SBA Honors Nation’s Best Small Business Contractors

National Prime Contractor & Subcontractor of the Year to be Named During National Small Business Week


WASHINGTON – More than twenty small business contractors, federal acquisition executives and business and industry leaders from around the country will come to Washington, D.C., in mid May 2011 to accept awards for excellence in the federal contracting arena.

Two small businesses from among regional prime contractors and subcontractors of the year will receive the National Prime and Subcontractor of the Year awards honoring small businesses that have provided outstanding goods and services as contractors.

They are among the nation’s top entrepreneurs who will be honored at the U.S. Small Business Administration’s National Small Business Week events May 18-20 in Washington, D.C. Under the theme, “Empowering Entrepreneurs,” a series of events and educational forums will mark the 58th anniversary of the agency and the 48th annual National Small Business Week.

The procurement award small business winners provide a broad range of products and services to the federal government and private industry including environmental remediation services, the construction of transmission lines, aviation management and staffing services, and they hail from 18 states from Massachusetts to Alaska.

The three-day event in Washington, D.C., will take place at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Events can be viewed virtually through SBA’s free, live webcasting, which will be accessible at http://www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com/. Business owners, business organizations, other individuals and the news media can register online at www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com where additional information is available.

Other procurement awards that will be given out during the 2011 National Small Business Week award events include:
• The Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence, recognizing large prime contractors who have excelled in their utilization of small businesses as suppliers and subcontractors.
• The Gold Star Award, recognizing exemplary performance of federal staff who manage the aggressive goals and strategic initiatives that help ensure a role for small business in the federal marketplace.
• The Frances Perkins Vanguard Award, honoring government and industry for excellence in the use of women-owned small businesses as prime contractors and subcontractors.

A complete list of all award winners will be available on the National Small Business Week Web site at http://www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com

1st Annual East Coast Service Disabled Veteran Conference and Expo:

Coming! May 24, 2011 -- The Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business Council in cooperation with the City of Hampton and Old Dominion University Business Gateway is pleased to present the 1st Annual East Coast Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business Conference and Expo.

Held at the Hampton Roads Convention Center in Hampton, VA, the purpose of the Conference is to provide an opportunity for Service Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses (SDVOB'S) to come together with federal agencies and prime contractors to network and share information.

Attendees will have the opportunity to tour our Expo Hall and meet other contractors and representatives from prime contractors and government agencies as well as take advantage of our separate networking area for longer discussions.

Read more: http://www.eastcoastsdvobconference.com/index.html

Why Export?

This series of videos can help answer all your questions about exporting from the "why" to the "how" ..... check 'em out at Take Your Business Global!

Nation’s First Crowdfunding Business Grant Provides Innovative Solution For Mom Business Owners

Moms In Business Grant Helps Relieve #1 Pain Point for Women Entrepreneurs

Henderson, NV March 2, 2011 — The National Association For Moms In Business (NAFMIB), the leading association representing the fifteen million entrepreneur, executive and CEO moms in the United States is launching an innovative business grant using the internet phenomenon of “crowdfunding” to give mom business owners a better chance at launching a new business or current business project. It’s the first business grant competition to utilize crowdfunding.

"Crowdfunding" is a platform to raise money by attracting many small donations from a large group (friends, family, professional contacts) to meet a funding goal. "Backers" give contributions in exchange for rewards or perks offered by the grant applicant - rewards can be any product, service or experience to which the grant applicant has access.

The National Association For Moms In Business has partnered with peerbackers.com - a crowdfunding site dedicated to helping entrepreneurs fund their projects - to provide the grant’s crowdfunding technology platform. “We are tackling the # 1 pain point for millions of entrepreneurs – raising the capital they need to start or grow their business. Good business ideas don’t always attract the cash they need from traditional financing sources”, says Sally Outlaw, Co-Founder of peerbackers and mom of two. According to the SBA, Women own over 9 million businesses yet they receive the least amount of financing from traditional sources. Women traditionally own smaller types of businesses that don't meet financial assistance minimums of banks and venture capital firms.

“Moms In Business is giving a crowdfunding business grant rather than using the traditional grant-giving model for three reasons,” says founder and CEO of National Association For Moms In Business, Gina Robison-Billups, “We wanted to provide an innovative way to motivate moms to kick start or grow their businesses. In addition, it's an "everybody wins" scenario where all those that participate have the opportunity to raise money, create exposure and build a following for their business, and lastly, due to the promotional requirements to be successful via crowdfunding, it's a good way to identify those entrepreneurs who will go the extra mile to publicize and build their ventures therefore making them ideal candidates for our grand prize grant of $10,000 in business growth tools.”
The Moms In Business Grant is now accepting grant sign ups. Grant competitors must be a member of the National Association For Moms In Business.

Each grant competitor (whether they raise crowdfunding support or not) receives a hefty prize package just for participating.

Each grant competitor will receive:
• a half-page feature article about their business in Moms In Business Magazine,
• all the money they raise in the crowdfunding competition (less the processing fees),
• publicity on both peerbackers.com and momsinbusinessgrant.com
• and a publicity toolkit from PRNewswire valued at $2000

The grant’s crowdfunding competition runs from May 1st through June 15th. At that point, when the Crowdfunding competition portion ends, all grant applicants who raised 80% or more of their funding goal will move on to the semi-finalist round where a team of mom executives and entrepreneurs will judge each application on a point system to decide the $10,000 Grand Prize Grant Package winner.

More information about the grant can be found at momsinbusinessgrant.com or mibn.org.

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About National Association For Moms In Business

The National Association for Moms in Business (NAFMIB) is the leading national association representing and serving the needs of 15 million entrepreneur, executive and CEO moms. NAFMIB’s outreach exceeds 500,000 moms in business every year. Founded on the core values of Growth, Balance, Wisdom, and Enrichment, NAFMIB programs offer free education, networking, support and advocacy for moms in business. NAFMIB is viewed as the national expert and recognized voice of the 15 million moms in business in the United States. Go to www.MIBN.org

About peerbackers.com

peerbackers is a new way to fund entrepreneurs. It is an online funding platform that allows business owners to raise capital from their “peers” – in small increments – in exchange for tangible rewards to those who contribute. It was founded by Sally Miller Outlaw and Andrew Rachmell of Palm Beach County, Florida.

New Programs to Help Veterans & Families

Operation Endure and Grow -- A program specifically for National Guard and Reserve soldiers and their families. An 8-week intensive training program to offer cutting-edge, experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to National Guard and Reserve soldiers and their immediate family members. Funded in part by the SBA. $75 fee for this online course. Click on the link for more details.

V-Wise -- Program for Women Veterans -- 3-Phase program: 35-day online, self-study course focused on the basic skills of entrepreneurship and the language of business; a 3-day conference to expose participants to accomplished entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship educators from across the US; and ongoing support and mentorship online through a network of mentor partners. For more information, click on the V-Wise link.

Eligibility for Small Biz Health Care Tax Credits

News Release

To: U.S. Small Business Owners, Their Tax Advisers, Accountants, + Bookkeepers

From: Karen Mills, Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration

The Affordable Care Act, the health reform legislation passed into law a year ago, is giving small businesses important tools to help them compete, create jobs and drive economic growth. It’s critical that small businesses take full advantage of the new benefits and consumer protections of the law and understand the positive impact health reform will have on their operations. The SBA and the entire Administration is committed to working with the small business community to ensure that they know about tools in the Affordable Care Act that will help small businesses start-up, succeed, and grow. Already, the Affordable Care Act is providing tax credits of up to 35 percent of employee premium costs, helping small business owners reinvest thousands of dollars to grow their business and create jobs at tax time.

Eligibility for Tax Credits

Generally, tax credits are available for small business owners who: • Have started or continued health insurance coverage for employees in 2010 • Contribute at least 50 % of employee premiums at the single coverage rate • Have fewer than 25 full-time employee equivalents (part-time employees are counted proportionately) • Pay their employees an average of less than $50,000 The IRS has provided a simple three-step worksheet

Four million of the nation’s six million small businesses that employ workers could be eligible for these credits. For small businesses, the maximum tax credit is 35 percent of the business’ premium costs, and for small nonprofit organizations, the maximum credit is 25 percent. On Jan. 1, 2014, these rates will increase to 50 percent and 35 percent, respectively. These credits phase out for firms with average wages over $25,000 and for firms with the equivalent of more than 10 full-time employee equivalents.

Effectiveness of Tax Credits to Date

While nearly all firms with more than 200 employees offer health insurance benefits, smaller U.S. firms are much less likely to offer coverage because their premium costs are about 18 percent higher than the same coverage for larger employers. They also have less purchasing power in the health insurance marketplace. Early signs show that these tax credits are stimulating activity in the health insurance market. A Los Angeles Times report of increased market activity in the small group market at the end of 2010 included three examples of how these tax credits show initial signs of promise:

• United Health Group (Minnesota) added 75,000 new customers who work for businesses with less than 50 employees

• Coventry Health Care (Maryland), an insurer that focuses on small businesses, signed contracts to cover 115,000 new workers, an increase of 8 percent.

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas City reported an increase of 58 percent in the number of small businesses buying insurance. Also, a report from the Lincoln Journal Star in February noted:

• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska reported a 34 percent increase in health insurance sales to small businesses for 2011. In addition, other insurers such as CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maryland have announced that they are specifically marketing their products to small businesses due to this credit.

Small businesses themselves have also reported on how these tax credits are helping them provide coverage to employees. Just a few examples from around the country include:

• Mark Hodesh, owner of Downtown Home and Garden in Michigan, was able to claim $15,000 on his tax return this year and hire an additional employee.

• Kiersten Firquain of Bistro Kids in Kansas City was able to start providing coverage to her chefs last year for the first time.

• John and Angela Sweet of Niedlov’s Breadwords in Tennessee had been wanting to offer insurance for some time, and when these tax credits made it more affordable, they “jumped at the opportunity.”

If you are interested in learning more about various health insurance plans that are available in your area, I encourage you to visit http://finder.healthcare.gov/ where you can quickly compare them. 2014: Higher Credits and “Exchanges” In 2014, the tax credits for small employers who provide coverage will increase from 35 percent to 50 percent. At the same time, small business owners should be aware that states will simultaneously roll out small business “exchanges” that will allow employers with less than 50 employees to band together to leverage their collective buying power, reduce administrative costs, and negotiate fairer rates from insurance companies. These exchanges will be available online, and an independent study suggests that they will help reduce costs and increase competitive pressure on insurers, driving down premiums for small businesses by up to 4 percent.

Repeal Efforts

The President supports eliminating a bookkeeping provision that would unfairly burden small businesses. The Administration continues to work with Congress to repeal the expanded 1099 reporting requirement, which is too big of a paperwork burden on small business owners. Repealing the entire law or preventing key provisions from being implemented, however, would hurt small businesses by:

• Raising taxes on up to 4 million small business owners who provide employees with health insurance coverage

• Preventing the formation of a marketplace where insurance companies compete for your hard-earned dollars

• Stifling the ability of entrepreneurs to break out on their own to help America compete in the 21st century The Affordable Care Act uses market based incentives, such as tax cuts and cost savings, to make quality, affordable health insurance available to all Americans.

There is no requirement, mandate, responsibility, penalty or fee of any kind for small businesses with less than 50 workers who choose not to provide insurance, which represents 96 percent of all U.S. firms. The President has also backed a bipartisan proposal to allow states to implement alternatives to the law beginning in 2014 if those alternatives are able to meet the shared goals of making health insurance affordable and accessible to all Americans, including those with pre-existing conditions. Instead of re-fighting the battles of the last two years, let’s fix what needs fixing and move forward.

Access to affordable health care is the number-one concern for small businesses across the country. I have worked with many small businesses over the years that are looking at every possible option to offer coverage for their employees, who they often consider to be members of their own family. In 2009, I met a small business owner in New Jersey who said that the day she was able to provide health insurance coverage was the day she knew that her business was a success.

I encourage you to work with your tax adviser, accountant and/or bookkeeper to actively explore the tax credits, exchanges, and other provisions in the Affordable Care Act to help you grow your business and create jobs.

Kauffman Teams w/StartUp Digest -- Focus on Tech StartUps

The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation today announced its support of StartupDigest, a members-only online community connecting the worldwide startup and tech ecosystem by informing individuals of startup events, job opportunities, and educational content in their areas.

Since its inception in November 2009, StartupDigest has grown from 22 subscribers in one city to more than 120,000 subscribers in more than 50 cities.

Kauffman's commitment will assist in furthering StartupDigest's reach and builds on the Foundation's recent work to support the startup ecosystem through organizations such as Startup Weekend and Venture Hacks.