09/02/2011
For East Coast business owners shaken by last weeks earthquake and bracing for Hurricane Irene's onslaught, the stats are gloomy. Twenty-five percent of small businesses hit with a disaster like a flood or an earthquake never re-open.

complete article

09/01/2011
A new session of Entrepreneur School will launch early next month at Southwest Florida Enterprise Center, the city of Fort Myers' small-business incubator.

Entrepreneur School runs one evening a week, for six consecutive weeks. It boasts more than 200 past participants. This program could be right for you if:

- You are thinking about starting a business;

- You are starting a business but are confused about everything you have to do; or

- You own a business, but are dissatisfied with the results.

complete article

08/31/2011
The poor economy is prompting many cities to bend their rules to help struggling businesses. Their actions could pay off for residents as well.

In Lighthouse Point, neon-lit Open signs now are tolerated in storefront windows. Downtown Boca Raton is welcoming sandwich-board business signs on sidewalks. Restaurants in Fort Lauderdale, Margate and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea now can sell alcohol at Sunday morning brunch. And in Boynton Beach, the commission in September will consider easing requirements for sidewalk cafes downtown.

complete article

08/30/2011
Scams that target small businesses come in a number of forms, and can leave your business vulnerable and exposed to a variety of threats.

Scammers will often go to great lengths to convince businesses that their offer or request is legitimate. Many scams succeed because they look like the real thing or try to take advantage of a busy office environment.

The best defence to protecting your business is by being aware of the most common scams targeting businesses, and knowing what to do if you are targeted by a scam.

complete article

08/29/2011
The devastation may seem overwhelming, but business must go on as quickly as possible. Here are some tips to consider to help your business bounce back and get up and running as quickly as possible in the wake of a disaster.

1. Have a Plan.
Consider what the impact will be if power and communications are down for a day…or a week. Communicate now--proactively--with suppliers, partners, customers, or other affected parties to explain the situation, and to inform them that business may be interrupted, and you may be unable to communicate reliably, but that business will resume as quickly as possible.

Disaster Survival Tips or Small Businesses

08/26/2011
In the event of an accident or disaster, small business employees are well positioned to keep operations running smoothly while a business owner is away.

Developing a business continuity plan and sharing it with employees can prepare them to properly navigate most emergency situations while the business owner is out of the office.

Business Continuity Plan

08/25/2011
A new definition of what constitutes a small business being considered by the Treasury Department is raising concerns among some closely held companies that it’s a step toward requiring them to pay corporate taxes.

The proposed definition, included in an Aug. 9 Treasury report, places the upper limit for a small business at $10 million in annual gross income or deductions. Currently, there is no size limit on what constitutes a small business for purposes of tax policy discussions.

complete article

08/24/2011
Attracting new customers can be a challenge for any company, and small businesses have to work exceptionally hard to reach this goal. By using Facebook the right way, Galloway business owners can spread the word about their companies.

The first thing you’ll want to do is set up a Facebook account for professional use. You probably won’t want to mix your personal and professional Facebook friends, and the easiest way to keep them separate is with a second account dedicated to professional use.

Once you have created the account, take the time to fill out all of the information fields.

complete article

08/24/2011
This economic recession has brought a plethora of business failures and it’s safe to assume that once the economy gets roaring, many of these failed businesses will come back and be very successful. However, some businesses will never recover to what it once was.

History has shown this to be true.The telegraph industry was decimated by the Great Depression, ultimately getting replaced by new technology (telephone) coming out of that Depression.

complete article

08/22/2011
Yes, you need a website. No matter the size or type of your business, if you’re trying to compete in todays tech-savvy world then you need a website in order to market yourself, gain traction in your industry and simply be found by customers. Today when someone is looking for a dry cleaner, antiques dealer, or hair salon they are going to Google. Lets face it, most people don’t even open that big yellow book that shows up on their doorstep each year. Do not have a website? Only listed in the directory sites? You are losing customers.

You can start with web templates.

complete article

08/06/2011
Small businesses tend to be more agile than large corporations, but in order to take advantage of that strength, they must be willing to adapt with changing times in order to prosper and survive. This is especially true when faced with a difficult economic climate.

Small Businesses Must Adapt or Suffer the Consequences

08/04/2011
The latest cat-and-mouse battle between Facebook and Google is being fought in the business world – specifically, the world of business as it appears on each company's social network. And Facebooks newest salvo, a guide to Facebook for Business, is a direct thumb of the nose against its scrambling competitor.

The company unveiled Facebook for Business earlier this week, but don't be alarmed by the title – it is not a new feature or page setup on the site for businesses. Rather, Facebook for Business is a small portal that Facebook created to show companies how they can maximize their social presence on the site.

Facebook for Business

08/03/2011
Privately-held businesses are aggregately performing better now than at any point since the recession -- sales are growing across the board, and profit margins are increasing, too. With such objective evidence of success, privately-held businesses should be celebrating. Instead, they are cautious.

The National Federation of Independent Business reports the Small Business Optimism Index, a measure combining ten factors including plans to invest, planned hiring and expected economic expansion.

Small business represents 64 percent of net new jobs for the past 15 years, but -- in spite of their profits and growth -- small businesses haven't been hiring lately, according to the still-elevated unemployment rate. There is too much uncertainty for employers to take on the long-term financial risk of new employees.

complete article

08/02/2011
A business Insider survey of 16 small business owners in San Francisco who have done business with Groupon found that more than half of of the owners would not want to do another Groupon deal.

Even with just over half of the business owners not wanting to participate in another Groupon daily deal, more than 60 percent of the surveyed businesses called the deal a success. The majority of respondents offered between 70 and 80 percent off, according to charts on the website.

Just under 60 percent of the surveys respondents recevied between a 25 and 50 percent revenue split with the Chicago-based Groupon.

complete article

08/01/2011
The clock is ticking to raise the national debt limit. Lawmakers have just two days left to come to an agreement before the government defaults on its loans. But one local business owner says it might not matter either way.

We are basically damned if we do and damned if we do not says Daniel Nelson.

Daniel Nelson, owner of small business Chocolat by Daniel in Rockford says, even if lawmakers raise the debt limit before Tuesdays deadline, our nation won't necessarily be in a better state.

If we do raise the debt limit, we continue down the path we are currently on; spending, spending, spending, getting deeper in the hole, says Nelson.

But if we default on our bills small businesses like Nelsons could be stuck paying higher interest rates.

complete article