Wait your turn in SBA’s 8(a) process

Question: Where can I find a lawyer who specializes in helping small businesses get expedited 8(a) designations from the Small Business Administration?

Answer: Your question makes a couple of inaccurate assumptions.

Applications to the 8(a) business development program -- created to help small, disadvantaged businesses access the federal procurement market -- are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no expediting the process, which typically takes nine months to a year.

“You cannot leapfrog the backlog even if you’re politically connected or have a great lawyer,” said Mark Amtower, a consultant who specializes in business-to-government marketing at Highland, Md.-based Amtower & Co.

In addition, you don’t need to pay an attorney or consultant to fill out your 8(a) application. “An attorney is an unnecessary expense, if you read through what the SBA requires and your company is compliant on all counts,” Amtower said.

The program requires applicants to be small-business owners who are socially and economically disadvantaged. Minorities listed on SBA’s 8(a) website (www.sba.gov/8abd) are considered eligible. Nonminorities must present evidence of disadvantage.

“The applicant must own at least 51% of the business and be actively involved in management,” Amtower said. “And the business must have been around at least two years and have a commercially viable product or service.”

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Highlight your team in your business plan

Q: I read your column on attracting funding with a thorough business plan. What elements do I need to include to make my business plan fundable?

A: The main thing investors want to know about is your management team: It takes successful people to make a successful business, and investors know this. So make sure your business plan prominently identifies your chief executive, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, their backgrounds, what holes you see in your team and how you’ll recruit people to fill them.

“A common mistake entrepreneurs make is to list their management teams at the back of their business plans. Both in your executive summary and in your plan itself, you must talk about your business opportunity -- what you’re selling, who has a need for it, how you’ll make your money -- and the team that’s going to make it a reality,” said Dave Skibinski, chief executive of Quantum Method, a Los Angeles consulting firm specializing in integrating business planning with marketing strategy.

Make sure to describe your product and what makes it unique with as little jargon as possible. “You read some plans written by people who are so close to the product or the technology that they have a hard time describing it to someone who isn’t,” Skibinski said.

Your plan will need to demonstrate that there’s a demand for your product or service. Include a market survey that shows who your customers will be and whether your product will be a crucial need for them or just something nice to have. (Hint: Investors are more impressed with crucial than with nice.)

Don’t forget to include information on how you’ll make money. “It sounds very simple, but a lot of people don’t discuss this in their business plans and they have a hard time figuring it out,” Skibinski said. How will your product be paid for? Who will decide to buy it? What will you charge? Will you make a one-time sale, or will you sell a service with ongoing payments?

A section on marketing and some basic financial projections round out your plan. “Include projected revenues and expenses, and make sure to differentiate your fixed and your variable costs so you can discuss how you’ll manage those variable expenses and guarantee profitability,” Skibinski said.

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Got a question about running or starting a small enterprise? E-mail it to karen.e.klein@latimes.com or mail it to In Box, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.