The conference, attended by more than 200 people, was held at the Emerging Technology Center in Portsmouth by the Labor Department.
Knowing that securing business capital can be difficult for small businesses, representatives from the New Hampshire office of the U.S. Small Business Administration met with the event’s attendees to outline the agency’s local partnerships and various lines of funding.
The SBA maintains partnerships with SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) - known as "Counselors to America’s Small Businesses" - the New Hampshire Small Business Development Center and the Women’s Business Center.
Alice Zachos of the SBA said many business owners don’t know how much free counseling and training is available to them.
"Events like this help us to promote ourselves and our partners," she said. "The whole state should know that there are services out there and they are free and confidential."
Zachos says businesses can tap the SBA and its partners for counseling as well as help in making decisions on health-care coverage and questions on bookkeeping, marketing, manufacturing and other industry-specific needs.
Offering capital for expansion is one avenue of helping businesses.
William K. Phillips, district director for the U.S. Small Business Administration, said the most popular SBA loan in New Hampshire is the SBA Express Loan.
"Eighty percent of the loans in New Hampshire are express," he said. "They are quick, down, dirty and easy."
The reason the loans are attractive is that they can be secured in 36 hours and are available to most lenders with a $2 million limit. Also, a bank can use its own forms to approve the transaction, it can be used for a line of credit, and the SBA guarantees 50 percent of the amount of the loan.
Because of the terms of the loan, the rates are likely to be in the 4.5 percent to 6.5 percent range - more than 2 percentage points above those of other loan programs.
Another key topic at the event was health care.
Bradford Campbell, of the U.S. Department of Labor, said the department is trying to get the word out to businesses about association health plans.
"AHPs allow small businesses, through their associations, to band together nationally and purchase health insurance at more affordable rates," Campbell explained.
According to the Labor Department, studies show that AHPs can save subscribers as much as 25 percent on health insurance costs and help as many as 8 million uninsured Americans obtain coverage.