Your Stimulus Questions Answered

An Entrepreneur Connect member recently wrote in with two important questions:

• Will the average small business owner benefit from the stimulus?

• What's it really going to cost?

After several weeks of speaking to advocates and opponents of the bill, here are the answers that have emerged.

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American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

It's been a bit of time since we first heard this Act title mentioned. I thought I'd surf the web and see what's being said about the Act. Senator Harry Reid, from Nevada, has the best explanation of the monies funneled to different areas and how that specifically affects the State of Nevada. My hat is off to him and his staff for being proactive, and getting this out in an understandable way for all concerned.

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Stimulus, Schtimulus--Businesses Have Better Things to Worry About

Over the years, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has gained a reputation for being inadequate to its purported task of small business advocacy. But change, perhaps, is in the air.

Yesterday, the Senate committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship unanimously confirmed the nomination of Karen Mills--entrepreneur, venture capitalist, heiress to the Tootsie Roll fortune--to head the ailing agency, which (if the recent funding thrown at it is any indication) the Obama administration expects will play a key role in helping Main Street ride out the recession.

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My Network Stimulus Package

By David Strom

With all the talk of billions for this program or that in Washington, I thought I would put together my own stimulus package that can help your network run smoother. I don't know whether $10 billion to buy steel (domestic preferred) for new bridges or $9 billion to put up new rural DSL lines will really be effective (my initial reaction is dubious), but the idea of spending lots of money quickly by our Congress is a scary one.

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Sign of economic change? Try this: Full-page newspaper ads on foreclosure sales are being replaced with full-page ads for seminars on how small business owners can get rich selling to the government. I spell out exactly how to get started below.

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More Stimulating Stuff about the Stimulus

On Wednesday, March 18, I attended a Federal Stimlus Package Town Hall Forum at the Lally building of the College of St. Rose in Albany, NY, one of a series of events put together by Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith and the New York State Senate; the local state senator, Neil Breslin, was the masters of ceremonies.

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Opportunity Knocks in Stimulus Plan

Many small businesses, buffeted by declining revenue and tight credit, have set their sights on a possible new customer: the government.

The $787 billion government stimulus promises to create a bevy of federal, state and local government projects that would give small businesses an opportunity to win contracts and cash in on a slice of the stimulus dollars.

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Stimulus won’t affect small businesses much

NEW YORK - The government's economic stimulus plan doesn't include many provisions that directly benefit small businesses, but economists say those companies are more likely to find a cure for their financial ills closer to home — with their own customers.

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Not Enough Carrots or Sticks to Stimulate Small Business?

In the coming weeks, Entrepreneur.com will be rolling out a special "Stimulus Watch" report, focusing on how the Obama administration's efforts to ease the United States economy from the grip of recession will impact small businesses and entrepreneurs. In preparation, I've been combing the internet and speaking to economists, government officials and business owners about the stimulus bill, a wearisome, 407-page piece of legislation entitled the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

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Stimulus Grant Scams

Tough economic times make fertile breeding ground for scammers and this recession is no different.

Since the $787 billion stimulus bill became law in February, dozens of websites have popped up offering advice for a fee on how to get government grants on everything from small business initiatives to paying off student loan debt.

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Information you need…The Stimulus Package and Small Business

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is a 400+ page document that in my opinion would require multiple PhD’s and numerous years to fully understand as an individual. Over the next few months, we at the Research Network will be working on providing our staff and clients, as well as other readers of this blog, with information pertaining to the Stimulus Package (as it is more commonly referred to). While at times this will include government released documents that are difficult to read and extremely long, more often we will try to provide pared down information, especially relating to New York State. Below are a few links to get started.

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Green for Green

by Amelia Birdsall

We’re all gearing up to help small businesses in New York understand and gain most advantage from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. We’ll try to keep up-to-date with the details both here in the blog and on the NYS SBDC home page.

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Real Small-Business Stimulus Starts With SBDC

By Tim Berry

Quietly, outside the headlines about bonuses and bailouts, the smarter entrepreneurs among us head to their local SBDC. There, they find classes on starting a business, classes on running a business, classes on business planning, tips, introductions…and sometimes just a touch of real-world experience, when it’s badly needed.

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How to Use the New Small Business Operating Loss Deductions

As you may know, the economic stimulus law passed in February includes key provisions that allow struggling small businesses to re-file their taxes to carry back net operating losses (NOLs) up to five years. Result: Qualifying small tax-refund businesses with losses can get immediate refunds of income taxes paid in prior years.

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Score Free Stuff and Win $25,000 - Intuit's Small Business Stimulus Package

You've got until next Monday March 23rd to enter Intuit's latest contest - and all you need to do to enter is share your experiences and survival tips with other small business owners... which you probably do already. Details from the press release below, plus offers for some free Intuit software and services.

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Small Business is the Heart of the American Economy

by Michael Bowers

"Small Business is the Heart of the American Economy" is how President Obama referred to small business in his speech on March 16. The President outlined a plan to increase liquidity in the secondary market for Small Business Administration (SBA) loans by using a portion of the TARP funds to purchase SBA loans from banks. This would allow banks to make loans, sell the loan on the secondary market and use the funds they received from the sale to make more loans.

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Follow Up on the Stimulus and SBA

I wanted to follow up with our friends at SBA on which items, specifically, we should be aware of that are relevant to small business owners in terms of translating the stimulus package to action.

John Banks, Lead Business Development Specialist in the Philadelphia District Office, was kind enough to spend some time creating an informative email to me, outlining exactly what the American Recovery Reinvestment Act has in store to stimulate lending. John has given me permission to copy his email thoughts to this Blog. You will find them below.

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ECONOMIC SURVIVOR SERIES FOR BUSINESS BEGINS IN MARCH

Modesto - After three very successful business Town Hall meetings in Riverbank, Turlock and Modesto, the Alliance Small Business Development Center is answering the praise of attendees and the request to do more. Beginning March 4th, the first in a series of "Economic Survivor" Business Seminars will take place from 7:30 am - 9:30 am in the Alliance Free Enterprise Center, Modesto.

"How to Squeeze Out More Profits from Declining Revenues" is the topic of the March 4th event. This seminar is designed to give attendees information on how to improve various areas of financial management within their business. Topic areas include: increasing inventory turns, improving A/R collections, reducing operating costs, improving cash-flow, and increasing net profits. Marty Fox, Grimbleby-Coleman CPAs will lead the presentation and discussions.

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SBA’s March Web Chat Will Highlight the Recovery Act

WASHINGTON – The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be the focus of discussion for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s March Web chat. SBA Associate Administrator for Capital Access Eric Zarnikow will help small business owners get answers to their questions about what the Recovery Act means for the nation’s small businesses.

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America's Small Businesses Get the Shaft AGAIN

How the Stimulus Bill Won't Stimulate Job Growth, But What Can Boldly Be Done Next

As important as the new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 is to helping us get back to some sense of "normalcy" as a country, the sector that regularly produces between 60% and 80% of all new jobs in America will only marginally benefit. I'm talking about America's small business owners and entrepreneurs. They're the real losers from the recently passed stimulus bill, and it's unfortunate for our economy. Sure, there were some tweaks to the existing SBA loan programs (which I've been advocating for nearly 7 years), but these changes will only produce slight improvements to the small business lending arena to get valuable capital flowing again. I view the ARRA as Phase I – essentially a finger in the dyke of economic decline and stagnation – but much more is needed.

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