Despite efforts in recent years to expand its loan programs, the Small Business Administration gets only mixed support from entrepreneurs, even those who have benefited from its help.
That was among findings of a survey of 409 owners and managers of companies with annual sales of $1 million to $3 million. The survey, with a sampling error of plus or minus five percentage points, was done by the Wirthlin Group, as part of Keycorp's Survey of Small Business Sentiment.
Among respondents, 15% of those who had used the SBA and 22% of those who hadn't agreed that Congress should abolish the agency. On the other hand, 65% of past users said the agency should be preserved but reorganized to make it more efficient, as did 51% of nonusers.
"Past experience makes these entrepreneurs a little more favorable toward the SBA, but not overwhelmingly," said David Richardson, a senior vice president at Wirthlin. "It certainly suggests that the process of getting an SBA loan is so burdensome that these people walked away with a bad taste in their mouths."
Nonetheless, the SBA's loan programs are viewed by 57% of small-business owners as the agency's most important service. Advocacy was next, at 17%. Technical and managerial assistance came in last, at 13%.
However, women business owners valued the latter, lesser-known functions more than their male counterparts. Advocacy was rated highest by 28% of the women, compared with 14% of the men. Likewise, management and technical assistance was seen as most important by 17% of the women and 12% of men.
"Women entrepreneurs tend to be much more enlightened on other services the SBA provides," said Sandy Maltby, senior vice president at Keycorp and manager of the bank's small-business services unit.
The survey showed the agency's new products and marketing efforts are beginning to reach their mark.
In particular, 17% of new companies in the survey said they were likely to seek an SBA loan or line of credit, compared with fewer than 6% of companies six years old or older.
