Dept of Commerce link

Darksaga · Post by **Darksaga** » April 3rd, 2007, 10:51 am

This a resource page for those people who have or woudl like to start a small business. There is a special section of links for veterans about half way down the page.

http://www.osec.doc.gov/osdbu/Other_sma ... .htm#vosb1

spanky · Post by **spanky** » April 12th, 2007, 3:36 pm

I do a lot of Biz Dev at my company, which is a small business that does a lot of DOD high tech stuff. We have had a lot of success with the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) programs. DOD, DOE, DHS and other govt. agencies issue research topics under this program. With most DOD topics, a Phase I 6 month effort is worth $70K, and a Phase II 2-year effort is worth $750K. If you can get to Phase III, those are pretty open ended, and are also sole source. I have two Phase III efforts going right now at about $10 million apiece.

One of the big weaknesses I've seen in my company's competitors is a lack of military subject matter expertise. Usually, you get a bunch of scientists and engineers that try to come up with a solution to a DOD research topic like command and control, battlefield visualization, etc. The solutions are hilarious at times. If anybody is interested in pursuing this type of stuff, I can probably give you some pointers on how to win these types of contracts.

Nomad · Post by **Nomad** » April 25th, 2007, 8:28 am

Has anyone here ever contacted the VA to get a Small Business loan?

Ranger Ron · Post by **Ranger Ron** » April 25th, 2007, 9:34 am

Matador275 wrote:Has anyone here ever contacted the VA to get a Small Business loan?

Might try SCORE. They help small business get started.

http://www.score.org/

IntelToad · Post by **IntelToad** » April 25th, 2007, 4:59 pm

Read and heed my advice on starting a company-

1. Never EVER sign a personal guarantee on any lease or contract.

2. Make it a requirement for hiring that all prospective employees first submit to a credit report and criminal background investigation.

3. Insurance is boring- insurance can also save your ass. Make sure you sit down with a good business insurance agent and thoroughly understand what kinds of coverage are available and how they can protect you. Read your entire policy, front to back. Then read it again.

4. If you are going to have partners make sure you choose them more carefully than a spouse. Having done both, the stakes are higher in business and the results are messier and more expensive when things go wrong.

5. Accounting, HR and tax issues can burn you quicker than anything else. Make sure you have these bases covered from the start.

Ranger Ron · Post by **Ranger Ron** » April 26th, 2007, 8:03 am

IntelToad wrote:Read and heed my advice on starting a company-

1. Never EVER sign a personal guarantee on any lease or contract.

2. Make it a requirement for hiring that all prospective employees first submit to a credit report and criminal background investigation.

3. Insurance is boring- insurance can also save your ass. Make sure you sit down with a good business insurance agent and thoroughly understand what kinds of coverage are available and how they can protect you. Read your entire policy, front to back. Then read it again.

4. If you are going to have partners make sure you choose them more carefully than a spouse. Having done both, the stakes are higher in business and the results are messier and more expensive when things go wrong.

5. Accounting, HR and tax issues can burn you quicker than anything else. Make sure you have these bases covered from the start.

VERY sound advice from someone who might just know!

Unless you are going to be a one man show, the BEST thing about your business will be the people you hire and the WORST thing about your business will be the people you hire.