Our guest blogger today is Stephen Morris, a Presidential Management Fellow at the U.S. Small Business Administration working to help small business owners and entrepreneurs.  

Every challenge presents an opportunity. In a tough economy, many aspiring entrepreneurs have found their opening to start a business.

The good news is that Federal, state, and local governments offer many resources to help you achieve your dream of owning a business.

Start with a plan. A business plan is a strategic vision for your business and is often required for obtaining loans. There are a number of government resources online to help you get started on your plan.
• Small Business Planner
• Business.gov videos: Business Planning Tutorial
• Gauge your local competition with Census data

 After you’ve researched and developed a plan, you may want to attend training or a counseling session. Several government-sponsored groups provide this service for free or a nominal fee.
• In-person services near you

And of course, you need money to start your business. Federal, state, and local governments each operate loan and financial assistance programs for aspiring entrepreneurs.
• Learn more about financing a business
• Search for business loans and grants

Businesses need to follow all relevant laws, file necessary permits, and pay taxes. For more information about these and other steps to opening your business, check out 10 Steps to Starting a Business.

Wherever you are in the process, whether starting or expanding, the Business.gov Community is a great place to ask questions and share your experiences.

Additional resources
• USA.gov online services for business
• Are you doing business online? Specific information for Internet-based business

Our guest blogger today is Martha Nudel, who works in the Division of Visitor Services and Communications for the National Wildlife Refuge System of the Department of the Interior.  

What’s the most natural place to marvel at autumn’s show?  A National Wildlife Refuge is hard to beat — and you can see for yourself during National Wildlife Refuge Week.  Celebrated October 11-17, National Wildlife Refuge Week offers events across the country, many of them for most of the month of October. 

Whether you prefer to admire the fall colors, thrill to a skyful of migratory birds, explore a mountain trail or learn about the cultural resources that are part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s conservation mission, you can find what you like at a National Wildlife Refuge.  National Wildlife Refuge Week celebrates the richness of the 550 units that make up America’s National Wildlife Refuge System.  And it’s a great chance to find a family event near where you live.

When President Theodore Roosevelt established tiny Pelican Island in Florida in 1903 as the first National Wildlife Refuge, his mission was clear: protect the island’s birds from poachers and plume hunters.  With that simple promise of wildlife protection, the National Wildlife Refuge System was born.  National Wildlife Refuge Week gives the nation so many chances to experience wildlife in their natural habitats and play a firsthand role in conservation by participating in special events and programs, or simply observing and enjoying the great outdoors at a local refuge.

National Wildlife Refuges are dedicated to the conservation of fish and wildlife and their habitats. They also offer a wide range of wildlife-dependent recreation — from fishing, hunting and hiking, to wildlife observation and photography, and environmental education.  The Refuge System includes more than 2,500 miles of land and water trails.

A Sampling of National Wildlife Refuge Week Highlights:

Patuxent Research Refuge, Maryland
Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17:  For the first time, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will host the nation’s oldest and most prestigious wildlife art competition, the Federal Duck Stamp Art Contest, at the refuge.  The winning design will grace the 2010-2011 Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, the cornerstone of one of the world’s most successful conservation program.  In addition to watching the contest judging, the public can explore walking trails on the refuge or take a guided tram tour.  All artwork entered in the 2009 Federal Duck Stamp Contest will be on display at the refuge’s National Wildlife Visitor Center through October 17. 

Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana
Saturday, October 17, Annual Fall Celebration: Enjoy family activities and free fried fish dinners. 

Southeast Louisiana Refuges
Saturday, October 17, Annual Wild Things Festival: Attend a festival showcasing eight National Wildlife Refuges. The festival features speakers, live animals, wildlife crafts, live entertainment, gardens and grounds tours. Children’s highlights include the Youth Wildlife Art Show, orienteering, decoy painting and nature crafts. Wild Things also features canoe and pontoon boat tours of Bayou Lacombe.

You can take advantage of all the great events going on during National Wildlife Refuge Week at a National Wildlife Refuge near you! 

Our guest blogger today is Colleen Blessing, who works on the energy statistics website at the Energy Information Administration.   

When I think of October, pumpkins, ghosts, and candy come to mind.   But I’m guessing most of us don’t conjure up thoughts of coal, oil, and electricity in our trick-or-treat bag.  

What?  October is about more than just candy and Halloween?  Yep, October is Energy Awareness Month!   

Ever since the Presidential proclamation in 1991, States, organizations, schools and citizens have used October to promote public understanding of energy and the wise and efficient use of that energy.  The theme this year is A Sustainable Energy Future:  Putting All the Pieces Together. 

But how do we put all the pieces together if we don’t even know what all the pieces are?  It’s like when you are doing a jigsaw puzzle that’s missing pieces—you just can’t see the whole picture.  Well, it’s the same for energy.  Most of us need to learn about more pieces of the energy puzzle to better understand the big picture.

We all need to be more aware of our use of resources, where our fuel comes from, and how energy affects our economy and the environment.  Gosh, it seems like energy is in the news every day.  Some of the topics are confusing.  We think we should understand, but we really don’t.

Do you know what biofuels are?; what renewable energy incentives are out there?; where our oil imports come from?

So check this out: To celebrate Energy Awareness Month, the U.S.  Energy Information Administration just launched a basic energy encyclopedia.   It’s bite-sized articles, in simple English, on all kinds of energy topics, with graphs and links to more information.  This new energy resource has everything from an energy conversion calculator, to where emissions come from, to why our heating oil gets dyed red! 

Did you know oil didn’t come from dinosaurs?  Did you know that hydrogen is made from water? 

Does October make you think of crunchy leaves, chilly Fall sweater weather, and heating bills?  Find out about heating fuels. 

Energy facts—almost as good as Halloween chocolate…and better for you!

Our Monday blogger, Jake, has work duties that will take him away from Gov Gab until September. In his absence, we’re alternating between “Your Turn” weeks, where we’ll ask a question to spotlight your knowledge about government resources, and posts from guest bloggers across the government.

Today's Question:  What impresses you about your government?

Last Monday, the Car Allowance Rebate System (AKA Cash for Clunkers) program ended. My husband and I seriously considered turning in our minivan - it has126,000 miles on it.  We decided against it (hard to find a vehicle that seats 7 and gets more than 20 MPG), but during the research I was again pleasantly surprised at all the great information the government puts together in easy-to-use formats.  For instance, I was able to compare cars side-by-side for fuel economy and safety.  How cool!  What has surprised you about what the government does?

Our guest blogger today is Colleen Blessing, who works on the energy statistics website at the Energy Information Administration.   

We all think a little about gasoline, because that’s a type of energy we actually buy, but many of us probably don’t understand much about gas prices except that they go up and down a lot. 

Do you know which country we get the biggest share of our oil imports 
from?  Answer:  It’s Canada, and almost half of our oil imports come from the Western Hemisphere.  You’re not alone if you got the wrong answer:  More than half of the people we surveyed recently either didn’t know or guessed Saudi Arabia or Iraq.

When you click the remote and the TV comes on, do you ever think about the electricity you’re buying to make it work or even where that electricity comes from?  If you’re like me, energy is sort of just there.  It’s on the stove and in the plug, but I don’t really think about it until there’s a power outage or until my bills are really high.  But where does electricity come from?  About half of the electricity in the United States is generated by burning coal! 

So, seeing as how it’s back-to-school time for kids, maybe some of us adults could also learn an interesting fact or two! 

And have I got a source of energy information for you!  In the category of “wow, I didn’t know the government did that,” at my high school reunion (I won’t mention which one), I amazed people by telling them I work at a government statistical agency that produces policy neutral energy data—independent of spin or advocacy.  They thought the government should do that, but they didn’t know that it actually did!  The Energy Information Administration prides itself on collecting and giving the public facts about energy that they can believe in. 

Biofuels mostly refers to ethanol and biodiesel, liquid fuels used for transportation.  They are made from things like corn and animal fat.  Did you know that Henry Ford’s original automobile, the Model T, could run on either gasoline or ethanol?

Renewable energy sources include water, the sun, geothermal, biomass and wind.  Did you know that most renewable energy is used to produce electricity?  China leads the world in renewable energy use for electricity production, but the United States is in second place.  

Do you think yellow cake is just to eat?  In fact, the term also is another name for uranium oxide, the fuel used by nuclear power plants.  Fun and Games can help you learn more energy terms.  If you’re ready to graduate to data and analysis, you can find lots of information on the Energy Information Administration website.

Start learning about energy!