Good morning OWN network,

If your company was formed in Indiana and averaged $10 million or less in sales over the last two years, state contracts released after Oct‌ 1 will score bids on how much of the work goes to firms like yours. Certifying is one form in the state’s supplier portal plus two years of tax returns. Bloomington is Thursday, Oct‌ 29.

Next OWN night: Bill Black in Bloomington on Thu Oct‌ 29. Details on our events page

Indiana’s Small Business Program opened at IDOA on Oct‌ 1 under an executive order from Gov. Braun. A company qualifies if its gross receipts averaged $10 million or less over the last two calendar years, wherever they were earned, and it passes one of four Indiana tests. The easiest is registration as a domestic business with the Indiana Secretary of State.

State RFPs released after Oct‌ 1 score small-business participation, from 1 point at a 2% share to 5 points at 10%, with a sixth point for the bid that commits the most past that. Certify and you become a subcontractor those bidders have a reason to call, even if you never bid yourself. Certifying does not win a contract on its own, and RFPs already in flight don’t require it.

To certify, open your Bidder Profile in the IDOA Supplier Portal and answer Yes under Identifications. Have two years of business tax returns, your Secretary of State filings and ownership details ready. Questions go to [email protected] or 317-232-3061. The program’s FAQ

AES Indiana extended its HVAC rebate bonus of 15% to Dec‌ 15. On Sept‌ 29 we said it ended Sept‌ 30. It covers heat pumps, air conditioning and variable-frequency drives on compressors in the Midstream and Prescriptive programs. Equipment has to be running by Dec‌ 15, and the application is due within 90 days of installation or by Dec‌ 15, whichever comes first. 888-982-7071. Custom incentives

CBP’s tariff refunds on IEEPA duties go only by ACH, to a refund account that may be separate from the one you pay duties from, and CBP holds the money until that account is on file. Ask your customs broker to check the REV-613 ACH Rejected Refunds report. If someone claiming to be CBP asks you for a fee or financial information, CBP says it is a scam.

The IRS storm relief grew on Oct‌ 8, adding Cass, Fountain, Grant, Parke, Pike, Putnam, Starke, Vermillion and Warren counties to a list that already covered Marion and Hamilton. For a business based in a listed county, estimated payments due since Aug‌ 11 and the quarterly payroll return due Nov‌ 2 move to Feb‌ 1, 2027, automatically. Payroll deposits and W-2 and 1099 forms keep their dates. IRS release IN-2026-01, with the full county list

ZF Active Safety & Electronics is closing its Lafayette manufacturing operation. The WARN notice lists 133 workers, mostly assemblers and production technicians, with layoffs starting in early November. Much of the group, including the tool makers and electricians, leaves between February and April. ZF’s notice (PDF)

American Woodmark, now part of MasterBrand, is ending assembly in Gas City, with up to 207 jobs going between Dec‌ 5 and Jan‌ 8. Packaging Corporation of America’s 78 in Gas City leave the week of Oct‌ 26. Woodmark’s notice (PDF)

WorkOne can put your openings in front of these workers before their last day. Near Lafayette, call WorkOne West Central at 765-477-1906, and near Gas City it’s Northeast Indiana Works. Posting on Indiana Career Connect is free.

The count comes from Rob Henderson of the Indiana State Building and Construction Trades Council. For a build-out or an expansion next year, get contractor bids earlier than usual and expect them to come in higher while that work runs.

Before we plan 2027, we want to hear from 50 owners: the topics and speakers you want, and whether you’d host, speak or suggest a guest. It takes about five minutes, and no name is needed.

Mentor matching starts this fall. A mentor and a newer owner talk about once a month for three months, over coffee or a call. We make the introduction, and mentors don’t sell. How to raise your hand is at the bottom of this email.

Membership is $50 a year through Dec‌ 31 and $100 from Jan‌ 1, and every OWN night is free for members. So far, 25 members have joined.

We’re looking for partners who want to support this community next year, so OWN can keep growing and do more for the people running Indiana companies. If you’d like to learn more about it and what you get in return for your support, reply to this email. It takes a village.

Kevin Weaver co-owns Blueline, a Bloomington studio that makes films for businesses. His own project is Beyond Vision, a documentary about Lonnie Bedwell of Dugger, a Navy veteran who lost his sight in 1997, then kayaked the Grand Canyon and climbed the highest peak on every continent. Reaching the North Pole would make Lonnie the first blind person and the first Hoosier to complete the Explorers Grand Slam. The benefit dinner for the film is Thu Nov‌ 12 at 6‌ PM at The Woolery Mill. Go Beyond tickets and the film

BizBuySell found in its Q2 2026 report that 90% of buyers expect seller financing to be part of the deal, and 29% of owners plan to offer it. In July we printed lower figures from the same report; these are its numbers. If your buyer is using an SBA loan, the lender’s rulebook sets most of the structure. The report

Under SBA’s SOP 50 10 8.1, in effect since Oct‌ 1, an outside buyer puts in at least 10% of the project cost. A seller note can count toward up to half of that only if it is subordinated and on full standby, meaning no principal or interest paid for the life of the SBA loan. Any other seller note gets paid, and the lender counts those payments when it tests whether the business covers 1.25 times its debt payments.

The SOP prohibits seller earnouts, so on an SBA deal the seller’s upside has to come from the terms of the paying note. In return for standby, ask for a defined rate, security, the buyer’s personal guarantee, and cross-default language. The SOP and SBA’s notice on the change

On the buy side, the minimum can’t be negotiated down, so plan for at least half of it in your own cash.

Run this test.

Before you sign a letter of intent, get the buyer’s lender to confirm in writing how each note will be treated, and that the deal clears the coverage test with every scheduled seller payment counted.

ChamberCare, the Indiana Chamber’s health plan, now quotes chamber members with 51 to 100 enrolled employees, for plans starting Jan‌ 1, 2027. Quotes go through your broker at [email protected]. The Chamber’s announcement

The IURC approved AES Indiana’s plan on Oct‌ 7 to serve a data center in Monrovia for a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google’s parent. AES testified its deal covers all the costs tied to it, though some shared grid-upgrade costs can still be spread across other customers. The order (PDF)

Nucor is putting $105 million into its Towers & Structures plant in Crawfordsville, with up to 100 jobs by the end of 2029 at average pay near 150% of the Montgomery County average. Hiring starts mid-2027, pending local incentives. IEDC’s release

The federal funding law, P.L. 119-103, funds the government through Dec‌ 11. In the 2025 lapse, SBA stopped accepting new 7(a) and 504 applications. If a sale or purchase depends on SBA money, ask the lender whether the application will be approved before that date, and what the bank will do with the file if it is not. The law

SBA 504 rates for October, for buying a building or major equipment, came in at 6.97% on 25-year loans, fees included, up from 6.54% in September. Manufacturers, rural businesses and the food supply chain pay about a quarter point less, because SBA waived their fees for FY27. October’s 504 rates

Reply “mentor” if you’d give an owner a few steps behind you about one coffee or call a month, or “match” if you’d like a mentor. Add a line on what you run or what you’re working on, and we’ll make the introductions.

Jared

P.S. Operator Notes has a new home this issue, same name and the same every-other-Tuesday schedule. Replies still go to [email protected], and having that address in your contacts keeps us landing in your inbox.