At six months on the job, Natalie Madeira Cofield, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Women’s Business Ownership at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), provides executive oversight, management, leadership, and championship of female entrepreneurship. A seasoned entrepreneur and executive with over 15 years of experience in securing diverse capital, Natalie oversees the largest expansion […]

Providing a snapshot of the world’s entrepreneurial levels, the Veuve Clicquot ‘Women’s Entrepreneurship Barometer Global Report 2021’ surveyed thousands of people across 17 countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US) between December 2020 and January 2021. Read more ……

Even before Covid-19, it was hard for some women entrepreneurs to make time for long-term strategic thinking about the growth of their companies. Time—especially for women with school-aged children—became an even more precious commodity during the pandemic. As entrepreneurs learn to manage their businesses in the era of Covid-19, it is critical to reorient ourselves to future […]

On September 7, the SBA issued two policy notices offering details on its plan to waive certain borrower fees on 7(a) loans of $350,000 or less and reduce fees on 504 loans, even after Thursday. In light of the continued difficult position in which many businesses — particularly in-person operations — still find themselves, the agency is opting for […]

With a worker shortage continuing alongside the seemingly endless pandemic, you might think small businesses are struggling. For the most part, they are, says a new QuickBooks report on small businesses. The newly released analysis points to how small businesses are grappling with pandemic recoveries, including responding to a shortage of materials and workers.  Read more ……

In order for any business to thrive, it needs to have a productive leader and team. However, productivity means a lot more than simply keeping busy. Sometimes, you can keep yourself busy working on tasks that essentially amount to nothing and lead you down a dead-end path of wasted time and energy. Read more ……

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the business landscape in a matter of weeks. Both inside and outside of the workplace, obstacles and challenges quickly surrounded even the most successful organizations. The changes forced every leader to radically rethink how they defined risk and resiliency. Read more ……

When it comes to reputation, DEI has become a C-suite priority that risk management professionals, human resources, legal counsel, and leadership at all levels of an organization must support. Beyond ethical and moral considerations, research shows that there are compelling business reasons to pursue DEI.  Read more ……

I recently attended IMA’s annual conference, ACE2021. One of the hot discussion topics was robotic-process automation (RPA). The technology itself isn’t new — let’s face it, we’ve all dealt with chatbots —but now RPA is more streamlined and in a price range that small businesses can afford. Read more ……