SmallBusinessNewz - For Business Professionals

Staff Cuts Becoming Widespread

Doug Caverly — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:28:41 -0400

It may be true that no man is an island, but the economy's problems are forcing some small business owners to become peninsulas. Or, to speak more plainly: a great many companies are laying off employees.

Halloween Expected To Bring Small Businesses Happiness

Doug Caverly — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:01:38 -0400

Don't love Halloween? For a number of reasons, you should. And as a small business owner, you may be especially happy to hear that a new report indicates consumer spending on the holiday is expected to be impressive this year.

Should You Start Your Own Business?

Danny Brown — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:50:23 -0400

If you’ve ever thought about starting your own business, now may be as good a time as any. Let’s face it, the economy is all over the place; there’s no such thing as a “job for life” nowadays; and people are working longer and retiring later just so they can afford to live.

Combine that with the expectancy of bosses that you work longer hours without any extra compensation, and you might just feel that the time to start your own business is edging ever closer.

Women-Owned Franchise Numbers on the Rise

Chris Crum — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:42:03 -0400

Franchise consultants FranNet issues a release today discussing trends in women-owned franchises. They cited reports from the International Franchise Association, which found that women have founded 23 franchise systems in the U.S., and within a 10 year span, women-owned franchises increased nearly 17%.

Wakeup Tip: Schedule Morning Appointments

Doug Caverly — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:16:33 -0400

Visit any college campus early in the morning, and you'll find yourself on what looks like the set of a horror movie: an almost-deserted area with just a few zombie-like individuals staggering around. To keep your business days from getting off to similar starts, it may be a good idea to schedule early appointments.

American Small Business League Slams "Bailout Bill"

Chris Crum — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:01:24 -0400

The Bush "bailout bill" has drawn some criticism from small business enthusiasts, namely the American Small Business League (ASBL) unsurprisingly.

"Not only does this bill not contain any provisions that specifically help small business, it has provisions that could actually harm middle class firms. The language in Section 107 of the bill is totally inconsistent with the stated objectives of this legislation," says ASBL President Lloyd Chapman.

Tax Experts Tell Small Businesses To Spend

Doug Caverly — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:33:13 -0400

We've moved a little bit beyond the point at which the economic powers that be tell everyone to indiscriminately "spend, spend, spend"; after all, even $700 billion put in all the right places might not fix the system. However, some experts still think small businesses can do themselves a favor by making buys just now.

Saving Money is a Huge Concern

Chris Crum — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:41:24 -0400

In the U.S. saving money has never been more important. It's an issue that small business owners are struggling with every day as the economy looks to only get worse before it gets better.

500 small business owners participated in a recent survey commissioned by ING's ShareBuilder 401k, and of that 500:

NFIB, NRF Support Bailout

Doug Caverly — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:29:28 -0400

Following the rejection of the proposed $700 billion bailout bill, some supporters promised that they'd have another version ready as soon as possible. And for whatever it's worth, the National Federation of Independent Business and National Retail Federation hope that something gets passed soon.

Starting A Business?

Peter Da Vanzo — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:28:46 -0400

So, you've decided on a new project. What next?

This post follows on from my posts Are You An Innovator, Immitator, or Idiot?, and Market Research Using Google Adwords. If you're starting out on a new project, have a read of those posts before we move on.

Planning

"He who fails to plan, plans to fail" - Proverb

Report: Entrepreneurs Losing Sleep

Doug Caverly — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:31:55 -0400

A sleepless night can be a great thing - the result of a book, movie, or significant other providing you with something better than being unconscious. A lack of sleep can easily be caused by negative influences, however, and it seems that the bad economy is keeping a great many small business owners awake.

Are Your Employees Really Qualified?

Chris Crum — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:19:25 -0400

I visited my favorite electronics store for citing as an example of what not to do with your sales staff, again the other day, and this time a whole new issue came up with regards to their employees. Incompetence.

A New Advertising Opportunity from MySpace

Chris Crum — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:57:02 -0400

MySpace just recently launched MySpace Music, a new service that lets users create their own playlists of songs, and offers a huge catalog of millions of major label and independent label songs to stream on demand. It's going to be a very big and popular service. You've probably heard about it.

UK Bank-Small Business Relationships Worsening

Doug Caverly — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:03:14 -0400

It's a common, if unfortunate, type of scenario. The Red Cross runs low on blood after a disaster. Grocery stores have less food before big storms. And it seems that UK banks are making things harder on small businesses even as these businesses need more help than usual.

NRF Backs Senate Version Of Tax Bill

Doug Caverly — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:29:13 -0400

Small businesses will be able to look forward to help lasting through 2009, and not just the end of this year, if the National Retail Federation gets its way. The NRF is supporting the Senate (as opposed to the House) version of a tax bill.

A Credit Card Bill That Would Actually Be Good

Chris Crum — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:32:51 -0400

Yesterday, Doug discussed business credit-building pointers, quoting Tyson Elliott who named making sure you have a business credit card as the most basic step. Unfortunatley, credit card companies don't always play fair, and that is a notion that has sparked the House of Representatives to approve a bill to keep these companies from exercising practices that are harmful to small business owners.

Business Credit-Building Pointers

Doug Caverly — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:29:21 -0400

Good credit is like a financial superpower. It allows businesses and individuals to get higher limits, lower interest rates, and loans, among other things. So even as you're juggling a dozen other priorities, don't forget about building your business credit.

Chatting With Small Business Professionals

Chris Crum — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:20:20 -0400

As promised, we had people in Columbus, Ohio that last two days to cover the Small Business Marketing Unleashed event. From that, Mike McDonald has come back with a number of video interviews. Some will be posted at SmallBusinessNewz.com, while others will find their way to WebProNews.

Holiday Business Strategies

Doug Caverly — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:29:13 -0400

It's officially that time of year again, and anyone in doubt need only go to Target, where both Halloween costumes and Christmas cards are on display. So here are a couple of tips for small businesses as they prepare to go up against bigger companies this holiday season.

Survey Participants ID Online Sales As Safe Haven

Doug Caverly — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:28:48 -0400

It's still not time for small business owners to run to the hills, according to the experts. However, the results of a new study stress the importance of at least refocusing on online sales.

Social Media Marketing and Blogging Advice from BlogWorld

Chris Crum — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:22:03 -0400

Reporters for our sister site WebProNews spent the weekend in Las Vegas, attending the BlogWorld Expo, as I mentioned here. While the video interviews are still to come on the WebProNews Video Blog, I have been writing up my fair share of posts from notes that our reporter Abby sent in.

Want Some More Blogging Tips?

Chris Crum — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:13:23 -0400

It is no secret that blogging can be good for your business. It can help you earn the trust of your customers, and let you socialize with others in your industry.

Barclays: Market Almost Safe For New Small Businesses

Doug Caverly — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:28:41 -0400

It's a rare person who can describe our current economic situation as "nice." Still, one benefit of it has been that existing small businesses haven't seen much new competition, and in a bit of a good news/bad news situation, Barclays reports that circumstances should soon improve to the point that fresh companies will launch.

SBA Helps Out Businesses Affected by Fay

Chris Crum — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:51:12 -0400

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has set up business recovery centers in Florida in Brevard and Volusia Counties. At these centers, they have representatives available to answer questions and provide one-on-one assistance to those who wish to complete applications.

Business Plan Part 2: Business Overview

Abby Johnson — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:40:00 -0400

The second section of the business plan that we're going to look at is the Business Overview. Unlike the Executive Summary, the Business Overview requires a lot of details.

SBA Site Receives High Marks

Doug Caverly — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:29:17 -0400

We've talked and talked about how important it is for small businesses to have good websites. As it turns out, the Small Business Administration is performing well on its end of things, too, with the Brookings Institute ranking it seventh in a study of e-government effectiveness.

Using Google to Reach Local Customers

Chris Crum — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 11:59:19 -0400

Google does a lot of things that can help local businesses market themselves and become more visible to potential customers. They recently announced a partnership with NBC that will have Google distributing ads on NBC channels while addressing local markets.

Why Your Business Needs a Website

Danny Brown — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:35:35 -0400

Many small business owners still don’t have a website, nor do they see a need for one. Their reasoning is that they are only a one-man band, or a very small company who sell mostly to their local area, so why should they spend extra on a website when they could advertise in their local newspaper instead? Yet the very reasoning about advertising locally is one of the reasons every business should have a website, regardless of size.

Bad Economy May Make Marketing More Important

Doug Caverly — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:28:13 -0400

The Dow's crash yesterday put a lot of people into survival mode. They intend for food, electricity, and mortgage payments to be their top - and perhaps only - priorities until things settle down or they get more money stashed away. So marketing may be more important to your business than ever before.

Your Web Site Problems Can Really Cost You!

Chris Crum — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:34:42 -0400

Customer Experience Management (CEM) software company Tealeaf recently conducted a survey regarding online customer experiences. The biggest stat to come from this survey is: 41% of online adults click away when they encounter a problem. Many of them go to a competitor. Tealeaf estimates that this represents a $57 billion potential impact to revenue on shopping sites.