California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

There were 888 small businesses sold in California last month, a decline from
the 951 transactions recorded in September 2009, and from the 1,047 deals
completed in August, according to a report from BizBen.com, a Dublin, CA
company that tracks small business sales in California.

“We talked to a number of buyers and also sellers who were holding off making
decisions, hoping the federal government would reinstate the policies that have
boosted lending for small business transactions,” says Peter Siegel, founder
and CEO of BizBen.com.

Mr. Siegel notes that the “Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010” was signed
into law last week. It includes incentives in SBA loan programs that were used
part of the time over the past couple of years. “During those periods when Congress
approved funds to support SBA lending we saw more money available for business sales,
leading to an increase in completed transactions in California,” says Mr. Siegel.
The incentives include waiving loan fees for borrowers, and encouraging lenders to
do business by providing SBA guarantees covering up to 90 percent of loan amounts,
he says.

Sales declined in most of the state’s large counties last month compared to the
same month last year. The few populous counties with improved totals of small
business sales include Riverside (up 52 percent from 23 to 35), San Diego (up 16
percent to 89 from 77) and Sacramento (up about 16 percent from 32 to 37).



“Signs of improvement in sales volume are a bit spotty at this point. That’s pretty
much what’s going on throughout the economy. Some sectors are seeing growth while
others are lagging behind,” Mr. Siegel says.


I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.