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Government needs to extend a hand up for small business owners
From shutdowns to supply chain problems, the last two years have been a roller coaster for small businesses here in Maryland and across America. It’s always been hard work running a small business, but the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing challenges and created brand new ones that none of us had seen before. Now, as […]
SBA opens new PPP loan forgiveness portal Wednesday
A new portal designed to speed relief to small businesses with $150,000 or less in Paycheck Protection Program loans opens Wednesday. The streamlined application portal will allow those borrowers to apply for loan forgiveness directly through the U.S. Small Business Administration. The SBA said the portal will help accelerate relief to more than 6.5 million […]
With SBA program out of money, some Maryland restaurants out of luck
The Small Business Administration’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund received more than 278,000 eligible applications, but about 101,000 received grants.
Minority, woman-owned businesses allege federal loan bias
The federal government intentionally discriminated against minority- and woman-owned businesses in its recent distribution of nearly $350 billion in loans to save small companies desperate to survive amid the United States’ pandemic-induced economic freefall, struggling Maryland businesses allege in a lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. The Maryland businesses claim that th[...]
PNC to pay $9.5M to settle claims of improper SBA loans
PNC Bank is paying the U.S. government $9.5 million to settle a complaint related to loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Maryland announced this week. As a lender in the SBA’s Preferred Lenders Program, the Pittsburgh-based bank approved 74 SBA-guaranteed loans brokered by Jade Capital & Investments LLC through […]
Financial aid on the way for Ellicott City flood victims
With local organizations raising more than $500,000 for flood recovery efforts in Ellicott City, a newly formed Ellicott City Recovery Fund Committee is meeting on Monday for the first time to draft an application process to distribute those funds to residents and business owners. Howard County Councilman Jon Weinstein, who is leading the committee, hopes […]
SBA walk-in centers open for riot-affected businesses
Owners of businesses affected by the riots and unrest following the death of Freddie Gray last month may want to go to the library. The U.S Small Business Administration is offering low-interest disaster relief loans of up to $2 million for businesses that were damaged or otherwise lost revenue. The agency opened up a pair […]
Deadline nears for SBA disaster loan applications
The U.S. Small Business Administration has issued a reminder to homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofit organizations in Maryland that the deadline is Sept. 29 to submit disaster loan applications for damages caused by flooding on June 12. Low-interest disaster loans are available in Allegany, Frederick, Garrett and Washington counties. Homeowners may receive loans up to […]
Is your business in a HUBZone?
At a recent SBA Resource Conference conducted on the Catonsville Campus of the Community College of Baltimore County, attendees were informed about a program conducted by SBA known as the HUBZone. The HUBZone program helps small businesses located in distressed urban and rural communities known as Historically Underutilized Business Zones have opportunities to gain access […]
1,200 expected at Victory in Procurement event
There were 1,176 pre-registrations for today’s Victory in Procurement event, with organizers expecting walk-ins to push the number at attendees to well over 1,200. John Shoraka, acting associate director of government contracting for the Small Business Administration, gave the morning’s keynote address, discussing how businesses can better position themselves for government contracts. [...]
A good business plan goes a long way
When I joined the United States Small Business Administration a little over 40 years ago, there was no demand for business plans, no mission statements, no demand for goals and objectives. Few colleges or universities at that time were offering courses in small business management. The word entrepreneur seemed to be a secret term with […]
Maryland skunked in Region 3 SBA awards
It seems like the Old Line State could take a small business lesson from our neighbor to the north. Maryland did not receive any awards in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s regional awards for the Mid-Atlantic. Pennsylvania raked in five awards, Delaware took three and West Virginia had one, leaving the other members of Region […]
