Big Website Coming For Small Business

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Highly-regulated convenience store owners will soon have a one-stop Web site for federal compliance information on taxes, immigration, workplace safety, environmental requirements and hundreds of other regulations presenting challenges for small businesses.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that Business.gov -- the official business link to the U.S. government -- will be re-launched in October following a redesign. The site will now search compliance information, federal forms and news from more than 21 federal government agencies, as well as compile government compliance contact information.

With compliance demands on businesses growing over the past decade, owners can be overwhelmed. Business.gov will help businesses stay in compliance and stay in business with a one-stop place for compliance information from federal agencies ranging from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Department of Labor, the SBA said.

When the site was initially launched in 2004, it provided general business information on managing, growing and exiting a business. Feedback from small business owners pinpointed the need for specific information about federal compliance, including government agency contact information and forms. Future enhancements to the site include state and municipal government compliance information.

The SBA said the revamped site will save time and money, especially for small to medium-sized businesses that represent 99 percent of all U.S. companies. Staying in compliance is more difficult and costly for these businesses since they must meet the requirements of multiple government agencies and do not have in-house compliance experts.

Without Business.gov, an owner may need to search for compliance information and forms from a half-dozen or more federal government Web sites, the SBA said.

Business.gov is managed by the U.S. Small Business Administration in partnership with 21 federal government agencies, and is part of a Presidential e-government initiative. Click here to visit the Web site.
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