    [House Hearing, 115 Congress]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

     TECH TALKS: HOW SBA ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS HAVE EVOLVED
                                WITH TECHNOLOGY

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

                     SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND TECHNOLOGY

                                     OF THE

                          COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS
                                 UNITED STATES
                            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                         ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                                  HEARING HELD
                               SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

                                   __________

    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

                Small Business Committee Document Number 115-036
                  Available via the GPO Website: www.fdsys.gov

                                   __________

                        U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
    26-772                     WASHINGTON : 2018

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                       HOUSE COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS

                          STEVE CHABOT, Ohio, Chairman
                                STEVE KING, Iowa
                          BLAINE LUETKEMEYER, Missouri
                              DAVE BRAT, Virginia
                 AUMUA AMATA COLEMAN RADEWAGEN, American Samoa
                            STEVE KNIGHT, California
                            TRENT KELLY, Mississippi
                                 ROD BLUM, Iowa
                             JAMES COMER, Kentucky
                     JENNIFFER GONZALEZ-COLON, Puerto Rico
                              DON BACON, Nebraska
                        BRIAN FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania
                             ROGER MARSHALL, Kansas
                          RALPH NORMAN, South Carolina
                   NYDIA VELAZQUEZ, New York, Ranking Member
                           DWIGHT EVANS, Pennsylvania
                           STEPHANIE MURPHY, Florida
                            AL LAWSON, JR., Florida
                             YVETTE CLARK, New York
                              JUDY CHU, California
                           ALMA ADAMS, North Carolina
                          ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York
                            BRAD SCHNEIDER, Illinois
                                     VACANT

                   Kevin Fitzpatrick, Majority Staff Director
          Jan Oliver, Majority Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel
                         Adam Minehardt, Staff Director

                                C O N T E N T S

                               OPENING STATEMENTS

                                                                       Page
    Hon. Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen...............................     1
    Hon. Dwight Evans................................................     2

                                   WITNESSES

    Ms. Marsha Bailey, Founder and CEO, Women's Economic Ventures,
      Santa Maria, CA, testifying on behalf of the Association of
      Women's Business Centers.......................................     4
    Mr. Scott Daugherty, State Director, North Carolina Small
      Business Technology Development Centers, Raleigh, North
      Carolina, testifying on behalf of America's SBDC...............     6
    Ms. Bridget Weston Pollack, Vice President of Marketing &
      Communications, SCORE Association, Herndon, VA.................     7
    Mr. Brent Peacock, Director, Veterans Business Outreach Center,
      Gulf Coast State College, Panama City, FL......................     9

                                    APPENDIX

    Prepared Statements:
        Ms. Marsha Bailey, Founder and CEO, Women's Economic
          Ventures, Santa Maria, CA, testifying on behalf of the
          Association of Women's Business Centers....................    21
        Mr. Scott Daugherty, State Director, North Carolina Small
          Business Technology Development Centers, Raleigh, North
          Carolina, testifying on behalf of America's SBDC...........    25
        Ms. Bridget Weston Pollack, Vice President of Marketing &
          Communications, SCORE Association, Herndon, VA.............    31
        Mr. Brent Peacock, Director, Veterans Business Outreach
          Center, Gulf Coast State College, Panama City, FL..........    46
    Questions for the Record:
        None.
    Answers for the Record:
        None.
    Additional Material for the Record:
        None.

     TECH TALKS: HOW SBA ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS HAVE EVOLVED
                                WITH TECHNOLOGY

                                  ----------

                          THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017

                      House of Representatives,
                   Committee on Small Business,
                 Subcommittee on Health and Technology,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:00 a.m., in
    Room 2360, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Aumua Amata
    Coleman Radewagen [chairman of the Subcommittee] presiding.
        Present: Representatives Chabot, Radewagen, Marshall, and
    Evans.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Talofa lava. I call today's
    Subcommittee on Health and Technology hearing to order.
        I would like to thank everyone for joining us today.
        Over the last two decades, we have seen technology change
    and evolve at an exponential rate. As technology has continued
    to advance, businesses of all sizes have adopted various forms
    of technology as a way to increase efficiency and decrease
    costs. And as this reliance on technology has become more
    prevalent, more and more small businesses have found that an
    increased use of these technological tools is necessary to
    allow their businesses to compete and succeed in the market.
    Now more than ever every company needs a website. Marketing
    campaigns have moved online. And the ability to accept credit
    or debit card payments, sometimes right on the spot, can make
    or break a business's bottom line.
        In a recent study, 80 percent of small businesses recognize
    this increased reliance on technology as a way of allowing
    their businesses to succeed, but they also reported that they
    were concerned about being able to afford and keep up with
    evolving technologies.
        Today, we will look at how the Small Business
    Administration's Entrepreneurial Development programs are
    serving as a resource to help businesses, small businesses,
    develop and advance alongside this new technology. The SBA's
    Entrepreneurial Development programs include the Service Corps
    of Retired Executives, or SCORE, small business development
    centers, women's business centers, and veterans business
    outreach centers. Each of the programs offers training and
    counseling to both aspiring entrepreneurs and existing small
    business owners on how to start, grow, and compete in the
    market.
        In order to fulfill this mission, each of these
    entrepreneurial development programs has adapted its training
    and counseling programs to reflect the increased need their
    small business clients have for technology-based training and
    counseling. Given the large number of training locations and
    clients these programs serve, this type of program adjustment
    is no small task. In total, the entrepreneurial development
    programs have over 1,000 locations across the United States,
    including one in my home territory of American Samoa. They also
    have collectively trained more than 700,000 clients and advised
    or mentored more than 350,000 clients in fiscal year 2016
    alone.
        I look forward to hearing from each of our witnesses on the
    progress they have made and challenges their programs continue
    to face as they adapt their training and counseling curricula.
        I now yield to Ranking Member Evans for his opening
    statement.
        Mr. EVANS. Good morning. And thank you, Madam Chairperson.
        The SBA administrates a portfolio of entrepreneurship
    development programs, including Small Business Development
    Centers, Women's Business Centers, the Service Corps of Retired
    Executives, or SCORE, and Veterans Business Outreach Center
    programs. These initiatives provide an aspiring entrepreneur
    and existing businesses with invaluable counseling, training
    and technical assistance, and mentorship.
        Whether it is creating a business plan, navigating the
    procurement process, marketing a new product, or identifying
    networking opportunities, the SBA entrepreneurship development
    programs provide an array of services to help small businesses
    navigate regulatory obstacles, grow, thrive. And most
    importantly, many of these services are easily accessible
    online.
        Technology has not only changed how we communicate, but
    also how businesses conduct it. It should come as no surprise
    that small firms are some of the savviest users of technology.
    They have found innovative ways to access untapped markets
    through low-cost voice and video conferencing. And many small
    businesses are utilizing social media to interact with
    consumers and markets themselves.
        The resources they use also change as technology does. The
    SBA entrepreneurship development services must be agile enough
    to adapt to new technology, but also assist small businesses in
    their adoption efforts. While digital outreach and training is
    just one piece of that puzzle, it is one of the most important
    ones.
        The SBA programs are key to helping small business owners
    remain competitive in a global market. It is vital that
    training and counseling programs reflect the marketing increase
    reliance on technology.
        All four of the entrepreneurship development programs have
    already undertaken efforts to connect to their clients online
    by offering distance learning, forums, and personalized online
    assistance. Yet challenges remain.
        It is critical that as we consider ways to legislatively
    strengthen SBA entrepreneurship development programs, we also
    do it with technology in mind. We must not just look at the
    effect of online knowledge share between resource partners'
    internally and external networks. This Committee should also
    acknowledge the greater burdens prohibiting the use of
    technology by centers.
        One such challenge is a broad-based infrastructure that
    reaches everyone. Without investment in our infrastructure, it
    is inevitable that small firms in rural areas will fall behind
    because they lack access to the SBA resources. Poorly connected
    hurts the economic development programs and the businesses.
        We must also look towards the development of a
    cybersecurity network that protects small employers trying to
    take advantage of digital communications and markets. It also
    is to protect the information conducted by economic development
    centers.
        We can no longer afford to be complacent with security.
    That is why I have cosponsored H.R. 3170, the Small Business
    Development Center Cyber Training Act of 2017, to provide
    resources and tactics to assist in planning for cybersecurity
    and defending against cyber risks and cyber attacks.
        Today's hearing will focus on the efforts within each of
    the SBA programs regarding digital training and outreach. It is
    also giving us the chance to hear about the challenges they
    face in developing their network and assisting small businesses
    adapt to rapidly changing technology.
        I look forward to the witnesses' insight and thank you for
    being here today.
        As you know, Madam Chair, I am sitting in for Ranking
    Member Lawson because of the Florida situation that he is in
    down there.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. And, yes, he is in our thoughts and
    prayers. Thank you, Mr. Evans.
        If committee members have an opening statement prepared, I
    ask that they be submitted for the record.
        I would like to take a moment to explain the timing lights
    for you. You will each have 5 minutes to deliver your
    testimony. The light will start out as green. When you have 1
    minute remaining, the light will turn yellow. Finally, at the
    end of your 5 minutes, it will turn red. I ask that you try to
    adhere to that time limit.
        Our first witness is Ms. Marsha Bailey. Ms. Bailey is the
    founder and CEO of Women's Economic Ventures, a women's
    business center with locations in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria,
    and Ventura, California. In addition to her position with
    Women's Economic Ventures, Ms. Bailey also serves as the
    chairman of the executive committee at the Association of
    Women's Business Centers. Thank you for joining us today, Ms.
    Bailey.
        Our next witness is Mr. Scott Daugherty. Mr. Daugherty
    serves as a state director to the North Carolina Small Business
    Technology Development Centers, overseeing 14 SBTDC locations
    throughout the State. Mr. Daugherty also serves as the
    assistant vice chancellor for extension, engagement, and
    economic development at North Carolina State University. Thank
    you, Mr. Daugherty for being here today.
        Our next witness is Ms. Bridget Weston Pollack. Ms. Weston
    Pollack serves as the vice president of marketing and
    communications for the SCORE Association. With 12 years of
    marketing experience, including 8 years with the SCORE
    Association, Ms. Weston Pollack oversees the Association's
    branding, marketing, public relations, and communications
    efforts. Thank you for being here, Ms. Weston Pollack.
        I now yield to our ranking member for the introduction of
    the final witness.
        Mr. EVANS. Thank you again, Madam Chairperson. It is my
    pleasure to introduce Mr. Brenton Peacock, the director of the
    Florida Veterans Business Outreach Center. Mr. Peacock is a
    business analyst who brings two decades of counseling
    experience to apply for his responsibility as the veterans
    business counselor and program director, including extensive
    marketing experience, well-honed communication skills to assist
    clients in various areas of business. He was awarded the
    Regional Consultant of the Year for 2014, recipient of the SBA
    2014 VBOC of the year, regional impact CBA, certified business
    analyst, for the year 2012, CBA of the year 2009.
        Since 1990, Mr. Peacock has worked in counseling,
    education, and instruction for college-level radio television
    broadcasting at the Gulf Coast Community College and teaches
    the Boots to Business program at Florida military bases to
    retiring, separating military members. Mr. Peacock has a
    Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Communications
    and Business at Florida State University and is currently a
    graduate student at the American Military University School of
    Business. Welcome, Mr. Peacock.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. With that, Ms. Bailey, you are
    recognized for 5 minutes. You may begin.

    STATEMENTS OF MARSHA BAILEY, FOUNDER AND CEO, WOMEN'S ECONOMIC
    VENTURES; SCOTT DAUGHERTY, STATE DIRECTOR, NORTH CAROLINA SMALL
        BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT CENTERS; BRIDGET WESTON
    POLLACK, VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS, SCORE
      ASSOCIATION; AND BRENT PEACOCK, DIRECTOR, VETERANS BUSINESS
               OUTREACH CENTER, GULF COAST STATE COLLEGE

                       STATEMENT OF MARSHA BAILEY

        Ms. BAILEY. Good morning, Chairwoman Radewagen, Ranking
    Member Evans, and distinguished members of the Subcommittee. My
    name is Marsha Bailey, and I am the chair of the Association of
    Women's Business Centers and the founder and CEO of Women's
    Economic Ventures, or WEV, a women's business center in
    California.
        AWBC supports the network of WBCs by providing mentoring
    and programming to improve services to women entrepreneurs. In
    fact, AWBC's annual leadership conference took place this week
    in Alexandria.
        The WBC program is stronger than ever, serving 145,000
    entrepreneurs last year, creating 17,000 new businesses and
    nearly 25,000 jobs. While not the focus of today's testimony,
    the AWBC is grateful to the Committee for advancing legislation
    to modernize the WBC program and for your continued support of
    Federal funding for women entrepreneurs.
        WBCs have worked to leverage advances in technology to
    expand our reach and ensure our entrepreneurs are prepared for
    a 21st century economy. WBCs view technology from three
    perspectives: to enhance and promote our services, to educate
    entrepreneurs on how to use technology to manage and grow their
    businesses, and to operate our centers more effectively and
    efficiently.
        I want to stress that despite technology's capacity to
    provide options for distance learning, our clients
    overwhelmingly prefer in-person training because of the
    accountability, the camaraderie, and the support systems that
    are created in the classroom. And while business counseling can
    be delivered via Skype, it is more likely to be effective and
    productive if a relationship is first established between a
    business adviser and a client in person.
        Technology allows our programs to reach those who may not
    otherwise be able to utilize in-person services. Many WBCs
    serve large regions, even entire States out of one center.
    Webinars and distance learning can fill a gap for rural areas
    where clients may live hundreds of miles away from a center.
    However, limited access to broadband in rural areas often
    limits the viability of such programs.
        WBCs have come up with some innovative solutions to this
    problem. The WBC at REI Oklahoma established a mobile computer
    lab to provide QuickBooks training to clients across the State.
    Other WBCs have established stationary labs to help socially
    and economically disadvantaged women entrepreneurs bridge the
    digital divide.
        WBCs use technology to expand our program's reach, but we
    also teach entrepreneurs how to use technology in their
    businesses. At WEV we bring subject matter experts into our
    classrooms to ensure that clients have access to the most up-
    to-date information, and we revise our curriculum every 2 years
    to keep up with the rapidly changing technology landscape. We
    have enhanced our in-person training programs by creating
    online assignments and tools in forming study and support
    groups through Facebook. We support and promote clients by
    posting their business milestones on our own social media
    pages.
        At the national level, AWBC has partnerships with Intuit,
    Constant Contact, and Mastercard to provide WBCs with free
    access to software and training content. Technology plays an
    essential role in WBC operations. CRM programs like Salesforce
    simplify and streamline data collection and client
    communication. Nearly half of the WBCs, mine included, use
    VistaShare's Outcome Tracker, a client database which captures
    intake and outcomes data. The program enables entrepreneurs to
    request services and access resources directly through a
    program portal. Business advisers can enter information into
    the database to document the services each client receives.
        Many WBCs are direct lenders, addressing the gap in women's
    access to capital. Several of us use online applications and
    underwriting tools, which give us more time to focus on
    ensuring that our borrowers are loan ready.
        Rapidly changing technology requires small business owners
    to constantly learn new skills to remain competitive. Women's
    business centers have often been leaders and innovators in
    adopting new technology to better serve the entrepreneurs who
    rely on us.
        Virtual access to services, technology training for
    business owners, and streamlining our administrative systems
    are three ways the WBC program has evolved with technology. And
    while technology provides many avenues to enhance our programs,
    I must stress that it is our people, their talent, their
    commitment, and their knowledge that drive the success of our
    programs and our small businesses. That combination of
    technology and talent will enable the WBC program to serve the
    unique needs of women entrepreneurs for years to come.
        Thank you for inviting me to testify today, and I would be
    happy to answer any questions.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Thank you, Ms. Bailey, for your
    testimony.
        And now I would like to welcome Chairman Chabot.
        Mr. Daugherty, you are now recognized for 5 minutes.

                      STATEMENT OF SCOTT DAUGHERTY

        Mr. DAUGHERTY. Thank you. I thank the chair and members who
    are here with us today. I am pleased to be here on behalf of my
    SBTDC, but also on behalf of our brothers and sisters in the
    SBDC network nationwide.
        The SBTDC was the first T accredited in organized state.
    There are now a third of the SBDCs that have become T
    accredited. We work with a whole range of companies from small
    startups to more mature companies.
        It is clear that there are technology adoption trends in
    this country that are moving at almost light speed. And it is
    tough for smaller companies to keep up. They have got a lot of
    concerns. They are concerned about costs. They are concerned
    about security. They are concerned about, how do we understand
    this and how does it make our business work.
        That is where service providers like the SBDCs and our
    colleagues can be real important: As the facilitator and
    communicator to make decision-making a little bit easier for
    our clients to look at the best options. The big survey out,
    the four levels of rating in the survey, from basic level of
    use of technology to very advanced level.
        This is a classic example of what a website looks like at a
    basic level. It is essentially a business card. There is no
    interactive capability whatsoever. That is fine for somebody to
    get a telephone number and maybe an email, but it is
    inadequate. As you go down the chain, for greater utilization
    of technology in the operations of your business, a couple of
    things happen. Those are the businesses that are growing faster
    than everybody else in terms of customer count, sales count,
    and survivability. It is the pathway for the future for all of
    our small companies, and they have got to begin to move forward
    in that area.
        The variety of surveys, a couple of really telling points
    from all the surveys about adoption of technology is, number
    one, it is driven by customers. It is not driven by the
    business. You don't make the market; you are responding to it.
    And that is just very true. And it is not just a millennial
    phenomena with people hanging out in coffee shops and never
    getting off their phone and this that and the other. People are
    much more intensely engaged in utilization of the internet.
        So they are driving, and they have expectations that their
    businesses will be available to online, and that includes being
    able to pay online. A very high percentage of people are
    comfortable paying online for goods and services. There are
    security concerns now arising, and very publicly because of the
    Equifax phenomena, which is pretty devastating. So online
    payments, online lending is becoming a bigger and bigger issue,
    and it is a concern I would raise with you.
        I think the bottom line to it all is that technology is
    moving at a much more rapidly increasing pace. Costs are coming
    down, but it does mean that there will be continual change in
    that marketplace. It is not like my corner restaurant that
    still has the 1920 cash register that they ring up, it has got
    brass on it, it is cute, but that is the age we live in now,
    and all of our businesses are going to have to adapt.
        As our SBDC has begun a couple of years ago, we are
    inquiring at the intake, what are your technology capabilities,
    what do you have, what have you looked at, what should you be
    thinking about in the future. And it gives us something to
    track now with clients over a period of years.
        I would also say there are three issues for you to be
    concerned with. One, we need to make better utilization of
    these networks to deliver the message required to properly
    train our business clients on the opportunities and the
    pathways to successful adoption of technology. Secondly, we
    need to begin to pay attention to online lending. It is easy,
    it is simple, it is very expensive. It is not unusual to see 25
    percent interest rate over 4 months. And finally, there is just
    a lot of uncertainty about cybersecurity, and somebody is going
    to have to take the lead, and I happen to think it might have
    to be Congress because of the breadth of the issues.
        So thank you very much, and I am pleased to be here, and I
    am happy to answer questions.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Thank you for your testimony, Mr.
    Daugherty.
        Ms. Weston Pollack, you are now recognized for 5 minutes.

                  STATEMENT OF BRIDGET WESTON POLLACK

        Ms. WESTON POLLACK. Good morning, Chairman Radewagen,
    Congressman Evans, and members of the Small Business
    Subcommittee on Health and Technology. My name is Bridget
    Weston Pollack, and I am the vice president of marketing and
    communications for SCORE. Thank you for the opportunity to
    offer testimony on how technology is enhancing SCORE.
        First, I want to thank you for 53 years of support for
    SCORE. I also want to thank the United States Small Business
    Administration for their continued support.
        One of SCORE's officially stated values is that clients
    matter. Our clients' success is our success. We are proud to
    report that, in fiscal year 2016, SCORE helped its clients to
    create 54,000 new businesses and add 79,000 new jobs.
    Technology is a major contributing factor to this success. At
    SCORE, we have harnessed technology to serve entrepreneurs
    wherever they are and however they want to be served.
        By paying careful attention to the feedback and data
    collected from these clients and from the volunteers who serve
    them, we continuously streamline our operations and improve our
    effectiveness. SCORE is utilizing technology to better serve
    and meet the needs of American small business owners. Strategic
    use of technology ensures that we remain relevant to future
    clients who expect us to be always open and always on.
        I want to tell you what small businesses owners are telling
    us they need, the true voice of the customer. A survey by SCORE
    showed that a quarter of small business owners ranked
    technology advice as most helpful to their business success.
    SCORE is well positioned to meet these needs with more than
    1,300 of our mentors having specific expertise in technology, a
    wealth of resources on the SCORE website dedicated to this
    topic, and additional local support from partners like SBDCs
    and other private sector organizations.
        SCORE's web strategy now makes it even easier for our
    clients to connect with our mentors and resources, meeting them
    wherever they are and however they want to be served. Our
    website gives clients the option of browsing our pool of
    mentors, filtering them by key words, area of expertise,
    industry, language, and location. These mentor profiles allow
    clients to select the volunteers whose experience they feel
    most benefits them.
        SCORE has also developed a mentoring widget that provides
    quick access to SCORE mentoring and services on third-party
    sites. More than a dozen partners now use this, including the
    National Urban League, and users can connect with a SCORE
    mentor without ever having to leave that partner's site.
        Our video mentoring program connects volunteers with
    entrepreneurs in remote locations or whose busy schedules
    require flexibility using video conferencing technology such as
    Google Hangouts and Skype. Our data shows that video mentoring
    clients have the highest level of engagement, rating a 4.3 on a
    5-point scale, and that is compared to a 4.15 for our face-to-
    face mentoring.
        SCORE's robust distance learning program reaches audience
    members who cannot easily attend a local workshop or who prefer
    to learn virtually. Our live educational workshops average more
    than 500 attendees each week. Additionally, we offer more than
    350 recorded webinars that are available on demand any time on
    our website. In total, these workshops drew 120,000 attendees
    last year, and we are on track to surpass that by more than 25
    percent this year.
        We also produced three virtual conferences during the past
    year and a half where clients remotely participated in an
    online environment with the look and feel of an in-person
    conference. The most recent in June of 2017 drew 3,200 live
    attendees, and 96.5 percent of those attendees told us the
    conference helped them.
        SCORE used similar technology to host our inaugural
    volunteer virtual conference with 72 percent of SCORE chapters
    taking advantage of this training.
        Online awareness efforts are critical to fulfilling our
    mission, and we aim to centralize those for our chapters
    wherever possible. SCORE now provides websites for each
    chapter, which has improved chapter website traffic by more
    than 29 percent this year. SCORE also centralized social media
    for a third of our chapters, with those participating chapters
    seeing an 8.9 percent increase in traffic, outperforming
    nonparticipating chapters.
        SCORE has successfully integrated technology into every
    aspect of our business practices, centralizing and simplifying
    administrative tasks. A variety of metrics are available to
    help chapters and volunteers in realtime so they can monitor
    their performance and serve clients more effectively.
        SCORE exists to help entrepreneurs achieve their dreams of
    small business success, in turn strengthening the American
    economy through business formation and job creation. Technology
    enables SCORE to be always open and always on, meeting the
    needs of our clients today and in the future and serving them
    when and how they want to be served.
        I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.
    Thank you again for your attention and for this opportunity to
    testify.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Thank you, Ms. Weston Pollack, for
    your testimony.
        Mr. Peacock, you are now recognized for 5 minutes.

                       STATEMENT OF BRENT PEACOCK

        Mr. PEACOCK. Good morning. I am Brent Peacock, the director
    of the Veterans Business Outreach Center at Gulf Coast State
    College serving the State of Florida, which is one of the
    largest concentrations of military bases and veterans in the
    U.S.
        The Veterans Business Outreach Centers, or VBOCs, is the
    Small Business Administration's program that provides business
    counseling, training, and SBA resource partner referrals to
    active duty servicemembers, National Guard and Reserve
    personnel, veterans, and military spouses who are interested in
    starting or growing a small business.
        The SBA funds 20 VBOC centers across the U.S. and in
    Hawaii. We appreciate Representative Al Lawson's invitation
    today to introduce you to the VBOC's mission and how we use
    technology to educate our core clients in the basics and best
    practices of business ownership and to help them succeed in
    today's business environment. Please review the collateral I
    have provided for VBOC impact.
        VBOC's primary mission is to conduct entrepreneurial
    development training dealing specifically with key issues of
    self-employment, meaning owning and succeeding in a business of
    their own. Usually, servicemembers meet the VBOC during their
    transition from military service in a training program called
    Boots to Business. This is a 2-day training workshop to
    introduce our target audience, transitioning military, spouses,
    and veterans, to the idea of entrepreneurship.
        Our second core mission is business counseling. Our
    business counselors and SBA resource partners, including small
    business development centers, SCORE, and the women's business
    center, help our clients in assessing their entrepreneurial
    needs and requirements. We help them validate business concepts
    through extensive market research, set up a viable business
    plan to be executed using a variety of online tools and SBA
    resources, help them prepare loan packages as needed, connect
    them with outside resources like lenders to launch and grow a
    successful business of their own in the civilian world.
        Research is an essential element of the process, and VBOCs
    provide more than just industry specific data. Our clients are
    often high tech warriors. They are familiar with state-of-the-
    art technology, weapons systems and the like. But what they
    don't know is how to deploy those skills in a civilian business
    arena. Their business concept may be what they learned in
    military service, but oftentimes, servicemembers choose to go
    into a completely unrelated field turning their swords into
    proverbial plow shares.
        But no matter what their choice, VBOCs are there to guide
    them through this entrepreneurial maze from understanding the
    ownership options, direct ownership or a franchise, to
    understanding who their customers will be, what options they
    have in organizing and running their businesses, getting
    funded, and becoming operational and competitive and cash flow
    positive. This is our mission.
        Your interest is in the role technology and online business
    tools play in today's business arena. For us, it begins with
    the delivery of training and business counseling. VBOCs,
    working with other SBA resource partners, can target
    entrepreneurial training projects and counseling sessions
    tailored exclusively to address the needs and concerns of the
    veteran entrepreneur with a wealth of online tools.
        VBOCs help our clients identify their plan with feasibility
    studies, business plan assistance, reviews of financial
    statements, and assisting with strategic development as with
    such needs as identifying markets. From franchising to
    international marketing, from electronic sales with Square and
    small business recordkeeping like QuickBooks, to the nuances of
    international trade and government contracting, all of these
    resources are now online tools we can use every day to help
    your constituents and our clients.
        You know, not long ago, we were limited to face-to-face
    meetings and hard cover books. But now, thanks to the rapid
    pace of technology and online learning, we can Skype, use
    webinars, and employ online resources to help our clients in a
    day. Technology has made a significant impact on our
    productivity and effectiveness as a government-funded entity.
        The SBA Offices of Veteran Business Development maintain
    online access to ever-changing materials. For deployed
    servicemembers who don't have access to military installation,
    the Department of Defense provides Joint Knowledge Online, or
    JKO, for continuous career development and joint knowledge
    readiness for personnel, including combat commands, combat
    support agencies abroad. Without these, our servicemembers may
    be left behind.
        Websites are also critical no-cost resources for our
    civilian and military clients. SBA.gov is a website and
    learning tool with a wealth of information for all aspects of
    business from start to growth. It is well organized, easy to
    understand, and it is a learning center with over 50 topics
    anyone can view as often as they like. Like Vil, who, when she
    returns home from Afghanistan, will open that coffee shop and
    bakery, and spouses like Torrance, who are keeping the home
    fires burning and running a home-based business of their own.
    Both need online tools like the SBA website and ours, VBOC.org,
    for resources they need to move ahead, websites every business
    owner will need to get their business off the ground, from the
    IRS to domains for the Secretary of State's offices and local
    resources. Having them available electronically can help our
    constituents, and it saves operational costs.
        Market research is critical, and assessing feasibility of
    one's idea and creating a business plan is viable today. The
    days of pouring over books in the library are long gone.
    Today's warriors expect access to data from their smartphone
    and tablets. The days of being tethered to the restraints of
    libraries and outdated retails are over.
        Like many small businesses and government agencies from the
    local to the Federal, we use technology to manage operations,
    track activities, and use this data to expand our reach and
    create our efficacy. Our organization uses an electronic client
    management system called Neoserra. Through this system, we can
    track performance and communicate with our clients, as well as
    allow them to set up their online training.
        In VBOC 2.0, the SBA's Office of Veteran Business
    Development promotes two new online business platforms:
    LivePlan and GrowthWheel. The goal is to facilitate the flow of
    information and track the assistance a client can receive from
    multiple SBA resources. Not only can we counsel the client in
    realtime, we can share and cocounsel and track clients with our
    SBA resource partners. For example, if a client was referred by
    a VBOC to a women's business center, this platform will allow
    us to track the referral and work together seamlessly to help
    that client. Then if the same client was referred to a lender
    and that referral resulted in a loan, we can track that too.
        I could continue, but you understand the importance of
    technology and online communication and how it is essential for
    elected officials like you and government agencies like ours to
    embrace it. Information and business now move at the speed of
    light, and technology that our Nation has helped pioneer and
    our servicemembers have helped to defend in the past, future,
    and the present will help us as entrepreneurs and warriors who
    are converting to entrepreneurs.
        I thank you for this opportunity and welcome any questions.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Thank you, Mr. Peacock.
        I now recognize myself for 5 minutes of questions.
        There is a small business development center located at the
    American Samoa Community College; however, there are no women's
    business centers, SCORE chapter locations, or veterans business
    outreach centers within the territories. How are each of your
    programs using technology to reach clients who are located in
    areas without brick and mortar training locations? Ms. Bailey?
        Ms. BAILEY. So I will say I believe we did have a women's
    business center in American Samoa at one point. And I want to
    say that one of the challenges for some of the women's business
    centers has been this issue of long-term sustainability, and it
    is one of the issues that the AWBC is directly addressing
    through a recent grant we got from JPMorgan Chase where we are
    studying best practices in organizational management and
    development in program delivery so that we can help those
    organizations be more sustainable in the long term. I am not
    personally familiar with what programs might be available
    online to clients in American Samoa.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Thank you.
        Mr. Daugherty?
        Mr. DAUGHERTY. Yes. Thank you. We make very active use of
    interactive video capabilities. They are in our offices across
    the State, including in very rural areas of North Carolina. We
    actually are also finalizing an arrangement with cooperative
    extension, which in our State has 100 offices, one in each
    county. Very accessible to utilize the capabilities of that
    much more fully.
        It is mostly used, I might say, not for the internal intake
    with a client, but for the relationships with specialists on
    staff in procurement, in technology, commercialization, those
    kinds of areas, where we have more limited staff, but we can
    make very good use out of technology to interact with clients.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Ms. Weston Pollack?
        Ms. WESTON POLLACK. Thank you for the question. Yes, SCORE
    does not have a physical presence in American Samoa, but we do
    feel that a number of our virtual resources can definitely fill
    a gap in the meantime. We have over 450 video mentors that are
    available through Google Hangouts and Skype. Thousands of our
    mentors also use email and phone, so that is another way that
    we can communicate across the Nation.
        With over 10,000 volunteers in this connected network, we
    do know that we have the ability to bring in our mentors and
    co-mentor or have a wealth of resources available to serve the
    people in American Samoa. We also have 350 online workshops
    that are available, and those have been highly successful. And
    we do have the thousands of resources on our website to help
    facilitate those discussions and get the people the answers
    that they need for whatever their business needs are.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Thank you.
        Mr. Peacock?
        Mr. PEACOCK. We provide the Boots to Business training to
    every military base, CONUS and no CONUS. And anywhere that
    there would be a military base, we have an actual physical
    presence. We cover Guam and Hawaii, and with technology, they
    have the access of being able to reach out to SBA websites and
    other resource partners to get training and consulting. But we
    would like to have a physical presence to cover every place.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Thank you. And as a followup, what
    type of marketing strategies are you using to ensure that
    people in areas without training locations near them know these
    programs are available?
        Ms. BAILEY. You know, I am glad you asked that. That was
    exactly what my next point was going to be. Many of the
    organizations have limited marketing budgets. And so if you are
    trying to provide services in an area where you don't have a
    physical presence, you lack that kind of word-of-mouth tool
    that is so important to so many centers.
        So many of us do, I think probably all of us use social
    media for marketing, but we also use, you know, when you have a
    physical location, especially trying to reach out to small
    businesses, the kinds of networking, in-person networking kinds
    of activities that we do are really invaluable to getting into
    that small business market.
        So I think probably, you know, in terms of cost
    effectiveness, it really is the online kind of marketing, but
    you have to know to target a community in order to be
    successful in that community. And, frankly, a lot of women's
    business centers just don't have the budgets to do that.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Mr. Daugherty?
        Mr. DAUGHERTY. I think there are three primary ways to get
    reach into the communities. Number one is, we are a 35-year old
    program, and we have relationships, in-depth relationships in
    communities, all 100 counties, chambers of commerce, regional
    economic development organizations. They have our number and
    email address memorized. They are a great convenor of small
    groups as we have topics we want to bring to attention. We
    publish a lot of things that are online and in print copy about
    issues of importance to small companies. Huge distributions in
    State business magazines and chamber of commerce publications
    all across the State. So it is a combination of print, online
    material, and personalized interaction.
        I might say that we have a tier system of counties. You
    don't want to be a Tier I county in our State. That means you
    are at the bottom in terms of economics, and regrettably, we
    have got two dozen of those. Those are high impact priority
    counties for us. Each center that serves that region better
    have a lot of clients in those counties, because that is where
    it really makes a difference, and we track it and score them.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Ms. Weston Pollack?
        Ms. WESTON POLLACK. Thank you for the question. I think
    there are really two main factors to helping get the word out
    about SCORE and have more people use our services. Online
    presence is critical. We need to be where our clients and
    potential clients are, and we do that through social media,
    through our web presence using a search engine optimization
    strategy. We have over 5 million visitors to our website, and
    that increases by at least 10 percent each year by adding
    content that people are looking for to help their businesses.
        We then push that out, of course, through social media,
    through limited advertising, and we really do focus on
    geotargeting for areas that we know can most benefit from these
    resources. Of course, partnerships are important as well. Like
    my colleagues at this table, we know that in order to reach
    those people, we need to form these partnerships and have a
    relationship.
        I mentioned our widget in our testimony, and what that does
    is allows partners to promote SCORE mentoring without having to
    really lift a finger and get people to mentoring more quickly.
    We just recently formed a partnership with the U.S. Department
    of Agriculture to reach rural, you know, entrepreneurs and
    farmers, and we look for more partnerships like that to spread
    the word to their audiences and people who can benefit from
    SCORE services. So we will continue to focus on that.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Mr. Peacock?
        Mr. PEACOCK. Well, as you know, veterans can be anywhere.
    And no matter where they are, we provide services to them and
    through the use of online media, specifically Facebook, where
    we do provide content every day. I notice that there are some
    visitors from the American Samoa islands, as well as everywhere
    else, that have access to contacting me, if they choose to, or
    just reading best practices provided by the SBA or somewhere
    else where I get content. So that makes me feel better that we
    are actually reaching out. And if someone were to call me from
    that particular area, I would help them, and I don't think my
    leadership would have any trouble with that.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Thank you.
        Now I have a question for Ms. Bailey. Nationally,
    throughout all WBCs, what are the most common training programs
    offered on technology, and how have these programs benefited
    WBC clients?
        Ms. BAILEY. So I think most of us integrate those programs,
    you know, into our core training programs. Several WBCs do
    provide specific training workshops. They tend to be a longer
    term training. My own program, our CORE training program, is a
    14-week, 54-hour business planning program. So there is a large
    section on technology about the, you know, importance of a
    website, social media presence, all the things that we have
    talked about.
        For our ongoing consulting program where we work with
    established businesses, this is continually part of their
    ongoing training, I would say. The representatives from SCORE
    stated their survey outcomes about the need for knowledge
    around technology, and that certainly is a big need. I would
    say the other biggest need that our clients have is really for
    continuing education on business finance.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Mr. Daugherty, throughout your
    testimony, you discuss the importance of small businesses
    embracing technology in order to remain competitive and succeed
    in the marketplace. What current training opportunities do
    SBDCs and SBTDCs offer to small businesses on the various uses
    and forms of technology they may need to be successful?
        Mr. DAUGHERTY. I have got a red light so--what we use is we
    use partner channels for outreach and educational programs. We
    are blessed by having a 58-community college system in our
    State. We have 100 counties, so a few counties are served by
    the college. They do enormous amounts of continuing education
    and training, and we have a couple of standard products focused
    on technology adoption, opportunities, and pitfalls that are
    routinely offered through those. Those are likely to be offered
    three or four times per quarter in each of the community
    colleges. It is a great way to get reach.
        And they are really a grassroots community-focused training
    resource. That is where the local mom-and-pop store is likely
    to go to get continuing education. They are not going to the
    university campus. So it gives us really good reach. And we are
    constantly monitoring with our own clients what is working for
    them so that we flavor the training opportunity with the
    experience of the users of the training.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. I have got a question for Mr. Brent
    Peacock. In your testimony, you mentioned that an extensive
    technological background is common among your clients, as many
    of them have been trained in complex military systems. What
    strategies are VBOCs using to translate this knowledge and
    skill into beneficial business strategies?
        Mr. PEACOCK. Thank you. Oftentimes, the technology that
    they deploy are far more advanced than anything that we are
    using in the civilian marketplace. But to be able to help them
    to understand the need for technology in their business is
    important and how to kind of adapt that technology to business
    practices.
        One of the things that we find with working with military
    members, especially those who are newly separating, is trying
    to slow them down and get them to focus on understanding their
    market. And that kind of technology or that kind of
    understanding is based on technology to do research and find
    out who their customers really are and find out who their
    competition is.
        So as they come to us with great technological expertise,
    we are very fortunate that they understand systems, that they
    can do many things in combat that are technical, and so it is
    not like maybe it was before. You know that you have a
    technologically advanced clientele, and you try to meet them at
    that same level by meeting with them and speaking with them in
    a technologically advanced way.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. And, Ms. Weston Pollack, your
    testimony references the SCORE core values, one of which is
    experience matters. How has volunteer experience benefited your
    clients with regard to mentoring on technology-related issues?
        Ms. WESTON POLLACK. Thank you for that question. We have
    over 10,000 volunteers that serve our clients throughout the
    country, and we are really proud of what we have looked at in
    terms of our performance and impact on the economy.
        One of the ways we measure how our volunteers are impacting
    our clients is our net promoter score. That measures how happy
    people are with our services and if they are willing to
    recommend score. Last year, in fiscal year 2016, SCORE's NPS
    was 82.26. And just for context sake, 50 is considered
    excellent and 70 is considered world class. So we see that our
    volunteers are providing a high-quality service to our clients.
        We do have a learning management system for our volunteers.
    They, like our clients, are interested in continuing education
    and learning and growing and staying on top of business trends.
    That system has 23 modules, and our volunteers do take
    advantage of that to make sure that they stay on top of the
    technology trend to be able to best inform and advise the
    clients that they see.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Thank you.
        Ms. Bailey, your testimony notes that WBCs usually share
    best practices related to training and counseling through the
    AWBC conference once a year. Are there any formal means of
    information sharing between centers outside of the annual
    conference? And as a followup, do you believe that formalized
    information sharing could benefit WBCs by minimizing
    duplication of efforts?
        Ms. BAILEY. Absolutely. I am going to address the second
    part first. One of the challenges with the WBC program is that
    every WBC is different. They really evolve to meet the unique
    needs of their own communities. And so as you can imagine, that
    makes it difficult to kind of standardize the kinds of
    trainings. Regardless of that, particularly for our new WBCs or
    new WBC directors, we find that there is just a real thirst for
    curriculum, for best practices around organizational
    management, standard operating procedures, board development,
    fundraising, all of those issues that are really critical to
    running a sustainable center.
        So we do have--we have a monthly newsletter in which we
    highlight best practices. And then we have, on our website, we
    have a resource area where we have, for instance, forms and
    documents and procedures that are free to our members to
    download. So, yeah, that is a critical part. And one of the
    things we are trying to accomplish through the grant that we
    have from JPMorgan Chase is a way to better share and replicate
    some of those best practices.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Okay. And, Mr. Daugherty, as the
    State director of the North Carolina SBTDC system, you oversee
    multiple training locations throughout the State. How are best
    practices or successful training strategies shared within your
    State? And as a followup, beyond the North Carolina SBTDC
    system, what type of information-sharing strategies do you use
    to work with other SBDCs?
        Mr. DAUGHERTY. Our SBTDC is a pretty integrated system. We
    are highly interactive. We have two to three major training
    activities a year for all professional staff. We have a
    professional development committee that monitors programs that
    have worked well from one recent center to another and
    recommend adoption of those and deployment throughout our
    system.
        I think a good example of cross-sharing of ideas among
    States is that we have a very active group of States in the
    southeast. The State directors and associates meet twice a
    year. It is not complaining about Washington. It is not
    complaining about our host. It is entirely focused on how do we
    do our job better? Who has got a great program? Who has got a
    great way of reaching clients and having an impact? And that
    has resulted in a lot of transfer of programmatic ideas from
    one State to the other.
        We have also looked at that as a platform for training of
    our own staffs regionally, certified economic development
    finance professional courses, very intense. You need to have
    multiple States in order to get a big enough class. That is a
    good example of pulling together regionally a group, and it has
    worked really well in terms of just cross-fertilization on a
    day-to-day basis with your colleagues.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Thank you.
        Ms. Weston Pollack, the SCORE Association's administrative
    use of technology is quite extensive. Your testimony lists the
    use of metrics collection software, a learning management
    system, and client relationship management software, amongst
    others. How has SCORE found these forms of technology
    beneficial both administratively and to clients?
        Ms. WESTON POLLACK. Well, thank you for the question. They
    are tremendously beneficial. One, it allows us to gather more
    feedback and data than we ever have before. Several years ago,
    we did make the decision to be data driven, and we knew that we
    needed to learn more from our clients to better serve them and
    help them have a better experience. So as we gather that data,
    we are able to be more nimble and agile and serve them, again,
    wherever they are and however they would like to be served.
        When we see that there is something in the data that is
    telling us they may not be as happy with our service, we can
    address it very quickly. As opposed to waiting and, you know,
    maybe hearing about it on Facebook or something like that, we
    can address it right away, and that is one of the great things
    of having this reporting.
        Our reporting can also dig down to the individual volunteer
    level, so we can see how engaged a volunteer is, how engaged
    they are with each of their clients, and then gather best
    practices from those mentors that are performing and help those
    who may need some extra training. And we do regularly use those
    to make sure that we are continuously improving our operations.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Thank you.
        Mr. Peacock, you spoke briefly about SBA's Office of
    Veterans Business Development Initiative, VBOC 2.0, which
    allows for increased flow of information between VBOCs and the
    other SBA ED programs to track client referrals. How is this
    system expected to work? Will all ED programs be required to
    participate? And what challenges, if any, do you anticipate
    with the implementation of this program, given its size and
    scope? And how are VBOCs actively working to mitigate these
    issues in advance?
        Mr. PEACOCK. We think that there really shouldn't be any
    problems. What it is going to allow us to do is to provide best
    practices with all of our resource partners and to allow
    sharing.
        One thing about VBOCs is we are centrally located. I cover
    the entire State of Florida. But if there is an SBDC in Orlando
    and a client is trying to buy a restaurant or something, the
    best practice is to find counseling that is local, because the
    best counseling is local. So maybe the SBDC or women's business
    center SCORE chapter might know of a realtor or a banker or
    somebody who knows local rules and laws, so we can refer to
    them and that way we can track all that together. As our main
    drive is to be there at the boots on the ground when that
    veteran is separating, to teach the Boots to Business program
    and also to share some of the counseling duties with our
    resource partner network and not to create something that is
    already being done, but to be able to share best practices with
    the other VBOCs and the other resource partners statewide.
        And the new platforms that we are introducing will allow
    that type of co-counseling, which I think is going to be really
    beneficial to tracking and keeping up with and assisting that
    client in the best way. And we have to remember, it really is
    all about that veteran, that military spouse, that active duty
    servicemember who wants to exit military service and be as
    productive in civilian life as he or she was in the military
    service. So by bringing in all the other resource partners, we
    are really helping them. And I think that is the key to what we
    are doing, and I think my colleagues will agree.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Okay. Thank you.
        Ms. Bailey, you discussed the importance of AWBC or WBC
    partnerships with outside companies such as Intuit or
    Mastercard as a critical way of adopting technology into
    training curricula. What does the process of establishing a
    partnership like this look like? And are these partnerships
    common among WBCs nationwide?
        Ms. BAILEY. So the partnerships that AWBC has created
    benefit all of our WBCs. So, for instance, with Intuit, they
    provide our WBCs with free licenses for QuickBooks and the
    training curriculum so that they can train their clients how to
    use QuickBooks. So it is a great benefit to all of the WBCs.
        Mastercard created webinars called Master Your Card. So it
    helps our clients, especially retail clients who need to look
    at how to accept credit cards, how to negotiate, you know, the
    best deals with merchant services and things to really kind of
    understand that whole process and the importance of it
    accepting credit.
        Constant Contact, again, they provide free email, bulk
    email services to all of our WBCs so that they can send out up
    to 10,000 free emails every month. So this is really important
    for the newsletters that each of our centers do on their own,
    as well as the other kinds of, you know, communications and
    program content that each center uses.
        So we are always looking for relationships that we can
    negotiate on behalf of all the WBCs, because as you can
    imagine, many WBCs don't have access to those resources, you
    know, in their area. So as the AWBC, if we can do that on their
    behalf, then that is a benefit to all. Some of them can also
    use some of those products, the value of some of those products
    to make some of their in kind match.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Mr. Daugherty, America's SBDC
    administers the peer-based national accreditation program for
    SBDCs on behalf of the Small Business Administration. Is there
    any aspect of this accreditation process that requires SBDCs to
    use technology administratively or to offer technological
    training to its clients?
        Mr. DAUGHERTY. Good question. Thank you. The accreditation
    process is an incredibly rich opportunity for SBDCs to
    continuously improve their operations. That is really the
    intent. National standards, expectations with respect to type
    and quality of services that are provided. And it is a peer-
    driven process, so you go through review every 5 years with
    multiple team members looking at your operations against a set
    of standards. So it is not just coming in and saying, I don't
    like that, I do like this. But there are standards.
        What that process does is it oftentimes unearths really
    unique, interesting initiatives being tried in one State that
    need to be replicated in other States. And those get
    communicated first among the accreditation committee, which is
    quite a large number of States that participate. And it gives
    our association opportunities then to communicate about some of
    the rich findings that are unique in the accreditation review
    process. And it is a talking point for State directors. We are
    committed to that process, and the best way to benefit from it
    is learn from what other people are doing and adopt, steal,
    replicate programmatic activities. That is the American way.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Thank you.
        Ms. Weston Pollack, the SCORE Association website offers
    access to numerous live and recorded webinars in addition to 50
    courses on demand. What is the benefit to offering these online
    training opportunities? And what did the process of developing
    this digital training infrastructure look like?
        Ms. WESTON POLLACK. Thank you for that question. You know,
    it took us years to develop this, but I really do feel we have
    a high quality, best practice webinar program in place today.
    When we started in 2012, we were seeing only a few hundred
    attendees. And as I mentioned in my testimony, we now see over
    120,000 attendees who take advantage of these webinars.
        Some of the benefits to the clients are that many people
    today prefer to learn virtually. They are busy, especially
    business owners. They can't necessarily leave their business
    and attend a 3-hour workshop, but they can sit there at 1 a.m.,
    when their brains are going, and take advantage of an on-demand
    webinar about a specific topic that they are interested in. So
    we do make sure that we cover all of those topics that they
    tell us they need. We survey after each webinar to ask them
    what other topics they would want, and then continue to hone
    our curriculum based on that feedback.
        We use mentors who have that expertise to deliver some of
    that content. We also have corporate partners in areas like
    Intuit or Mastercard that have expertise in those areas, and we
    ask them to be guest presenters. And then, of course, we use
    that as a program to cross-sell our mentoring services. And I
    am pleased to say that 28 percent of the people in general who
    attend a webinar then go and seek a mentor.
        So we really do see it as something to reach them, get them
    to start thinking about whatever it is to help their business,
    and then to go seek out a SCORE mentor or another person who
    can help them in their business.
        We share them out through email. We promote them on social
    media, and we do leverage our relationship with the SBA to
    promote our webinars as well to get this great reach. And,
    again, I am really pleased that those who do take advantage of
    our webinars are highly engaged. We do an annual survey, as I
    mentioned, and our mentoring clients see 4.15 to 4.3
    engagement, and our webinar numbers are pretty high up there as
    well.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. And, Mr. Peacock, what are some
    examples of ways in which VBOCs have used webinars or a
    combination of online resources, in Skype or email, to
    successfully reach clients that are not geographically located
    near a center?
        Mr. PEACOCK. Thank you. We are allowed to use Skype or
    telephone or other technology to spend hours talking with
    clients. We have clients who are interested in government
    contracting, for instance, and I have a colleague who has an
    expertise basis in that. And I have seen him spend hours on
    either Skype or telephone just explaining the process of how to
    register in the system for award management, who to see, who
    not to see, how to identify your NAICS codes, and all these
    kinds of things like this. And he will be doing it for half a
    day. And that person might be in Tampa. And yet what they learn
    is as valuable as if they were sitting right in their office.
        I used to say a lot of times when I would go out and do
    workshops, you know, don't have to come and see me. Those days
    are over. I am not that much to look at, and our coffee is
    pretty good, but it is not worth your time to drive up there. I
    will spend the entire day on the phone with you, if that is
    what you need, or Skype, or through a series of emails back and
    forth. Oftentimes, I will have an opening telephone or Skype
    conversation to kind of introduce what they are looking for and
    how we can help them, and then I will give them an assignment.
    Email, this is what I want to you do before the 15th of next
    month. You know, let's say that they are buying a retail space,
    identify the price of it, have a business valuation done, and
    contact these three lenders. And then I will call you back.
        The next month. Okay. You have done that, let's start
    looking at what you have to do to be operational. Get up with
    the Department of Commerce, or whatever you need to do, to get
    the certifications and step them through. And after a while
    they will go, you know what, I am running a business. And it is
    kind of funny, because it is done in such incremental steps
    that you don't notice it. And it is the old take a bite of the
    elephant, one bite at a time, if you like eating elephants. And
    that is the best way to do it. One bite at a time so it is not
    so overwhelming.
        And one thing with veterans and military people is they do
    have the tendency to charge and take the hill right now. And
    often I would say, whoa, buddy, you can't do this by Thursday.
    This is going to take months. This is going to take some time.
    And I am going to help you. And as time goes by, as I said,
    they realize, we did it. And my response is, no, sir. You did
    it. I am glad I was there to help.
        Chairwoman RADEWAGEN. Okay. Well, I would like to thank
    each of the witnesses for being here today and for the great
    work you do for our country's developing small businesses.
        It is clear that the SBAs entrepreneurial development
    programs are making great strides towards adapting their
    training and counseling programs to reflect small businesses'
    increased reliance on technology.
        This Committee recognizes the challenges that each of your
    programs face and applauds your continued efforts to offer your
    clients with the resources they need to be successful.
        Now I ask unanimous consent that members have 5 legislative
    days to submit statements and supporting materials for the
    record.
        Without objection, so ordered. We are adjourned.
        [Whereupon, at 11:09 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]

                                A P P E N D I X

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        Testimony of Marsha Bailey: Tech Talks: How SBA
    Entrepreneurial Development Programs Have Evolved with
    Technology

        Good morning. Chairwoman Radewagen, Ranking Member Lawson,
    and distinguished Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for
    the opportunity to testify before you today. My name is Marsha
    Bailey, and I am Chair of the Association of Women's Business
    Centers as well as the founder, president and CEO of Women's
    Economic Ventures, a women's business center located in
    California.

        The Association of Women's Business Centers (AWBC) supports
    the national network of Women's Business Centers (WBCs) like
    mine by providing mentoring, programming, and advocacy with the
    goal of improving services to women entrepreneurs. It is
    fortunate we hold this hearing today as AWBC is currently
    convening its 2017 Leadership Conference here in Washington--an
    annual opportunity to share best practices and strengthen the
    WBC program.

        As you know, the WBC program is a public-private
    partnership with more than 25 years of success in providing
    training, counseling, mentoring, and access to capital to women
    entrepreneurs across the country. Our network reaches into
    communities--urban and rural alike--to assist America's job
    creators in launching and growing their own businesses.

        Centers like Women's Economic Ventures (WEV) are focused on
    being an effective and efficient resource for one of the
    fastest growing sectors of the economy. The program's
    collective efforts leave an enormous footprint of successful
    business owners and job creators. In fiscal year 2016, our
    centers reached more than 145,000 clients and conducted over
    93,000 hours of counseling and over 15,000 training sessions in
    over 35 languages. This translated into more than 17,000 new
    businesses.\1\ In 2015, the most recent data available, WBCs
    assisted with nearly $429 million in private capital infusion
    and last year helped to secure nearly $40 million in government
    contracts for women-owned businesses, ultimately creating
    nearly 25,000 jobs.\2\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Fiscal year 2016 data provided to AWBC on request by SBA and to
    be formally published in the FY18 Budget Justification to Congress.
    Language details found in SBA OED 2015 Report, p. 36 (see footnote 2).
        \2\ US Small Business Administration. Office of Entrepreneurial
    Development 2015 Year in Review, p. 39. Available online at https://
    www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/resources--articles/
    2015--OED--Year--In--Review.
    pdf. Hereafter SBA OED 2015 Report. Federal contracting data provided
    by SBA via Entrepreneurial Development Management Information System
    (EDMIS).

        While not the focus of today's testimony, AWBC and center
    directors across the country applaud this Committee for
    advancing legislation modernizing the WBC program and for your
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    continued support of federal funding for women entrepreneurs.

        Today's topic is a timely one. As technology has
    proliferated over the decades, WBCs have worked to leverage
    these advancements to expand our reach and ensure our
    entrepreneurs are prepared for a 21st century economy. In that
    sense, the dedicated staff at WBCs view technology in three
    ways: we use technology to enhance our trainings and reach into
    the community, we educate entrepreneurs on how to leverage
    technology in conjunction with their business plans, and
    finally, we use technology administratively to operate more
    efficiently and collect client data to measure our impact and
    effectiveness.

        I will use the rest of my time today to talk about how some
    of our centers across the country have used evolving technology
    to the benefit of entrepreneurs. I cannot overstate, however,
    the importance of in-person, people-to-people interactions in
    the context of training and counseling. We have found that
    clients overwhelmingly prefer in-person training because of the
    accountability, camaraderie, and support systems that are
    created in the classroom. In one of WEV's own programs, Thrive
    in Five, we ensure that consulting begins in-person to
    establish a relationship that will be critical to an open
    dialogue about strengthening the business.

        Nonetheless, advancements in technology have allowed our
    training and counseling programs to evolve and to reach those
    that may not otherwise be able to utilize our in-person
    services. Given the limitations in the size of the program due
    to funding constraints, some clients of WBCs lie several
    hundred miles away from their nearest women's business center.
    This is where technology such as webinars allow us to provide
    our services to many more individuals than in the past.
    Technology allowing for distance-learning fills a gap in needs
    in rural areas in particular, where in-person services are
    simply not an option. Consulting clients who meet with a
    business advisor regularly through WEV's long-term Thrive in
    Five program, may use tools such as Skype to meet with their
    advisor once the relationship has been established. Some WBCs
    have established computer labs, both stationary and mobile,
    which are particularly important for rural areas where access
    to broadband is not always available. One example of this is
    REI Women's Business Center in Oklahoma, which uses a mobile
    computer laboratory to provide QuickBooks training to clients
    across the state.

        Not only do WBCs use technology to reach rural clients and
    for teaching and training purposes, but we also spend a good
    amount of time teaching the use of technology to our clients. A
    basic example is WEV's partnership with other local adult
    education and job training programs to help clients improve
    their computer skills. There are so many tools out there to
    help small business owners and it is the job of WBCs to bring
    those to the attention of local entrepreneurs and to help train
    them in the use of those tools.

        WEV uses a proprietary curriculum for our business training
    program which is revised every two years. We continue to update
    training content related to technology, e.g. the critical
    importance of having a website, social media presence, online
    sales (when relevant) and payment systems, point of sales and
    customer relationship management tools. Our consulting program
    for existing businesses requires clients to use a bookkeeping
    system such as QuickBooks so that financial reports can be
    reviewed regularly by business advisors.

        Many WBCs, use off-the-shelf products such as LivePlan
    online business planning software, DreamBuilder, CoreFour,
    Kauffman FastTrac, and FDIC's MoneySmart curriculum. WEV is
    considering Palo Alto software's LivePlan as a complement to
    our curriculum and commercial products are updated regularly to
    reflect the latest advancements in technology.

        Notably, WBC clients represent a broad socio-economic
    spectrum. Some of them don't have computers at home or email
    addresses. A few years ago, WEV required all clients to have
    email addresses and we integrated assignments into our
    curriculum that required participants to go online to complete
    assignments. We have also created online study/support groups
    through Facebook. We use our own Facebook account to promote
    client business openings, milestones, and events.

        At the national level, AWBC has a partnership with Intuit,
    which provides access to QuickBooks training and software
    through WBCs. Similarly, AWBC partnered with email service
    Constant Contact, which provides free bulk email services to
    WBCs. AWBC also has a partnership with MasterCard to help
    provide business owners with the knowledge to choose and
    negotiate the best technology options for accepting credit
    cards through their ``Master Your Card'' webinar series.

        Both through our association and at individual centers like
    my own, these partnerships are critical ways to adopt the
    latest technology into our curricula. Our adoption of
    technology is also critical for center operations. Technology
    allows us to minimize administrative requirements and focus
    energy on training and counseling. Moreover, data collection
    has been simplified allowing the WBC program to quantify its
    impact more accurately than ever.

        Despite all the new technologies to support our internal
    requirements, the paperwork burden on individual centers is
    needlessly exacerbated. AWBC hopes to work with this Committee
    to identify and eliminate unnecessary administrative
    requirements that limit the ability of centers like mine to
    focus on entrepreneurs.

        The advent of the internet, email, and cell phones more
    than a decade ago ensured that all businesses would need to
    change. I am proud to say that WBCs have adopted new technology
    for the betterment of the entrepreneurs that rely on us. The
    use of virtual access to centers, the training of technology to
    benefit business owners, and the internal modernization of our
    administrative systems are three ways the WBC program has
    evolved with technology.

        While these elements are important to the program's past
    and future success, I must stress that the driver of our impact
    is our people. The dedicated and knowledgeable staff at centers
    across the country have assisted business and job creation in
    innumerable ways. Women's Economic Ventures and our national
    advocate, the Association of Women's Business Centers, are
    confident that our continued embrace of technology in
    conjunction with our collective commitment to serve
    entrepreneurs will keep the program thriving for years to come.

        Thank you again for the opportunity to testify today, I am
    pleased to answer any of your questions.
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Digital Training and Counseling for SBA Entrepreneurial
                Development Programs, a VBOC Perspective

        Good morning, I am Brent Peacock. I am the director of the
    Veterans Business Outreach Center serving the state of Florida
    which has one of the largest concentration of military bases
    and veterans in the US. The Veterans Business Outreach Center
    or V-BOC is the Small Business Administrations program that
    provides business training, counseling and SBA resource partner
    referrals to active duty service members, National Guard &
    Reserve personnel, veterans, and military spouses interested in
    starting or growing a small business. The SBA funds 20 V-BOCs
    centers across the US and in Hawaii. We certainly appreciate
    Representative Al Lawson's invitation today to introduce you to
    the V-BOC's mission and how we use technology to educate our
    core clients in the basics and best practice of business
    ownership to help them succeed in today's business environment.

        VBOCs primary mission is to conduct entrepreneurial
    development training dealing specifically with the key issues
    of self-employment, meaning owning and succeeding in a business
    of their own. Usually service members meet the VBOC during
    their transition from the military service in a training
    program called Boot to Business. This is a two-day training
    workshop to introduce our target audience--transitioning
    military, spouses and veterans--to the idea of
    entrepreneurship.

        Our second core mission is business counseling. Our
    business counselors and SBA resource partners including Small
    Business Development Centers, SCORE volunteer mentors, and
    Women's Business Centers help our clients in assessing their
    entrepreneurial needs and requirements. We help them validate
    their business concept through extensive market research,
    develop a viable business plan using a variety of online tools
    and SBA resources, help them prepare business loan packages, as
    needed, and connect them with the outside resources like
    lenders to launch and grow a business of their own in the
    civilian world.

        Research is an essential element of this process and VBOC's
    provide more than just industry specific data. Our clients are
    very often high tech warriors. They are familiar with state of
    the art technology, weapons systems and the like. What they
    don't know is how to deploy their skills in the civilian
    business arena. Their business concept may use what they know
    from their military service. But oftentimes, service members
    choose to go in a completely unrelated field, turning their
    swords to proverbial plowshares. No matter what their choice,
    VBOC's are there to guide them through the entrepreneurial
    maze. From understanding their ownership options--direct
    ownership or a franchise, to understanding who their customers
    will be, what options they have in organizing and running their
    business, getting funded, and becoming operational and
    competitive and cash flow positive, this is our mission.

        Your interest is in the role technology and online business
    tools play in today's small business arena. For us, it begins
    with our delivery of training and business counseling. VBOC's,
    working with other SBA resource partners, can target
    entrepreneurial training projects and counseling sessions
    tailored specifically to address the needs and concerns of the
    veteran entrepreneur with a wealth of online tools. VBOCs help
    our clients with feasibility studies, business plan
    assessments, reviews of financial statements, and assisting
    with strategic development such as identifying new markets.
    From franchising to Internet marketing, from electronic sales
    with Square and small business record-keeping like QuickBooks,
    to the nuances of international trade and government
    contracting, all of these resources are now online tools we can
    use every day to help your constituents and our clients. Not
    that long ago, we were limited to face-to-face meetings and
    hard cover books. Thanks to the rapid pace of technology and
    online learning, we can Skype, use webinars, and employ online
    resources to help dozens of clients in a day. Technology has
    made a significant impact on our productivity and effectiveness
    as a government funded entity.

        The SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development maintains
    a webpage that allows us, the VBOC and other instructors the
    ability to access Boots to Business instructor tools and
    training videos online to stay current with ever-changing
    materials and resources. The Boots to Business curriculum is
    also offered online for attendees. They can download the
    materials before attending class or revisit the materials
    whenever they wish after class.

        For deployed service members who do not have access to a
    military installation offering transition programs, the
    Department of Defense (DoD) provides the Joint Knowledge Online
    resource, J-KO for short, for continuous, career-long
    development of joint knowledge and readiness for military
    personnel, including Combatant Commands and Combat Support
    Agencies abroad. Without online training, these service members
    might be left behind.

        Websites are a critical, no-cost resource for our civilians
    and military clients. SBA.gov is an outstanding website and
    learning tool. It's a wealth of information on all aspects of
    business from start to growth, that is well organized and easy
    to understand. Its Learning Center has over 50 topics that
    anyone can view whenever and as often as they like. For active
    duty personnel and busy aspiring entrepreneurs, this
    flexibility is critical. Think of the troops deployed abroad
    with ambitions of entrepreneurship when they turn home, like
    Vil who when she returns from Afghanistan will open that coffee
    shop and bakery, and spouses like Torrance who are keeping the
    home fires burning and running a home-based business of their
    own. Both need online tools like the SBA website and ours,
    VBOC.org, for resources whenever and wherever they want to
    access them. Our Florida Start-up Checklist is a step by step
    guide on our website for aspiring entrepreneurs in my home
    state of Florida, a Microsoft Word document with live links to
    the websites every business owner will need to get their
    business off the ground, from the IRS to website domain names
    to the Secretary of State's offices and to local resources.
    Having these electronic resources not only helps your
    constituents, it saves operational costs to our organizations.
    In the past, we would have spent valuable funds on printing and
    mailing. Now we can ``force multiply'' with a website at with
    greater reach at minimal expense to the tax payers!

        Market research is critical in assessing the feasibility of
    one's idea and in creating a viable business plan. The days of
    pouring over books in the library are long gone. Today's
    warriors expect to access data from their smart phone and
    tablets, untethered from the restraint of library research and
    outdated intel. The use of data from the U.S. Census, the SBA's
    Size-Up Tool and online business plan development tools, both
    commercial and on SBA resource partner websites are valuable
    technological research methods. Bryan, former Army and now
    military spouse, is launching an online business. His is a
    cutting-edge platform but he still needs that data to
    understand and identify his market, locate and cultivate key
    resources and partners before he spends a lot of money. All
    this intel was readily available at no cost through our office,
    SBA resources and the public library which itself is riding the
    wave of electronic research tools like Reference USA.

        Like many small business, government agencies, from the
    local to the federal level, use technology to manage
    operations, tracks activities, and use this data to expand its
    reach and increase its efficacy. Our organization uses an
    electronic client management system called Neoserra. Through
    this client management and performance system, we can track our
    interactions and communication with our clients, set
    performance goals, scheduling, and sign up for training events.
    Using the private sector's best practices, the V-BOC network
    has just implemented Salesforce, a powerful CRM or Customer
    Relationship Management system to schedule training events,
    register and communicate with clients, and input data about
    attendance and post-training contact.

        In V-BOC 2.0's Initiative by the SBA's Office of Veterans
    Business Development, we will pilot two business plan online
    platforms, LivePlan & GrowthWheel. The goal is to facilitate
    the flow of information and track the assistance a client may
    receive from multiple SBA resources. Not only will we be able
    to counsel clients remotely in real time, we can share, co-
    counsel and track clients with other SBA Resource Partners like
    SCORE, Small Business Development Centers, and Women's Business
    Centers. For example, if a client was referred by a V-BOC to a
    Women's Business Center, these platforms will allow us to track
    that referral and work together seamlessly to help our client.
    Then, if the same client was referred to a lender, and that
    referral resulted in the client receiving a business loan,
    we'll be able to track that outcome too.

        Lastly, social media platforms have become an essential
    means of communicating and delivering information at any time
    to our increasingly tech savvy clientele. Of course, our
    websites are a repository of news and information. But we also
    take advantage of the power of Facebook and Twitter. The SBA
    and the Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) are
    active on both platforms. The OVBD uses Facebook to promote
    both national and local events, and cast a spotlight on veteran
    entrepreneurs with its Success Stories blog. Many V-BOCs use
    email platforms like Constant Contact, to maintain
    communication with our widespread clientele.

        I could continue but you understand how important
    technology and online communication has become and how
    essential it is for elected officials like you and government
    agencies like ours to embrace it and use it to its fullest
    potential in service to our constituents.

        Information and business now move at the speed of light
    because of the technology our nation has helped pioneer and
    that our service men and women have contributed to in years
    past, today and in the future, both as warriors and as
    entrepreneurs. I thank you for this opportunity, and welcome
    any questions.

        Submitted, 12 September 2017

              Brenton Peacock, Director

              bpeacock@VBOC.org

              Florida's Veterans Business Outreach Center

              www.VBOC.org

              5230 W Hwy 98

              Panama City, FL 32401

              (800) 542-7232

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