Connecting Resources to Help Businesses

I was honored to be invited to be a part of the US Small Business Administration's Thought Leader Round Table yesterday at their offices here in Houston. I was impressed by their selection of other people in the room ranging from filmmaker to podcaster to co-working space founder to data analysis expert to make up as a service on the go entrepreneur! Everyone in that room was a market maker. The ideas and discussion themes were:

• Surprise that today's US Small Business Administration isn't your Grandpa's US Small Business Administration anymore. It is surprisingly resourceful in helping small businesses thrive. SCORE is available for mentorship including areas in today's social economy. If you want a mentor in SEO, they have it. If you want a mentor in AI they probably have it in their nifty database of resources across the country.
• Don't take their word for it, they have a number of testimonials from companies who are thriving today because of support from the SBA. Ever heard of Fedex and Apple? Yep, SBA helped them out in their early stages.
• SBA wants to hear from you. They actively reached out to me and others to hear from us on what we would like to see from the SBA, and of course to help them get the word out about their resources. They have no budget to advertise, what's more is they can't advertise as a Federal Agency, but they can ask us in the community to help spread the word. So here goes.
• They have a number of loan resources. They admit they are the loan of last resort, but when you have a dream to start a company, but you have no collateral and no history and the banks and VCs have already said no, turn to the SBA and see how they can help. They will not only help you review their resources, they can help ensure you have the right pitch first to see if you can go back out to the banks and VCs for another try. At the end of the day, SBA can be the resource that helps you open the doors and thrive with your business. You'd be in good company with others who have done the same and thrived.

My hope is that entrepreneurs will find that Houston can be their home from concept to reality of their business. They don't need to leave the city to find the resources and the talent they need to build their business.

I've heard too many stories of how VCs in Houston don't understand the new economy businesses and so those entrepreneurs leave for Austin, LA, Seattle, Chicago...I'd like to hear more entrepreneurs find those resources here so they can stay in Houston and thrive. So, before you pack your bags and head out of town because you couldn't find the support you need, head over to the US Small Business Administration (and their small isn't what you and I think of small - it includes traditional medium sized businesses too) and see how they might help.

Visit US Small Business Administration to learn more!

Happy Entrepreneur'ing!