MISSION: The mission of SmallBiz Sherpas is to promote the health and vitality of small businesses in order to facilitate both job creation and job retention.

HISTORY: SmallBiz Sherpas is an outgrowth of David Ingram's entrepreneurial success, growing his latest company, Capital TechSearch, to make the Inc. 5000 list two years in a row. David has recently published his first book, 15 Bedtime Stories That Keep Entrepreneurs Awake at Night, that tells the tales of lessons learned while growing his business -- stories from which other entrepreneurial business owners can learn from so that they can grow their businesses faster, making fewer mistakes.

SITUATION: Our economic recovery is dependent upon new job creation. Small businesses create upwards of 60% of the net new jobs. Yet, 65% of small businesses fail within the three years.

HOW WE SERVE: SmallBiz Sherpas will provide the resources to ensure the success of small businesses. Assistance will be provided in the following key areas: legal, financial, information technology, human resources, sales & marketing.

GOAL: The goal of SmallBiz Sherpas is to lower the failure rate of small businesses and help to create 100,000 new jobs in the next 36 months.

GROUP PARTICIPATION: For participation in this group, you should fall into one of two categories. Either you are a small business owner or entrepreneur whose business is fairly new and you need a Sherpa or team of Sherpas to help you move forward and grow your business, OR you are an expert in one of the assistance areas and would like to provide help to small business owners and entrepreneurs through this group. Please specify how you would like to be involved.