...but perhaps only for a little while.   President Obama recently announced that he has elevated SBA administrator Karen Mills to the level of cabinet secretary.  This move, which gives the Small Business Administration and thus the small businesses of the United States a stronger voice at the policy table in Washington has been well received although there are always skeptics.  This move is part of a broader proposal from the president to streamline the U.S. Government's business functions into one cabinet agency, and that proposal is getting mixed reactions from many quarters.  Only time, and probably the election will ultimately determine how this will all play out.

In the meantime you may be asking "what does this mean for me, the person who wants to start or expand their own small business this year?"  Probably not a whole lot. In the Dayton Area the SBA works through the Dayton chapter of SCORE to mentor small business owners and future entrepreneurs and SCORE partners with the Dayton Metro Library to offer an extensive range of business workshops for entrepreneurs. 

The other pertinent function of the SBA is operating several loan programs in cooperation with local lenders.  The third edition of Charles H. Green's SBA Loan Book (2011) is a fully updated and comprehensive guide to understanding how the SBA loan process works and how to prepare a successful loan application.  I highly recommend it. 

Of course, an SBA Loan is only one part of a complex equation, and Mr. Green paints the bigger picture with his newest book Get Financing Now.  Don't get the wrong idea from the title, no book can tell you where to find money today to start or  expand your business immediately, but Get Financing Now is one of the most informative and realistic books on financing a business I've seen in a long time.  In the introduction Green points out that some entrepreneurs will agree to any terms offered in order to get the money they need to get a business started:

"Sometimes such a leap works out well, even if it's unnecessarily expensive or restrictive. Sometimes things don't go so well.  This book encourages and helps small business owners to first look inward to better define their financial needs and clarify their business goals.  It will suggest how to utilize other viable strategies or avoid costs to finance their operation without external funding."

After a complete discussion of how to "define your financial needs" in the first chapters of the book, Green outlines both main sources of business capital. First there is equity capital (which truthfully most people will not be able to obtain) such as angel investors, venture capital, private placements, even stock offerings.  The other type is debt equity otherwise known as borrowing money.  They are many different ways to approach debt equity and Green discusses all of them including the newer trend of microlending.   The final chapter in the book "Getting to the Bottom of No" addresses what to do when your request for funding is declined.