Wrong! Try Again
It's back to square one for the SBA and its small-business size standards.
The SBA is headed back to the drawing board to make new size standards for small businesses. Each U.S. industry is assigned a size standard, which sets the maximum number of employees a firm can have and still qualify for SBA programs, exclusions from federal rules, and contracting opportunities. The SBA's first proposal for changing size standards was released in March. It would have consolidated current size standards, which are based on annual receipts, number of employees and other measures, into 10 categories based on employee numbers. (See "Capitol Issues", June 2004.)
It received a blistering critique from the SBA Office of Advocacy: "Some small businesses are concerned that adoption of the proposed size standards will force them to reduce the size of their work forces to retain their small business designation." The SBA withdrew the proposal.
Continue reading this article -- and everything on Entrepreneur!
Become a member to get unlimited access and support the voices you want to hear more from. Get full access to Entrepreneur for just $5!
