SBA offers several tools to help small business owners succeed
When small business owners follow their dreams, everyone benefits. They create jobs and drive our economy, and as the world transforms, small business owners are our problem solvers. Faced with social, technological, and economic changes, they see opportunities to build. At the U.S. Small Business Administration, we have the unique privilege of providing some of the tools. Since 1953, our mission has remained the same - to help small businesses start, grow, and succeed. And in 2016, some of our strategies have evolved.
You may be familiar with the programs and services that the SBA is traditionally known for. SBA Illinois District Office staff members based in Chicago and Springfield and technical assistance partners throughout the state, including Small Business Development Centers coordinated through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, SCORE volunteers, Women's Business Centers, and the Veterans Business Outreach Center, provide low- and no-cost services to assist entrepreneurs, training in essential management skills, and one-on-one counseling to review business plans and answer your questions.
The SBA can also help you sell to the world's largest customer, the U.S. government, and the HUBZone and 8(a) Business Development programs ensure small businesses compete on a level playing field for billions of dollars in federal contracts awarded every year. If you need additional financial capital, SBA's loan guarantee programs help lenders extend credit on favorable terms. In FY2016, the SBA approved more than 2,200 loans in the 7(a) and 504 programs in Illinois, providing more than $970 million to small businesses throughout the state.
Meanwhile, entrepreneurs on the cutting edge can feel confident that SBA is working to harness the power of technology for small business owners in every corner of the nation. SBA launched LINC and SBA One, two online tools to simplify the lending space and make it easier for lenders and prospective borrowers to make connections and do business together. The Small Business Technology Coalition, the SBA's partnership with 19 of the world's most iconic technology companies, is another new project with big potential. This coalition is providing an unprecedented collection of educational and training resources to help entrepreneurs connect to customers, scale, and conduct business safely anywhere in the world.
Other initiatives the agency embraced in 2016 promise to make a difference in years to come. In August, the SBA, W.K. Kellogg Foundation and microlender Justine Petersen formed the Aspire Entrepreneurship Initiative, a groundbreaking $2.1 million partnership to expand access to entrepreneurial education and microloans for formerly incarcerated individuals, with a specific focus on parents. Chicago is one of four pilot cities for the program.
In September, Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives Micro Finance Group received a $100,000 grant from the SBA's Program for Investment in Micro-Entrepreneurs (PRIME). CNI Micro Finance Group, the only award recipient from Illinois, will use the award to fund a technical assistance program to assist ex-offenders within their target market.
Also this fall, five Chicago-area accelerators - Bunker Labs, Good Food Business Accelerator Incubator Without Walls, PROPEL at the iBIO Institute, WiSTEM, and Windy City Harvest - each won $50,000 awards from the SBA's 2016 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. Accelerators serve entrepreneurs in a broad set of industries and sectors - from manufacturing and tech startups, to farming and biotech - with many focused on creating a diverse and inclusive small business community.
The SBA is proud to stand up for entrepreneurs and be part of a community that champions small businesses. If you'd like to hear more about the work we're doing, visit our website at www.sba.gov/il, text SBA to GOV311 (468311) to receive a link to subscribe for email updates, or attend an in-person or online event. If you - or someone you know - has an amazing business success story, submit a nomination for our National Small Business Week Awards. (Details are available at www.sba.gov/nsbw/awards, and nominations are due by Jan. 10.)
Small business ownership is a long, exciting journey, and the SBA looks forward to being your partner along the way.
• Robert "Bo" Steiner is Illinois District Director for the Small Business Association.