Small Business Administration (SBA)

Definition:

A federal government agency created to foster and protect the interests of small business

The SBA was created by Congress in 1953 to help American entrepreneurs start, run, and grow successful small enterprises. Today there are SBA offices in every state, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Among the services offered by the SBA are financial assistance in the form of loans to small businesses, state and local developers and victims of floods and other disasters; counseling services through Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs); management assistance through programs like SCORE; and low-cost publications.

See also “SCORE” and “Small Business Development Centers.”

Related Content

Product Development

The overall process of strategy, organization, concept generation, product and marketing plan creation and evaluation, and commercialization of a new product

Exit Interview

The formal conversation that takes place between an employee and an HR or other manager to determine the reason(s) the employee is leaving

Primary Market Research

Iinformation that comes directly from the source--that is, potential customers. You can compile this information yourself or hire someone else to gather it for you via surveys, focus groups and other methods.

Credit Policy

Guidelines that spell out how to decide which customers are sold on open account, the exact payment terms, the limits set on outstanding balances and how to deal with delinquent accounts

Mergers

The combination of one or more corporations, LLCs, or other business entities into a single business entity; the joining of two or more companies to achieve greater efficiencies of scale and productivity

Subchapter S Corporation

A special form of corporation that allows the protection of limited liability but direct flow-through of profits and losses