.  It’s OK.  Tweak your posts until you find your sweet spot.”

Don’t Forget to Integrate Your Email and Social Media Marketing

Email is still the preferred method of communication among consumers, and Constant Contact predicts that in 2013 it will remain their preferred marketing channel as well. Email is also a key element in driving social media success, “…using both together to support one another can boost a campaign and bring greater collective benefits, as opposed to using just one or the other,” advises Constant Contact.

Learn from the Experts

There are myriad webinars, ebooks, blogs and other tools that can help you learn the tricks of the trade. Small business organizations like SCORE, Small Business Development Centers, and others also offer advice and seminars on this topic (use this interactive map to find resources in your area).

Here’s a selection of SBA blogs that can also help with key areas of your social media strategy:

Caron Beesley is a small business owner, a writer, and marketing communications consultant. Caron works with the SBA.gov team to promote essential government resources that help entrepreneurs and small business owners start-up, grow and succeed. Follow Caron on Twitter: @caronbeesleyTags: Community Blogs, Small Business Matters, Marketing

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Watch Our World Trade Month Google+ Hangout to Learn about Exporting

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SBA recently hosted a Google+ Hangout to honor World Trade Month. The panel of guests talked about common “rookie mistakes” and listed many resources that can help small businesses get started exporting.

You can watch the Hangout below.  If you have any questions about exporting, you can tweet them using the hashtag #TradeChat.

Resources

http://www.business.usa.gov/
www.sba.gov/exporting
http://www.export.gov/
www.trade.gov/advocacy
http://www.exim.gov/
www.ups.com/content/us/en/bussol/browse/international-trade-guidance.html
www.ups.com/content/us/en/bussol/browse/cash-flow-management.html
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeOYegY-RMM

Participants

Al Youngwerth (CEO of Rekluse & SBA’s 2012 Exporter of the Year), Brian Kim (BBCN Bank Los Angeles & SBA’s 2013 Export Lender of the Year), Andy Park (UPS Customer Technology Marketing), Dario Gomez  and Jordan Valdes (SBA Office of International Trade), Antwaun Griffin (ITA Domestic Operations)

Stephen Morris is online media coordinator for the U.S. Small Business Administration where he manages digital outreach to the small business community.

Tags: Official SBA News and Views, Open For Business, Financing, International, SBA News and Views

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Accelerator Demo Day Comes to Washington, DC- Learn How You Can Participate

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Accelerators represent the next frontier in commercial success for startups. That’s why SBA, in partnership with Global Accelerator Network, will host business accelerators from across the country for “Accelerator Demo Day” on July 19th in Washington, DC.

Whether in the form of office space in a cooperative setting, connections with funding sources, technical support, or operational management, business accelerators help ensure that job-creating ideas have the resources to come to fruition. Already, approximately $1.6 billion in funding has been raised through accelerators, along with the creation of more than 4,800 jobs.

During Accelerator Demo Day, business accelerator groups will have a chance to pitch to Blackstone, the Case Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.  In addition to Demo Day, SBA supports business accelerators through programs like Startup America, Startup University, and regional conferences.

When:

Friday, July 19 | 9am ET

Where:

1776 Accelerator

1133 15th Street NW, 12th fl

Washington, DC

RSVP:

If you are interested in applying to be an accelerator to pitch on Demo Day, please go to https://smore.com/11ne to view the application requirements. All submissions must be made by July 3, 2013.

If you are interested in attending the event, please RSVP at http://sbaaccelerator.eventbrite.com/ (password: sba).

If you’re interested in becoming a potential funder, please RSVP by July 5th to patrick@gan.co.

For more information about the event, email your questions to accelerator@sba.gov.

Hi, my name is Natale and I'm serving as a Moderator for the SBA Community. Our goal is to continually improve this site to meet your needs, so we appreciate your feedback and participation.Tags: Official SBA News and Views, Open For Business, SBA News and Views

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Take Time this 4th of July to Learn about SBA Programs & Initiatives for Veteran Entrepreneurs

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota

On this Fourth of July, as we celebrate our freedoms, I want share with you the ways SBA and the Office of Veterans Business Development are celebrating veteran entrepreneurs. 

The Administration and SBA are committed to ensuring that the federal government continues their dedication to our returning veterans.  As part of this, for the first time ever, in FY 2012 the federal government exceeded the three percent goal to contract with Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses. Small businesses won a record $12.56 billion in federal prime contracts – an increase of more than $1 billion from FY 2011. This dollar amount represents 3.03 percent of all federal prime contractor spending.

This news is truly exciting, especially considering that nearly one in 10 small businesses nationwide is veteran-owned.  As a whole, these 2.4 million small businesses employ nearly six million Americans and generate more than $1 trillion in receipts. And, in the private sector workforce, veterans are 45 percent more likely than those with no active-duty military experience to be self-employed.

Additionally, SBA is working hard to improve access to capital for veteran entrepreneurs through the Veterans Pledge Initiative.   With the support of SBA’s top 20 national lending partners, and approximately 100 additional regional and community lending partners across the United States, SBA expects to assist an additional 2,000 veterans obtain loans to start or expand small businesses by increasing lending by $475 million over the next five years.

Veteran entrepreneurs can find more information about this initiative, and locate one of SBA’s 68 district offices here.  The site also identifies lending institutions participating in the veteran lending initiative. In addition, SBA has developed a checklist to assist veterans applying for access to capital. 

And, as we look at how to help those who are dreaming of owning their own business, SBA is laying down the foundation to help service members transitioning from active duty to learn more about entrepreneurship and franchising through its Operation: Boots to Business Program.  Many service members will apply the skills and experience they developed in the U.S. Armed Forces to their civilian communities as doctors and police officers, engineers and entrepreneurs.

Again, I wish you all a happy and safe Fourth of July as we celebrate our freedoms and the essence of what makes this country a great place to live and work as small business entrepreneurs.  

Rhett Jeppson is the Associate Administrator for SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development.Tags: Official SBA News and Views, Open For Business

View the original article here