Small Business Administration

Business at Fresco Cafe North in Goleta is built on grilled chicken sandwiches, Gorgonzola-and-walnut salads and a $135,000 loan backed by the Small Business Administration. Owner Indras Govender has had a triple helping of SBA loans since 1995, each used to serve up a new restaurant. In May, he and his wife, Tilly, got their latest from Community West Bank to transform their pizzeria into an eclectic lunch and dinner spot that features giant cupcakes and other desserts.

While politicians in Washington tinkered with the final compromise version of the $787-billion economic stimulus bill Thursday night, Alonso Arellano was working late in his office, putting the final touches on his own economic stimulus package. His bid to boost consumer spending was to launch the next day, when lunch customers at his La Adelita restaurant in Sun Valley could pay just $4.99 for a scaled-down serving of chili rellenos, chicken mole, chili verde, beef stew or other popular dishes.

As a credit crunch squeezed borrowers during the last three months of 2007, Los Angeles bucked the national downward slide in loans backed by the Small Business Administration. Driven by a higher number of smaller deals, loan volume here increased 3.5% to 1,319 from 1,275 in the year-earlier period, according to agency figures. But the amount lent fell $15.3 million, or 5.5%, to $265.2 million.

To serve the fast-growing ranks of female business owners like Kathy Macias, who runs a Riverside auto repair shop, the Small Business Administration has added more than two dozen assistance centers in the last two years. Now, that pace has ground to a halt. No new federal women's business centers will open in the 2009 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, because of funding constraints, according to the Small Business Administration official who oversees the grant program.

Dear Karen: I need new marketing materials but can't spend a lot. Where do I look? Answer: Personal referrals are the best way to choose service professionals. Ask other entrepreneurs what graphic design and printing firms they use, meet with two or three and choose the best quality and service for your budget. Note how long it takes to get responses, said Andrew Field, president of PrintingForLess.com. "You want a fast answer when you first approach them.

California regulators want to expand a pilot program under which utilities offer interest-free loans to small businesses that want to buy energy-efficient gear. The three big utilities that tried the program last year are on board to enlarge the effort.

Cash and lots of it. That's what Memory Glass owners Nick Savage and Loren Dion will need to pay for the growth they want for their Santa Barbara business, said consultant Gerald W. Harter, chairman of the Santa Barbara chapter of SCORE, formerly known as Service Corps of Retired Executives.

Dear Karen: Do you have some tips on using coupons to attract new customers? Answer: In a tough economy, consumers desperate for a break may be more willing than ever to use coupons. Coupon-sharing website DealLocker.com, where you can submit your coupons, has had a 40% jump in usage in the last month, Chief Executive Jonathan Lieberman said. He recommended that you target consumer frustrations to strike a chord with your clients: "Offer a 'gas-saver' free shipping coupon, for example."

When the Chino Hills earthquake hit July 29, Heidi Gallegos was having lunch with an associate in nearby Diamond Bar. "Once the jolt hit, we were, like, frozen and watching the doors, thinking 'Do we stay or do we go?' " said Gallegos, chief executive of the Regional Chamber of Commerce -- San Gabriel Valley. A mile south on Diamond Bar Boulevard, diners at the Whole Enchilada were "in shock," General Manager Sandy Ball said.

The federal government last year fell just shy of its goal of giving small businesses almost a quarter of its contracts, but the Small Business Administration warned that error-filled data submitted by agencies might have falsely inflated the government's numbers. SBA acting Administrator Sandy Baruah estimates that federal agencies overstated their progress by $5 billion to $10 billion last year by improperly contending that small firms received work that actually went to large corporations.