01/30/2013
For some strange and unknown reason, the Small Business Administration has changed how it defines government support of small businesses, which will inadvertently destroy many small businesses, especially those supported through the Department of Energy.

As with most BureauSpeak, this may a bit tough to follow – the SBA decided that government agencies need to increase their support to small businesses to 10% of their budget. Sounds good. Sounds like an increase. But it is not.

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01/29/2013
Do you back up your social media? Whenever something sketchy happens to your favorite social network's TOS, there are always folks who say they're packing up, taking their data and leaving. But backing up your social data doesn't have to be a last resort. After all, who knows what might happen to the cloud.

Do you back up any of your social media accounts on a regular basis? Would you if it was a little easier? If you don't, do you just not care about all those Instagram pictures you've taken of dinner, or do you trust that they'll be there forever and ever and ever and ever and ever?

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01/28/2013
Infographics break down data visually, helping viewers make sense of complex information. Their popularity has increased with the rise of social media, fuelling the need for instant results by providing content in bite-size, digestible chunks.

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01/29/2013
Please like Small Business Software on Facebook for great business tips.

01/29/2013
The National Federation of Independent Businesses released an annual report on small business owner confidence this month that shows that in December 2012, 70 percent of business owners surveyed said it is a bad time for expansion and growth.

01/28/2013
Making the top of the most profitable small businesses is certainly not an easy task, as there are so many blossoming ideas out there. Over the past several years, more and more people have become interested in small online businesses: they are profitable, they require no employees and they deliver high ROI within several months.

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01/28/2013
Small-business owners do not save enough for their retirements. A December 2012 report by senior economist Jules Lichtenstein of the Small Business Administration, finds that self-employed people are less likely to have a retirement plan than people who work for others, even after taking to account many differences between the two groups of people.

Moreover, the fraction of self-employed people with retirement plans is surprisingly low. An earlier report by Lichtenstein shows that only 2 percent of small-business owners have a Keogh plan, a type of retirement plan for the self-employed and only 18 percent have a 401k plan.

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01/27/2013
Think twice before skipping out on tipping your contractor, or else small businesses may end up blacklisting you.

A former landscape company owner created NastyClient.com, a rating and review website that lets businesses file reports against its customers. Turning the tables on consumers, creator Matt Stachel allows owners to tell their side of the story.

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01/26/2013
More than 40 per cent of small business owners want to leave the European Union amid growing scepticism about the benefits of membership.

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01/25/2013
Small Business owners are seeking a solid footing. Uncertainty reigns despite the fact that some questions have been answered. Small business is still teetering on the precipice of the financial cliff.

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01/24/2013
Articles are excellent tools to generate web traffic and product interest. Writing articles, may sound easy enough, but it is important that you write the proper types of articles to attract interested readers. Follow these simple steps to create compelling and interesting content.

Compelling Articles Make Great Content

01/16/2013
Yearly pay raises that workers at small businesses used to count on have become a casualty of the weak economy. They are increasingly based on performance — not just an employees performance, but the entire company's. Raises at many businesses are also smaller than they were before the recession began five years ago. And some employers are using rewards other than annual raises to compensate

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01/15/2013
Knowing not only what security risks your business faces on a daily basis, but how to combat it, and how to choose a proper partner in the battle is critical.

Security Risks Small Businesses Face

01/14/2013
The Small Business Book Awards, presented by Small Business Trends, return January 29, 2013.  This will be the 5th year to recognize and celebrate books written for entrepreneurs and small business owners, CEOs and their teams.

01/06/2013
Each year we scratch our heads and come up with trends or technology that we think will be hot in the coming year. Checkout our list of What is Hot and What is Not in 2013.

01/04/2013
2012 was scarred with senseless tragedies, the Costa Concordia the majestic cruise liner, went down off the Tuscan island of Giglio, Italy when it was said the captain was showing off to islander friends. Horrific tornados that tour through the mid-western United States stole the lives of even the littlest angels. A horrific mass shooting at the Batman opening in Colorado showed a careless disregard for life. Sadly this was followed by a shooting at Seikh Temple in Oak Bridge, Wisconsin, taking the lives of worshippers.

2012 Reflections, 2013 Predictions

01/03/2013
For handmade entrepreneurs, this is especially challenging because we love what we do so much, it is tempting to spend most of our time creating things, and not enough time marketing and selling them and planning for the future.  This often results in lots of nice products, but few sales.

01/02/2013
There are a lot of factors involved with starting a new business and timing can be everything.

In this Money Quick Tip, we look at why this might be as good a time as any to start a small business depending on your personal and professional circumstances and priorities.

Historically more businesses are started during recessions than during times of prosperity. A down economy can mean a lower cost base, as rents, capital and labor may be cheaper.

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12/28/2012
As a small business owner, you want to do everything in your power to make sure your small business grow and become more profitable each year. Having a solid online presence is crucial for a successful small business.

So how do you establish a good online presence?

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