WASHINGTON
-- More than 125,000 entrepreneurs interested in starting or expanding a business
have used the U.S. Small Business Administrations newest online assessment resources,
the SBA announced today.
The SBA is helping hundreds of
prospective entrepreneurs each day through two online assessment tools, the Small
Business Readiness and the 8(a) Business Development assessment tools. In just
over three months, more than 125,000 budding entrepreneurs have benefited from
the latest Web-applications.
These new tools represent
a changing SBA, where more Web applications are being used to better serve our
small business customers so they can have information when they need and wherever
they are doing business, said SBA Associate Administrator Anoop Prakash.
Since
the SBA introduced the online Small Business Readiness assessment tool, usage
has climbed rapidly. The assessment tool - the first of its kind - helps budding
entrepreneurs evaluate their readiness for starting a small business.
The
Small Business Readiness assessment tool helps prospective entrepreneurs determine
their level of preparedness for venturing into a new business through a series
of automated questions. It helps them evaluate their skills, characteristics,
and experience as they relate to starting a business.
Based
on their scores, entrepreneurs are directed to the SBA training resources that
support the identified needs to improve business preparedness. The Small Business
Readiness assessment tool is available on the SBAs Web site at http://www.sba.gov/assessmenttool/index.html,
or by clicking the Assessment Tool icon under the spotlight heading on the SBA
home page.
The 8(a) Business Development assessment tool
was launched in October to help small business owners decide whether they are
suitable and eligible for the SBAs 8(a) Business Development Program. The program
helps small disadvantaged businesses compete in the U.S. economy through business
development. Like the small business readiness assessment, the customized 8(a)
Business Development assessment tool directs entrepreneurs to targeted training
and resources online. It too is available online at http://training.sba.gov:8000/assessment.
The
Small Business Readiness and the 8(a) business development assessment tools help
take away the guess work, and are easy to use. They are customer-focused and designed
to make it easier for entrepreneurs to evaluate and recognize needed business
skills. The new Web-based tools are simple to use and take about 10 minutes to
complete.
