|
Washington Watch
September 24, 2003
September has proven to be the month of reports, as
evidenced by the three studies featured in this week’s
Washington Watch.
Key Concerns for Women
Business Owners Released as NASE Sponsors
Entrepreneurship Summit
According to a new study released by the National
Women’s Business Council, access to capital and
affordable health insurance, and the state of the
economy top the list of concerns for America's women
business owners. The report, which compiled survey
responses from participants attending five
entrepreneurship summits last year, comes as the NASE
sponsors another “Women Entrepreneurship in the 21st
Century” event in Tampa, Florida, this week.
Women Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century summits are
co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S.
Small Business Administration. The NASE sponsored all
five events in 2002 from which the survey responses
were pulled: Washington, DC; New Britain, CT;
Nashville, TN; Houston, TX; and St. Louis, MO.
The report, “Women's Entrepreneurship in the 21st
Century: A Summary of Data from National and Regional
Summits,” can be found at
www.nwbc.gov.
House Small Business Committee
Democrats Unveil Small Business Index
In an effort to better track the small business
environment, House Small Business Committee Democrats
released the “Small Business Index” (SBI) last week. The SBI
reflects the current economic conditions facing small
businesses and provides insights into the near-term
environment for the small-business sector. Its purpose,
according to a press release, is to provide both
policymakers and market participants with a way to evaluate
economic proposals and how they will impact entrepreneurs.
The report, using such indicators as the number of business
start-ups and failures, puts the SBI at a five year low.
Contributing to the SBI’s decline are increases in the
number of unemployed individuals, a rising trade deficit,
and climbing health care and energy costs. The SBI was
calculated annually from 1998 to 2002, but beginning in 2003
the number will be recalculated quarterly.
For the methodology of the survey, and what business
indicators were used to determine the SBI,
click here.
Study: Small Business Financing Trends
The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business
Administration released a new report this week on how
entrepreneurs finance their small businesses. The report, “Financing
Patterns of Small Firms: Findings from the 1998 Survey of
Small Business Finance,” features over 400 statistical
tables comparing the borrowing patterns of various
small-business subgroups.
Over 80 percent of the small businesses surveyed for the
study used some kind of credit and had outstanding debt on
their books at the end of 1998. Fifty-five percent of small
firms had some kind of traditional loan, while 71 percent
obtained credit from non-traditional sources, mainly owners’
loans and credit cards.
Do any of these issues affect you? Visit the NASE Legislative
Action Center and “Tell
Your Micro-Business Story.” This will help the NASE
understand - on a personal level - how key legislative issues
are affecting your business and your bottom line.
For more information about any of the articles in
Washington Watch, contact Maureen Petron, NASE public
affairs manager, at (202) 466-2100 or
mpetron@nase.org.
|
|
