The SBA 8a Mentor

What is the Preponderance of Evidence?
This is the criteria the SBA review team judges your narrative against.  Where is the criteria listed? There is no checklist that I am aware of, but you can look to the SBA FAR for clues to what your narrative must include.

How Do You Meet the Preponderance of Evidence?
You must provide incidents demonstrating when you have experienced discrimination and harassment in your personal and professional life. Your story will be unique to your circumstances.

When you choose The Narrative Writing Service, we ask probing questions to uncover the events that shaped your life and help you address the preponderance of evidence. These incidents demonstrate how your life events meet the social and / or economic disadvantage requirements of the SBA 8(a) program criteria. Complete your narrative rapidly with confidence, and meet the preponderance of evidence criteria with the Narrative Writing Service.

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Before starting to fill out the SBA 8(a) application, you must be registered in these four databases, in this order. Plan on spending about a week to get of the forms completed. These are short forms and you do not have to pay someone to complete them.

1. Employer Identification Number (EIN) - The EIN is a permanent tax number and can be used immediately for many business needs, including: opening a bank account; applying for business licenses and filing a tax return by mail. > http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=102767,00.html

2. Business Registration – DUNS Number - Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) provides a unique nine digit identification number, for each physical location of your business. The D-U-N-S Number assignment is FREE and is a requirement to register with the US Federal government for contracts or grants. It can be created within 1 business day. Note: After you register with Dun & Bradstreet they will start calling or emailing you to sign-up for additional services.

Note: It is NOT necessary to sign-up for these services. It will NOT affect your ability to get government contracts. > http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform

3. Central Contractor Registration (CCR) – To do business with the Federal government and to be certified under the 8(a) Program or as an SDB, you must
register in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database. CCR is a government-wide single point of vendor registration. CCR is a key aspect of
streamlining and integrating electronic commerce into the Federal procurement process. > https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/default.aspx

Note: If you are a new registrant to CCR and/or updating your profile, expect a 24 to 72 hour waiting period before you can access to the SBA 8(a) application.

4. General Log-in System (GLS) – SBA supports a single log-in point for all services called the General Log-in System. It will take about three days for your
login information to be available. Recommendation: While you are waiting for the registrations to become active, go ahead and start writing your narrative.
> https://eweb.sba.gov/gls/dsp_addcustomer.cfm

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Here are some of our most frequently asked questions:

Who is eligible to apply for SBA 8(a) status?
Women, minority and service disabled veteran small business owners who meet specific business and  financial criteria. Do you qualify?  > Take the SBA assessment to get answers.

Want more information?  Visit > www.The8amentor.com

Can anyone guarantee my acceptance in the SBA 8(a) program?
No company can guarantee your acceptance. Only the SBA makes that determination.  Be wary of  companies that “claim” to guarantee your acceptance if you use their services.

How do I apply?
The application process contains several parts: pre-registration in four databases, completion of an online application (including a social / economic narrative), printing /sending hard copy for review, submission of additional paperwork upon request. > Check the SBA website

What documents are needed to complete the application?
Expect to provide three recent tax returns, business incorporation documents, bank signature cards and other similar requested documents and more.

The application is a step-by-step process completed over several sessions.  The application won’t  let you proceed until you complete the current form you are working on.

After you complete the online application, there is a checklist to print.  You provide a “wet signature” document stating that information you provide is true, that is notarized.  The completed application packet is sent to one of two SBA processing centers.  The checklist informs you of the correct place to send your packet.

How long is the application process?
The most important time saver is to have all of your reference documents in order.  Filling out the online form takes about 6 hours, but this does not include writing the social / economic disadvantage narrative.

Depending upon your writing ability it can take from 6+ hours to prepare.  (Because there is not a lot of guidance from the SBA in writing the narrative, many people just quit. )

Once your application has been printed and submitted to one of the two processing centers (Philadelphia or San Francisco) you will get notified (via email or postal service) of an initial packet screening.  At that time you will be instructed if your packet is complete  or if you have to provide additional information.   You need to quickly respond within 15 days to the notice with requested information.

Then the SBA reviewers have up to 90 days to review your packet and make a final decision.  You will receive final notification (via email  or postal service) of the decision.

Can I submit a paper application instead of online?
Yes, but we do not recommend it. Why? Because online applications are reviewed and approved within 90 days.  Paper applications are not reviewed for up to 4-6 months.  If you are uneasy about filling out an online form, get help.

When  I receive notification, can I immediately start bidding?
No. After you receive your SBA 8(a) acceptance letter, expect to wait up to one month before the local SBA office contacts you to come in for your initial interview.  The meeting will last about one hour. The local SBA 8(a) Business Development Specialist will review your information and give you general information about the program and upcoming local events.

Want more information?  Visit > www.The8amentor.com

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Is my business eligible to apply for SBA 8(a) status?
If you are woman, minority or service disabled veteran business owner you may be eligible.
Caucasian men, with the exception of service disabled veterans, are typically not eligible.

> Click here to view the video

For more information visit: www.the8amentor.com

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Want more information?  Visit > www.The8amentor.com

The SBA prefers… you submit your application online. Applying is a two-step process:
1) Fill out the online application.
2) Print the online forms, attach required documents and send to the designated SBA office for processing.

If you follow these steps, your application will be prescreened within 10 days.  You will receive an email stating your application was received and include a request for additional information.  Once you have responded, the SBA has 90 days to complete the application process.  You will receive official notification via email on their final decision.

Note: Business owners who choose our application preparation services receive our assistance in fulfilling any additional requests during the initial screen process. Just inform us of the notification letter and we will help you get the requests turned around within 5 business days.

We do not recommend that you use the hard copy version, here’s why. If you choose to apply using a paper-based application, you first have to make a special request to the SBA.  Then expect to wait 3-4 months before they even make an initial screening on your application.

What does the application form contain?
The SBA 8(a) application is a series of forms requesting personal and professional information including business history.  Some of the information you will need to provide includes:

• personal and business tax returns from three previous years
• bank signature cards
• information about lines of credit and bank loans
• stock certificates
• shareholder meeting minutes
• business incorporation paperwork.

Depending upon your business situation you may have to provide additional information as requested by the SBA.

Many business owners do not have the time to stress out over filling out the application, so they seek help from professionals like our organization.  Want to get your application completed within 7 business days?  Check out our service now.

Form 1010: Social / Economic Disadvantage Narrative
Most business owners find the Form 1010 the is most difficult part of the entire application process. In this form you are writing your social/ economic disadvantage narrative. Failing to write a narrative to meet SBA 8(a) expectations is normally the factor to keep you from getting accepted into the SBA 8(a) program. Yes, writing the narrative is stressful.

If you are not a good writer, we recommend you get help in writing the narrative. Why? Because the SBA does not provide good instructions on what they expect. However you do not have to pay someone thousands of dollars to write your own personal and business story. We offer two affordable options to help you prepare your Form 1010 Narrative.

Even if you are a good writer, we recommend you get help in preparing the narrative.  Why? Because the writing process is painful, dredging up old negativity from your personal and professional life.

Using our Narrative Writing Service, we arrange a convenient 2-hour online phone interview and then we prepare your narrative.  We send the final narrative to you for review and approval. You complete the application by pasting the narrative into the Form 1010 Personal Information section in your online application. it’s that easy.

Preponderance of Evidence
We help you address the “preponderance of evidence” demonstrating your unique social and / or economic disadvantage. Complete your narrative rapidly with confidence.

What is Your Time Worth?
Our research has shown that business owners invest over 40 hours submitting their application, if they don’t get discouraged and quit during the process.  They often let the process drag on for months.  But NOW  TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.

If you are serious about getting your company certified to claim your share of the economic stimulus funds, you need to contact us TODAY.  Why? Because it takes a minimum of 90 days for the application to go through the SBA review process.

The two application processing /review offices are located in San Francisco and Philadelphia are now getting about 50-75 applications per day.  The applications that do not meet initial screening process are rejected and sent back to the business owner.  That means your application has to start at the bottom of the stack once you get the required documentation into them.

Learn more at:  www.the8amentor.com

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What is your single most important question about the SBA (a) application and narrative?
Isn’t it about time you got some answers?

We have made it easy for you! Mark Your Calendar - Tuesday-May 26, 2 pm (CST)
Ask your question, tune in on Tuesday’s call, get your answer and receive a special $50 coupon for attending.

This past week we answered so many inquiries about the SBA 8(a) program and our services that we have decided to host an informative free 30-minute Q&A teleseminar. In addition to answering your specific question, we will provide information about: 8a program eligibility, advice about the application process and facts about writing the social / economic disadvantage narrative (also known as the Form 1010 narrative). You will not want to miss this fact-filled event.

Get Started! Fill out the form below to submit your question. You will immediately receive an email with the teleseminar call-in number and access code information. Call in on Tuesday to listen for your question being answered. Note: Attendance is limited to the first 50 people who sign up.

What is keeping you from applying for SBA 8(a) certification? The time to wait and think about it is over!
Everyday 50-75 new applications are being submitted to the two SBA 8(a) processing office. If you are serious about being able to get federal contracts, take action!

Special teleseminar bonus: Each person who attends the entire teleseminar will receive a valuable $50 coupon towards the purchase of the DIY Narrative Toolkit or the Narrative Writing Service.

> Click here to register

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