By Natalia Olson-Urtecho
SBA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator
Starting a business can be overwhelming. One must often set up a legal structure, find office space, and apply for multiple licenses and permits before even opening the doors to customers.
At SBA, we believe the process shouldn’t be so tedious and time-consuming. That’s why we’re proud to join the White House in announcing the launch of our Startup in a Day initiative, in alliance with the National League of Cities.
This month, SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet joined President Obama in calling on our colleagues at city halls across the country to make a powerful pledge to streamline and consolidate all processes required to start a business into one easy-to-use online tool. Our goal is to enable America’s entrepreneurs to discover and apply for all city, county, state, and federal licenses and permits needed to start a business in 24 hours or less.
Success means entrepreneurs can spend their valuable time developing products, finding new customers, and growing their enterprises – rather than wading through red tape.
Eleven pioneering cities have already taken the Startup in a Day pledge, including Washington, DC – right here in SBA’s Mid-Atlantic region. Mayors are using their leadership positions to digitize and consolidate local licensing and permitting requirements for entrepreneurs.
So, let’s all step up and encourage more cities, large and small, as well as Native American communities, to take this pledge today. To sweeten the pot, SBA is also offering significant prize money to help local leaders create tools to make good on the pledge.
SBA is hosting two competitions until July 13 to encourage municipalities to create or implement Startup in a Day online tools. The first awards up to 25 prizes of $50,000 apiece to cities that create or implement solutions making it easier for entrepreneurs to apply in less than 24 hours for all their licenses and permits. The second competition awards $250,000 for a winning applicant who creates an open-source solution that can be adopted by other jurisdictions.
Small businesses are the engines o the U.S. economy by creating two out of every three net, new jobs and employing more than half of the country’s private-sector workforce. When we make it easier for new businesses to get started, we’re making it easier for them to grow and hire.
Join SBA in encouraging cities to join the Startup in a Day movement, take the pledge, and eliminate obstacles to small business job creation. Together, we can make the process of starting a business faster and easier.
For more information, please visit www.sba.gov/startup or email the Startup in a Day team at [email protected].