America’s smallest businesses shed another 12,000 workers last month, extending a two-year streak in which job losses have mounted every month, according to a report released Wednesday by payroll processor ADP.
But the tide could be turning: The pace of losses has slowed, and one segment of the market — companies with 50 to 499 workers — added a net 9,000 positions in January.
And some business owners say President Obama’s recent proposal for a $5,000 per-worker tax credit for new hires this year could help goose the recovery.
“I am personally extremely excited about the tax credit,” said Ryan Millman, president of Nations Photo Lab in Owings Mills, Md.
To read more of this CNN Money article click here.
Nearly 3,000 small U.S. banks could be forced to dramatically curtail their lending because of losses on commercial real-estate loans, a congressional inquiry concluded.
The findings, set to be released Thursday by the Congressional Oversight Panel as part of its scrutiny of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, point to yet another obstacle for the slow-moving economic recovery. The small banks being threatened by loans they made for shopping centers, offices, hotels and apartments represent a major cog in the U.S. credit system, especially to entrepreneurs.
To read more of this Wall Street Journal article click here.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its GOP allies have been busy warning that an independent Consumer Financial Protection Agency will hurt small business — but a growing number of small business owners are saying just the opposite.
When asked to speak for themselves, they say a strong CFPA is the only thing that can protect them from the predatory practices of the corporate titans represented by the Chamber.
Small business owners, after all, frequently wind up using personal credit cards to cover their expenses. Consequently, they’re often victimized by the kinds of deceptive interest rates and fee structures that the CFPA could do away with or otherwise regulate. Small business owners may have created two out of three net new jobs in the past decade and a half, but they say that big businesses are strangling their finances and killing those jobs.
To read more of this Huffington Post article click here.
Ryan Weber considered himself a prudent business owner. He borrowed $6,000 from family members to start Radiant Photography in Las Vegas, and he paid them back–with interest–in three years. To cut expenses, he rented a studio when he needed it, instead of building his own. And when Advanta, a credit card company in Spring House, Penn., offered a business credit card with a $7,500 line of credit, he accepted it.
“Having $7,500 in reserve really helped,” Weber says. “In case a check didn’t go through from a client, it was there to rent studio lights or pay my cell phone bill.”
Then last spring–a few months before declaring bankruptcy–Advanta pulled the credit lines of 1 million small-business customers, including Weber. It also capped their credit cards at the level of their outstanding balances, effectively cutting off their access to emergency cash.
To read more of this Entrepreneur magazine article click here.
A recent report published by BizBuySell — one of the Internet’s largest marketplaces for buying or selling a small business — confirmed a hunch I’ve had for several months, namely that small business deal flow seemed to pick up during the latter part of 2009. While many business owners have put their exit plans on hold until the economy recovers, others are not only hanging on but enjoying growth and have a bright outlook for 2010.
The New York Times published two retrospective articles in December — one featuring small businesses that managed to grow in 2009 and one on businesses that had to close their doors. In the latter article by Ian Mount, business owners were asked to look back on their experiences. One owner’s response was that she should have sold her business when she had the chance.
To read more of this NY Times article click here.
John Courson, president and C.E.O. of the Mortgage Bankers Association, recently told The Wall Street Journal that homeowners who default on their mortgages should think about the “message” they will send to “their family and their kids and their friends.” Courson was implying that homeowners — record numbers of whom continue to default — have a responsibility to make good. He wasn’t referring to the people who have no choice, who can’t afford their payments. He was speaking about the rising number of folks who are voluntarily choosing not to pay.
Such voluntary defaults are a new phenomenon. Time was, Americans would do anything to pay their mortgage — forgo a new car or a vacation, even put a younger family member to work. But the housing collapse left 10.7 million families owing more than their homes are worth. So some of them are making a calculated decision to hang onto their money and let their homes go. Is this irresponsible?
To read more of this New York Times article click here.
Continuing on with my 2010 edition of the Top 10 trends in Small Business. This week we get to the Top 5.
5. Social Media Grows Up: Have you noticed that “social media” is a term that doesn’t really describe the experience that well anymore? Yes its social, and yes its media, but for business it has become so much more than that. Tapping, nay, mastering, social media is one of the hottest of all online trends:
• Everyone from Jet Blue to Comcast has turned to Twitter as a customer service tool.
• Companies like Whole Foods and Popeys increasingly use it to get feedback, post company news, etc.
• Big business has discovered what many small businesses already know: Facebook is a great place to advertise. “Facebook” in fact was the most searched term in 2009. (Source: Experian Hitwise)
Hop on the social media train, Jane, because it’s headed out of the station at light speed.
To read more of this USA Today article click here.
As has become a tradition now, this is the time of year when I offer my annual look at the top 10 trends in small business. While not a prediction column, there is by necessity a tad of prediction in it, since trends, by their very nature, are gathering forces.
Certainly this was true last year when I listed, to no one’s great surprise, the economy as the top trend of the year, and sadly, it didn’t disappoint. I am sure I speak for many of us when I say we are happy to say goodbye to 2009.
This year, the top trend is also related to the economy, but is thankfully it is not bad news. In fact, it offers fantastic opportunities for the savvy entrepreneur. .. but I am getting ahead myself. That will need to wait until next week.
Here then are the Top Trends in Small Business, 2010:
10: The New Frugality: A variety of factors have coalesced to create an era of frugality – the bad economy, stubbornly high unemployment rates, and the burst of the housing bubble to name just a few.
To read more of this USA Today article click here.
Google is the leader in online search and search-based advertising, and recent acquisitions are designed to expand the vast Google empire. Critics take exception to Google undercutting traditional marketing channels, but the evolving advertising landscape levels the playing field for small and medium businesses.
To read more of this PC World magazine article click here.
There’s a downsizing trend under way at many small businesses: Moving to smaller offices because of shrinking staffs and as more workers telecommute.
Owners say they’re saving money on real estate, office furniture and other expenses by letting employees work from home or by using independent contractors who don’t work on-site. And those who have cut staffers obviously don’t need to provide space for them.
To read more of this Associate Press article click here.
