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Yesterday, Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank traveled to Virginia Beach, VA, where she toured the Stihl manufacturing plant and announced a new initiative to strengthen the economy by supporting American businesses as they make things here in America and create jobs. The Make it in America Challenge is designed to accelerate the trend of insourcing, where companies are bringing jobs back and making additional investments in America. The competition, which is being funded by the U.S.

For years now I’ve thought of business planning in terms of the special case that I call a business plan event. The business plan event is when you have to produce a business plan for some specific business hurdle or gateway. For example, a startup looking for either angel investors or venture capital needs a business plan to give to interested potential investors. And a business applying for commercial credit needs a business plan to present to the loan officer at the bank.

A year ago, Vice President Biden and I visited a small manufacturer in Solon, Ohio. The company, Wrap Tite, used an SBA loan to purchase and renovate their new facility and to hire five new workers. While on the shopfloor of that plant, we announced that 13 of the nation’s largest banks had committed to increase lending for small businesses by $20 billion over the next three years. I’m pleased to announce that the 13 banks have already increased lending by more than $11 billion, putting them more than halfway to the goal in the first year of a three-year commitment.

Not sure you have enough money to start a business? Before you raid your life savings or remortgage your home, you should know about some possible alternatives. According to the Kauffmann Foundation, the average cost of starting a new business from scratch comes in at just over $30,000. Of course, the actual number depends on many factors, such as your industry, business model, and even the state where you’re located.