Short on capital? Business ideas? SBA is tall on resources.

• Author: Cutler, Debbie
• Position: Small Business Administration

If you're a small business, you may find a best friend in the Small Business Administration.

Say you need a loan to get your computers up to Year 2000 standards. Or you want to start a new business, but don't know anything about bookkeeping or billing. Or perhaps you want to bid on government contracts, secure bonding, develop a marketing plan, or find a mentor.

SBA may be able to help.

Formed in 1953 to assist America's entrepreneurs, SBA has its Alaska roots at the Anchorage District Office, located at 222 W. 8th Avenue. Statewide there are approximately 45,000 small businesses (generally defined as those having gross sales of less than $5 million), including those who sell door-to-door or through home parties. Of those, about 15,000 have employees, based on census bureau information.

Some of those will go out of business before year-end. Some will be around for decades - all dependent on a blend of market demand, owner experience, product quality, price, location, service, and dozens of other factors.

"To be a small business and to succeed, the business has to get up and operating, and running - moving forward and growing," said Ronald J. Veltkamp, SBA's business development officer. "Our programs don't necessarily make a business successful, but certainly can assist in that success."

New Sagaya, owned by Paul Reid, is one example of a successful business that started out with SBA's assistance. "Paul first became involved in SBA's management assistance programs, and over the years utilized loan guarantee programs," said Veltkamp. "He's a tremendous success story, and in fact is probably too big for us now."

SBA provides three main areas of service statewide: financial, management and technical assistance. They also provide bonding guarantee services, and help small businesses secure government contracts.

Financial Assistance

If you want to start or expand a business, but don't have the credit or experience to get approved for funding, you are not alone. Last year, the Anchorage-based SBA office helped nearly 110 Alaskan businesses secure about $21.4 million in bank loans through its loan guarantee program.

Borrowers still use a financial institution for lending needs, however SBA reduces risk by guarantying to repay a percentage of the loan if repayment becomes a problem. In fact, the SBA generally guarantees about 75-80 percent on most loans. In some cases, SBA-guaranteed loans even come with better terms - including more borrowing...