SBA: Worst is over, SMBs must focus on progress now

6/1/2011

The U.S. Small Business Administration knows the many perils that entrepreneurs have faced over the past three years. For some companies, the SBA's proactive stand in small business lending helped many to survive the storm of the economic recession.

According to SBA Administrator Karen Mills the worst of the economic recession is now over. Speaking to AOL, Mills explained that as entrepreneurs have transitioned out of survival mode, so has the SBA. The organization is now looking to help small business owners expand their companies now that they are in a good position to do so.

"Now, we are at another stage," Mills told AOL. "We have weathered this storm, but we are now coming back and trying to make sure small businesses can hire that next person, can buy that next piece of equipment, can take that next order, and we're doing that by helping them with loans, but also by helping them have access to $100 billion of federal contracts."

According to a recent report from CareerBuilder, the summer months are set to be a big hiring time for many companies. More than one-fifth of entrepreneurs polled said they plan to bring on both part-time and full-time help this summer.