Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council

SBE COUNCIL'S MISSION IS TO PROMOTE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND PROTECT SMALL BUSINESSES. THROUGH ADVOCACY, EDUCATION, AND RESEARCH SBE COUNCIL WORKS TO STRENGTHEN THE ECOSYSTEM FOR STARTUPS AND SMALL BUSINESS GROWTH. SBE COUNCIL INTEGRATES ADVOCACY, RESEARCH, EDUCATION AND TRAINING TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS.

ADVOCACY & OUTREACH: AS IT QUICKLY BECAME EVIDENT DURING THE EARLY SUMMER OF 2020 THAT COVID-19 WOULD HAVE AN EXTENDED IMPACT ON PUBLIC HEALTH, THE ECONOMY AND SMALL BUSINESSES, SBE COUNCIL'S WORK AND POLICY LEADERSHIP ON SOLUTIONS BECAME MORE CONSEQUENTIAL FOR THE SMALL BUSINESS SECTOR. THROUGH TESTIMONY BEFORE CONGRESS, ENGAGEMENT WITH THE WHITE HOUSE AND FEDERAL AGENCIES, AND REGULAR CONTACT WITH CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS AND THEIR STAFFS, SBE COUNCIL PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN RE-SHAPING INITIAL CARES ACT PROGRAMS SUCH AS MAKING THE PPP AND EIDL LOAN PROGRAMS MORE FLEXIBLE, MORE AVAILABLE TO SMALLER AND DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES, LESS COMPLEX, AND MORE PRAGMATIC AS IT RELATED TO LOAN FORGIVENESS. SUCH ADVOCACY LED TO THE EXTENSION OF THE PPP LOAN PROGRAM (AND BETTER RULES), AVAILABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY OF PPP DATA AND RESULTS, LIFTING THE ARBITRARY CAPS ON EIDL LOANS, CHANGES TO THE RESTAURANT REVITALIZATION FUND AND SHUTTERED VENUE OPERATORS GRANT PROGRAM, STREAMLINING THE APPLICATION AND FORGIVENESS PROCESSES, AND THE PASSAGE OR ADOPTION OF SHORT-TERM TAX CREDITS AND RULES TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES. ON MATTERS RELATED TO COVID-19 POLICY AND RELIEF, SBE COUNCIL DELIVERED 35 LETTERS TO CONGRESS, TESTIFIED TWICE BEFORE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES, AND SUBMITTED 10 LETTERS AND COMMENTS TO AGENCIES ON RELATED ISSUES SUCH AS ACCESS TO BROADBAND (THE EMERGENCY BROADBAND PROGRAM), AND REGULATORY RELIEF, INCLUDING BOTH TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT TITLE III CROWD-INVESTMENT RULES ADVANCED BY THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, AS WELL AS CLARITY FOR BUSINESSES ON THE EEOC'S GUIDANCE ON COVID-19 VACCINE INCENTIVES, AND SUPPORT FOR TELE-HEATH ADOPTION AND USE. MOREOVER, AS IT WAS AN ELECTION YEAR, FOLLOWED BY A NEW ADMINISTRATION AND CONGRESS IN EARLY 2021, SBE COUNCIL PARTICIPATED IN 26 VIRTUAL MEETINGS AND BRIEFINGS TO PRESENT SMALL BUSINESS PRIORITIES SUCH AS AFFORDABLE HEALTH COVERAGE, A SIMPLER TAX SYSTEM, REGULATORY CERTAINTY AND RELIEF AND POLICIES IN GENERAL THAT WILL NOT IMPOSE MORE BURDENS, FUEL INFLATION, OR KEEP SUPPLY CHAINS BACKED UP. SBE COUNCIL WROTE AND DISTRIBUTED 47 POLICY BRIEFS ON OTHER IMPORTANT TOPICS AFFECTING THE OPERATIONS AND COMPETITIVENESS OF SMALL BUSINESSES SUCH AS: THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE PACKAGE, THREATS TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) PROTECTIONS VIA MISINTERPRETATION OF THE BAYH-DOLE ACT AND THE ADMINISTRATION'S SUPPORT FOR WAIVING IP RIGHTS UNDER THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION AS IT RELATES TO U.S.-MADE COVID VACCINES, VARIOUS PROBLEMS WITH THE PROPOSED BUILD BACK BETTER ACT RELATED TO TAX CHANGES THAT WOULD HURT SMALL BUSINESSES AND ONEROUS LABOR RULES IN THE BILL THAT WOULD HARM INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS, AND ANTI-TRUST ACTIVITY AIMED AT U.S. TECHNOLOGY LEADERS. THE FULL CHANGE FROM "IN-PERSON" TO "VIRTUAL" ADVOCACY HAD ITS CHALLENGES, BUT SBE COUNCIL UPPED ITS USE OF DIGITAL TOOLS AND ENGAGEMENT TO STAY CONNECTED AND EFFECTIVE IN KEEPING THE PRIORITIES OF SMALL BUSINESSES ON THE FRONT BURNER OF THE WHITE HOUSE, CONGRESS, AND FEDERAL AGENCIES AND DEPARTMENTS. MOREOVER, WE KEPT OUR LIST OF 195,000 ENTREPRENEURS AND PARTNERS UP-TO-DATE AND ENGAGED ON POLICY AND HOW THEY CAN TAKE ACTION THROUGH OUR SMALL BUSINESS INSIDER E-NEWS (68 PUBLISHED AND DISTRIBUTED), GROWTH WITHOUT BARRIERS WEEKLY PODCASTS (45 RECORDED), AND ROBUST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS.

EDUCATION: SBE COUNCIL CREATES AND DISTRIBUTES EDUCATIONAL CONTENT AND HOSTS EVENTS TO PROVIDE ENTREPRENEURS AND SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS WITH THE TOOLS AND KNOWLEDGE THEY NEED TO LAUNCH AND SUCCEED. SBE COUNCIL'S "COVID-19 SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCE CENTER" BECAME A VITAL HUB AND TOOL FOR SMALL BUSINESSES, AS IT KEPT OWNERS UP-TO-DATE ON THE STREAM OF CONSTANT RULE CHANGES AND NEW PROGRAMS ASSOCIATED WITH COVID-19 RELIEF AND SUPPORT - WE UPDATED CONTENT 45 TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR - IN MATTERS RELATED TO COVID-19 RELIEF AND LOAN PROGRAM CHANGES, TEMPORARY TAX CHANGES AND RELIEF, AND OTHER PROGRAMS BEING IMPLEMENTED ACROSS GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES. SBE COUNCIL'S WEEKLY "BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE" TIPS AND TRENDS FOR ENTREPRENEURS WAS PRODUCED 28 TIMES, ALONG WITH 38 SMALL BUSINESS INSIDER BLOG POSTS FEATURING "HOW TO" INFORMATION, ADVICE AND GUIDANCE FOR BUSINESS OWNERS ON TOPICS RANGING FROM DIGITAL TOOLS, DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING, IMPORTANT TAX RULES AND COMPLIANCE, PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, CYBERSECURITY, FINANCING AND MORE. SBE COUNCIL'S PRESIDENT PARTICIPATED IN 31 WEBINARS AND "ZOOM SESSIONS" ON VARIOUS TOPICS AND ISSUES GEARED TOWARD HELPING BUSINESS OWNERS UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITY OF SOME COVID-RELIEF PROGRAMS AND THE DIRECTION OF POLICY AND THE ECONOMY GIVEN THE ACCELERATION TO "ALL THINGS DIGITAL." SUCH WEBCASTS AND SPECIAL BRIEFINGS INCLUDED TOPICS SUCH AS: "SMALL BUSINESS IN AMERICA: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?" (A POST-ELECTION EVENT), "THE PANDEMIC PIVOT" (AN ONLINE SERIES TO DISCUSS THE VALUE OF TECHNOLOGY TOOLS AND PLATFORMS), "RISE TO THE CHALLENGE: BUSINESS AND ITS ROLE IN DEMOCRACY," "WHAT DO EMPLOYERS WANT IN HEALTH CARE?" AND "RECOGNIZING THE RESILIENCY OF WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES." SBE COUNCIL COLLABORATED WITH KEY PARTNERS AND COALITION ORGANIZATIONS ON IMPORTANT EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGNS SUCH AS SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY (WE ARE A FOUNDING MEMBER), WORLD IP DAY, GLOBAL TRADE MONTH, CYBERSECURITY AWARENESS MONTH, NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH, NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS WEEK, AND GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK. OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS ARE ALSO IMPORTANT SOURCES FOR SHARING THE RANGE OF EDUCATIONAL CONTENT NOTED ABOVE, WHICH REACHES A LARGER AUDIENCE FOR PENETRATION AND IMPACT. SBE COUNCIL REMAINS ACTIVE ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND LINKEDIN IN SHARING ALL OF OUR CONTENT AND ENGAGING WITH BUSINESS OWNERS AND THE PUBLIC. SBE COUNCIL'S "GROWTH WITHOUT BARRIER" PODCAST (45 RECORDED AND DISTRIBUTED) IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT PIPELINE FOR SHARING OUR EDUCATIONAL CONTENT AND EDUCATING THE PUBLIC ABOUT IMPORTANT POLICY MATTERS BEING DEBATED AND ADVANCED IN GOVERNMENT.

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS: SBE COUNCIL PRODUCES RESEARCH REPORTS, SMALL BUSINESS SURVEYS, ISSUE BRIEFS AND ANALYSIS ON SMALL BUSINESS ISSUES THAT HELP ELECTED OFFICIALS, POLICY LEADERS IN GOVERNMENT, ENTREPRENEURS, THE MEDIA AND GENERAL PUBLIC BETTER UNDERSTAND HOW ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMALL BUSINESSES ARE VITAL TO THE ECONOMY AND IMPACTED BY SPECIFIC POLICIES THAT ARE ADVANCED OR MADE LAW. IN ADDITION TO THE REGULAR DAILY CONTENT AUTHORED BY SBE COUNCIL'S ECONOMIC TEAM (97 BRIEFS WERE PRODUCED FOR THE YEAR), VARIOUS SPECIAL REPORTS AND RESEARCH INCLUDED: "SMALL BUSINESS SOS: IT'S TIME TO SUPERCHARGE LOCAL CROWDFUNDING TO UNLOCK NEEDED CAPITAL," "THE STATE OF SMALL BUSINESS AND HEALTH CARE POLICY SURVEY," AND A JOINT SURVEY ON "RISKS OF SMALL BUSINESS" AS IT RELATES TO THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL COVID-19 SUPPORT. THESE VARIOUS SURVEYS AND REPORTS DETAILED THE KEY PAIN POINTS OF SMALL BUSINESSES AS THEY WERE WORKING TO OPERATE AND RECOVER IN THE COVID-19 ECONOMY, AND WERE DISTRIBUTED TO CONGRESS, WHITE HOUSE POLICY LEADERS AND STAFF, THE MEDIA, AND ALLIED ORGANIZATIONS TO EDUCATE ABOUT THE NEED FOR POLICY ACTIONS AND SOLUTIONS. WITH REGARD TO OUR DAILY AND WEEKLY ECONOMIC BRIEFS AND POSTS, THESE INFORMATIVE PIECES HELP TO PUT THE KEY ECONOMIC REPORTS - SUCH AS THE MONTHLY JOBS REPORT, AND MONTHLY TRADE, MANUFACTURING, CONSUMER CREDIT, PRODUCTIVITY AND OTHER DATA INTO PERSPECTIVE. THESE REPORTS KEEP SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS UP-TO-DATE ON WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE ECONOMY, AS WE TIE THE DATA TO POLICY AND WHAT MAY BE DRIVING DATA TRENDS. MOREOVER, SBE COUNCIL REGULARLY CRUNCHED AND ANALYZED IMPORTANT DATA PUT OUT BY THE CENSUS BUREAU ON NEW BUSINESS APPLICATIONS, AS THIS SURGE IN ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENT IS A PHENOMENON WE HAVE TRACKED AND ANALYZED SINCE OUR FOUNDING, WHICH IS PROMPTING NEW RESEARCH WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION. IN ADDITION, THE CENSUS BUREAU'S COVID SMALL BUSINESS "PULSE SURVEY" (WEEKLY) PRODUCED IMPORTANT DATA AND INFORMATION THAT SBE COUNCIL FOLDED INTO OUR INTERNAL RESEARCH AND REGULAR ANALYSIS OF THE SMALL BUSINESS SECTOR TO HELP VARIOUS CONSTITUENCIES UNDERSTAND THE STATE OF SMALL BUSINESS AS THEY NAVIGATED COVID-19 ECONOMIC CHALLENGES.