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We can expect some important changes coming to the Small Business Administration. The new head of the agency, Karen Mills, has a strong background in innovation and venture capital financing. A resident of Maine, she is very familiar with the challenges of a rural economy, as well.
Here's an article that explores the challenges facing the SBA. It relies heavily on the views of the incoming Senate chair of the Small Business Committee, Mary Landrieu. Read more.
Of course, the culture of Washington could quickly intervene and derail any efforts to revitalize the agency. While the Office of Advocacy continues to do a good job in keeping research focused on the role of smaller firms in our economy, many people characterized the agency as dispirited, without a clear sense of direction.
Remarkably, some SBA critics even question whether it makes sense to put a venture capitalist at the head of the agency. And a few are questioning Mills' business record.
These controversies emphasize how skewed the discussion over small business has become. Hopefully, we will see some sorting out. Some critics seem to think that the main function of the SBA should be to guarantee small business set-asides in federal contracting.
They seem to forget that the most innovative era of the SBA came in the early 1960s, when the agency took a leading role in helping to develop venture capital investments through the Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) initiative.
In short, if federal policy toward small businesses lost a strategic focus. Some years ago, I wrote a short paper that explores the different types of small businesses and the strategic roles that they play.
Federal policy, by adopting a coherent strategic framework, can begin to make sense of the conflicting demands now swirling around the agency.
Mills could be just the person to bring some sense to our national conversation about small business.
Small Business - A Strategic Perspective
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