SmallBizResource Blog -- Government

House Small Business Committee Meets To Discuss Entrepreneurial Development Programs

Posted by Gayle Kesten Thursday, Feb 12, 2009, 12:59 PM ET

A magic pill to cure the ailing economy has yet to be invented, but entrepreneurial development programs are a serious step in a healthy direction.

That was the message delivered at the House Small Business Committee hearing, which met yesterday afternoon to discuss "The State of SBA's Entrepreneurial Development Programs and Their Role in Promoting an Economic Recovery." (As its name suggests, this committee advocates for small business.) With an obvious eye on President Obama's Recovery Act and how to improve existing entrepreneurial programs, members spoke about the correlation between these assistance programs and small-business success. "From executive mentoring to veterans business initiatives, they help new and experienced entrepreneurs gain access to the tools they need to flourish. But perhaps most importantly, these programs foster job creation and economic growth," said Nydia M. Velázquez, committee chairwoman (who voted in favor of Obama's plan).

Valezquez translated her rhetoric into pure dollars: "And at the end of the day, every $1 spent on these programs puts another $2.87 back into the economy. That’s a 287 percent return on investment, and just the kind of economic stimulus we need right now."

One by one, committee members and representatives from the small business community spoke about the need to bolster entrepreneurial programs' effectiveness -- now more than ever. (You can view each presentation on YouTube; all told it'll take an hour, but the speakers are conveniently separated into their own videos, which are anywhere from two to six minutes long.)

For example, Margot Dorfman, CEO of the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce, called for a "top to bottom restructuring" of the SBA's entrepreneurial programs so they'd fall under one unified system, rather than the "disorganized, overlapping and inefficient delivery of service" that has transpired in the past half century. Similarly, committee ranking member Sam Graves (R-MO) spoke about the need for retooling programs to ensure they're meeting the demands of the current environment.

From a technology perspective, Ron Blackburn, president of ASPIRA, which aims to empower the Puerto Rican and Latino community, emphasized the strong role the Internet can play in support of entrepreneurs. "I believe a robust, well-designed, comprehensive and nimble online distance learning program at the SBA has the potential to reach thousands of business owners and potential business owners and reduce the burden on the SBA assistance centers."

But there's a hitch, he said: access to and/or cost of broadband connections, particularly in low-income areas. His suggestion: the creation of an e-rate type of program to help subsidize those costs. Blackburn also spoke about the content of e-learning programs and development of a learning management system that doesn't exist within the SBA.

Jerry Cartwright spoke on behalf of some-900 Small Business Development Centers across the country, whose budgets have been cut by their respective states -- translating to cuts in programs and counseling "at a time SBDCs are being inundated with unemployed and existing small businesses seeking greater assistance." Small businesses know their business, he added, but don't know how to manage their business through a recession or understand what the stimulus package means to them (if anything).

Blackburn, again, voiced a way to get that information across: "I can see the SBA having Webinars and Webcast on the impact of the stimulus package on small business. This is something being discussed today, and it could be on tonight.

I'll leave it to you to check out the rest, which included a discussion about the credit crunch. As you listen to each video, I'm sure you'll be nodding your head in agreement. As to what will come to fruition, we'll have to stay tuned.

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