Google Inc. (GOOG) Chief Executive Eric Schmidt said Wednesday the single most important thing for the economy is to get lending to small and midsize businesses going again.
In an interview with MarketWatch.com at a press event with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Schmidt also said that when he attends the White House’s job summit Thursday, his focus will be on generating green jobs and building energy infrastructure.
Schwarzenegger and Schmidt announced a new Google Earth tool called Cal-Adapt that shows the risks of climate-change impacts in the Golden State. The governor said he plans to attend the upcoming climate talks in Copenhagen.
Wall Street Journal, DECEMBER 2, 2009
If you have to be a little crazy to be an entrepreneur, going into business with your spouse must represent a special kind of lunacy. My husband, Chris, and I have been business partners for more than six years. In that time we’ve started two businesses, sold one of them, had two kids and gotten more or less used to the daily roller coaster ride of entrepreneurial life.
Chris and I had a meeting of the business minds early on. We met back in 2000 at a wireless service provider where we were both working. Chris had just sold his share of a machine shop to his partner, and I had come skulking back to the “old economy” after two whirlwind years at dot-com ventures in Seattle.
To read more of this New York Times article click here.
AZUSA – A popular pizza parlor asked for a $50,000 loan from the city and got the whole enchilada from the City Council on Monday night.
In a unanimous vote, the Council awarded the $50,000 to Dalia’s Restaurant, which will enable the Italian cookery to move from its tiny storefront on Foothill Boulevard to a more central location on Alosta Avenue.
Dalia’s plans to turn the former site of the Whole Enchilada restaurant into its new home.
To read more of this SGV Tribune article read 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.
A few day s ago I went to a small business show located in a Los Angeles private home.
Promoted as “Holiday Trunk Show with a touch of communal networking” the event offered a venue to small businesses to showcase their products. Over fifteen enterprises showed mainly environmentally and socially conscious products. The offering was as diverse as hand crafted bags made of natural materials, diary free ice cream and environmentally friendly cosmetics.
The person behind the event is Afford Eco’s Tatjana Luethi. She mentioned that “The main focus is to reflect and acknowledge the current economy and how that affects all of us financially, emotionally and mentally, and build something around that with authenticity and transparency”. Her genuine desire to help the community and promote collaborative spirit is the primary driving force behind this gathering. “Times are changing, and with that change new approaches are being born, namely one of collaboration and taking care of each other”.
The gathering is another illustration of how businesses are looking for new ways to sell their products and endure hard times.
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.
The unemployment insurance bill on the way to President Obama’s desk won’t just help the jobless and the homebuyer. It also includes a long-awaited break for businesses that will let them quickly turn their recent losses into cold cash.
The bill will let all businesses apply their losses from either 2008 or 2009 to any five years prior to 2008. By doing so, they can get a refund from the IRS on the taxes they paid for those five years.
To read more of this CNN Money article click here.
Small businesses that are having trouble obtaining loans may be eligible for assistance under a new program organized by a San Fernando Valley economic development group.
The loan program is designed to provide capital to existing businesses throughout Los Angeles to help offset the effects of the economic downturn and the credit crunch, said Roberto Barragan, president of the Valley Economic Development Center.
Read more of this LA Times article here.
While optimism among small U.S. businesses perked up slightly in September, owners saw little to celebrate as they planned to cut inventories and trim their workforce, a survey released on Tuesday showed.
The National Federation of Independent Business said its small business index for last month rose 0.2 point to 88.8 and was 7.8 points higher than the survey’s second-lowest reading reached in March.
Read more of this Reuters news article here.
Back in August, Federal Reserve officials suggested that the Great Recession was ending and the U.S. could expect “a gradual resumption of sustainable economic growth.” But even with stock market indexes and the bottom lines of large financial firms bouncing back, small businesses can expect a longer slog to economic health.
“Small business performance is a lagging indicator of recovery in the same way that unemployment is,” says Villanova University business school professor John Pearce II.
And it’s likely that small businesses will find this recovery even slower than previous ones. The downturn has especially hurt construction firms, retailers and food service providers, the vast majority of which employ fewer than 20 workers. To make matters worse, more than 110 banks have failed since early 2008, most of them community thrifts catering to the financial needs of local firms.
Here’s how a few savvy entrepreneurs are turning these headwinds to their advantage.
Read more of this CNNMoney article here.
