Our Mission and History

The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) is an influential voice and advocate for entrepreneurs and small business owners.  We focus on advancing policies and initiatives that encourage entrepreneurship and small business growth.  Our strength and effectiveness are powered by SBE Council supporters and members. Our network of more than 100,000 member supporters, including entrepreneurs and small business owners, state and local business organizations, corporate partners and associations work with us to strengthen the environment for entrepreneurship, investment, innovation and quality job creation.

SBE Council educates elected officials, policymakers, business leaders and the public about key policies that enable business start-up and growth. Through advocacy, research, media outreach, and education, SBE Council members and staff convey the importance of entrepreneurship to job creation, opportunity, economic growth and U.S. competitiveness.  Since our founding in 1994, SBE Council has helped to strengthen the ecosystem for small business and entrepreneurial success in the U.S. and across the world.

When there is something of importance happening in the U.S. or across the globe that affects small business owners and entrepreneurs, SBE Council is there – we are your voice, your advocate.

Our mission is to protect small business and promote entrepreneurship.

Advocacy   For 26 years, SBE Council members and staff have led some of the most successful and important legislative and educational campaigns for entrepreneurs.  At the start of COVID-19, SBE Council worked to influence various federal support programs for small businesses, including the PPP and EIDL programs to ensure that these programs were effectively updated and administered given the long-term impact that COVID-shutdowns would have on America’s small businesses. SBE Council president & CEO Karen Kerrigan testified twice before Congress to provide feedback on these programs, to ensure broad access and that these efforts were reaching all small businesses that qualified.  Over the years SBE Council’s advocacy has been effective on a wide range of access to capital issues.  For example, our members designed the framework for legislation that allows entrepreneurs to use equity and debt-based crowdfunding to raise capital for their businesses.  Our effective outreach and advocacy campaign stunned partisan Washington, and culminated in the signing of the Jumpstart Our Business Start-Up Act (JOBS Act) by President Obama on April 5, 2012.  Key components of the Jobs Act are revolutionizing how entrepreneurs access capital – not only in the U.S., but across the globe.

SBE Council is at the center of key tax and regulatory issues that impact small businesses.  A multi-year effort by our staff and members zeroed in on making expanded Section 179 expensing and the R&D tax credit permanent, which led to these important provisions being included in the omnibus spending bill signed by President Obama in December of 2015.  With respect to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, SBE Council’s advocacy helped to secure key provisions that provide small businesses with tax relief and to encourage investment and capital formation. SBE Council has also led the small business effort to make permanent the ban on Internet access taxes, which culminated on February 26, 2016 when President Obama signed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (H.R. 644). This bill also included key customs modernization reforms that also make it easier for small businesses to go global.  SBE Council provides leadership and a much needed voice for entrepreneurs on policies such as trade, technology, intellectual property (IP), telecommunications, energy, government procurement, access to capital, spending and fiscal issues, health care and much more.  SBE Council’s policy knowledge and advocacy experience is respected and unmatched.

Educational Resources   SBE Council conducts training programs and collaborative projects to help small business owners and entrepreneurs compete in the competitive global economy.  Our Growth Without Barriers series provides cutting-edge content, and updates our members on the latest legislation and policies working their way through Congress, government agencies, or the state legislatures.  SBE Council experts and staff regularly produce helpful “how to” content on timely business issues. We report on trends, economic data and policy actions and how they may impact U.S. entrepreneurs.  SBE Council’s weekly Small Business Insider enews provides links to our original content, free or low-cost training events and webinars on issues ranging from finance to emerging market trends, to effective online/tech tools and marketing strategies for small business.  The weekly newsletter is packed with the best articles and content from across the web, which focuses on providing entrepreneurs with practical, actionable advice and successful strategies for growth.  Sign up for SBE Council’s weekly enews – Small Business Insider – here.

Research   SBE Council is respected for its research, studies and reports covering a wide range of issues.  The “Small Business Policy Index,” “Business Tax Index” and other state policy indexes are widely reported on by the media, and provide state lawmakers and Governors with tools to measure the policy competitiveness of their states and how they stack up against their counterparts.  SBE Council produces regular “Entrepreneurs & the Economy” surveys that track small business sentiment on key policy and economic issues.  SBE Council’s research in the areas of technology, monetary policy, taxes, regulation, energy, small business financing and more are used to support our advocacy efforts.  This research and analyses is used to educate lawmakers, policy leaders, media, coalition partners, and the public about the vital role entrepreneurs play in all sectors of the economy, job creation, innovation and economic growth. SBE Council’s research is key to helping us advance policies and initiatives that encourage start-up activity and small business growth.

SBE Council is a 501 c4 nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy and research organization.  Contributions to SBE Council are not tax deductible.