This unique ebook reproduces two up-to-date government reports about America's small manufacturers, businesses and entrepreneurs:Moving America's Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs Forward - Creating an Economy Built to Last.Connecting Small Manufacturers with the Capital Needed to Grow, Compete, and Succeed: Small Manufacturers Capital Access Inventory and Needs Assessment Report - Over its 20-year history, the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)—a program of the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)— has helped U.S. manufacturers implement process improvement and cost reduction strategies to save time and money, achieve higher profits, and create and retain thousands of jobs. MEP continues to provide those services and serves as connecting point with close to 2,300 third party service providers to deliver in-depth assistance annually to thousands of manufacturers in MEP's five strategic growth areas— technology acceleration, supplier development, sustainability, workforce, and continuous improvement. In spring 2011, MEP commissioned an independent capital access assessment study with the support of Booz Allen Hamilton to better understand the current state of the capital marketplace and how it impacts the ability of small and medium sized enterprise (SMEs) to obtain the necessary capital to support innovation and growth. Across all stages of the businesses lifecycle, from early stage to high and steady growth, companies need reliable access to capital to fuel innovation and sustain growth. The scarcity of available capital and credit is particularly impactful on the manufacturing sector, which is very capital intensive and often requires the financing of inventories and receivables over longer periods than other sectors of the economy like software which rarely has any inventory. National surveys of manufacturing companies have cited delayed capital investment as one of the biggest impacts of the recent recession and a constraint to future growth. While there are some places where the credit crunch has eased, securing capital for sales and growth remains a complex and frustrating process for many, even historically successful, smaller manufacturers.Moving America's Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs Forward - Creating an Economy Built to Last - From Main Street shops to high-tech startups, America's small businesses and entrepreneurs are the engine of our economy and one of our country's greatest assets. Over the last two decades, small and new businesses have been responsible for creating 2 out of every 3 net new jobs, and today the country's 28 million small firms employ 60 million Americans, half of the private sector workforce. When America's small businesses are strong and growing, our communities are strong and growing. President Obama understands that to create an economy built to last—one that ensures millions of hard working Americans have the opportunity to achieve the American Dream—we must make sure that every entrepreneur and small business in America has the tools they need to grow.