Three years ago, I joined the U.S. Small Business Administration with a mission to help small businesses succeed. Leading the SBA team in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, South Dakota and North Dakota felt like the role of a lifetime. This region is unique — it’s one of the largest and most rural in the nation […]
Small Business Saturday is a relatively new American tradition. While Black Friday has been an informal holiday for more than 60 years, it wasn’t until 2010 the Saturday after Thanksgiving earned its official title, designating it as a day to shop local and support hometown retailers. In a year when businesses have faced profound challenges […]
Small businesses are the fabric of the Colorado economy. Their success depends on the ability to freely market products and services to communities across the state. As Americans face the new reality of social distancing measures brought on by the coronavirus outbreak, small businesses bear the brunt of those measures and face serious challenges with […]
When I became regional administrator at the U.S. Small Business Administration, I never would have imagined the many positive experiences and challenges I’ve encountered during my visits across the Rocky Mountain region. Twelve months, six states and nearly 10,000 miles later, I’ve taken the road less traveled by and learned the small business vitality of […]
Not that long ago, Americans visited locally owned small retailers to purchase holiday gifts. Business owners decorated their shops with lights and ornaments or created elaborate window displays to grab the imagination of passersby and entice them to come inside. It was a magical time of year, and many of us hold on to those […]
President Donald Trump demonstrated the importance of veteran entrepreneurs in donating his second quarter salary to the U.S. Small Business Administration. The funding will help the SBA create a seven-month intensive training program for veterans transitioning from military service to small business ownership. Veteran entrepreneurs remain a driving force in our economy. Nearly 10 percent […]
I was shopping at our local store recently and was amazed holiday merchandise was already on the shelves. What happened to the tradition of launching the Christmas selling season right after turkey time at the end of November? Little did I know, the holiday shopping season now starts with Halloween and runs straight through until […]