U.S. Small Business Administration, U.S. Postal Service Announce Internet Tools for Entrepreneurs

March 8, 2007; 02:35 AM

The U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Postal Service today unveiled a new Internet tool for small business owners, designed to deliver business solutions to entrepreneurs.

Delivering Success, an online video-on-demand resource of successful entrepreneurs, is a nationwide cosponsorship with the Postal Service to provide small business owners with invaluable information through video interviews that are both accessible and convenient for entrepreneurs.

The Delivering Success video interviews -- online at http://www.sba.gov/deliveringsuccess -- chronicle the experiences of successful entrepreneurs from around the country, offering guidance and sharing insight on the road to success. The video interviews provide key information on the ingredients of small business success, including an overview of business basics, resources to help with business plan development, small business friendly financing, business promotion, and planning & research.

The premier launch of Delivering Success took place in Washington, D.C., with Warren Brown, owner of CakeLove bakery and Love Cafe, and host of the Food Network's Sugar Rush. Brown is one of the highlighted small business owners featured in the video interviews. Brown shares his successes and personal take on the entrepreneurial spirit.

"Small businesses are the backbone of the nation's economy, and the SBA wants to do everything we can to encourage entrepreneurship and provide business solutions and resources that are readily available," said SBA Administrator Steven C. Preston. "That is why we have partnered with the U.S. Postal Service highlighting successful business owners to share their wealth of knowledge and business experience."

The partnership with the SBA is an extension of video-on-demand services that the Postal Service has used as part of its outreach to small business owners. Experience supporting businesses and entrepreneurs through technology and the Internet is one of the resources the Postal Service offers through "Delivering Success."

"We are working harder than ever to offer solutions to the challenges faced by today's small businesses," said Rod Devar, manager of advertising and promotion, U.S. Postal Service. "This partnership with the SBA and the ability to reach small business owners at a time that is convenient for them is one more way the Postal Service is reaching out to meet the needs of its customers."

Entrepreneurs have round-the-clock access to the video interviews, which are the ideal start-up tool for budding entrepreneurs and business owners. Other highlights of the Delivering Success video interviews include a business reality check, techniques to take a business to the next level and the top 10 tips to get a business started and keep it growing.

Small businesses make up more than 99.7 percent of all employers. They drive the U.S. economy and generate more than 50 percent of the nation's nonfarm private gross domestic product (GDP). Over the past decade, small firms created between 60 and 80 percent of the net new jobs in our economy.

The U.S. Small Business Administration, the nation's largest financial backer of small businesses, has teamed with the U.S. Postal Service to expand tools for business solutions. The SBA's programs and services help business owners start, run, and grow their businesses, and provide a range of financial, technical, and management assistance.

The U.S. Postal Service has a dedicated portal on its Web site for small business owners -- http://www.usps.com/smallbiz. The site offers pricing comparisons for shipping options, shipping tools that include supplies, printing desktop postage, finding the proper ZIP Code, and requesting a free package pickup.

The SBA's participation in this cosponsorship does not constitute an express or implied endorsement of the views, opinions, products, or services of any cosponsor or other person or entity. All SBA programs, services, and cosponsored activities are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Cosponsorship Authorization #06-2551-102.