Small Business News Archives

With the end of the year approaching, small-business owners should be scheduling meetings to help them plan for a hopefully stronger 2010.

I'm writing in response to Indiana Ninth District U.S. House Rep. Baron Hill's column appearing in The News Nov.

The initiative focuses on educating small businesses through information, interactive tools, and workshops while also rewarding them for taking action.

SEO Files > Increase Online Traffic - Professional SEO>> Blog Archive ... [ Increase Online Traffic - Professional SEO ] It's important to find a company that has a good inventory of the different kinds of techniques that can increase website traffic.

A subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee will hear from small business leaders and advocates in Michigan about lack of access to financing.

Required fields are marked with an asterisk The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications.

Royal Bank of Scotland is to improve dramatically the borrowing terms for its 1.2 million small business customers, after criticism over the difficulties that small businesses have had in obtaining credit.

A longtime small-business owner and 28-year-old investment Realtor are facing off Tuesday in a runoff election for an at-large seat on the City Council.

Two local bankers that attended a small business financial forum Nov. 18 in Washington, D.C., say the meeting was key to emphasizing the large role small business plays in any continued economic recovery.

The name of the game in SEO is to find out what makes a page rank -- and abuse the heck out of that tactic until Google shuts it down.

What You Can Learn About Blogging Business Models from a Hip-Hop Artist Who Used to Hustle on the Corner Just to Put Food in His Daughter's Mouth.

The U.S. Small Business Administration is reminding businesses that December 28 is the filing deadline for federal economic injury disaster loans that are available to small businesses as a result of the SBA declared disaster for very cold weather and freezing temperatures that occurred from January 20-23, 2009; and February 4-6, 2009.

Black Friday crowds flooded the big box and department stores, this morning on the first day of the holiday shopping season.

During the nation's economic downturn, small businesses have faced serious challenges.

Several plan to line up for the Republican nomination. Two are in, and two more have plans to get in after Thanksgiving.

Small businesses are suffering from an ineffective and costly health-care system.

A comparison of the health care bills before Congress: WHO'S COVERED Senate: Known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the bill would cover about 94 percent of legal residents under age 65 - compared with 83 percent now.

As 2009 comes to a close, small businesses look to state leaders in Sacramento and wonder what will be done to help California's number one employer and creator of jobs.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced Wednesday that homeowners and renters who suffered through the high winds and heavy flooding can now apply to the U.S. Small Business Administration for financial assistance.

By Dasen Thathiah Small businesses in KwaZulu-Natal are reeling under the strain of high crime rates and increased security costs.

Posted 1 hour, 56 minutes ago at 6:00 am. If you've ever wondered what members of Congress do to earn their keep, the current health-care debate on Capitol Hill should give you a good idea.

The health care bill she voted for, H.R. 3962, is not health care reform; it is a health care catastrophe.

Flashing a badge and toting official-looking documents, the man would show up at small businesses across Oakland clad in a blazer and tie claiming to be a state or federal Labor Department inspector.

A man is facing charges of theft, extortion and impersonating a state officer for allegedly pretending to be a Labor Department inspector and charging small businesses hundreds of dollars.

As the health care battle rages on, one central question keeps popping up: How would legislation affect premiums paid by individuals and small businesses, two groups that currently face wildly unpredictable rate increases year to year? Republicans say premiums would go up, partly because of the possibility of new taxes on insurers.

Kay Bailey Hutchison said Wednesday that she made a mistake by supporting the initial $700 billion bailout of the nation's financial industry and would change her vote if she had the chance.

With the end of the year approaching, small business owners should be scheduling meetings to help them plan for what is hoped to be a stronger 2010.

Oakland police have arrested a man they say was shaking down business owners by pretending to be a labor inspector.

California State University, Monterey Bay invites the community to attend the grand opening of its Small Business Development Center, an innovative program that provides counseling and training to small businesses or people who are trying to start them.

As small business people know, the Obama administration has spent its capital largely on Wall Street and neglected the real job creation engine of the U.S. economy: small business and loans to small business.

Small business owners in New Jersey are not bullish about the economy in the coming year.

Health care forums across North Dakota are bringing small business owners together.

Do small businesses leverage social marketing for their lead generation? A Citibank Small Business survey reports that most do not use or find social media marketing effective.

By STEVE ROBERTS CHARLESTON -- The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce would like to thank Rep.

WASHINGTON, DC U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced more than $18 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support small business innovation research, development and deployment of clean energy technologies.

Saul Gamboa was ready to break ground on a 44,000-square-foot plant in Vernon for his growing small business, Pacific Commercial Truck Body Inc., when he realized he'd missed a key deadline and lost his construction loan.

Does it seem that there are simply not enough hours in the day to do the things you need to do? Is your small business spinning out of control? Are you behind on your internet marketing and other projects and don't know where to turn? Read on... Columbus Internet Marketing Association Where Columbus Ohio small business owners turn to get online ...

NASA has selected for development 368 small business innovation projects that include research to minimize aging of aircraft, new techniques for suppressing fires on spacecraft and advanced transmitters for deep space communications.

The New York Times has damned Goldman Sachs for its role in the financial crisis and has told it to pay the government rather than its big bonus employees.

As if small businesses needed another reason not to hire, consider their latest financial burden: The cost of rising unemployment itself.

Katie Tyler is the founder and president of Tyler 2 Construction in Charlotte, N.C. Some of her employees have been on and off her payroll multiple times.

We asked the candidates for the 50th Congressional District seat for their opinions on healthcare reform.

No group in central Wisconsin lives more closely with the consequences of an imperfect health-insurance system than the owners of small businesses, for whom the national health care debate boils down to a Hobson's choice.

These entrepreneurs prove that a shaky economy doesn't mean their dream of operating a successful business must be placed on hold.

Faced with high health insurance costs, a North Carolina brokerage passed the buck on to its employees, a Texas public relations firm switched from group insurance to stipends, and a Missouri travel agency let its workers walk away instead paying for insurance.

Employers already are squeezed by tight credit, rising health care costs, wary consumers and a higher minimum wage.

When Rene Acremont and his wife, Samantha, opened a Tropical Smoothie Cafe franchise in Slidell in September, the process was seamless.

Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu told her colleagues Saturday she would vote to move ahead with debating a landmark health care reform bill, providing crucial support on a critical issue for her party.

Downtown is continuing to redefine its future in the form of the American dream: Small businesses serving a particular niche.

A new restaurant in Butchertown and a building renovation project on East Market Street are among companies awarded small-business loans recently by Louisville Metro Government.

Spot Runner is unveiling its bid to bring greater efficiency to the TV ad buying process.

Melissa Morrison, of Furr Fitness, Friday, November 6, 2009, at the Jessie Turner Health & Fitness Center & Fontana Park Aquatic Center in Fontana.

Meredith Hauck, left and Erin Curtin chat with people at the St. Joseph Business Summit following their presentation about utilizing social media in business.

As Whitney Ray tells us, the effects of double-digit unemployment in Florida may stick with business owners for years in the form of higher taxes.

The president of a Florida consulting firm convicted in a massive fax blast scam blinked back tears Friday as he was sentenced to 68 months in prison for his role in defrauding thousands of small business owners across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Dairy robbers can expect harsher sentences from a South Auckland judge who says growing violence is sometimes "little more than sheer sadism". Judge Roy Wade, a senior judge in the Manukau District Court Manukau, says he will add an extra year to the starting point for jail terms for criminals who committed aggravated robberies on small business ...

According to a recent survey conducted by Microsoft Corp., the majority of entrepreneurs who started their business during the recession were employed.

Lascassas State Representative Joe Carr was instrumental in a bipartisan agreement dealing with workman's comp laws.

The new online service, QuarkPromote.com, includes customizable templates for business cards, postcards, flyers, brochures, appointment cards, coupons, letterhead and envelopes.

A regional economist predicts Nevada will begin to recover from the recession next year and in the meantime should consider "cherry picking" businesses from California.

Nov. 18 -- Gene Sperling, counselor for domestic policy issues at the Treasury Department, talks with Bloomberg's Matt Miller and Carol Massar about the outlook for the U.S. economy.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday said tight credit for small business would hinder the economic recovery and called on banks to boost lending to smaller firms.

Congressman Bart Gordon, D-Murfreesboro, supported three bipartisan bills Wednesday aimed at helping small businesses in Tennessee and around the country.

The Small Business Administration failed to check if companies were eligible for the no-bid contracts for veterans with service-related injuries, allowing, for example, a contracting employee at a military base in Tampa, Fla., to improperly funnel a $900,000 Air Force contract to his wife's firm.

The Ohio Small Business Development Center at Terra Community College and the Small Business Management Program at Vanguard Adult Career Center are teaming to present a Small Business Tax Workshop on Dec.

Job creation and tax cuts head the list of Republican Senate priorities, GOP leader Sen.

Small business owners with cash flow problems might be tempted during yet another difficult holiday season to forgo gifts for clients or customers.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner urged U.S. banks to boost lending to small businesses and consumers who still face a oevery challenginga credit conditions and rising unemployment.

Across the country, businesses already strapped by the economy to turn a profit are sacrificing or scaling back employee health insurance plans because of their escalating costs.

The National Urban League is teaming with a small-business financial specialist to offer loans to companies unable to get approved by banks.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin blasts President Barack Obama on Afghanistan, Israel and the economy in her continuing interview with ABC's Barbara Walters.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , under fire in Washington for setting aside billions of dollars for bonuses a year after getting a taxpayer bailout, said ita s teaming up with Warren Buffett to provide assistance to 10,000 small businesses in the U.S. The $500 million charitable effort coincides with one of the Obama administrationa s top economic ...

Kansas launched a new energy efficiency program Tuesday to make low-interest loans available to several thousand home owners and small businesses for upgrading insulation, installing new furnaces and sealing air-leaking doors and windows.

The new partner suite includes additional API functionality, continuing VerticalResponse's efforts in SaaS and cloud computing by allowing third-party custom applications from within the software itself.

As much as any major software company around, financial mainstay Intuit is in the ongoing process of reinventing itself for the Web.

Questions remain for Southern Indiana residents that are still seeking help following storms that belted the area in early August.

Reports to the Treasury confirm what small business owners have known all year: Banks are cutting back on Main Street lending.

The election is about a year away - but that didn't stop these candidates from touting their views.

Good thing I wasn't lighting a match the other day when a guy told me that small business owners Think about it....

We continue to be amazed at and fascinated by the growing number of business blogs on the Web.

As the national and global economy continues to struggle, economic hopes are being placed on small businesses.

Job creation takes a lot of hard work, patience, diversification and creativity.

Ontario's Liberal government will introduce legislation Monday to proceed with its controversial plan to harmonize the province's eight per cent sales tax with the five per cent GST, a move the opposition parties call a blatant tax grab.

Brad Ellsworth, D-Ind., for supporting the House Democratic leadership's health care reform bill.

Your recent guest columnist, Jim Clark, vice chairman of the Washoe County Republican Party, is certainly entitled to his bias for Republicans, but plotting Brian Sandoval as "on the right track" is a stretch - unless of course he means the same old track Gov.

"the bill 'does not do enough to contain costs, or protect small businesses, seniors, taxpayers and middle class familiesI am not satisfied that it curbs costs and keeps health care affordable in the long term." ADLER: REP.

I have mixed feelings about Gordon Ramsay and his TV persona's management style , but I like the points made by Janine Popick in this article, and thought it was worth reprinting.

Democrats in Congress are celebrating after health care reform passed in the U.S. House over the weekend.

WASHINGTON U.S. Representative Paul Hodes late last night voted with Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pass a 2,032-page, $1.3 trillion government takeover of health care instead of joining 39 moderate Democrats who voted with Republicans in opposing this massive legislation.

Help for small businesses Written by Judge Greg Mathis Thursday, 12 November 2009 11:54 Earlier this year, major corporations like General Motors, Bank of America and Citigroup received federal dollars - taxpayer money - to keep their operations afloat.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. said Tuesday it will hire 1,200 mortgage loan officers by the end of next year, a 60 percent increase in its sales force.

MADISON -- Democrats who control the Wisconsin state Senate on Monday unveiled a proposal they say will help create and retain jobs and businesses and improve worker education and training.

I have consistently reiterated the need for, and my support of, health care reform throughout my congressional tenure.

Campaigner , a leading email marketing solutions provider, launched 101 Tips for Getting Started with Email Marketing this year to help small business owners implement and enhance successful email marketing campaigns.

Corning Federal Credit Union has been named the top Small Community Lender in the Small Business Administration's 34-county Syracuse District for the recently ended federal 2008-09 fiscal year.

THE Government has been accused of "grabbing headlines" rather than helping families and businesses in the recession after figures revealed multi-million pound rescue schemes have had limited impact in the region, writes the WMN's Graeme Demianyk and Catherine Barnes.

Just days after the House of Representatives passed its version of the healthcare bill, Senator Mike Johanns is back in Nebraska discussing it.

Chocolate-, cheese- and wine-loving workers be warned: Expect a dearth of holiday gift baskets and other goodies next month, as the tough economy forces companies to cut back on holiday gift giving.

The stimulus bill allowed the U.S. Small Business Administration to raise its loan guarantee to 90 percent or higher, which means if a small business can't pay back its loan, the government will pick up the tab and pay 90 percent to the bank.

There's a downsizing trend under way at many small businesses: Moving to smaller offices because of shrinking staffs and as more workers telecommute.

For all the talk of U.S. banks not lending, the bigger problem may be that credit-worthy companies simply do not want to borrow.

For millions of Americans the rule is simple: If you don't come to work, you don't get paid.

Chase said it plans to increase its lending to small businesses by up to $4 billion in 2010.

Nov. 11 -- William Elmore, associate administrator of the Small Business Administration, talks with Bloomberg's Margaret Brennan about the SBA's support for small-business ownership by military veterans.

Staff photo by Bob Hammerstrom^^Senator Bob Clegg talks with The Telegraph's Editorial Board Tuesday, August 19, 2008, in Hudson.

Coming up with a winning business idea Developing a business idea is a matter of creating a vision, leveraging your strengths and determining what the market needs.

The U.S. Small Business Administration recently announced a three-year agreement to expand and deliver entrepreneurship training for service-disabled veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

President Barack Obama recently called for banks to loosen lending standards for small business owners who need capital to expand.

New York Almost half, 47 percent, of small business owners are planning to give gifts to clients despite the tight economic climate, according to the American Express OPEN Small Business Holiday Monitor.

Job openings are at rock-bottom levels, according to government and private surveys released Tuesday, a trend that could keep the unemployment rate high even as layoffs slow.

The UK's part-nationalised Lloyds Banking Group today pledged to offer support to 300,000 new start-up businesses over the next three years.

INDIANAPOLIS - Finally, Indiana gets a yes on storm assistance. After two rejections from federal emergency officials for help following Aug.

A health care reform bill passed by the House of Representatives will raise taxes and insurance premiums and cut billions from Medicare, said West Virginia's Republican congressman who voted against the landmark legislation Saturday night.

Republicans Monday had new hope that they could influence health care deliberations -- influence that so far has eluded them -- as the debate moves to the Senate, where the rules and the politics can work to their advantage.

U.S.A. / Rochester, N.Y. - " Since part of the healthcare bill that passed the House requires all employers to provide healthcare, the issue is of prime importance to small businesses in Rochester, some of which weighed in on the issue today.

Hurrah! Let's have a parade. New jobless claims declined to a 'mere' 512,000 last week.

Advanta Bank Corp, a wholly owned subsidiary of Advanta Corp which issues credit cards for small businesses, is not included in the Chapter 11 filing, the company said.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Dr. Robert Bentley is campaigning to increase health insurance access and affordability in Alabama while countering federal mandates he objects to philosophically and politically.

CHICAGO, US: A couple years ago a crippling cyber attack on one of Nanette Lepore's haute couture boutiques served as a wakeup call for the fashion retailer to get serious about its online security .

U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Rockwall, said Thursday he will vote 'no' on the Democrat-backed health care reform package expected to come before the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday.

After 22 years, Charlotte will soon have a Democrat in the Mayor's office once again.

Levittown - Getting a small business off the ground and keeping it afloat can be a daunting task in the best of times.According to the Small Business Administration, less than 70 percent of new employers survive the first two years and only a little more than half _ 51 percent _ are still in business after five years.Throw in an economic downturn ...

Article by Stephen Giles The franchise sector breathed a collective sigh of relief when the Minister for Small Business Craig Emerson announced the Government's official response to the report of the recent Federal Parliamentary inquiry into franchising.

Acknowledging that it will be a "tough sell," Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, introduced legislation Wednesday that he says would cut estate taxes for family farms and small businesses nationwide by more than $233 billion in 2011.

With unemployment fast becoming one of US President Barack Obama's biggest domestic challenges, focus is shifting from "too-big-to-fail" manufacturing and financial giants to struggling small businesses.

The Senate has voted to expand a tax break for money-losing companies as part of a bill to extend and expand a tax credit for homebuyers and unemployment benefits for people without jobs for more than a year.

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Also Included In: Litigation / Medical Malpractice ; Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP ; Seniors / Aging Article Date: 05 Nov 2009 - 4:00 PST House Republicans unveiled their health reform proposal Tuesday night.

CIT might just be that rarest of things: a financial-services firm that emerges from bankruptcy largely intact.

NFIB, The National Federation of Independent Business, the spokes organization for small business in America, says that what the President's proposing will cost 1.6 million jobs and at a time of high unemployment, elimination of jobs is inconceivable to me." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Patay8tYwg Who: Congressman Joe Wilson What: Exclusive ...

Cyberthieves are hacking into small- and medium-sized organizations every week and stealing millions of dollars in an ongoing scam that has moved about US$100 million out of U.S. bank accounts, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation warned Tuesday.

As House Democrats scrambled Thursday to find enough votes to pass their health care bill, thousands of conservatives marched on Capitol Hill, urging lawmakers to kill it.

The unemployment rate has hit double digits for the first time since 1983 - and is likely to go higher.

WASHINGTON - Workers sent home sick with the swine flu or another contagious illness would be guaranteed up to five days' paid sick leave annually under congressional legislation proposed Tuesday.

Two men accused in a $1.3 million real estate investment scam targeting Hispanic owners of small businesses in North County pleaded not guilty today to multiple charges of grand theft and making false representations in the sale of securities.

Required fields are marked with an asterisk The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications.

Nov. 4 - Wall Street veteran turns his pet passion into profits in franchising. SOUNDBITES: Eric Diaz, franchise owner, Aussie Pet Mobile No videos currently selected.

Just as the housing sector appears to be recovering, gathering problems in the commercial real estate market threaten to become a new drag on the economy.

Even though the economy is still suffering and many small businesses won't be hiring for some time, some companies are thinking about taking on more workers.

Small business leaders last night called on Gordon Brown to fire his business tsar Alan Sugar after he dismissed struggling firms as 'moaners'. The call followed a wave of complaints over his comments, made at a question and answer session with bosses of small and medium-sized businesses in Manchester on Tuesday.

Two weeks after President Barack Obama announced a special conference to discuss increasing the flow of credit to small businesses, no information about the date, time, location or attendees has been made available.

CIT Group Inc., the nation's largest lender to small businesses, filed for bankruptcy reorganization Sunday in the biggest financial failure this year and first major test of the administration's resolve not to bail out every struggling institution that asks for help.

The head of the RI Dept. of Health met with small business owners to discuss H1N1, and why small businesses are extremely vulnerable to the flu virus.

WASHINGTON - Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki yesterday announced the framework of a bold initiative to end homelessness among veterans within five years.

The Office of Fair Trading is facing pressure over concerns that small Scottish businesses have difficulty accessing finance.

Gordon Brown's business tsar Alan Sugar was under siege last night after dismissing struggling small firms as ' moaners' who lived in 'Disney World'. The multi-millionaire claimed a mere 15 per cent of businesses turned down for bank loans had anything to complain about.

Mountain View, Calif. Nov. 02, 2009 Intuit Inc . has completed its acquisition of Mint.com , a fast-growing provider of online personal finance services based in Mountain View, Calif.

The Senate Democratic chairman said Tuesday the panel is investigating how health insurers price the coverage they sell to small businesses, which have struggled for years with soaring premiums.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge set a Dec. 8 hearing to consider approval of CIT Group Inc's reorganization plan, aiding the large commercial lender's effort to emerge from bankruptcy by year's end.

FISTED?: A third of U.S. adults said they would spend less this year than they did in 2008 on gifts, while 49 per cent would spend about the same amount, according to a Consumer Reports poll on holiday shopping.

For millions of Americans the rule is simple: If you don't come to work, you don't get paid.

Thousands of small businesses could get a break on their electric bills from Alabama Power starting with the new year.

Consumers could cross state lines to buy coverage. There'd be no big government expansion.

By Ann Meyer, SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE -- Chicago Tribune , November 2, 2009 Monday Chicagoland Final Edition To grow his health care supply manufacturing company, Ash Luthra needed money and workers.

CIT Group Inc., in one of the biggest corporate bankruptcies ever, filed for Chapter 11 protection in New York on Sunday.

CIT Group Inc's bankruptcy filing, while long expected, could still trigger a financing crunch for many of the hundreds of thousands of small businesses it finances.

Their wealthy counterparts, however, face big tax increases that could eventually hit future generations of taxpayers who are less wealthy.

This city's most popular neighborhoods are night owls, streets that come alive when the restaurants and pubs set the mood and light their candles.

For millions of Americans the rule is simple: If you don't come to work, you don't get paid.

Lender CIT Group has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, in an effort to restructure its debt while trying to keep loans flowing to the thousands of mid-sized and small businesses.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner acknowledges the federal budget deficit is too high, but that the priorities now are economic growth and job creation.

Office Accounting, Microsoft's bookkeeping and management software that integrates with the ubiquitous productivity suite, is being discontinued on Nov.

It doesn't have to be a downer when the weak economy forces small businesses to scale back their holiday parties from the big catered or restaurant affairs they held in the past.