Minority Business Loans -- US Veterans

It happened again today. A US veteran contacted us who is having trouble getting a VA loan for a small business. It happens again and again. And it is a disgrace.

Here is what I wrote to him:

Joe,
First, I would be kidding if I said it was easy. It is not. I've heard from a number of Vets that getting these loans just has not been easy. The problem is that most Vets, like you, are looking for a small amount of money and the banks just don't like doing the paperwork for this small an amount.

So here's what to do:
1. Get a business plan ready. It doesn't have to be fancy. A basic one will do.
2. Call your local SBA bank (look in the yellow pages to see which ones have SBA loan programs). Call and ask if they handle the Veterans loans. Make an appointment to see a specific person at the bank.
3. At your meeting, present your business plan and offer to provide the bank with any additional information they need.

Keep track of what you do, and who you talk to. Make notes on the conversation.

If the bank is not forthcoming with the loan, contact your Representative in the US Congress. Tell them step by step what you have done, who you talked with, and what happened. If anyone has influence with your local banker, it is the Representative from your area. Also write your US Senator with the same information. Your representative and senator depend on political contributions from banks, so they have personal relationships with them. Use their services. This is part of what they do. They need your vote too.

Did I mention that how we treat our vets is a disgrace? All minority business loans deserve special attention, and this one tops my list.

OK, Mr./Ms. Banker, what's your excuse?

p.s. -- If these steps don't work, contact your local newspaper. Let them know how local banks treat veterans when they apply for a minority business loan.

Finding Investors Has Just Gotten Easier - Get Your Business Plan In Order

Is yours a "qualified small business"?
Are you actually conducting business?
Does your stock appeal to individuals, rather than to corporations?
Is your company a "C" corporation, rather than an LLC or subchapter S?

If you can answer "Yes", then you are very attractive to thousands of individual investors.

This is huge! There is a largely-overlooked provision in the economic stimulus law that lowers capital gain taxes for individuals who invest in “qualified small business” (QSB) stock.

And now it looks like that tax break could grow from merely good to downright golden under an Obama proposal just issued. Obama aims to completely eliminate capital gains taxes on qualified small business stock held at least five years. Yes, that’s right. Zero. It’s a game-changing shift.

Startups are already salivating at the prospect of putting together stock deals where individuals (but not corporations) who invest — owners, employees, angels, etc. — can exit and pay no capital gain taxes.

What has already been passed: Under new stimulus law provisions, individuals who buy stock in a small business from now through 2010 get a real break on capital gains taxes later on. If the stock is held at least five years, 75 percent of any gain can be excluded — up from the previous 50 percent. The stock must be original issue stock held by a non-corporate investor in a C corporation with gross assets under $50 million. The company must also be actively engaged in a trade or business.

What is being further proposed: The Obama Administration’s budget proposal just issued provides for a complete capital gains tax exemption for qualified small business stock issued since February 17, 2009 and held five years. What’s more, the gains would not count toward calculating the alternative minimum tax (AMT).

Who qualifies: This tax break only applies to individuals who invest in a U.S.-based qualified small business C-corporation with less than $50 million in assets. S-corporation stock does NOT qualify, even if the business later switches to a C-corp. The biggest drawback is that many types of professional businesses are out. The basic rule is this: The company does not qualify if its principal asset is the reputation or skill of one or more employees, such as a doctor, lawyer or accountant. That rules out service firms in health care, law, accounting, architecture and consulting, among others. But most Internet, tech, retail and manufacturing businesses would qualify.

The impact on your business plan:

1. Make sure your potential investors know that this is happening. Many people don't know it yet, and it is up to you to provide the documentation for it.

2. Specifically point out in your business plan how your business is qualified under these new provisions, item by item.

3. Make certain you are approaching "qualified investors", those whose net worth and/or personal knowledge makes them qualified to invest in your company.

4. Don't try to grow too quickly over the five year period, or your investors may lose their entire tax advantage.

If you do opt for this route, be sure to check with a corporate attorney who can keep you apprised of any changes to the law as they occur. He should also do a check up once in a while to ensure that you are compliant with the terms of the law. The cost for the attorney will be minimal when compared to the huge benefit you will receive in the stock offering.

Business Plans for Angel Investors Don't Work

Business Plans for Angel Investors

"There's one thing I've learned about entrepreneurs' business plans. Every one is wrong."

That's not my voice. It is the voice of Josh Kopelman, the co-founder of the venture capital firm The First Round Capital. Kopelman is one of the leaders of a very small group of angel investors: "super angels", those angel firms that seek out startups and invest in them.

BusinessWeek has an outstanding article on Kopelman and other super angels in its June 1st issue. The article highlights four super angel groups:

FIRST ROUND CAPITAL. Headed by Kopelman and ex-professor Howaqrd Morgan, it has financed 70 startups.

BASELINE INVESTMENTS. Ron Conway and former eBay exec Steve Anderson lead the firm, investing in 30 startups.

MAPLES INVESTMENTS. Mike Maples, a former IBM-er, runs a $30 million fund with 20 startups such as Twitter, Digg and Chegg.

SOFT TECH VC. Jeff Clavier, a former venture capitalist, has a $12 million fund and has financed 50 startups.

Kopelman is part of a very elite group. When he says that business plans are wrong, he's right. Today's entrepreneurs are schooled in B-school style business plan writing that is so boring that even I can't handle it for more than a few minutes.

When approaching angel investors, accept the fact that the business plan isn't going to be perfect. By the time you and the angel firm are finished, the business plan will be a shadow of its old self. And that's fine. That is how it should be. Your business plan should be designed to capture the imagination of the investor. Once you've got their attention, so to speak, then your head and theirs can fine tune the idea to make it really successful.

Go with energy. Go with flexibility. Go with lots of knowledge and the ability to adapt that knowledge. That's what makes business plans for angel investors work.

A Pause for Veterans Day

I used to really like 60 Minutes, that Sunday evening news-y program. It used to be hard hitting and thoughtful. The years have softened the edges, sadly, and they have not been kind to Andy Rooney ("A Few Minutes With Andy Rooney") either. I have thought for quite some time that Andy should retire.

Yesterday, however, he presented the most thoughtful bit on Veterans Day that I have heard in quite some time. He talked about his buddies from WWII, and the ones who didn't come back. He said that he didn't really think more of them on Veterans Day than he did on any other day, and he suspected most folks were pretty much the same. There is just so much remembering one can do, he said. And he is right.

So why have Veterans Day at all? you ask. Here was the kernel of the idea I liked. "So that we can plan for peace." So that we can dream of a time when young people won't have to die.

What if we took Veterans Day and created a whole slew of "bridge building" programs, between Jews and Arabs, Blacks and the KKK, criminals and the victims. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day has sort of become our national day of volunteering. How about if Veterans Day became our national day for building bridges.

One day a year won't bring peace, now or ever. But it is a small contribution, and Yes, every small contribution counts.

We do hope you were able to embrace your loved ones during this holiday.

... Yes, There Is A Positive Side, And Your Business Plan Needs to Show It

Small business owners are really a resilient group.

A company as buttoned up as American Express surveyed 727 owners of firms with fewer than 100 employees and found 77 percent think managing through the last few months has made them better at managing their businesses.

And given the size of the group that was involved, plus how large the majority is, the survey's finding is hard to argue with.

Alice Bredin, a small business advisor to American Express Open, also said something mildly encouraging according to Faircloth: "I think entrepreneurs are seeing the beginning of the final days of this, and they're doing whatever they have to do to get through to the end, to find a way to stick around."

This is exactly what we've been shouting about the past few months. So your business has had tough times the past few months. So what? Every business has. But yours has learned something unique that places it in a much stronger position than it was in before, and THAT is what your business plan needs to reflect.

Take this experience that you've had and catapult your business to higher successes. A business plan that can capture just a fraction of this quality is a winner, a real winner.

Put Your Business Plan to Work in the Stimulus Package World

Small businesses are struggling to get their slice of the $787 billion economic stimulus package, lawmakers and entrepreneurs said during a Senate hearing on Thursday.

Ninety-four days after President Obama signed the 2009 American Reinvestment and Recovery Act into law, federal agencies have awarded small businesses only 10 percent of stimulus contracts, according to data released during the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee hearing. Those contracts are worth a total of $389 million.

"This is simply unacceptable," said Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, the committee's ranking member. "Small businesses deserve their fair share."

Snowe said small businesses, many of which have been particularly hard hit by the economic recession, should receive at least 23 percent of federal stimulus contracts. That would match the government's overall small business contracting goal.

"For this trend to change, small businesses need access to capital and increased sales volume," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., chairwoman of the committee.

On Wednesday, Landrieu and Snowe sent letters to the nation's governors urging them to use a portion of their Recovery Act funds for small business contracting.

Small Business Administration leaders told lawmakers to be patient, and noted signs of progress. As of April 15, small businesses had won 1.8 percent of all stimulus awards, according to SBA data. By May 5, that figure had increased to 6.3 percent, and by Thursday, it had reached 10.3 percent.

"We have seen a steady increase [in contracting], but the absolute value is not where we want it to be," said Joe Jordan, SBA's associate administrator of government contracting and business development.

SBA has partnered with the General Services Administration to disseminate information about small business stimulus contracting opportunities, Jordan said. And, earlier this week, SBA launched a new Web site where small firms can find Recovery Act subcontracting opportunities.

We encourage each and every one of your to take a look at that site. Look at both what is online, and what is not. Yes, look at the construction and techological projects. Then also look at the geographical areas and determine what support services these projects will need.

The projects are there. The money is there. Go for it. And if you need financing, get that business plan out of cold storage and put some life into it. If ever there was a time when a strong business plan will serve you well, this is IT.

Does A $35,000 Interest Free Loan Sound Enticing?

It is National Small Business Week. This seems like a good time to introduce interest free loans for small business.

With its unofficial theme of recovery for small business, National Small Business Week provided an appropriate platform for the government to announce a significant new loan program for struggling business owners - the American Recovery Capital Loan (ARC) Program.

Guaranteed by the SBA, the ARC Loan Program provides interest free loans of up to $35,000 to small businesses "for the purpose of making principal and interest payments on existing, qualifying small business loans for up to six months".

These loans can include credit card loans, capital leases, 504 loans, other loans made without an SBA guaranty, and loans made with or without an SBA guaranty since February 17, 2009.

For the untold thousands of business owners across the country who are trying to work through an economic recession that’s left them with falling revenues that no longer cover operating expenses, debts and the basic cost of living - the ARC Loan Program is good news.

Below are more specifics on the ARC Loan, qualification criteria, and where to apply for the loan:

What is an ARC Loan?

The ARC Loan provides up to $35,000 to qualified small businesses to make payments of principal and interest, in full or in part, on one or more existing qualifying small business loans for up to six months. The loan is interest free and 100% guaranteed by the SBA. No collateral is needed and there are no fees associated with the loan.

Loan proceeds are provided over a six-month period and repayment of the ARC Loan principal is deferred for 12 months after the last disbursement of the proceeds.

And the best news is that repayment can extend up to five years.

Who is Eligible for an ARC Loan?

The loan is available to viable, for profit small businesses in the U.S. with qualifying small business loans (described above) who are experiencing immediate financial hardship (such as declining sales or revenues or if you are struggling to pay your business operating expenses).

Where to Go

Your local bank is the distribution point for these loans. If you presently have a qualifying loan from them, they have a very vested interest in seeing that you get one of the ARC loans to help you over the next few months. Go see them.

Top SBA Bank Cut Loans By 50%

Keyword: SBA Loans

Here's a real contradiction for you. The top SBA funder in the whole nation cut its lending absolutely in half from a year ago. Honest.

Birmingham’s BBVA Compass was named Loan Lender of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration for doling out the largest amount of 7(a) loans across the nation.

The bank was one of nine financial institutions honored this week in Washington, D.C., for its efforts to support small businesses in their endeavors, which will must play an integral role in fixing the broken economy.

While BBVA Compass was the top lender nationally, the Birmingham Business Journal recently pointed out that the bank reduced its Alabama-based SBA loans in half to $3.7 million year-over-year, versus $7.5 million the year before. The bank’s total loans declined to 48 in Alabama, versus 87 the year before.

And this is the TOP SBA lender in the whole nation. Good grief, what are the rest of them doing?

Venture Capital Investing Plummets

Keyword: Business plans for venture capital

Venture capital investment is hitting rock bottom. Nationally, VCs invested $3 billion into U.S. companies, down 61 percent from the $7.7 billion invested in the first quarter of 2008. It was smallest quarterly sum since 1997, and the sharpest decline on record.

As we've reported here many time before, VCs have got money. There are huge funds, just sitting there, waiting to be invested. So what gives?

JUST PLAIN SCARED

This is probably the biggest reason for the low investment. The economy hasn't hit a plateau of any kind yet, high or low, and no trends have been set. It is still up one week, and down the next. While VCs used to be able to ride these crests and pitfalls, now they are just scared. Even VCs have limited funds. Oh, yeah, they've got a lot more than you and me, but those funds are still limited.

LACK OF OUTSTANDING PROJECTS

One after another, VCs lament the mediocrity of projects out there. Have our entrepreneurs really gotten that mellow, or have they just forgotten how to present it? Our guess is the latter. We KNOW there are great projects there. We know, too, that most entrepreneurs are schooled in "proper" business plans for venture capital style writing, a kind of writing totally lacking in creativity or energy. It is the creativity and energy that need to come back in.

LACK OF STRONG LEADERS

This one has some validity to it. The past few years have really swung a whollop and knocked the stuffing out of a lot of people, our entrepreneurs included. Nobody is going to back a "Who, Me?" entrepreneur. It really takes someone who can say, "Yes, the company folded, but look what I learned."

The strong leaders will be able to put together coalitions of backers and create dynamic advisory boards. They will look to alternative funding sources and find a million ways to use funding to really make the company profitable. This sort of leader has indeed been in short supply always, but even more so the past few years.

THIS GOES FOR BANK LOANS TOO ....

Very few companies are venture capital candidates who will need business plans for venture capital. Most -- well over 95% -- go for bank loans or private funding. But these precepts hold true for them too. There's not a lot you can personally do about the economy, but you CAN create and lead a dynamic company. And you CAN present it as such. In fact, you MUST. Or there will be no financial backing at all.

Venture Capital Meets The Education Market

Venture capital (very pro-profit) and education (often non-profit) have not always had a great deal in common. Stanford University and Berkery Noyes have set out to change that. Together they announced the featured speakers at the inaugural Venture Capital in Education Summit 2009.

Scheduled for May 29, 2009 at the Schwab Center on the Stanford University campus, the Summit will bring together an elite group of leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors to learn more about the K-12 and postsecondary education sectors and to build stronger bridges between the early-stage investment community and the dynamic businesses transforming the education landscape.

The Summit program will include keynote addresses by: Dr. Milton Chen, executive director of The George Lucas Educational Foundation, and Mr. Christopher Liedel, executive vice president and chief financial officer of The National Geographic Society

The Summit will also include discussions with noted education and investment industry leaders. Topics of discussion include

   -- The Future of Education
  -- Policy and Regulatory Insights into the K-12 and Higher Education
  -- Funding Early-Stage Education Businesses
  -- Finding an Exit Strategy
  -- Beating the Odds: Perspectives from Education Executives
  -- Digital Innovation and Empowerment for All

"The Venture Capital in Education Summit is the only gathering of early-stage investors and innovative companies with the mission of closing the gap in funding available to nascent education ventures versus that available to later-stage education businesses," explains Christopher Curran, managing director of Berkery Noyes.

In addition to support from Berkery Noyes and Stanford University, the Summit is being co-sponsored by Hogan & Hartson (www.hhlaw.com) and CSG|PR (www.csg-pr.com).

Casting Call for Entrepreneurs!!

DO YOU HAVE THE NEXT GREAT MONEYMAKING IDEA? Business Plan Master is working with Mark Burnett Productions in the search for entrepreneurs, inventors, businesspersons, dreamers, promoters, creators, innovators, etc. If you feel you have a lucrative business idea but just can't seem to secure the financial backing to get it off the ground then Shark Tank is just the show for you. Each episode features aspiring entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas to moguls in hopes of landing investment funds. Apply now for your chance to enter the "Shark Tank" and see if your idea survives.

The network has ordered seven episodes of Burnett’s “Shark Tank,” an adaptation of the U.K. reality hit “Dragon’s Den” in which eager entrepreneurs pitch their business ventures to five multimillionaire tycoons. The pitchmen have to convince the investors (the “sharks”) to part with the requested amount of their own money, or they leave empty handed.

It is showtime, boys and girls. Let's go.

Here is where you will find more information on The Shark Tank.

Trickle Up Or Trickle Down -- They Are Equally Lousy Business Finance Ideas

Do you remember Bush's famous "trickle down" theory? This is the theory that said if you give money to rich corporations and rich people that it will "trickle down" to the poor folks. Personally I always felt that idea to be insulting. Small business finance doesn't mean "pennies"; it means real financing for real companies.

Well, now there is another -- equally insulting -- theory floating around: the "trickle up" theory.

Members of Congress and the Administration, minority and small business owners, and leaders in venture capital and private equity advocated a "trickle up theory" to jump start the economy during a gathering in Washington this week to discuss access to capital for minority and small businesses. The National Capital Access Forum, presented by the U.S. Commerce Department's Minority Business Development Agency, Capital Access Forum, LLC, and George Washington University addressed strategies to improve the collective and individual economic circumstances of minorities.

"The forum addresses the frustrations of the small business community whose lines of credit have been pulled out from underneath them due to irresponsible actions on Wall Street," said Michael Granger, Chairman of the Capital Access Forum.

OK. I understand the frustration of small business owners. Wall Street has not been kind to Main Street. And I too would like to slug someone because they done did this thing to some of my favorite small businesses.

But trickling up isn't the answer.

Business financing needs to flow, not trickle. And it needs to flow to all businesses, large and small alike. Excluding either type of business rings the death knell on our recovery process. A versatile economy like our thrives on all sizes of business.

(As an aside, I truly hope those !@#%#*&^! on Wall Street get their fancy cars turned into VWs, and their bonuses cut to a dime a year for the next 100 years.)

Crying In Your Soup, or How To Toss Your Business Funding Strategy Out The Window

Keyword: Business Funding Strategy

So you go to the bank, hat in hand, and tell your banker what a lousy year it has been. Heck, it is not your fault. You did everything right. But you are out of money. You need some money now, just to tie you over to when business picks up. How long will that be? Gee, you aren't really sure, but it shouldn't be too long.

Who the heck do you think you are kidding?

The banker knows you are broke, and have no business funding strategy at all. And that you have NO PLANS to do anything different. And that you are going to fail, whether it is this week or this year. And if you are smart, you know it too.

What would you do if one of your customers came to you and asked for financing with NO business funding strategy in place? And further insulted you by being delinquent on his bill? And didn't have a clue on how to get out the mess? Just how much would you lend?

Well, that's how much the banker is going to lend you.

It doesn't matter if your business funding strategy is for $1,000 or $1 million. If you cannot show how that money will be used to generate more income, you won't get it. Period. "Holding on" just doesn't cut it. Nor does "operating capital". Those terms sound the death knell for business financing.

I was talking with Pat, my neighborhood banker, yesterday. She told me she absolutely cringes when she sees small business people walk in the door. She knows she is in for a sob story, and there is NOTHING she can do about it.

So I asked her what business owners should do. Well, she told me about an entrepreneur who came in about a week ago, a big smile on her face, a nice, confident handshake, and business plan in hand. Saundra, the entrepreneur, introduced her company, and even pulled out a laptop to demo the company's website. This is a fairly new company, and one that the bank wouldn't usually be able to work with. But Saundra brought in copies of contracts and proved how the bank's money would be used to generate income. So Pat went to bat for her. They are structuring a proposal that includes equipment leasing, line of credit and long term financing. Pat believes it is is going to go through.

Now THAT's a business funding strategy.

So you don't have any new business? Well, go get it. Can't? Then don't bother looking for business financing. It just isn't going to be there.

The Business Grant Scaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam

Keyword: Business Grants

Grant scams are nothing new. For decades scam artists have been promising that you can finance your business -- and they ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE that you will get a grant.

Well -- surprise surprise! -- there are no guarantees. But the hawkers keep hawking.

Economic Stimulus Grants

The recent Economic Stimulus package signed by President Obama has created a whole new class of scam sites offering information on stimulus grants for individuals and small businesses. These sites are particularly preying on small business owners who are struggling to stay in business and in search for money to keep them afloat.

As tempting as it may be to explore these programs offering free stimulus money, you will be wasting your money by signing up with one of these websites. There is no money in the stimulus package for sending individual checks to small business owners.

And contrary to what you may read, the government does not secretly give away excess budget money to individuals in the form of grants. There is no secret door with free money behind it.

Scam Sites about Scam Sites

So, the scammers have figured out people are on to them. They are now setting up websites that discuss government grant scam sites, and promote a list of websites that claim to provide legitimate grant information. Many of these sites are just fronts for scam sites.

Grant Information is Free

Government agencies publish grant information on the web, and make it accessible for free. You do not need to pay anyone to access grant information. Grant information is accessible by visiting agency websites, searching on your favorite web search engine, or using one of these databases:

• Business.gov's Loans and Grants Search Engine provides legitimate small business loans and grant programs (when available) for which you might qualify. Currently, this tool contains mostly loan programs, but we are continuously updating it, and will add relevant grant programs as we identify them.

• Grants.gov is database of federal grants, most of which are available to non-profits, cooperatives, other government agencies, and academic institutions. Grants.gov is the one-stop resource for finding grants offered by federal agencies. Some grant programs do allow eligible for-profit entities to compete for grant money, however, these are highly specialized programs, such as specialty crop research. However, you won't find small business grants for starting a business, paying off debt or otherwise help for running your business.

For several years we have recommended that you do your own legwork in tracking down business grants, and be creative. Don't go looking for a handout. Look for a job that needs to be done that happens to have grant money associated with it. There really are thousands of places for you to search, even sticking with the legit databases.

The SBA Facelift: The First In Ten Years

Keyword: SBA

It has been a long time since there have been any major changes to SBA. I'm not sure these qualify as "major", but they are the biggest changes in that agency for quite some time. The House Committee on Small Business is examining a bipartisan legislative package that would update key entrepreneurial development programs within the Small Business Administration (SBA).

The package expands existing support services and creates new programs in a major effort to help small businesses bring the economy back on track.

The Committee reviewed a print of the Job Creation through Entrepreneurship Act of 2009. If enacted, the legislation would mark the first overhaul of the SBA's entrepreneurial development programs in a decade.

The measure expands specific programs, such as Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women's Business Centers (WBCs) and the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE).

The bill also creates new support programs for veteran-owned and Native American-owned small businesses, improves cross-program coordination to maximize use of program resources, and creates 21st century online learning initiatives for entrepreneurs.

In addition, the bill creates a grant program for Small Business Development Centers, specifically designed to assist small firms in securing capital and credit.

"To get out of this recession we need to do all that we can to help established small businesses and prospective entrepreneurs succeed and create new jobs," said Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), the Chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee.

"Just as they have in the past, small firms promise the surest path to a recovery, and these initiatives give them the right tools and support they need to prosper."

The Committee reviewed a print of the Job Creation through Entrepreneurship Act of 2009. If enacted, the legislation would mark the first overhaul of the SBA's entrepreneurial development programs in a decade.

"The single biggest challenge facing small firms right now is the ability to access credit," Velázquez said.

"The Recovery Act that the President signed into law in February will result $21 billion in new lending for small businesses. However, small firms need to know how to access these loans, and this bill will educate them on strategies for meeting their capital needs."

During the hearing, lawmakers frequently commented on how investment in entrepreneurial development programs yields strong returns in terms of economic growth.

In 2008 alone, the SBA's entrepreneurial development programs helped generate 73,000 new jobs and infused $7.2 billion into the economy. Some economists have estimated that every dollar invested in these initiatives returns $2.87 to our economy and helps these small businesses thrive.

"This legislation enjoys widespread bipartisan support and it should, given what a strong return on investment entrepreneurial development programs offer to taxpayers," Chairwoman Velázquez said.

"America's small businesses are ready to get back to work and this legislation will help them do so. I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to move this important measure toward enactment."

The legislative package is comprised of seven measures that were approved by the Committee's Subcommittee on Rural Development, Entrepreneurship and Trade last week.

Those bills, sponsored by five Republicans and two Democrats, include:

• H.R. 1803, the Veterans Business Center Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Glenn Nye (D-VA)
• H.R. 1834, The Native American Business Development Enhancement Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ)
• H.R. 1807, the Educating Entrepreneurs through Today's Technology Act, introduced by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA)
• H.R. 1838, the Women's Business Center Act, introduced by Rep. Mary Fallin (R-OK)
• H.R. 1839, the SCORE Act, introduced by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)
• H.R. 1842, the Expanding Entrepreneurship Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)
• H.R. 1845, The Small Business Development Center Modernization Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL)

Velázquez said that the Committee intended to swiftly move the larger legislative package through the full Committee and to the House floor. It would still have to pass the full House, and the Senate, and will likely result in a compromise bill somewhere along the way, but this is definitely something to keep an eye on.

The Absolutely, Positively Most Perfect Mother's Day Gift Ever!

We at Business Plan Master are proud of our sponsorship of Kiva. Kiva is the amazing organization that lends money in microloans to entrepreneurs throughout the world. When you contribute through Kiva, you are actually lending money, not giving it. You choose the entrepreneur(s) you want to sponsor, and lend them $25. Other people lend $25 too, until they reach the total they need, then the whole loan is disbursed.

On the "receiver" end is an organization, usually community-wide, that selects which entrepreneurs get the funding, how it is to be used, AND watch it to make sure it gets paid back. If one entrepreneur should default on a loan, the whole community jumps in and makes up the difference so that the lenders can be repaid.

Kiva has loaned out millions of dollars this way, with a 98% repayment rate. Nearly 200,000 entrepreneurs in disadvantaged countries throughout the world have had their business dreams come true. One by one their lives have been made better.

Which brings me to the most perfect Mother's Day gift I can imagine. Kiva is celebrating Mother's Day this month, with a special emphasis on Mompreneurs. How about making a loan to Kiva mompreneurs in your Mom's name? Let her know how much you respect her talents, and how you would love to see those talents reflected throughout the world.

Wow. That is something special.

No More Dwaddling! Minority Business Loans and the Stimulus Projects

Keywords: Minority Business Loans

I saw a post this morning on Bayview, a national Black newspaper site. It was a call to action to go after the Stimulus projects:

Want a job fixing up public housing - earning a big juicy piece of the stimulus pie? The San Francisco Housing Authority is inviting contractors to bid May 7 on almost $5 million in contracts to paint and repair the housing where many of us live. That will create hundreds of jobs - each one paying enough to support an extended family.

This is San Francisco’s first stimulus money, and I’m urging every one of you to stand with me and fight for our fair share of the work. The law is on our side - public housing residents must be hired for at least 25 percent of the work and minority and women business (MBE/WBE) participation must be at least 20 percent - but the law won’t be enforced unless we make our demands loud and clear.

Note that last phrase: ...but the law won't be enforced unless we make our demands loud and clear.

I absolutely could not have said it better. For ALL small businesses, minority and non-minority alike.

THIS is the time when your minority business plan will snap into action. Take out your business plan, pull pertinent sections, like the bios and your company's strengths, and attach that to your bid. Let them know you are a serious business with a serious bid for the job.

And, if you have done as we have suggested the past few weeks, you have your funding all lined up in anticipation of new projects. You have made your contacts. All you need is the signed contract. Minority business loans are there. Just go after them.

So go for it. NOW is the time. No more dwaddling!

Do You Qualify For A $35,000 Stimulus Package Loan?

Keyword: Small business plans

Only about 7,000 companies nationwide will qualify. Is your company one of them?

When the Small Business Administration pitches its $35,000 loan later this month to firms seeking “temporary financial relief to keep their doors open,” it may be the salvation of small companies seeking short-term survival cash.

But experts said $35,000 isn’t much money, especially in a high-cost place like New Jersey, New York and California, and these loans are likely to be limited to companies that might survive the recession.

For many regions, these small loans seem geared to the small mom-and-pop or professional-services businesses. It’s another brick in the wall to build back the economy, but it is not the answer for everyone.

The $255 million for this loan program is dubbed America’s Recovery Capital. While most SBA loans now carry a 90 percent federal repayment guarantee, ARC loans will be 100 percent guaranteed — and the borrower makes no payment for the first 12 months.

Small-business owners who think they might qualify for ARC should start talking with a lender now, as SBA will roll out the program this month.

ARC loans can be used to make the payments on an existing loan for up to six months, but the money can’t be used to make payments on another SBA loan taken out before Feb. 17, when President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

As with any loan request, go in prepared. One banker reported meeting with a company looking for $175,000. When they were turned down, they came back, asking for $35,000 in ARC loans. "Now, honestly," said the banker, "if they really need $175,000, what good will $35,000 do? It will only prolong their agony." They got turned down for the $35,000 ARC loan as well.

Define how you will use that $35,000 to GROW your company, not just sustain it. Bankers have built in radar for "growth" and "stability". That is what they want to hear about. Use some of the money for existing loans if you need to, but also use some of it to grow your business.

And don't try to just talk it through. Present a real business plan. This is real money that you are asking for. There is a lot of competition for it. If you want it, demonstrate your sincerity in a solid business plan.

Good luck.

The Dams Are Bursting For Small Business Loans

Keyword: Business plans

It hit the Orange County paper yesterday. And it is coming to yours soon. "It" is columns and columns of listings of Stimulus Projects. They are real. And they mean millions upon millions of dollars for your community.

Yes, most of them are construction related projects. But every construction project needs tremendous support networks. They need equipment, office supplies, transportation, food, temporary workers, recruiters, architects, painters, accounting, communication, website development, uniforms and clothing ... even massage therapists! I just cannot imagine a field that is not impacted by this massive influx of working capital.

Your business will be impacted too, if only by second hand uses of the money. It may not happen this week. But it IS coming. Be ready now. Put that business plan in order so your business will be ready to access a line of credit when it needs it. If capital investments are needed, look for it now, not six months from now. Get your contacts lined up, even if you can't get the financing just yet.

I know I sound like a broken record, but Get Your Business Plan Ready. Now. You will be glad you did.