Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have a small number of employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being able to apply for government support and qualify for preferential tax policy. The qualifications vary depending on the country and industry. Small businesses range from fifteen employees under the Australian Fair Work Act 2009, fifty employees according to the definition used by the European Union, and fewer than five hundred employees to qualify for many U.S. Small Business Administration programs. While small businesses can also be classified according to other methods, such as annual revenues, shipments, sales, assets, annual gross, net revenue, net profits, the number of employees is one of the most widely used measures.
A sole proprietorship, also known as a sole tradership, individual entrepreneurship or proprietorship, is a type of enterprise owned and run by only one person and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business entity. A sole trader does not necessarily work alone and may employ other people.
Improving Economies for Stronger Communities (formerly known as International Executive Service Corps) is an international economic development not-for-profit organization with headquarters in Washington, D.C. IESC was founded in 1964 by David Rockefeller, States M. Mead III, Frank Pace, Sol Linowitz, and other American business leaders. IESC has worked in sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and Eurasia, Asia and the Near East, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Geekcorps is a division of IESC.
A micro-enterprise is generally defined as a small business employing nine people or fewer, and having a balance sheet or turnover less than a certain amount. The terms microenterprise and microbusiness have the same meaning, though traditionally when referring to a small business financed by microcredit the term microenterprise is often used. Similarly, when referring to a small, usually legal business that is not financed by microcredit, the term microbusiness is often used. Internationally, most microenterprises are family businesses employing one or two persons. Most microenterprise owners are primarily interested in earning a living to support themselves and their families. They only grow the business when something in their lives changes and they need to generate a larger income. According to information found on the Census.gov website, microenterprises make up 95% of the 28 million US companies tracked by the census.
Steven C. Preston is the president and CEO of Goodwill Industries International. He formerly served as the 14th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from 2008 to 2009 and the 22nd Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration from 2006 until his appointment as HUD Secretary. Before entering public service, Preston spent nearly 25 years in financial and operational leadership positions in the private sector.
ACTION was a United States government agency described as "the federal domestic volunteer agency". It was formed July 1, 1971, during President Richard Nixon's first term under the provisions of Reorganization Plan Number One, and Executive Order 11603, June 30, 1971, to provide centralized coordination and administration of Government-sponsored domestic and international volunteer agencies.
The federal government of the United States empowers a wide range of federal law enforcement agencies to maintain law and public order related to matters affecting the country as a whole.
National Small Business Week is a national recognition event to honor the United States' top entrepreneurs each year. The distinguished group of small business owners are hailed each year by the U.S. Small Business Administration and a collection of event co-hosts. The 2013 event marks the 60th anniversary of the agency, and the 50th annual Presidential proclamation of National Small Business Week.
The New York Small Business Development Center (NYSBDC), established in 1984 and administered by the State University of New York (SUNY), operates 20 regional service centers across the state. With a team of around 260 professionals, including business advisors, administrators, and staff, the NYSBDC offers information and assistance to small businesses. Funded by various sources, including the U.S. Small Business Administration, the of New York, local communities, and host campuses, the NYSBDC provides confidential business advisement services at no direct cost to New York's citizens and entrepreneurs. The program focuses on delivering individualized business advising and technical assistance, covering areas such as access to capital, technology development, and business planning.
Unite for Sight is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2000 by Jennifer Staple-Clark specializing in healthcare delivery to communities around the world. The organization invests human and financial resources in local eye clinics in Ghana, Honduras, and India to eliminate patient barriers to care. As of January 2017, Unite for Sight has assisted more than 2.4 million people worldwide and provided over 97,000 vision-restoring surgeries.
The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses and by assisting in the economic recovery of communities after disasters." The agency's activities have been summarized as the "3 Cs" of capital, contracts and counseling.
AmeriCorps VISTA is a national service program designed to alleviate poverty. President John F. Kennedy originated the idea for VISTA, which was founded as Volunteers in Service to America in 1965, and incorporated into the AmeriCorps network of programs in 1993. VISTA is an acronym for Volunteers in Service to America.
The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order (10924) of President John F. Kennedy and authorized by Congress the following September by the Peace Corps Act.
The MicroLoan Program is a US Government program administered by the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) that provides microloans to start-up, newly established, or growing small business endeavors. The program has been operating since 1992.
The Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation was an office new to the Obama Administration, created within the White House, to catalyze new and innovative ways of encouraging government to do business differently. Its first director was the economist Sonal Shah. The final director was David Wilkinson.
Vanessa Kirsch is an American social entrepreneur who is the founder and co-CEO of New Profit, a venture philanthropy fund based in Boston, Massachusetts. She also founded and formerly led Public Allies, a national youth service organization, and the Women’s Information Network, an organization that provides support, training, and political access to young women.
A woman-owned business is a specific designation used by American government agencies and industry associations to set aside special programs to encourage and empower female business owners. Most definitions of this term involve a practical look at the legal and ownership structure, as well as the issue of control of the day-to-day operations of a business. The consideration of control of a business is meant to discourage the practice of men placing wives, daughters, or low-level female employees in positions of ownership, when in fact she may have little to do with the day-to-day management of the company, for the sake of receiving some government benefits or other consideration.
NetCentrics Corporation, based in Herndon, Virginia, is a contractor to the US federal government, the United States Department of Homeland Security and Federal Civilian Agencies. NetCentrics provides enterprise IT, cloud and cybersecurity services to government and private industry. The headquarters are located inside the Dulles Technology Corridor of NoVA. The workforce is a combination of on-site and off-site employees. Many employees are remote workers from the greater National Capital Region and Washington, D.C. Most employees have security clearances, depending on role.
Ana Recio Harvey is a Mexican translation entrepreneur and government economic activist who is the President and CEO of the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GWHCC). Part of her job working in the United States government involves coordinating and implementing initiatives for the Small Business Administration (SBA) in Washington to benefit small, struggling, women-owned businesses, by offering them federal government contract awards. In January 2015 she was appointed acting director of the District of Columbia Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD). Harvey is the founder of the multilingual communications company Syntaxis, which translates in 25 languages.
The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is a $953-billion business loan program established by the United States federal government during the Trump administration in 2020 through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to help certain businesses, self-employed workers, sole proprietors, certain nonprofit organizations, and tribal businesses continue paying their workers.
