Want to Get Noticed in the Federal Government Contracting Maze? Learn how at the National HUBZone Conference.

The National Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Conference, being held in Washington, D.C. on September 5-7 by the HUBZone Council, will feature a presentation by TargetGov President Gloria Larkin titled, “Getting Noticed in the Government Contracting Maze.” Her presentation is on the second day of the conference (September 6th), and will start at 2:10.

Her talk will focus on the maze that is federal government contracting and how to navigate it successfully and effectively.

A sample of the topics included in the presentation:

•    Good general practices for getting noticed
•    Locations that will help visibility
•    How to focus on a specific target and opportunity
•    Information about Capability Statements
•    Key elements to getting noticed
•    Common mistakes to avoid

With this presentation attendees become better informed on how to get noticed in the crowd that forms around federal government contracting. Gloria Larkin helps businesses discover ways that make them stand out among the numerous lists of potential government contractors.

The HUBZone Conference is held annually and features many helpful features that inform attendees like in person private-match making sessions with federal agencies and prime contractors as well as talks from expert speakers. This year’s event is being held at the Liaison Capitol Hill Hotel.

Click here to learn more about HUBZone and the HUBZone Conference.

Gloria Larkin Moderating a Seminar at the 2012 Hispanic Business Conference

On Tuesday September 4, 2012 the Hispanic Business Conference will commence. TargetGov’s President, Gloria Larkin, is moderating a seminar titled, “Reducing Marketing Costs Utilizing Social Media and Using Social Media as a B2B & B2G Networking Tool.” The seminar will last an hour and start at 10:05 AM.

The panelists chosen for the event are:

•    Kristina Bouweiri, Reston Limousine President & CEO
•    Jessica Primanzon, Deltek Senior Manager
•    Dawn Arteaga, Novelli Digital Strategist
•    Alex Ytuarte, American Express Senior Manager

Everyone participating in the seminar has been chosen based on referrals that indicate they are experts in their arenas. The seminar’s purpose is to instruct business people in best practices for using Social Media to stimulate sales and revenue while reducing marketing costs.

Topics covered in the seminar include:

•    Public relations successes and failures
•    Product and service research and development
•    Business match making
•    Web site analytics
•    Online ad/produce placement
•    Effective salesmanship
•    Online target market segmentation

The Maryland Hispanic Business Conference is the foremost Hispanic Business event in the Washington, D.C. area. It services more than 20,000 Hispanic Businesses in Maryland, and has been growing since its inception in 1997. The event is a join collaboration of the Hispanic Chambers of Commerce and government agencies that support business and economic development.

There will be a variety of workshops, training and business sessions that will assist participants from all industries create opportunities and promote businesses relationship building. Attendees will have the chance to meet with top Hispanic entrepreneurs and increase visibility in the Hispanic Business Community.

Click here to learn more about the 2012 Hispanic Business Conference!

Gloria Larkin Speaking at CyberMaryland 2012

CyberMaryland 2012 is a two-day conference that features national thought leaders, showcase business opportunities and provide outstanding networking. Companies, businesses, leaders, students, professionals, policy makers, elected officials and entrepreneurs that deal with technology are encouraged to attend. The conference is scheduled for October 16 and 17, 2012 at the Baltimore Convention Center and Four Seasons Hotel.

Concerning the conference, Governor O’Malley said, “The eyes of the intelligence and information security community will be focused on Maryland during Natural Cybersecurity Awareness Month as we showcase industry innovations, recognize cyber pioneers and groom the next generation of cyber warriors.”

Gloria Larkin, President of TargetGov, is giving a presentation titled “Accelerating Entry into the Federal Cyber Market” which will focus on the cyber-related spending done by the federal government. It will help attendees gain new insights on the government marketplace and how they can enter it successfully.

Topics covered include:

•    Funding trends
•    Contract vehicles
•    Positioning to win market share
•    Federal cyber decision makers
•    Fast-track tools for success
•    Guaranteeing decision-maker meetings

As a nationally recognized federal contracting business development expert, Gloria is specially qualified to talk specifically about the government’s cyber needs. According to a recent Bloomberg Government Report, in the past five years defense spend $8.8 billion, or 58 percent of total federal cyber security spending and nondefense agencies accounted for 42 percent, or $6.3 billion.

Cybersecurity is a growth market amid federal budget reduction, but there is a significant time investment for trying to work with the government and reach a point where you’re seeing revenues for your efforts.

Early bird registration rates are still available, but prices go up after September 5th.
Click here to register or get more information about the CyberMaryland 2012 Conference.

Gloria Larkin’s Second of Two Presentations for the Military Women Exchange: Operation Next Step at The American Legion Convention, “How to Guarantee Decision Maker Meetings”

The American Legion’s annual national annual convention is the largest meeting for the organization. This year’s convention is taking place in Indianapolis, Indiana and will be held August 24-30. The convention will be joined by American Legion members from across the world. The Military Women Exchange: Operation Next Step is a series of events at the convention that will focus on women involved with the military.

Gloria Larkin, President of TargetGov will give two presentations for the Military Women Exchange: Operation Next Step at this year’s convection. The second of which is titled, “How to Guarantee Decision Maker Meetings.”

This presentation will provide attendees with the tools they need to get those all-important decision maker meetings with the federal government. It will teach you how to schedule a capability briefing with the right kinds of people, the people involved directly with the decision making process and are actually authorized to make purchases for products and/or services.

The topics for the presentation include:

•    Identifying the Three Layers of Federal Decision Makers
•    How to Find Specific Decision Makers
•    Types of Capability Briefings
•    Purposes of a Capability Briefing
•    How to Request (and get) a Capability Briefing
•    5 Common Mistakes to Avoid
•    Preparations for a Capability Briefing
•    Who Should Attend a Capability Briefing

Without knowing how to arrange a capability briefing you are stifling your chances to enter into the federal marketplace. The right capability briefing with the right person can lead you on a path to success. Even if you’re confident in your abilities to market to the federal government, this presentation can help you discover ways to market more effectively and gain new insights into that can really help you verses those who cannot help you at all.

As a companion to this year’s Annual American Legion Convention, the Military Women Exchange: Operation Next Step is offering two days of workshops, books signings, mentoring and speed coaching for women in and involved with the military.

The Military Women Exchange: Operation Next Step was founded when Sue Malone and Andrea March recognized the need for a special program for women in the military that would show them how to transfer their military training to the job market or in launching their own business.

To learn more about the convention: click here.

Gloria Larkin’s First of Two Presentations for the Military Women Exchange: Operation Next Step at The American Legion Convention, “Exploring the $500 Billion Hidden Market: Selling to the Federal Government and Military”

The largest meeting for the American Legion is the annual national convention. The convention is held in a different city every year. This year’s convention is taking place in Indianapolis, Indiana and will be held August 24-30. The Military Women Exchange: Operation Next Step is a series of events at the convention that will focus on women involved with the military.

Gloria Larkin, President of TargetGov will give two presentations together at this year’s convection for the Military Women Exchange: Operation Next Step. The first of which is titled, “Exploring the $500 Billion Hidden Market: Selling to the Federal Government and Military.”

This presentation will help demystify the complicated and unique U.S. Federal Government marketplace system. It has its own process, procedures, language and acronyms. Not having a complete understanding of this process can hamper any attempts to break into the $500 billion contracted out every year.

Topics covered in the presentation include:

•    Does the government buy your services or products
•    Understanding government procurement jargon
•    Registration – what’s needed as a government contractor
•    Certifications – an effective business development tool
•    Purchase process
•    Purchase vehicles
•    Finding your exact target market: who buys what you sell
•    Finding contracting opportunities

This is an important presentation for anyone who is interested in entering the federal marketplace as many of the topics covered are essential to getting into government contracting. Even if you’ve successfully done business with the government before, this can help increase your overall effectiveness. Anyone who wants to improve their chances for success should attend this presentation if they have the chance. You don’t want to pass up an opportunity to hear from an expert speaker.

In addition to Gloria Larkin’s presentations, there will be two days of workshops, book signings, mentoring and speed coaching from the New Jersey and California based Military Women Exchange: Operation Next Step. The exchange was founded by Andrea March and Sue Malone when they recognized the need for women veterans to have special programs designed and executed by women to transfer their military training to the job market. To this end, the American Legion has recognized a similar need for women in the military and launched this event to coincide with its 94th annual convention.

For more information about the convention, click here.

"Cybersecurity and FedRAMP: A mandatory Combination." an Article by Gloria Larkin

The fact that cybersecurity is mandatory in the federal marketplace has, until now, been a widely held belief, but without a specific process or policy to guide the federal agencies who are moving to cloud-computing services. This deficit has been corrected with the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP).

According to the General Services Administration (GSA), FedRAMP is the result of close collaboration with cybersecurity and cloud experts from GSA, NIST, DHS, DoD, NSA, OMB, the Federal CIO Council and its working groups, as well as private industry.

These federal agencies collaborated to develop FedRAMP as a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization and continuous monitoring for cloud-based products and services. In the past, each agency incurred the costs to independently manage its own security risks, assess Information Technology (IT) systems and deploy improvements. This process proved to be inconsistent, duplicative, expensive and inefficient, and often failed to incorporate a focus on real-time threats and identify mitigation processes quickly.

The anticipated agency benefits include reduced costs, standardized security assessments and continuous monitoring, as well as quicker adoption of cloud-based services and products and bottom-line agency confidence in the security of cloud-based systems.

GSA further stated that “FedRAMP is mandatory for federal agency cloud deployments and service models at the low and moderate risk impact levels. Private cloud deployments intended for single organizations and implemented fully within federal facilities are the only exception.”

This is great news if a company is one of the “approved cloud service providers” that can prove that their products and service implement the required security controls needed to meet the security requirements outlined in FedRAMP. The bad news is that if a company is not on the “approved” list, there is little to no chance of seeing business in the federal cybersecurity market.

More information can be found at www.gsa.gov/portal/category/102371.

A Message from TargetGov President Gloria Larkin

Greetings!

We have some good news and we have some bad news. Which do you want first?

OK, the bad news: SAM is a bust, at least, so far. While the initial roll out of the new System For Award Management (SAM) incorporates only the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) data, the new web site has suffered constant crashes, failed searches and exports, and various other problems.

As of the timing of this newsletter, there is even a disclaimer on the SAM web site that states "SAM is still experiencing some performance issues, which may result in a slowness of page loading or maybe even a web page error." While this may seem to be a small detail in our busy lives, it is a critical issue for the end of the fiscal year business market. This failure is negatively impacting large and small businesses alike who want to connect with other businesses to bid on federal work. At the busiest time of the year.

I hope that IBM and GSA are working overtime to rectify the situation-this will hurt all businesses until performance issues are totally corrected.

OK, now for the good news: Sources Sought Notices are turning into gold for companies large and small who know how to use these ubiquitous announcements and turn them into contracts. One year ago, the monthly average postings were about 60; as of today, over 1,100 new opportunities are posted every month. It is a bona fide flood of doors opening to millions in contracts. Check out our upcoming webinar for practical steps to taking advantage of these new and useful notices.

Here's to your success.

-Gloria Larkin, TargetGov President

Gloria Larkin Speaking in GovWin’s Webinar, “Differentiate Your Business: 5 Strategies You Need for Success

On August 21, 2012 GovWin from Deltek and TargetGov will be teaming up for a complimentary webinar, “Differentiate Your Business: 5 Strategies You Need for Success.” The webinar will take place Tuesday, August 21, 2012 starting at 11:00 am PT, 12:00 pm MT, 1:00 CT, and 2:00 pm ET. It will last for about 45 information-packed minutes. You will learn the five strategies you need to successfully differentiate your business.

Highlights of the webinar include:

•    The most effective differentiators
•    How to determine your company-specific differentiators
•    Two key differentiators important to prime contractors
•    Resources used by primes when looking for small business
•    Best practices when completing your profile
•    How to connect with primes and gain access to their private, unpublished opportunities

Gloria Larkin’s role in the webinar will be to help define differentiators, identify what is important about them, and how you can view differentiators through the eyes of the federal government. Differentiators are a key component of the Capability Statement and often the most difficult section to fill out.

Join TargetGov and GovWin while they present this webinar so you can improve your business and help you differentiate effectively for the federal marketplace.

Click here for more information and to sign up for the webinar!

Gloria Larkin Speaking at the APTAC Fall 2012 Training Conference

TargetGov President Gloria Larkin will be speaking at the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC) Fall 2012 Training Conference. The conference will take place November 5th through November 8th in Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill Hotel, Washington, DC.

The theme of this year’s conference is “The Responsiveness Requirement: Advising Clients How to Be Responsive.” All discussions and presentations will be tailored to this specific theme. It is essentially a training conference for everyone who trains government contractors.

The topic that Gloria will be discussing is concerned with marketing effectively with the media, in particular internet and new media. She will help attendees identify appropriate social media and networking sites, how to reach targets through these same sites, and managing business time spent on each site. She will also identify best practices for media marketing and practices to avoid.

The workshop is designed to clarify the murky and confusing world of social media as well as help plan effective practices that will help in public relations activities.

“Very few business people understand the new world of social media or how press releases have evolved in the internet age. We will cover new trends and the tactics that mean success through electronic marketing,” said presenter Gloria Larkin.

APTAC is the professional organization of and for the 93 Procurement Technical Assistance Programs (PTAP). This program was authorized by Congress in 1985 to try and expand the number of businesses able to enter the Government Marketplace and is administered by the Department of Defense, Defense Logistics Agency (DLA).

TargetGov’s August Webinar, “Responding to Sources Sought and RFIs”

On August 23rd, TargetGov’s President Gloria Larkin will host a webinar titled, “Responding to Sources Sought and RFIs.” This webinar will focus on identification of Sources Sought Notices who fit your company and responding effectively to notices and Requests for Information (RFIs).

Preview of the topics covered in the webinar:
•    Sample listings
•    25 point Implementation Plan
•    Importance of Market Research
•    How to do Market Research
•    Sample Verbiage
•    Far References

Responding to Sources Sought Notices and Requests for Information is important for any company with a desire to market effectively to the Federal Government. Many Sources Sought Notices go unnoticed by the same small businesses the Federal Government would like to award contracts. The information covered in this webinar will improve your responses and help you see results.

“The dramatic flood of Sources Sought Notices has opened the door to new contracting opportunities but most companies do not realize just how important it is to respond to them and how to be effective when responding,” said Gloria Larkin, “savvy business people use this tool to create real contracting opportunities tailored to their specific abilities.”

Who should attend this webinar? This webinar is valuable for contractors just entering the Federal Marketplace and those who are already seeing some success but want to see more. Executives, contract administrators, business managers, business developers and just about anyone who wants to understand more about Sources Sought Notices and Requests for Information.

Included with every TargetGov webinar is an exclusive TargetGov Toolkit© to help attendees follow along with the presentation and keep as a complete guide for future reference. This toolkit will contain the specific information that is included in the full presentation and is available for unlimited use by registrants.

Every attendee will be able to download the audio for the webinar and have access to the video.

Date: August 23, 2012
Time: 3:30 Eastern (2:30 Central, 1:30 Mountain, 12:30 Pacific)
Where: Your desk – the webinar is broadcast live
Cost: $105 per individual

Click here to register!

Gloria Larkin Speaking in MDOT’s First Friday Classroom Series

TargetGov President Gloria Larkin will be presenting a class titled, “Designing a Capability Statement that will Open Doors” as part of the Maryland Department of Transportation’s First Friday 2012 Summer Classroom Series. The presentation will be given Friday, August 3rd at 1:00 and last for two hours.

Capability Statements are a must-have for government contracting; this class will help attendees learn the absolute requirements for writing powerful capability statements. She will provide the tools for making a statement that reflects your core competencies, past performance, and differentiators in a concise, easy to read, manner.

The First Friday 2012 Summer Classroom Series is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Office of Minority Business Enterprise. It is a collection of four classes to help any businesses who are interested in working on a government contract, held on the first Friday of every month this summer.

Unfortunately, the class has been fully booked. You can still receive help from TargetGov with Capability Statements on this page, as well as a free grading of your own personal statement by a TargetGov professional.

A Message from TargetGov President Gloria Larkin

Greetings!
 
Many of us have been compelled to watch Team USA in the 2012 Olympics-are you as amazed as I am with the caliber of athletes? Over 10,000 athletes are expected to participate in the games and we have already seen the unexpected: "sure things" that were not, upsets, new world records and unbounded joy. Watching the athletes perform is tense enough, watching their parents roller coaster through their own emotions is even tougher!

When we inspect our lives we see the same rollercoaster-just thankfully, not as fast nor as public.

One of the roller coaster rides we are seeing in the federal marketplace is the issues of sequestration-will it or won't it happen? And in either case, how does it affect our business?

If you are a large, small or mid-sized business, a non-profit or in academia, we will all be affected and not in a positive way.

Sequestration will reduce our options dramatically and not just because of reduced budgets. The psychology of loss, of confusion and the lack of dependability will affect every person in the US. Our elected leaders are responsible for this debacle, please tell your congress members what you think of their inability to work together to keep our country moving.

In the meantime, you know that I will make every effort to keep you and your business moving forward. That is one thing you can count on!

Here's to your success.

-Gloria Larkin, TargetGov President

Janet Amirault Named WIPP AT&T Innovator of the Year!

Janet Amirault, CEO of Software Consortium, has been named the Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) AT&T Innovator of the Year. The award recognizes the WIPP member who utilized technology for innovation and success within the realm of business. It was presented to Amirault at the organizations’ annual congressional luncheon, held in Washington D.C. on July 19th.

WIPP is a national nonpartisan organization which educates and advocates on behalf of women-owned businesses. It attempts to create economic opportunities and network with other small business organizations.

“I am honored to receive this prestigious award from WIPP, which is in the forefront of advocating economic opportunities for women.” Amirault said. “This award is a tribute to the outstanding Software Consortium team that includes our numerous partners. Together, we seek to deliver innovative technology solutions to our clients.

Amirault became the leader of Software Consortium in 1996, and has seen tremendous growth since that time. Software Consortium is an award winning provider of software technology solutions for private and public-sector clients.

TargetGov President Gloria Larkin Speaking at the Annual Power Conference

The Power Conference is scheduled to take place August 30th, 2012 in the Bethesda Marriott Conference Center. The conference is held each year for anyone interested in business development and opportunity.  It is an excellent way to learn new information about women in business and network with influential women local to the Washington Metro Area.

The conference was created by the Women Business Consortium, with the sole purpose of executing the largest, most relevant local women’s conference. The conference focuses on Government and Contracting, Technology and Marketing, and personal development for Business Growth. It is also a great way to forge many new contacts in the business world.

TargetGov’s President, Gloria Larkin, is going to be one of the many speakers at this year’s event. Her workshop, “Using Social Media in Government Contracting” is designed to help attendees navigate the confusing and ever-growing world of social media and networking sites. It will help businesses manage their social network time efficiently, identify which social media and networking sites to focus on, and provide good practices and mistakes to avoid on such sites.

Registration for The Power Conference is still open; you can register here.

“Women in Government Contracting” Webinar Available Online

“Women in Government Contracting,” a new Webinar by TargetGov President Gloria Larkin is now available online for free download. Broadcast live at 1:00PM EST Wednesday, July 24, the webinar focused primarily on Women Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) and how they can more effectively market to the Federal Government.

Monica Randall, owner of The Randall Group and a former Business Consultant at the U.S. Small Business Administration, was a guest speaker along with Christine Demas, former executive director at Fort Detrick Alliance, Vice President at BSMG, and President of Blue Sky, Inc.

Linda Johnson of Linda Johnson Photography had this to say about the webinar, “I have just spent the most informative hour I've had in a while on your webinar with Ms. Randall and Ms. Demas.  As a sole proprietor/Photographer I've been having some difficulty trying to understand the ins and outs of the federal government contracting opportunities.”

Gloria Larkin, TargetGov President addressed the critical differences in government vs. private sector business, identifying targets, the layers of decision-makers, effective marketing tactics, the tools required to get noticed, and mistakes to avoid. She stated: “The federal Market is a $20 billion annual market for business women. Our problem is that we do not think BIG enough when we look for business opportunities with the federal government—also known as the world’s fortune one customer!”

Download the free webinar here.

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TargetGov April 2012 Volume II Newsletter

TargetGov Announces New Webinar Topic: Using Press Releases and Public Relations to Build Government Business

Low Cost and Highly Effective Tactic Added to 2012 National Webinar Series

TargetGov announced today the addition of “Using Press Releases and Public Relations to Build Government Business” to the exclusive TargetGov Government Contracting Webinar series.  The topic was created to enhance brand building and sales efforts within the government contracting market.  The Webinar will focus on utilizing public relations strategies and tactics to spread appropriate targeted corporate messages within the federal government market.  The new webinar is scheduled for April 23, 2012 and is available nationwide.

TargetGov’s April 23, 2012 webinar Using Press Releases and Public Relations to Build Government Business covers the development and use of very low cost public relations strategies to gain more business in the $500 billion federal contracting market.  Using Press Releases and Public Relations to Build Government Business will provide all attendees with exclusive comprehensive knowledge regarding creating a press release, press release distribution, cultivating media opportunities, and using social media outlets specifically related to government contracting.  

The April 23, 2012 national webinar will start at simultaneously at 10am PT, 11am MT, noon CT and 1pm ET and is hosted by Gloria Larkin, president of TargetGov and a nationally recognized business and marketing expert.  Larkin said “The federal government is the world’s fortune one customer-spending more than any other single entity in the world.  The information contained in Using Press Releases and Public Relations to Build Government Business will give actionable processes to use a little-understood method to effectively reach out to decision-makers. ”

For more information and to register please visit: http://www.targetgov.com.

Gloria Larkin, National Marketing and Business Expert, is President of Marketing Outsource Associates, Inc. (MOA) and its division, TargetGov.  The TargetGov division focuses on government procurement and related business development and marketing services including strategic business development plans for civilian and executive agencies and the Department of Defense, tactical execution of the plans, federal marketing and sales training, contract development, proposal management, contract administration and expert federal contracting services.  Larkin has been interviewed on MSNBC, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Inc.com and TheStreet.com and is the author of two books: “The Basic Guide To the U.S. Federal Government” (book & Kindle) and “The Veterans Business Guide: How to Build a Successful Government Contracting Business” now in the fourth printing (book & Kindle).

Gloria Larkin to be Honored With 2012 Top 100 Minority Business Enterprise Award

Columbia, MD April 12, 2012 –  TargetGov announces today that Gloria Larkin, President of TargetGov at Marketing Outsource Associates, Inc. has been honored by The Center for Business Inclusion and Diversity (CBID) as one of the Top 100 Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) award winners.  The award ceremony will be held on May 4, 2012 at 5:00pm in Adelphi, Maryland at the University of Maryland University College campus.

The prestigious Top 100 MBE awards recognize enterprising women and minority entrepreneurs who make significant contributions to local and national economies.  Winners are selected based on their contributions to clients, professions, industries, and communities.

Mrs. Larkin was selected from hundreds of nominees due to her outstanding work as President of TargetGov, and tireless involvement on behalf of women as a board member of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP).  “It’s an honor to be considered let alone be selected” states Mrs. Larkin, now a three time recipient of this prominent award.  Barbara Kassoff, President and CEO of WIPP states “There is no doubt in my mind that Gloria will continue to be a leader and catalyst for change to the economic landscape in America.”

Gloria Larkin, National Marketing and Business Development Expert, is President of Marketing Outsource Associates, Inc. (MOA) and its division, TargetGov. The TargetGov division focuses on government procurement and related business development and marketing services including minority certification services, contract development, proposal management, contract administration and expert federal contracting services. Larkin has been interviewed on MSNBC, quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Inc.com and TheStreet.com and is the author of two books: “The Basic Guide To the U.S. Federal Government” (book & Kindle) and “The Veterans Business Guide: How to Build a Successful Government Contracting Business” now in the fourth printing (book & Kindle).  For more information go to www.targetgov.com, or call 410-772-3914.

Should the Small Business Administration Be Abolished?

 

We hear a lot about the vital role of small business in the U.S. Especially in election years.
But that raises the question: How vital is the role of the federal government in promoting the role of small business in America? And specifically, how vital is the Small Business Administration in that promotion?

 

 The Wall Street Journal

 

The SBA's supporters argue that it plays a crucial role, guaranteeing billions of dollars in loans for small businesses each year and providing an army of counselors and information resources for those who need help. It particularly focuses on those who, some say, have been failed by conventional lenders.
But the SBA's critics say that the agency's loans do more harm than good. The loans go to only a tiny fraction of the small businesses in the country, for example, and help the recipients compete with small businesses that aren't similarly subsidized. Thus, instead of playing a crucial role in the U.S. economy, the critics say, the agency really is directing resources where the market has determined they aren't needed.

Yes: It Is a Waste of Money

By Veronique de Rugy
Congress created the Small Business Administration in 1953 to fix a specific problem: Lenders allegedly were turning away large numbers of small businesses that, if given a loan, would generate untapped economic growth.
It is questionable whether this problem ever existed. However, there is plenty of evidence that today the SBA hurts more small businesses than it helps, wastes taxpayer money and distorts economic activity.

Stephen Gosling

Veronique de Rugy: The SBA 'wastes taxpayer money and distorts economic activity.'

The SBA's main activity is to provide government-backed loans to qualifying small businesses. In fiscal 2011, the agency requested $1.5 billion in discretionary outlays. However, total outlays, which include projected payouts for defaults, were $6.2 billion. In the past, requested outlays were closer to $1 billion. Also, the gap between that request and actual outlays used to be much smaller, but the agency has suffered increased losses in recent years on its guarantees. How this trend will evolve depends on the economy and whether default rates on SBA loans continue to increase. Currently, outstanding loans guaranteed by the SBA—and federal taxpayers—total about $92.9 billion.
Negligible Benefits
For all that real and potential cost, the SBA's effect on economic growth is negligible at best. The problem is that SBA loan guarantees go primarily to businesses that have been rejected by conventional lenders, businesses judged by private investors as unlikely to create jobs, marketable innovations or new economic productivity. The SBA wrongly assumes that every high-risk borrower has the potential to succeed.

Journal Community

One might argue that such risks are justified, because the SBA is an important source of small-business lending. However, the loans it guarantees benefit a relatively tiny number of firms. According to the Government Accountability Office, the SBA flagship loan program accounts for only a little more than 1% of total small-business loans outstanding. So, for the most part, SBA loans help a fraction of small businesses compete with unsubsidized small firms.
The agency does indeed run other programs, typically with results as unimpressive as its loan activities. There have been instances of poor oversight, for example, of its preference programs intended to carve out a percentage of federal contracts for small and disadvantaged businesses. The SBA also offers some training, technical assistance and "know-how" courses, but this should not be the role of the federal government, and it isn't needed. The private sector is already providing such services through private associations like the National Federation of Independent Businesses.
The SBA loan program is best understood as a subsidy to banks. Borrowers apply to an SBA-certified bank. The SBA guarantees 75% to 85% of the value of loans made in the flagship program. The banks then boost their earnings by selling the risk-free portion of the loans on a secondary market. Ironically, it's also the biggest banks that do the most business through the SBA.
The SBA and its proponents constantly talk about how the types of firms they serve are vital to job creation. But the latest research argues it's younger businesses, not small ones, that drive employment growth. The data show that real job creation doesn't kick in until the new/small businesses survive and grow into larger operations.
SBA proponents dismiss the research, saying young and small businesses are one and the same. It is true that most new, or young, firms start out small. But the ones that end up creating huge numbers of jobs don't remain small for long.
Take your corner pizza restaurant. In 20 years, it may still employ only a dozen people. It won't be young anymore, but it will still be small and it will never be a source of job creation like the SBA touts as part of its mission.
Seen and Unseen
More than 150 years ago, French economist Frederic Bastiat noted that many economic fallacies persist because the beneficiaries of government actions are easily visible, while the victims are harder to identify. The SBA is a classic example. Small-business owners who get subsidized loans feel good (so do the banks that profit from the loans), but we can't identify how that capital would have been used absent government intervention. We can count the jobs created at the subsidized businesses, but we don't know how many more jobs might have been created if market forces determined the allocation of capital.
That's the economic analysis. The political analysis is that politicians have successfully sold the SBA as a program to help small business—a widely held belief that's almost as sacrosanct as baseball, motherhood and apple pie. In reality, the SBA is a form of corporate welfare, and America's biggest banks are the only clear winners, leaving taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars.
Ms. de Rugy is a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She can be reached at reports@wsj.com.

No: Its Role Is a Crucial One

By Barbara Kasoff
Small businesses created two of out three net new jobs in the U.S. from 1993 to 2009. About half of the people who work in this country are employed by a small business.

Women Impacting Public Policy

Barbara Kasoff: 'Now is not the time to eliminate' such a vital resource for small companies.

With unemployment still over 8%, now is not the time to eliminate one of the most important resources available to America's job creators.
The power of the SBA isn't just measured by the number of loans it makes. The Small Business Administration helps keep capital, contracts and know-how flowing to small businesses. In fiscal 2011, the agency guaranteed $30.5 billion in loans to about 61,000 companies, helped small businesses win nearly $100 billion in government contracts and mentored one million entrepreneurs through its network of business counselors, such as the 13,000 volunteers of Score, a nonprofit association of business counselors.
Through its Small Business Development Centers, Women Business Development Centers, and similar facilities that help minorities, women, veterans and other business owners, companies of fewer than 500 employees can learn about marketing and forecasting, and how to navigate the federal contract system. Some 14,000 counselors and trainers, including Score volunteers, help entrepreneurs get started and help established owners take their companies to the next level. The training resources are mostly free and are delivered in person or through a variety of media.
Aiming for Success
Such training gives these businesses the greatest possible opportunity to succeed. The SBA further collaborates with many private nongovernmental organizations to offer additional training, resources and technical assistance.
Even if the number of loans made by the SBA is relatively small, the aid goes to some of the most important, and most in need, sectors of our economy. In a 2009 study, the Urban Institute found women and minorities were three to five times as likely to get a loan through the SBA as they were through conventional lending.
I spoke recently with a woman in Tennessee who, after failing to get bank loans to launch a small manufacturing company, obtained an SBA loan within 45 days. Now, a year and a half later, she is preparing to meet with SBA counselors to expand her business and begin exporting her goods. She has two employees and several contractors, and is looking to hire.
Women and minority business owners play a substantial role in our economy already, but could contribute so much more. Get rid of the SBA, and they will contribute so much less.
The argument that SBA loans are given to applicants with poor plans and prospects, as judged by the market, misses a key point: The market too often is misjudging the viability of many of these businesses. Research shows women start their businesses with less capital than men, and there's a widespread perception that it is harder for women- and minority-owned businesses to get loans from financial institutions than it is for similarly qualified white men to get loans.
This isn't because women-owned businesses are less likely to succeed; it's because the market mistakenly perceives they are less likely to succeed.
Critical Advocate
The SBA is an advocate for small businesses with lenders at all times, but its role is especially important during economic downturns, when the squeeze on commercial credit can disproportionately affect small businesses. The SBA played a key role in arguing for policies to force the nation's biggest banks to resume lending to small businesses after the financial crisis hit in 2008.
The agency also worked closely with community banks to encourage more lending during the recession, and recently worked with 13 of the largest banks in the U.S. to increase their commitments by $20 billion over the next three years.
President Barack Obama recently elevated the SBA to a cabinet-level agency. Making SBA Administrator Karen Mills a cabinet member gives small business a seat at the government decision-making table like never before.
Those who wish to abolish the SBA cite research that makes the puzzling assertion that it is young businesses, not small, that drive job creation today. I doubt that any small business will understand this argument. Small and young businesses are one and the same. Small businesses employ about one-half of U.S. workers. Of 120.6 million nonfarm private-sector workers in 2007, small firms employed 59.9 million and large companies 60.7 million. About half of small-business employment is in second-stage companies (10 to 99 employees), and half is in firms 15 years old or older.
For our economy to grow and to become competitive again, we must increase our investment in our people and our resources.
Ms. Kasoff is president and chief executive of Women Impacting Public Policy, a public-policy organization based in Washington, D.C. She can be reached at reports@wsj.com.