The Small Business Administration (SBA)
With statistics like the ones from the U.S. Census Bureau showing that small businesses, homebased or not are responsible for the employment of 56.1 million people, it’s no wonder the U.S. government has an administration devoted to small businesses. Anyone thinking about starting a business should have the SBA (www.sba.gov) bookmarked for quick access. There is a wealth of information on this site; you couldn’t do much better than to start your small business research here.
fun fact
Trucks carried 59.1 percent of the $48.3 billion of freight to and from Canada in September 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
The Small Business Administration started in 1953. It is an independent agency of the federal government helping Americans start and grow small businesses through field offices throughout the U.S. and its territories. The SBA was designed by Congress to also ensure that small businesses get a “fair proportion” of government contracts and sales of surplus property. You can quickly see that using the SBA to its fullest is only to any small business’s advantage.
Through the years, the SBA has met current challenges in the small-business arena such as focusing on minority- and women-owned businesses with special programs and education to help these businesses thrive. They publish a Small Business Resource magazine and annual national resource guides. These resources contain educational information on things like how to apply for a government contract and keep you up to date on current legislation and advocacy on behalf of small businesses, as well as some small-business basics like advice on creating a business plan and how to obtain financing.
The SBA was created for you. You will do yourself a favor by referring to their site and contacting them whenever something comes up in the startup phase or as you establish your transportation business.
stat fact
According to the SBA, each state has a portal dedicated to commercial transportation, to help you understand the regulations your state requires and the assistance your state provides.
Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE)
Imagine 13,000 volunteer mentors at the service of the small-business world. That’s what the nonprofit organization SCORE (www.score.org), formed in 1964, is all about. There are almost 400 SCORE chapters throughout the U.S. in urban, suburban, and rural communities. Over ten million Americans have used SCORE’s mentoring services. These mentors can help you at any stage of your business, from planning, to startup, to growth.
warning
Many small-business leaders point to health care costs along with EPA regulations and increased stringency in OSHA compliance as making it harder and harder to do business today. You shouldn’t let this deter you from starting your business, but you should be very aware of these costs as you get started.
Go to the score website at www.score.org and click on the link “SCORE Locations” to find a chapter near you. A check of the zip code 03801 (Portsmouth, New Hampshire) produced one chapter right in Portsmouth and five other chapters within a 50-mile range of Portsmouth.
After locating a chapter near you, you submit a request for a mentor, get together with your mentor to get help on specific goals (or help creating specific goals!), and follow up with your mentor throughout the life of your business. SCORE offers online resources that you can sign up for to have emailed to you, and they offer local and online workshops and webinars for further education as well as community events such as roundtable discussions and seminars. The website has everything you need to locate all of these services.
The Transportation Industry as a Whole
The transportation industry has so many niches that you will want to spend time figuring out what niche is the right one for you. You likely already have an idea of the type of transportation service that you are interested in, whether it’s owning a fleet of 18-wheelers that move manufactured goods or one Ford F-350 dually with a gooseneck stock trailer that you use to move people’s personal horses around, or a business where you sit in an office and manage a stable of drivers who provide medical transport for senior citizens. It’s all transportation.
warning
The transportation industry is heavily regulated in every state. Do not ignore these laws, which cover things like driver’s license requirements, rules, manuals, safety information, licenses and permits, taxes, and all other related issues.
The SBA offers the following five steps to help you decide if a homebased business is right for you:
1. Ensure that you and your home are properly equipped for the type of transportation business you intend to start. Do you have the parking space needed? Does your business fall within the limits of local zoning laws?
2. Finance your homebased business. The SBA does not give out loans, but they do have a guaranty program with banks and lenders that you should check out. Their microloan program guarantees loans averaging $13,000 with the high side at $35,000. Underfinancing small businesses is one of the key portals to failure.
3. Take the appropriate steps to license and register your homebased business. It is not worth it to try to skirt around the regulations. You do not want to risk your business.
4. Understand the regulations that govern your specific transportation niche. Again, you need to know what you are required to do, and you need to do it. It is not worth risking all your hard work trying to skirt around regulations that just seem too difficult. Find out all you need to know.
5. Thoroughly understand the insurance requirements of your niche of the transportation business. The SBA says if “you own and oversee the operation of commercial vehicles, your insurance requirements will cost more than many other businesses.” Discuss your specific needs with a local insurance specialist.
aha!
Who says your transportation business has to be shipping a container full of hundreds of objects? You