# ![](media/image1.png){width="1.63125in" height="0.83125in"} 

Volume 12 -- Issue 4 Contact: Chris Chavez (christopher.chavez@sba.gov)

## April 2006 Phone: (303) 844-0501/Fax 844-0506

####### SBA's Monthly News Update 

###### *-Serving Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming-*

Newsline Eight is circulated to our resource and lending partners by
SBA's Region Eight Office

721 19^th^ Street, Suite 400, Denver, Colorado 80202.

**Elton W. Ringsak, Regional Administrator**

**James R. Henderson, Regional Advocate**

**Christopher Chavez, Regional Communications Director**

**Carol Helm, Regional Office Manager**

![](media/image3.png)***[Regional Administrator's Update by Elton "Mick"
Ringsak]{.underline}***

**SBA *Regulatory Fairness Hearing* Targets Small Business Owners from
Region Eight.** Region Eight Small business owners, community leaders
and representatives of trade associations concerned with the excessive
enforcement of federal rules and regulations can voice their complaints
and opinions at a regional SBA *Regulatory Fairness Board Hearing* to be
held Thursday, April 13^th^ from 8:30 a.m. to noon in Pierre, South
Dakota. The hearing will be held at the Ramkota River Centre, located at
920 W. Sioux Avenue, Gallery B, Pierre, SD. Representatives from SBA's
National Ombudsman's Office, Region VIII Regulatory Fairness Board, and
federal regulatory agencies will hear comments and complaints about
regulatory enforcement and compliance. This hearing offers small
business owners a chance to express their concerns about federal
compliance practices. Comments and complaints presented during the
hearing will be directed to the appropriate federal regulatory agency.
This information will also be shared with federal officials in the
Ombudsman's annual report to Congress, and with managers of federal
regulatory agencies to assist them with their enforcement actions. The
National Ombudsman's authority to respond to comments on compliance
issues is limited to federal regulatory enforcement matters and does not
include concerns about obtaining federal contracts, regulations in
general, or securing guaranteed loans. Comments and concerns about
federal enforcement actions can be addressed directly to SBA's Office of
the National Ombudsman at 1-888-734-3247 (REGFAIR). For more information
about the national ombudsman and this hearing, you may visit the
National Ombudsman's Web site at
[www.sba.gov/ombudsman](http://www.sba.gov/ombudsman). The Pierre, SD
hearing is open to the public. Those wishing to testify should contact
the SBA's Jon Haverly at (605) 330-4243, extension 42, or by email at
jon.haverly@sba.gov before the hearing. Should a small business owner or
representative be unable to attend, written testimony may be sent in
advance of the hearing to be included in the public record.

![](media/image4.png)**["In Your Corner" by Jim Henderson, Small
Business Advocate]{.underline}**

**How to Grow Small Businesses in Rural Areas.** What drives and what
impedes small business growth in rural area? A new research report
released last month by the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office
of Advocacy provides some answers. The answers may strike most city
dwellers as fairly insightful while rural folks would likely say, "We
all know that." The report is entitled *An Empirical Approach to
Characterize Rural Small Business Growth and Profitability.* While
Advocacy financed this report,

**Page One of Three**

**Page Two -- Newsline Eight -- April 2006**

Innovation and Information Consultants, Inc. analyzed the challenges one
faces in developing a rural economy and came up with the key factors
influencing small business growth in a rural economy.

 

Researchers found that the more potential customers a business can reach
the greater the probability it can become a profitable business. In
rural areas, unless you are an internet-based firm, finding more
customers quickly becomes too expensive as distances increase.
Furthermore, many rural areas continue to see declines in their
population. Compounding this population decline, many rural areas are
losing some of their brightest young minds to the lure of the "big"
cities. This research is noteworthy for a couple of reasons. First, it
found that providing small business assistance emphasizing small
business management and training, networking and finding sources of
capital did more to grow rural existing small businesses than the common
economic development practice of trying to find and recruit a business
to move into the area. Second, it established that federal, state and
local development policies need to be flexible to the needs of specific
rural areas. Without more support and action in these two arenas we will
continue to witness the gradual decline of our rural economies. The
complete report is available free from Advocacy's website at
[www.sba.gov/advo](http://www.sba.gov/advo)

**[District Office Reports: Your SBA Event Planner]{.underline}**

**Colorado** **-- 2006 Small Business Procurement Event to be held in
Colorado Springs on April 26 -27^th^.** Representatives from several DOD
installations in the Colorado Springs area will discuss procurement
opportunities for small business in the coming fiscal year. Key note
speakers include Joseph Diamond, Director of the Air Force's Office of
Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Mick Ringsak, SBA's Region
VIII Administrator, Mark Lumer, Principal Assistant responsible for
contracting at the US Army Contracting Agency. Several procuring DOD
agencies will be participating in this event including the AF Academy,
Peterson AFB, US Army Corp of Engineers, AF Space Command and others.
The event runs from 4/26 - 4/27, 7:00 am to 4:40 pm at the Antlers
Hilton, 4 South Cascade Ave, in Colorado Springs. The cost is
\$200/person. For information, go to
[www.online-storefront.com/sboutreach2006](http://www.online-storefront.com/sboutreach2006)
.

**Montana** -- **2006 Assistance for Business Clinics to begin in
April.** The Montana Department of Labor and Industry, Montana
Department of Revenue, Montana Department of Administration, and the
U.S. Small Business Administration are teaming up to present the 2006
Assistance for Business Clinics (ABC). These all-day clinics begin in
April and run through October and will be conducted in fifteen different
communities throughout Montana. Small business owners and employers will
learn about Wage and Hour laws, Worker's Compensation; Human Rights,

**Page Three -- Newsline Eight -- April 2006**

Unemployment Insurance Benefits, Unemployment Insurance Tax, Workforce
Services -- Employer Tax Credits; Withholding Tax, Online State

Business; and SBA loan programs and services. The clinics are designed
to assist new and established businesses/employers, accountants,
bookkeepers, and lawyers in constructing a proactive approach to prevent
unnecessary claims and/or charges by providing updated reporting of
state withholding, Unemployment Tax requirements, minimum wage laws,
overtime laws, civil rights laws, and federal tax incentives, in
addition to providing valuable financial, technical and management
assistance information and resources for the small business/employer.
For more information about specific clinic locations, contact the SBA's
Rena Carlson at (406) 441-1081.

**North Dakota** -- **Family Medical Leave Workshop to be held April
25^th^ in Fargo**. The North Dakota Small Business Development Center
will host this free workshop from 3:00pm - 5:00pm CDT at Job Services,
1350 South 32nd Street SW in Fargo.  Elaine Jacobson, from the federal
Department of Labor, will discuss the legal aspects of the Family
Medical Leave Act.  She also welcomes questions and situations regarding
the Act.  For more information or to register, contact the SBDC at (701)
235-1495.

**Utah** -- **U.S. Senator Bob Bennett's** **annual Utah Rural Business
Conference to be held April 19th -- 20th in Vernal, Utah.**  Now in its
5^th^ year, this conference offers practical solutions to the unique
challenges faced by Utah's rural business.  Speakers and presenters at
this event will offer real-world advice to rural business owners.  This
conference offers several breakout sessions and interested organizations
will have the opportunity to exhibit their products and services at a
business expo.  The business expo will run throughout the conference. 
Elton "Mick" Ringsak, SBA's Region VIII Administrator, will attend the
conference and Stan Nakano, District Director and Steve Price, Deputy
District Director of SBA's Utah District Office will participate in a
breakout session entitled "Business Capital: Your Key to Unlocking
Financial Doors".  For additional information regarding this conference
please contact Jessica Christopher at (801) 524-5933.       

**Wyoming** -- **The 2006 Central Wyoming Business & Industry Expo to be
held April 27^th^ at the Casper Events Center from 3:00 pm to 8:00
pm**.  The Wyoming District Office will staff a booth and participate in
the \"Rocking Back to the Fifties\" at the largest Business to Business
Expo in the State.  The Expo represents major industries such as
banking, retailers, health care, restaurants and many, many more.  The
Business Expo provides an effective and affordable way to showcase
products and services to over 800 attendees.  This event is free to the
public.  For more information, please call the SBA\'s Deb Farris at
(307) 261-6510.