Business.gov Website Expands
With New Features

Dennis Byrne

WASHINGTON – Business.gov continues to expand its offerings of resources and tools to help small businesses comply with federal government regulations.

Responding to feedback from its business community users, Business.gov has developed a tool that helps businesses determine their license and permit requirements. The site, at www.business.gov, also has expanded the content and context of the information contained in its Compliance Guides and developed relationships with other government and non-governmental organizations to provide more in-depth compliance resources.

Business.gov’s new “Permit Me” feature provides a single source for obtaining federal, state, and local permits and professional licenses for businesses. While every business in the United States is required to obtain a permit, professional license, or identification number to operate, finding the right license can be a major challenge for potential business owners. Although some states offer assistance to help individuals understand their local permit and license requirements, not all provide federal information.

This information gap results in an additional burden to business owners as they must locate, research and understand federal, state, and local government resources separately and then compile the information to gain a comprehensive understanding of their regulatory requirements. “Permit Me” allows businesses to navigate to a single destination and presents a list of licensing and permit resources across all the federal, state and local domains.

Business.gov has also added “Feature Topics” that focus on common business concerns and that will be continually updated on a timely basis. Featured Topics provide context to the compliance information provided on the site and help business owners understand in plain language the regulatory requirements their businesses face. Regulatory information is typically written from the individual agency’s perspective and can fail to adequately explain the impact of the requirement on business operations or the steps required to comply. The failure to develop compliance assistance information that addresses the practical concerns of the business community adds to business’ owners compliance problems.

The Content Partners Program has been established to formalize relationships with government agencies, trade associations and professional organizations to develop compliance assistance tools and resources for small and medium-sized businesses. Content Partners will provide domain specific compliance information to Business.gov ultimately to develop compliance resources that will be featured on the site’s Featured Topics and Compliance Guides pages.

Business.gov is managed by the U.S. Small Business Administration in partnership with 21 other federal agencies and is part of the President’s Management Agenda. Originally launched in 2004, the web site provided information on starting, growing, and managing a small business. The re-launched compliance site is designed to better meet the needs of the business community, based on feedback from test groups.

Reprinted with permission from a July 11, 2007, News Release.

Editor’s Note: An online press kit and podcast of business owners’ reactions are available at http://www.business.gov/press.