SBA Revises Size Standards for Small Businesses

The Small Business Administration has proposed to revise its size standards for small businesses.
If the revisions are put into place, more than 120,000 additional companies would be counted as small businesses. These businesses would become eligible for SBA loans and government incentives granted to small businesses.
The Washington Bureau reports that: "The SBA is reviewing size standards for all industries in order to accommodate changes in industry structure, market conditions and business models. The agency's last comprehensive review of size standards occurred more than 25 years ago.
In the first round of proposed changes, the SBA increased the size standards for 71 different types of businesses, including retailers, hotels and various service industries."
This means that if your business was considered mid sized before, you could be considered small business now.
For example, office supply stores with $30 million or less in annual revenue would be considered to be small businesses, compared with the previous threshold of $7 million in revenue. The size standard for men's clothing stores, by contrast, would only increase from $9 million to $10 million.
The intention of these new provisions is ensure that more businesses are eligible for SBA programs.
This means that if you thought you were a mid sized business but felt like a small business, you can now turn to SBA.
SBA Administrator Karen Mills said the size standard review is designed to "reflect changes in the economy and the marketplace." The changes will make more businesses eligible for its programs and "ensure SBA is in a position to be a real partner in helping our nation's entrepreneurs and small business owners succeed," she said.
Related Resources:
- Current Table of SBA Small Business Size Standards (US Small Business Adminstration)
- SBA Loans Opened to More Businesses: How SBA Size Limits Work (Findlaw's Free Enterprise Blog)
- SBA Defines "Small Business" (Findlaw's Free Enterprise Blog)
- Fewer Small Business Contracts for Big Business? House Bill Aims to Curb Diversion (Findlaw's Free Enterprise Blog)
- Business & Commercial Law FAQ (provided by The Law Firm of Peters & Wasilefski)