Costco Connection - June 2010

The SBA and you continued

in need of inventory, furniture or
equipment
More information is available at
www.sba.gov/financial assistance.

SBA administrator Karen Mills was the featured speaker during National Small Business Week 2009.

Counseling

The SBA offers help with every aspect of running a business—from writing a business plan to an exit strategy. The counseling programs include:

• SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives), an SBA partner dedicated to entrepreneur education and supporting small businesses. SCORE chapters across the country assist with small-business counseling and training.

• Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), which help women start and grow small businesses. These centers are located across the country.

The SBA also offers assistance to a variety of specialized entrepreneurs, including veterans, Native Americans, those over 50 and young entrepreneurs.

More information is available at www.sba.gov/services.

risdon photography

ness and failing for tens of thousands of businesses that couldn’t get credit.

So those stories from people who come up to you and say, “You saved my business. I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t come up with that loan 7(a) guarantee,” those make the difference.

Contracts

The federal government is the world’s largest purchaser of supplies and goods. The SBA supports and helps small businesses to bid on federal contracts through these programs:

• HUBZone, which is designed to promote economic development in distressed areas by providing access to contracting opportunities

• 8(a) Business Development
Program, which helps socially and eco-
nomically disadvantaged firms compete
for federal contracts
Visit www.sba.gov/contracting
opportunities for more information.—SEP

other tough economic times. I know when they need working capital. I know when they need a bank loan to grow. I know how important it is to have a business plan and advice. I can understand what is going on out there in that community. My great joy now, although I loved running all those businesses, is that I can really have a substantial impact with this agency and our fabulous resources on small businesses across the country. We have a bone structure of more than 5,000 affiliated lenders and 14,000 counselors that allows us to reach [not only] underserved communities, but small businesses all across the country. So, I have the best job.

CC | What is your forecast for economic recovery as far as small businesses are concerned? KM | We’ve made enormous progress from a year ago, when we were in a frozen situation. I won’t be happy until every person who wants one has a job. We are committed to supporting them and giving them the tools they need, because they really are the engines for the country’s economy.

CC | You’ve been with the SBA for about a year now. What’s your personal highlight? KM | In this past year I’ve been traveling the country and meeting with small businesses and banks. The exciting thing for me is that we are able to use our network, our bone structure on the ground, to really deliver a lot of value right into the hands of small businesses. And when we have a program that works, like we had in the Recovery Act, we’ve made the difference between being in busi-

CC | What do you still hope to accomplish? KM | In this next year, we have a different task than we had a year ago. A year ago businesses were coming to us and saying, “If I don’t get help, I can’t survive.” Now people are saying, “I need the tools to grow. You have to help me buy more inventories. You have to help me get the next contract. I want to hire some people, but I don’t have the working capital.” So now we are working on putting the tools in the hands of businesses that have the potential to create some jobs. That’s our job.

It’s something we say a lot: that our small businesses need tools, and our job is to give them the tools they need to grow and prosper. That would be access to capital, counseling, access to government contracts and, heaven forbid, in a natural disaster it would be help with that as well. C

24 The Costco Connection JUNE 2010 CC | You come from a family who owned and ran a business, and your background is steeped in small business. What is it about the small-business world that appeals to you? KM | I have spent my life growing small businesses. I understand what small businesses are going through in this recession. I’ve run a lot of small businesses through

At preSS tiMe, the connection

learned the winner of this year’s Small Business Person of the Year award is Waymon Armstrong, whose company, Engineering & Computer Simulations (ECS), is a Costco member in Florida.

The company makes simulation systems used for training by soldiers and medics.

The award was presented during the Small Business Administration’s National Small Business Week, held May 23 through 25 in Washington, D.C.

ECS, which was started in 1997, makes game-based simulation systems and performance-assessment tools for the military and emergency responders. One ECS program trains emergency crews to cooperate during a natural disaster. Another teaches military agencies how to launch and operate unmanned vehicles.