ATBC & IACCGH Small Business Outreach Featuring SBA Director Tim Jeffcoat

The American Turkic Business Council DBA Texas Turkish American Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce Greater Houston hosted a small business outreach where SBA Director Tim Jeffcoat was the keynote speaker.

A small business is defined as a business with 500 employees or less. When we look at small businesses, one question that often comes to mind is “Why do we care?” Mr. Jeffcoat answered this question by emphasizing to the audience that according to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy, 98.6% of Texas Business and 99.5% of Houston MSA Business are made up of small businesses.

SBA is focused on its goal of providing access to counseling, Federal contracting, capital, and support during a crisis. The ultimate objective of each employee working at the SBA is to help Americans start or grow small businesses. Since 1995, small businesses have generated 64% of new jobs, and paid 44% of the total United States private payroll, according to the SBA. Small businesses contribute to local economies by bringing growth and innovation to the community in which the business is established.

Small businesses also help stimulate economic growth by providing employment opportunities to people who may not be employable by larger corporations. Small businesses tend to attract talent who invent new products or implement new solutions for existing ideas. These small businesses can be anything from manufacturing or processing firms with 1,500 employees. Some examples of their areas of expertise can include operating of refineries, oil transportation, airline and aircraft industry, and delivery services. In addition, they can also be service firms with up to $38.5M in revenues. Examples of service firms can include oil/gas support, software development, radio/TV, car rental, and trash collection.

As many large corporations depend on small businesses for the completion of various business functions through outsourcing, larger businesses also often benefit from small businesses within the same local community.

With SBA’s many programs, individuals can have better access to information and business development assistance. The federal government “goaling program” is meant to help small businesses to get prime contracts in cases where they are women-owned, small disadvantaged, and service-disabled-veteran-owned. In cases of business development, the SBA is dedicated to work directly with small businesses to ensure a highly structured plan is made available to help them develop into more successful and effective businesses. In addition to the business development program, the SBA lending and training programs are meant to make each process friendlier, simpler, ubiquitous, and inexpensive.