The Small Business Administration supports the export activities of small businesses. Companies eligible for SBA programs include manufacturers with a maximum of 1,500 employees, wholesalers with maximum annual sales of $9.5 million, and service companies with maximum average annual sales for the past three years of $2 million.
Joint programs with the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Agriculture.
155 Federal St., Ninth Floor Boston, MA 02110 (617) 451-2023 26 Federal Plaza, Suite 31- 08 New York, NY 10007 (212) 264-1450 475 Allendale Road, Suite 201 King of Prussia, PA 19406 (215) 962-3700 1375 Peachtree St., NE, Fifth Floor Atlanta, GA 30367 (404) 347- 2797 300 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 1975S Chicago, IL 60606 (312) 353- 5000 8625 King George Drive, Building C Dallas, TX 75235 (214) 767- 7633 911 Walnut St., 13th Floor Kansas City, MO 64106 (816) 426-3608 999 18th St., Suite 701 Denver, CO 80202 (303) 294-7186 71 Stevenson St., 20th Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 (415) 744-6402 2615 4th Avenue, Suite 440 Seattle, WA 98121 (206) 553-5676
Funded jointly by the Small Business Administration and private agencies, SBDCs also provide assistance in the area of international trade, including:
Contact one of the following state SBDCs, or:
Association of Small Business Development Centers 1313 Farnam Street, Suite 132 Omaha, NE 68182 (402) 595-2387
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Although marketing information companies provide vital demographics for corporate marketing needs, a good deal of this information is made available from agencies of the federal government, which collects such data. By calling the appropriate department in several government agencies, a person can speak directly to an expert who knows and collects this information. Often these experts can direct the caller through the labyrinth of government offices to locate an appropriate source for the precise information being sought.
Mailing lists should be continually updated to ensure accuracy. Inaccurate address labels result in incomplete delivery, lost business, and increased mailing expenses. Companies are faced with the dual task of weeding out bad addresses and updating zip codes to include the additional four digits now used by the U.S. Postal Service. The USPS now offers a one-time Diskette Coding Service which corrects most faulty street and city names and adds the four-digit extension to the existing zip codes. By submitting a computer disk containing the mailing list, the interested user can obtain a one-time clean-up/update. Call the National Customer Support Center of the USPS at (800) 238-3150 for information and computer disk requirements for this service.
The following phone numbers are government hotlines that provide the latest economic statistics on topics ranging from selected interest rates to advance reports of retail trade.
Topic | Department | Phone |
News highlights | Federal Reserve Board | (202) 452-3206 |
News highlights | Department of Commerce | (202) 393-1847 |
Consumer Price Index | Bureau of Labor Statistics | (202) 606-7828 |
Employment Cost Index | Bureau of Labor Statistics | (202) 606-7828 |
Foreign trade | Bureau of the Census | (301) 457-3041 |
GNP | Bureau of Economic Analysis | (202) 606-5306 |
Inventories | Bureau of the Census | (900) 555-2329 |
Leading Economic Indicators | Bureau of Economic Analysis | (202) 606-5361 |
Mortgage rates | Federal National Mortgage Assn. | (800) 752-7020 |
Producer Price Index | Bureau of Labor Statistics | (202) 606-7828 |
Retail trade | Bureau of the Census | (900) 555-2329 |
Treasury Bills, Notes, bonds, and securities | Department of the Treasury | (202) 874-4000 |
For additional information, contact:
Economic and Demographic Statistics Bureau of the Census U.S. Department of Commerce Data User Service Division Customer Service Washington, DC 20233 (301) 763-4100
Food and Agriculture Statistics National Agriculture Statistics Service Estimates Division, U.S. Department of Agriculture Washington, DC 20250 (202) 720-3896
National, Regional, and International Economics Bureau of Economic Analysis U.S. Department of Commerce Washington, DC 20230 (202) 606-9900
Employment Prices, Living Conditions Productivity, and Occupational Health and Safety Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor Washington, DC 20212 (202) 606-7828
Import and Export Statistics World Trade Reference Room U.S. Department of Commerce Washington, DC 20230 (202) 482-2185
The SBA's Pollution Control Loan Program provides financial assistance to small businesses for the planning, design, or installation of a pollution control facility. Eligible businesses must be for-profit operations and must qualify as small according to the criteria set by the SBA's size standards; loans cannot be made to businesses involved in the creation or distribution of ideas or opinions, or those engaged in investment in rental real estate.
A pollution control loan can be used to finance the planning, design, or installation of a "pollution control facility." Such a facility is defined as:
For more information, contact the Small Business Answer Desk at (202) 205-7717, or (800) 827-5722, or (202) 205-7701 for recorded information.
The SBA provides a variety of business counseling and training services to current and prospective small business owners:
SCORE volunteers provide free management and technical expertise and are available at SBA district offices, business information centers, and some small business development centers.
SBDCs offer a wide choice of business information and guidance, as well as assistance in preparing loan applications. The program is a cooperative effort of the private sector; the educational community; and federal, state and local governments.
BICs provide the latest in high-tech hardware, software, and telecommunications to help small businesses get started and grow strong. Supported by local SBA offices, BICs also offer expert counseling by SCORE volunteers.
OSCs are the SBA's contribution to the Empowerment Zones/Enterprise Communities Program, an interagency initiative that provides resources to economically distressed communities. The shops provide a full range of SBA lending and technical assistance programs.
An electronic bulletin board, SBA OnLine offers current business information around the clock. Via the Internet, the SBA Home Page (http://www.sba.gov) offers a wealth of information on starting and building a small business. The U.S. Business Advisor (http://www.business.gov) is currently being developed with users to provide interactive access to all federal business information and services.
By law, prime contractors to the federal government must post surety bonds on federal construction projects valued at $100,000 or more. Many state, county, city and private-sector projects require bonding as well. The SBA can guarantee bid, performance and payment bonds for contracts up to $1.25 million for small businesses that cannot obtain bonds through regular commercial channels. Bonds may be obtained in two ways: