The City of Dayton let us know about an upcoming training session on winning federal government contracts, and I wanted to make sure you know about it as well.  The program will be presented by the Ohio Department of Development's Procurement Technical Assistance Center.

The City of Dayton let us know that several commercial lenders will be present at a special workshop for small business owners next Monday, December 5th at Sinclair Community College.  Representatives of financial institutions will provide answers to lending-related questions, as well as details of the numerous financing programs and options available. The program is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m., at the Frederick C. Smith Auditorium of Sinclair Community College, 301 W. Fourth St.  Organizations expected to attend include Huntington Bank, JPMorgan Chase, PNC Bank, US Bank, Key Bank, Fifth Third Bank, and Day Air Credit Union, as well as representatives of the Small Business Administration and the Ohio Department of Development. The free event is presented by Sinclair Community College and the office of State Senator Bill Beagle. The workshop is intended to be informational; attendees are not guaranteed financing. Advance registration is not required, but reservations are encouraged by contacting 614.466.6247 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Introduction to the study report (pdf)describes the situation:

Virtually ignored by the media,one of the most important
drivers of America’s economy flies largely under the radar.
It accounts for a third of private sector GDP and jobs, and
has been growing even over the past four difficult years, yet
it gets little attention from policy makers or the public. This
overlooked, perhaps surprising, force in U.S. business? The
Middle Market segment.

 More information is available on the summit's website, especially on the "Insights" page.

The question for many these days is 'how exactly does the U.S. Economy bounce back?'  One promising sign might be the return of light manufacturing from overseas because the economics make sense. After all, many companies took their manufacturing to China and elsewhere in the first place because it made business sense.  The New York Times recently interviewed a small business owner in Washington State who finds that the case for making things at home again is real.

Many out of work Americans have considered starting their own business.  Starting and keeping a small business going is not the easiest thing to do, so it is important to plan ahead and inform yourself fully.   This recent program from NPR's Talk of the Nation doesn't sugar coat the details.  It takes a little while to read because it is a transcript of a conversation between the NPR host, an expert in Small Business from the Wall Street Journal, and several entrepreneurs who call in--including one from the Dayton area. [You may also listen to the audio of the program.]  The conversation happened the same day as the recent earthquake so you'll read comments about that, but you'll also find some eye opening information from real entrepreneurs like the business owner who couldn't afford to pay himself for a year.   The more you know, the more ready you will be for the challenges and rewards of starting a business.  Plus, don't forget that the Dayton Metro Library has many books on small business, business plans, and more to help you make all the right moves from the start. 

The ReferenceUSA database will be unavailable from 8:00 p.m. this evening, August 23rd, until tomorrow morning, Wednesday the 24th at 8:00 a.m (EDT).  The company that provides ReferenceUSA to the Dayton Metro Library is doing system maintenance during this period.  All of our other Business Databases will remain available.