U.S. Treasury Department to hold small business conference next month

2/27/2011

In an effort to better support American small businesses, the United States Treasury Department announced on Tuesday that it would be holding a conference next month, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The conference will cover a variety of small business-related topics, ranging from accessing public markets to obtaining seed capital, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wrote on the organization's blog.

The treasury will also implement two small business lending programs signed into law last year, the first being the $15 billion State Small Business Credit initiative that has recently begun supporting companies in California, Michigan and North Carolina.

The second program is the $30 billion Small Business Lending Fund, which provides low-cost capital to smaller community banks that qualify for support. While no assets have been distributed from this bill yet, they will be announced in the next few weeks.

For many small business owners, funding is crucial to success. According to a new report form Hiscox USA, securing funding is one of the top four challenges entrepreneurs face when starting a profitable business.