Today, small businesses generate more than one-third of the gross national product, create the majority of new jobs, and provide arenas for technological innovation. During the early 1950s, the value of small businesses in providing stability for the American economy was realized.

Prior to that time, big business/industry promises of career success too often proved to be empty, and many disillusioned American workers began to embrace the concept of self-employment. As the number of business entrepreneurs increased, it quickly became apparent that such entrepreneurial endeavors needed a protective umbrella if they were to survive normal start-up difficulties common to small business, not to mention competitive pressures generated by larger organizations. In 1953, to address the problem, Congress approved the Small Business Administration Act, which created the Small Business Administration (SBA).

The SBA's administrator directs the delivery of a comprehensive set of financial and business development programs that provide financing worth about $11 billion a year to small businesses across the nation. SBA has 70 district offices across the country and program offices in every state, as well as the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

As an independent federal agency, the SBA aids, counsels, assists, and protects small-business interests based on two principles: quality-focused management and customer-driven out-reach.

The SBA provides financial assistance in the form of loan guarantees, rather than direct loans, through 14 specialized programs to help entrepreneurs attain the appropriate financial position to initiate their business and overcome the first few lean years of infancy. It also provides counseling and training assistance to female, minority, veteran, and socially and/or economically disadvantaged business owners. For instance, the Office of Women's Business Ownership has established a women's business owner representative network in every district office, an Online Women's Business Center accessible through the Internet, and nearly 70 women's business centers in 40 states; and the Minority Prequalification Loan Program assists qualified minority-owned, for-profit companies to obtain pre-approval for a 7(a) loan guaranty. The 7(a) Loan Guaranty Program assists small businesses unable to secure reasonable funding terms through normal lending channels to obtain funding through private-sector lenders on loans guaranteed by the SBA.

While the SBA does not provide grants to start or expand a business, it does coordinate and disseminate information about resources to facilitate awareness of business initiatives, about consulting or mentoring opportunities for managerial novices, and about entrepreneurial success strategies. Further, it provides disaster assistance and has established a unit to coordinate and facilitate technology transfer conferences for small businesses. In an effort to centralize access to a full range of technical and financial assistance for small business owners located in empowerment zones and enterprise communities, in 1994 the SBA developed One-Stop Capital Shops. These partnerships between the SBA and a local community offer comprehensive small-business assistance from a unique, easy-to-access, retail site located in a distressed area, and they generally target underserved communities or the SBA's new markets.

More information is available from the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Marketing and Customer Service, 409 Third Street SW, Suite 600, Washington, D.C. 20414; (202) 205-6744 or 1-800-8ASK-SBA; or http://www.sba.gov.