The New York District Export Council is one of 58 others running in the United States. Together they unite nearly 1,500 exporters and export service providers in order to create trade education programs, geared toward any type of company.

An upcoming seminar, “Export 101 – Introduction to Exporting,” is no exception. With the U.S. Commercial Service, the New York council will teach all the necessary procedures in international business: creating an infrastructure, managing sales orders, and adhering to regulations.

Friday, May 1, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m, $95. Baruch College, Newman Vertical Campus, 55 Lexington Ave at 24th St.., New York, NY 10010. For more information, visit Export.gov.

Donya, in response to “How to Start Your Own T-Shirt Business”

A: What Donya is referring to is the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which Congress passed last August in response to last year’s mass recall of products, namely of toys with high lead levels or lead-based paint.

As a result, the act forces manufacturers and retailers to comply with three major requirements. Two of these deem mandatory testing for high levels of lead and phthalates, which are used to make plastics more pliable, for every single part of the final product. For the t-shirt retailer, this means the fabric (including cotton, unless undyed) and every embellishment (zippers, buttons, fasteners and even heat transfers).

By Feb. 10, retailers had to take all inventory with high levels of lead (over 600 parts per million) and phthalates (over 1,000 parts per million) off of their shelves, making “millions of safe products … legal on February 9 and illegal on February 10,” as the Consumer Product Safety Commission stated last month.

The act also stated that after Feb. 10, retailers are required to get third-party laboratory testing on all finished products. However, the commission approved a one-year stay just three weeks prior, delaying this implementation until 2010.

Even still, some retailers found the cost of such testing has been high enough to go out of business. T-shirt retailers are required to send in one t-shirt of every style and color, which Kristen J., owner of Baby Brewing, quickly found out. According to her calculations, the total cost of testing her line of “I’m better than a puppy tee,” excluding the onesie and long-sleeved versions, and in pink, blue, organic cotton and white, could amount to $1,800.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have offered all those colors in all those different styles,” she wrote in the DC Metro Moms blog. “Maybe I shouldn’t have given my customers so many options.”

Unfortunately, such considerations have become more commonplace. Pamela Kramer revealed in a Jan. 16 blog entry that removing gowns and bibs from her Happy Panda baby clothing line became the only option she had to meet their phthalate testing requirement.

“That is the only cost effective way to comply,” she wrote.

In the meantime, the Consumer Product Safety Commission will be taking public comment in response to four proposed rules it hopes to finalize over the next year, including new label information requirements and potential consequences for not complying.

“It is critical that we develop component part testing requirements in a way that adds clarity, eliminates some unnecessary testing and provides limited relief to product sellers, especially small manufacturers,” Nancy Nord, the commission’s acting chairman, wrote in a letter to its main sponsors, Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), in addition to Sens. Jay Rockefeller and Mark Pryor.

As suggested in an interview by Classy Mommy’s Colleen Padilla, Kramer outlined a few ways in which retailers can make the best of their one-year stay:

• Reevaluate your product line as you calculate how much third-party testing will cost you. Now is a good time to consider streamlining.
• Talk to your suppliers, to make sure that their materials have been certified by the commission.
• Organize a lead-testing party, the CPSIA Cheerleader way.
• Discuss what this act means to you, with your fellow t-shirt retailers, your local congressmen and the commission.

For more information on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, visit the commission’s Web site. Other useful sources include Fashion-Incubator and the Happy Panda baby blog.

What Snowe wants most is a Small Business Administration (SBA) seat back in the Cabinet – one that President George W. Bush did not elect, and one she and others have sorely missed. Furthermore, elevating the agency’s incoming administrator, she said, “will send a clear signal that small business will drive our nation out of this recession,” as she wrote in a letter addressed to Obama.

At the same time, Snowe has been pushing legislation in hopes of providing more immediate relief. Along with lost lending activity, her ten-step Main Street Economic Recovery Act seeks to recover Small Business Administration funding that has suffered great losses. Over the past eight years, the administration’s budget shrunk by 27 percent – the largest cut of any federal agency.

“When you consider that the SBA budget represents only about 2/100ths of a percent of the total federal budget – yet at the same time small businesses are creating about three-fourths of all new jobs – there is no question that adequately funding the Agency’s small business programs is an investment in America’s economic future,” she said to BusinessWeek.

Traditionally the Small Business Administration’s most popular loan program, 7(a), aims to be “as broad as possible” for start-ups and existing small businesses, according to its official Web site. But over the past year, lending through that program has dropped by 55 percent, as 75 percent of banks reported to the Federal Reserve that they tightened their lending practices.

To stimulate lending activity again, Snowe’s act aims to make Small Business Administration’s loaning processes more efficient. Among other actions, she wants to offer training programs for new lenders, temporarily reduce lending fees by $510 million, and increase the maximum financing that can be secured through one loan – from $2 million to $3 million, according to a press release.

And, with the credit crunch in mind, Snowe also wants to allow borrowers to refinance their 7(a) loans if more favorable terms from another lender are available. Lately, as the Wall Street Journal reported last month, banks and lenders have not been able to re-sell Small Business Administration loans, as their costs have been rising too high to appeal to buyers.

“During these challenging economic times, it is imperative that the SBA … is part of every conversation President-elect Obama has about restoring confidence in the economy,” she said in a statement.

Q: Will the proposed new “G.I. Bill of Rights” do anything to help veteran-owned small businesses?

Will

A: I wish that were so, but it’s not. The new G.I. Bill would help returning veterans with education, and it would help small business owners hire better qualified veteran employees, but it is not intended to help veteran small business owners per se.

That said, the good news is that there are nevertheless some very good programs out there for the veteran entrepreneur. (More on that in a moment.)

First, some background:

As World War II wound down, Congress passed the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, more commonly known as the G.I. Bill of Rights. That law gave every veteran the financial wherewithal to go to the college of their choice.

That is no small thing.

Fully 90% of enlisted men and women do not have a college degree because most enter the service right after high school. At the same time, almost 400,000 service men and women now leave the armed forces every year. This means that most end up entering the job market without much needed higher education.

And employers, small business and large corporation alike, often like to hire employees with a college degree. But without a G.I. Bill for today, these troops are left to their own devices.

Yes, over the years, Congress has increased the amount offered for veteran education, but it still lags far behind the current cost of a higher education.

That is why Senator Jim Webb of Virginia introduced a new G.I. Bill. His legislation proposes to raise the annual allowance for college to about $22,000 (currently it is less than half of that.) This would be enough to pay tuition, housing, and living expenses at any public university.

Don’t we owe these vets at least that much?

Apparently the President and his military brass do not think so, worried that the bill would hurt retention efforts. Said one Pentagon official last month, “If the benefit is too large, many troops will leave the military after their first term.”

Nevertheless, last Thursday, the Senate overwhelmingly passed an Iraq war spending bill that included the new G.I. Bill. What will happen to the bill is unclear as President Bush has vowed to veto the spending bill.

Amazing.

But as I said, there is good news too. There are some significant efforts out there intended to help the veteran entrepreneur. Here are a few of the best:

Vetrepreneur Magazine / The National Veteran Owned Business Association (NAVOBA.com): NAVOBA and its magazine (which I write for) are a fantastic resource for any veteran wanting o succeed in their own small business.

The Veterans Corporation (Veteranscorp.org): A great organization that helps all vets, including service disabled veterans obtain the tools and resources they need to be successful entrepreneurs. Specifically, they help with access to capital and bonding, and entrepreneurial education.

The SBA Office of Veterans Business Development: This SBA program helps veteran small business owners in a variety of ways – counseling, advocacy, training, and so on. Importantly, the office also runs Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOC) which help veterans start, run, and grow their businesses.

Center for Veterans Enterprise (vetbiz.gov): The CVE works to improve the business climate for veterans, minimize barriers, and to inform the public about the benefits of working with veteran-owned small businesses.

The one last thing we can do to help the small business owner and the veteran small business employee is to pass the new G.I. Bill.

Today’s Tip: Over the past year I have been working to put together a comprehensive free program to help veterans start their own small business. It’s not an easy thing to do, especially in this economy, and you would like to help, we would like to hear from you. Shoot me an email to info@mrallbiz.com.

Interesting…very very interesting.

Do you think states should be allowed to levy a sales tax on online purchases?

Well according to a WebProNews.com post , New York is attempting to test those waters. Legislators are trying to pass a bill titled the "Amazon Tax" and are targeting online retailers who are not located in New York. The sales tax would be attached to any items shipped to the state. Proponents of the bill say it will help level the sales tax playing field for brick and mortar retailers and they estimate it will generate around $50 million in tax revenue for the state.

Opponents claim the tax is being introduced due to miscalculated spending and that this tax is being invented to compensate. Large companies such as Amazon have reviewed the bill and believe it will be challenged in court.

Thus far, the government has been reluctant to allow states to regulate internet transactions.

What do you think?

How would you feel about hiring an accountant who puts the interests of the IRS before those of you or your business? What’s that you say? You wouldn’t like it? That’s what I thought you’d say…but what if I told you you had to?

Unfortunately, that may be the case.

(I mean, I won’t force you to but a much stronger influence might…what was their name again?…..oh right! The Government.)

The Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007 stipulates that those who prepare returns containing an understatement of tax due – which the preparer "knew or reasonably should have known" – will be subject to penalties amounting to "the greater of $1,000 or 50% of the income" the preparer received for that particular federal return.

The act also expands the definition of tax-return preparer to cover those handling any federal return, including those for estate, gift, excise, and employment tax.

According to a recent Fortune Small Business article there are a bevy of downsides to this new legislation including:

• The act has the potential to injure the close personal relationships many small businesses maintain with their accountants.
• Smaller businesses may need to prepare more documentation than previously required. In turn, accountants may be less apt to take clients at their word.
• In some extreme cases, accountants may ask for far less data, hoping they will be less liable the less they know, which would put more of the legal burden on entrepreneurs.

So it sounds a bit like intimidation doesn’t it? And it would appear that the government would end up with a lot of free (and somewhat covert) auditors. How do you plan to handle this new legislation? Are you going to write your congressman? Did you even know this tomfoolery was afoot?

And for those of you who do end up getting audited this tax season (for real) check out How to Survive an Audit of Your Business- And Live To Tell About It

If you are like many small business owners, you are of the mindset that there is nothing you can do about it, and that you should just suffer with it. After all, how are you going to convince government forces that they are hurting you? As a small business, you may think you do not have enough influence to make a difference.

In some respects, you may be right. Your small business alone does not have the sway with government regulators and lawmakers that a large corporation has. However, many small businesses, linked together, do.

This is the concept that guided the creation of the National Ombudsman. The Small Business National Ombudsman is a direct link between small businesses and authorities in the federal government.

The creation of the National Ombudsman position came from the government as a way to create an impartial official who would investigate complaints levied by citizens against the government, and recommend resolutions to their problems.

How the Process Works

Once you feel your business is being unfairly regulated, you can file a complaint with the National Ombudsman’s Office .

You will receive a call from the Ombudsman’s office to discuss the complaint. In many cases, there are already programs in place to aid in the resolution of business problems. They may point you toward one of these resources.

If your case is not easy to solve, it will move to the next level – investigation. An investigator will take your case and look more deeply into the situation.

Once the investigator has completed the job, he or she will make a recommendation for your case. If it is found the government agency has wronged your business, there will be a request entered for correction of that wrong. You will also receive a copy of the findings and the Ombudsman’s recommendation.

While the government does not have to comply with these recommendations, they often follow them.

FAQs About Contacting the National Ombudsman Office:

Q. What types of complaints does the Ombudsman look at?

A. Among the most common complaints from small businesses are those relating to excessive audits, fines, threats and investigations of a business by federally regulated agencies.

Q. Can I complain anonymously?

A. While the investigator will try to keep your identity private, you will have to let the National Ombudsman Office know who you are and give them details about your business for an effective investigation.

They will try to keep your identity from government officials; but in many cases, there may be no choice but to reveal your identity to allow a clear presentation of the complaint to the government agency in question.

If confidentiality is a major concern, you can discuss this with the National Ombudsman Office when they call to go over your complaint.

Kerry’s economic stimulus plan targets small businesses over larger ones, and its key features include tax incentives for small businesses, offering double funding for specialist micro loans, and reducing the overall fees that businesses are normally charged on loans.

By doing this, it’s intended that small businesses will benefit from various tax incentives. For example, the amount of taxes that you can now write off for new investment has increased from $125,000 to a hefty $200,000, a substantial increase by anyone’s standards. The net operating carry back period for losses will also increase, rising from 2 years to 5 years if your year ends in 2007 or 2008.

One of Kerry’s key objectives for this new package is to help increase small business success rates, by encouraging them to use federal loan packages as opposed to higher priced business loans or even credit card expenditure. It’s certainly an area that is important to all Americans, and not just business owners. After all, small businesses now account for employing over half of the workforce in the US today, so it’s not as if it’s just a small part of the economy.

However, as good as the package and the various incentives seem, not everyone is a fan of the idea. Detractors claim it’s just a short-term fix, and won’t actually see any worthwhile results. One of the biggest detractors is Chief Economist of the Small Business and Entrepreneurial Council, Raymond Keating. He feels that the package doesn’t offer enough to allow business owners to re-invest in their business, which has always been the proven method of growing your company successfully.

His preferred alternative (and one that many others are backing) is the Economic Growth Act of 2008, which Keating claims allows all companies to put capital expenditures down as expenses. This would help the economy become, and stay, more competitive, as well as indexing capital gains and lowering income tax for companies.

There’s no doubt that both sides have a valid point, and that one of them will be more suited to your own company. Although it might be a little longer before you see your company benefit, at least the people that matter when it comes to helping you succeed are making the effort.