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You’re the Boss Blog: Would you consider SecondMarket to Finance Your Business?

September 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Today’s Question

What small-business owners think.

In his column today, Andrew Ross Sorkin writes about how SecondMarket is serving as something of an eBay for shares of private companies.

Mr Sorkin explains what Barry Silbert, chief executive, had in mind when he started SecondMarket:

Mr. Silbert, who looks even younger than his 35 years, set out in 2004 to create a market for secondary shares, allowing private companies that are often too small to go public to have their employees and investors sell their shares on an exchange.

His exchange allows for certain rules that the public market does not: a company selling shares on SecondMarket can choose which investors are allowed to buy — weeding out fast-buck artists — and how frequently they can trade those shares. If a company wants to allow investors to trade their shares only twice a year on specific dates, that’s fine.

The benefits are obvious: employees and investors can cash out some of their stakes without having to go through the formal and rigorous process of an initial public offering. That, in turn, can allow traditionally cash-poor pre-I.P.O. employees, for example, to afford to stay at an emerging company that might not be ready to pursue an I.P.O. until it matures some more.

Would you consider using SecondMarket to finance your company?

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=4b2298062f1b4ece5ee3c10c9ce0a74a

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You’re the Boss Blog: Can Small-Business Owners Handle the Truth?

September 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Transaction

Putting a price on business.

About two years ago I told a business owner a number of things she wasn’t ready to hear about the sale of her business. She was disappointed with our meeting, called later to tell me she disagreed with what I had said, then listed her business for sale with one of my competitors. I didn’t lose much sleep over it at the time. In fact, I happened to admire both her and her business, and I slept better knowing that I had told her what I thought.

After her contract expired with the other broker, her business still unsold, she called me again. What she said to me was something I’ve been told by other business owners in a roundabout way in the past. But on some level I had been waiting to hear the sentiment expressed in the exact words she used on the phone: “I appreciate you telling me the truth.”

There seem to be two camps when it comes to hearing unpleasant truths (whether it has to do with politics, relationships or business) — those who want you to give it to them straight, so they can roll up their sleeves and do something about it, and those who want none of it. Reality can be hard to accept, especially when it comes to your business. A recent article asked business owners to share their stories about a business that didn’t make it. One former owner couldn’t talk to the reporter when asked to contribute. “I don’t know if I could make it through your questions,” she said in the article. “I might just cry and cry.” It had been 10 years since her business had failed.

When my husband and I opened our business brokerage firm after selling our own business in 2006, I thought I’d be helping entrepreneurs achieve an incredibly joyous and lucrative milestone in their lives — the sale of their business. There would be high fives and hugs amid popping champagne corks. Unfortunately, this is not the case as often as I would like. Much of my time is spent on the less glamorous tasks of educating business owners on how the marketplace will view — and value — their business, and helping them set realistic expectations for the arduous process of selling. In short, I’ve had to learn the fine art of being a downer.

Along with the huge upside of cashing out and moving on, there can be many unpleasant realities associated with the sale of your business. Businesses tend to be valued at much less than the seller had anticipated, family members and employees feel betrayed, Uncle Sam takes a depressingly large cut of the deal, and even in the best possible scenario the seller can feel a deep sense of loss.

In the world of business exits there is something known as “the value gap.” This is defined as the dollar amount between what the seller wants — or needs — and what the business is really worth to a buyer. It’s a fairly straightforward, quantitative exercise to figure out what it would take to fill the gap. Figure out what multiple of earnings would result in the owner’s desired value, determine the corresponding increases in revenue and profit required, then plan the necessary operational changes to achieve those targets. But there is a mental and emotional component to this process that is harder to fill.

Because it’s so much easier to place blame, I believe that the media are partly at fault for creating this perceptual gap. All of those examples of the guy who started a fabulous business in his dorm-room closet and sold it to Google for millions (without turning a profit) may be harmful. While I am as awestruck as any reader, these stories are far from the ham-and-egg reality of what most small-business owners go through when selling. Looking to those magazine headlines for any semblance of what it’s like to sell a business is like reading a romance novel for marriage advice.

Perhaps it’s human nature to want to be deceived. But denial in the business world can be costly. Selling a business is a high-stakes game in more ways than one. I asked that business owner — whose plans for the future had to be shelved for two years while she was stuck in her business — if there was anything I could have said or done that would have been helpful during our initial conversation. She said no, and admitted that she simply needed to learn a long, hard lesson.

In the meantime, I continue to try to close the gap between perception and reality when it comes to selling a business. And while some people walk away, I’m okay with that. Evidently, some of those people come back when they’re ready.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=c71e31e59665c15520a8784e8eb807ea

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You’re the Boss Blog: MindFlash Makes It Easy to Create a Training Program — and to Charge for It

September 13, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Tech Support

What small-business owners need to know about technology.

In a post several months ago, I described how the Web-based service MindFlash allows anyone to  create online training presentations, including reviews, quizzes and automatic grading complete with award certificates. (I illustrated the post with a little course of my own on brewing beer.)

The service has proven popular with companies that want to develop internal training programs, like on safety, harassment and other issues that employees might need to get up to speed on. MindFlash’s chief executive, Donna Wells, reports that a range of companies have developed thousands of courses that have been taken by more than 100,000 people.

But on Tuesday MindFlash is unveiling a new version of the service that should make it more interesting to a wider range of companies. That’s because the service will now allow you to charge people to take your course. One of the early preintroduction users of the new pay-for-training feature is Raz Chan, who runs a fitness and martial-arts studio in Vancouver, British Columbia. For fees ranging from $197 to $497, you can learn some of Mr. Chan’s secrets of self-defense in a series of online video courses that can take you all the way through instructor certification. “A lot of our students have been asking for a way to stay on top of the material at home,” says Mr. Chan. “And we hear from a lot of people who live too far away to come to our gym.”

Other early adopters include a software company that charges its fashion-house customers for extra online employee training, and a dentist who is charging other dentists for courses in dental techniques he’s mastered. MindFlash’s service requires a minimum charge of $9.99, but most early users are charging from $20 to $100. While MindFlash usually charges $9.99 a month and up for course developers with more than 10 trainees, it is waiving all fees for those who charge for courses, taking instead a 15-percent commission. (The company is waiving even that commission as an introductory offer until Nov. 1.)

The idea to allow charging came from MindFlash users themselves, said Ms. Wells. Like many Web companies, MindFlash invites users to request new features and to vote on suggestions. From the very beginning, getting to make money off the courses was the request that popped up most often.

In addition to MindFlash providing the means for developing a course and charging for it, Ms. Wells hopes to create a consumer marketplace for anyone who might be interested in online training — a one-stop online shopping place for courses, potentially making MindFlash the Amazon.com of online training sessions. (Hey, a company can dream.) And while the focus is initially on selling training to the public, MindFlash plans to add features aimed at helping businesses sell course content to other businesses that might want to resell it to their trainee customers.

Now excuse me, I’ll need to work on that beer-making course if I’m going to start charging big bucks for it.

You can follow David H. Freedman on Twitter and on Facebook.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=8149204369344d869eb3e9efa09c3230

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You’re the Boss Blog: At Obama Jobs Speech, Small Business Is in Audience

September 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The Agenda

How small-business issues are shaping politics and policy.

Whenever a president addresses Congress, the White House invites a panel of Americans, distinguished and not, to watch the speech with the first lady from prime seats in the gallery above. The guests tend to be demographically diverse, but they also tend to be united in representing priorities the president intends to emphasize in the speech.

President Obama’s speech to a joint session of Congress tonight on creating jobs hews to that tradition. According to the White House, 24 people will join Michelle Obama in the first lady’s box. Some of the names are familiar — the invitees include Jeffrey R. Immelt, the chairman and chief executive of General Electric;  Kenneth I. Chenault, the chairman and chief executive of American Express;  Steve Case, the founder of America Online; and Richard L. Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO. But six small-business owners and executives are also on the guest list, and their presence reflects the importance of small business to the economy and the political landscape. Here they are, in capsule biographies provided by the White House:

Darlene Miller, owner and chief executive of Permac Industries, a precision machining company in Burnsville, Minn. Ms. Miller joined Permac as a sales representative in 1992 and within two years became its full owner. She is also a member of President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.

Albert Green, chief executive of Kent Displays, a manufacturer of liquid crystal displays in Kent, Ohio.

Jan Heister, president and chairman of Premier Tooling and Manufacturing in Peosta, Iowa.

Philip Maung, owner and founder of Hissho Sushi, a 200 employee company based in Charlotte, N.C., that trains sushi chefs and distributes ingredients nationwide.

John Raftery, president and chief executive of Patriot Contractors, a construction firm specializing in interior and exterior architectural specialties. A service-disabled veteran of the Marines, Mr. Raftery founded Patriot Contractors in 2007; today the company has 21 employees and projects that revenue will exceed $5 million this year.

David Catalano, co-founder of Modea, a digital advertising agency in Blacksburg, Va., with 80 employees based around the country. The White House says Mr. Catalano “has been able to maintain his home in rural Virginia and build a globally competitive company, highlighting the importance of the need to provide high-speed broadband access to all parts of the country.”

Check back with The Agenda tomorrow for more on how the president’s proposals may affect small business.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=f9bf85c28a014e785bc95bd4b8b487ba

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You’re the Boss Blog: Has Google Reported That Your Business Is Closed?

September 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Today’s Question

What small-business owners think.

“Help! My business is listed ‘PERMANENTLY CLOSED’ on Google Maps even though it has always been open! Help!”

This type of message, according to a New York Times article by David Segal — “Closed, Says Google, But Shops’ Signs Say Open” — is becoming increasingly common. As Mr. Segal reported:

On Google Places, a typical listing has the address of a business, a description provided by the owner and links to photos, reviews and Google Maps. It also has a section titled “Report a problem” and one of the problems to report is “this place is permanently closed.” If enough users click it, the business is labeled “reportedly closed” and later, pending a review by Google, “permanently closed.” Google was tight-lipped about its review methods and would not discuss them.

Have any of you had this experience? Any advice on dealing with Google? (Here’s our small-business guide to managing your online reputation.)

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=93c8c741218daf49159fe01909fe092c

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You’re the Boss Blog: The Tech Audit: Trying to Get I.T. Systems to Work Together

August 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Chris Voglund didn't expect to run a Web store.Courtesy of Dave Mason, ISPhotographicsChris Voglund didn’t expect to run a Web store.

Tech Support

What small-business owners need to know about technology.

Another in an occasional series on how business owners are succeeding and struggling with technology.

The business: Artisan Electric, in Lafayette, Ind., is a five-person electrical contracting firm specializing in updating the wiring in historic homes and buildings. Artisan also installs high-end home entertainment systems, as well as wind- and solar-power units and back-up generators. It sells some of these products online, too.

The owner: Chris Voglund was working for a large contracting company eight years ago when it suddenly folded, leaving him out of a job. Determined to never again count on someone else’s business for his living, he founded his own. Having seen that competition for routine electrical contracting jobs was steep, he decided to focus on jobs that require special skills and care. “A run-of-the-mill contractor won’t touch a complete wiring update of a 150-year-old home, where the customer wants preservation,” he said. “They just want to go in, cut open walls and get out fast.” Mr. Voglund is willing to put in the extra time, and customers have proved willing to pay for it.

Sources of I.T. expertise: Mr. Voglund has brought in local Web-design and programming pros on a contract basis. But he also discovered that some of the best advice could be had for free from local business owners who have become information-technology savvy getting their own companies up to speed and are happy to help out a friend and fellow merchant. The owner of a local security firm has helped guide Mr. Voglund’s e-commerce efforts, for example, and a photography-store owner has advised him on social media. Now Mr. Voglund says he’s becoming fairly savvy himself — because he’s had to. “When I started I hired a lawyer and an accountant and figured I’d just pay attention to my craft,” he said. “Now it’s not good enough to be good at your craft. You have to understand what’s happening with technology.”

What’s working: One investment Mr. Voglund beams about is the $300 he put into a fireproof backup hard drive from ioSafe. “I have 650 active clients in my database,” he said. “It’s half the value of my company now, and losing any of it would be catastrophic. I back up online, too, but I like knowing my data is safe inside a metal loaf of bread bolted to a desk in my office.” He’s got everyone at Artisan using iPhones that are set up to notify them immediately of any new customer contacts on the Web site, so someone can respond right away — even when the office is empty. He also sings the praises of Magento, a freely available software package designed to make it relatively easy to set up and maintain an e-commerce site.

What the company has figured out: When his sales plunged with the 2008 economic crash, Mr. Voglund decided to listen more closely to his business-owner friends about the importance of social-media marketing. “We really threw ourselves into it,” he said. He and his employees spent countless hours building contacts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. They also made sure his profile appeared on Yelp and other sites that list local services. Artisan set up a blog and a YouTube channel with how-to videos. (The clips are often shot on an iPhone.) The company also started selling generators and other equipment online. “If you had told me three years ago I’d be running a Web store, I’d have laughed,” he said. “But the opportunity to bring in revenue without having to be physically present has turned out to be huge for us.” He largely credits these online efforts with the 20-percent annual gross-profit growth he’s seen the past two years.

What’s still causing pain: Mr. Voglund would like to have his invoicing, payment-processing, parts-ordering and accounting systems all working together seamlessly — so that when he’s at a customer site he can order a part on his iPhone and have that automatically reflected in his books and invoicing. But in spite of having hired a programmer to try to hook up his Intuit QuickBooks online accounting system to his PayPal-based payment system, he still feels far from his goal. He’s hoping that a new online system put up by one big supplier will provide a lot of that linkage for him. “I don’t want to spend a lot on custom programming,” he said. “That’s really cash out of my pocket.”

Well, maybe one of his local business-owner friends will figure it out for him. Or maybe you have a suggestion?

You can follow David H. Freedman on Twitter and on Facebook.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=0680422b7b826fd520e5ec9a850dd29d

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You’re the Boss Blog: Are You Prepared for a Double-Dip Recession?

August 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Elizabeth Lunney, co-founder of ABC Language Exchange, is watching sales and preparing to make cuts.Ángel Franco/The New York TimesElizabeth Lunney, co-founder of ABC Language Exchange, is watching sales and preparing to make cuts.

She Owns It

Portraits of women entrepreneurs.

We just published an article that surveyed small-business owners on the impact of recent financial news, and their coping strategies for a possible double-dip recession. “We’ve been through this before,” said Elizabeth Lunney, who is co-founder and chief executive of the language school ABC Language Exchange and who shared her experiences with daily deal Web sites in a previous post. Here’s what she had to say:

“I’m looking at my numbers every single day and going through the list figuring out what I’d get rid of first. So far, we’re having our best year ever, but if I see that sales start to drop 10 to 15 percent in a week and see that it’s a trend over the next two or three weeks, I’ll start cutting. The water cooler, and other extras like employee lunches, will be the first to go. After that, I’ll consider asking the staff to take pay cuts, which I prefer to layoffs. Last time, I was the first to take a pay cut. I brought my salary down to what I needed to pay rent and eat bologna.”

How have you been coping with recent economic turmoil? Please share your experiences and survival tips.

You can follow Adriana Gardella on Twitter.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=fc4e8ab883190ccd7ff589e672bfc772

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Small Business Guide: Capitalizing on a Weak Commercial Real Estate Market

July 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Many small businesses have taken advantage of the market to negotiate more favorable lease terms or lower rents or to move to better space. Some were able to buy a building, a pipe dream for many in the prerecession real estate market. Still, putting together a deal requires timing, cash and market savvy. The best deals take time and tenacity, so start looking long before your lease expires, said Brian Netzky, president of Interstate Tenant Advisors in Lincolnwood, Ill. “Don’t be reactive, because then no matter what the economy is like, you’re in the worst position.”

Below are several examples of small-business owners who have taken advantage of one bright spot in a dark economy.

PAYING CASH UPFRONT Tired of paying rent for office space, Andrew E. Samalin called a broker last year and started looking for a building to buy. At the time, Mr. Samalin, a principal in an investment firm, Samalin Investment Counsel, was paying a high $4,500 a month for 700 square feet in suburban Mount Kisco, N.Y. In March 2010, he found a building in nearby Chappaqua that had been built in 1865 and needed work. The previous time it had been up for sale — at the height of the market — the asking price was $1.3 million. This time, Mr. Samalin saw an opportunity.

The seller would take only cash, so Mr. Samalin offered $600,000. After his offer was accepted, he put up $250,000 in cash for renovations. “I knew I could get the mortgage financing in place later,” he said, “but if I offered the cash upfront, I could get a really good price for the building.” The mortgage came after renovations were complete, because then it was less risky for the bank.

Mr. Samalin’s mortgage payment is now $3,500 a month. But he had enough extra room to take in a tenant, who pays $2,400 a month, reducing Mr. Samalin’s portion to $1,100. Because of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, the entire cost of the renovations was tax deductible. Mr. Samalin said he feels pride in owning a restored historical building, and his staff and clients love the space. “I consider this one of the greatest deals of my life,” he said.

NEGOTIATING AGGRESSIVELY Mark Censits, owner of an upscale wine, beer and spirits shop, CoolVines, wanted to move his Princeton, N.J., location — 350 square feet on the outskirts of town — to a bigger, better location. In 2007, when the market was still strong, he found 1,500 square feet in the center of town. The building’s opening was delayed for three years and by the time it was ready for tenants last fall, the market was tanking. “I was able to reopen discussions twice, each time negotiating more aggressively,” he said.

Because there were few creditworthy tenants bidding, Mr. Censits used CoolVines’ record of success — and the expectation that it would bring foot traffic — to persuade the landlord to lower the price from about $41 a square foot to $35.

The soft market also prompted Mr. Censits to move another location, this one in Westfield, N.J. “I knew if we were ever going to expand, this was the time to do it,” he said. The original Westfield store was 750 square feet and cost about $54 a square foot. Mr. Censits found a new location that offered 2,400 square feet downtown with parking, and is located between Williams-Sonoma and Banana Republic stores.

Feeling confident after the success of his Princeton negotiations, Mr. Censits started with a lowball offer of $33 a square foot; he got the space for $37, and the landlord agreed to freeze the rent for three years. After that, increases are limited to 2 percent annually for the seven years. “I also got him to do a significant amount of demolition to the place — probably $50,000 worth — so we could build it out the way we wanted,” Mr. Censits said.

PAYING LESS FOR MORE Three years ago, when the lease on his manufacturing facility was ending, Scott Pievac thought he was ready to buy new space for the Sam Pievac Company, which makes retail displays and fixtures and was founded by Mr. Pievac’s father. At the time, however, prices were high and inventory low, so he continued to rent in Santa Fe Springs, Calif.

This year, when he started shopping around again, he found few people wanted to sell in the middle of a downturn. But with the help of a broker, he located an old Firestone tire storage plant for sale in Chino, about 25 miles away. The price was $65 a square foot, a great deal, he said. “That building would have been $100 a square foot five years ago. It had been on the market a week, and they had five offers.”

Several factors converged in Mr. Pievac’s favor. His broker introduced him to the broker representing the sellers, and they found they had mutual friends. The Sam Pievac Company had been in business 50 years and was financially stable, making it an attractive candidate.

In addition, the Small Business Administration increased its lending limit on loans for the acquisition of fixed assets in 2011 to $5 million, which helped Mr. Pievac arrange the financing he needed. The total cost of the building with improvements was $7.2 million. The company moved into the new warehouse space in April, and the office space will be ready this week.

Mr. Pievac’s rent used to be $42,000 a month; now, he has more space, owns the building and pays $40,000 a month.

FINDING COMFORTABLE SPACE In early 2010, the employees of M. Studio, a design and branding agency, were spilling out of their northern New Jersey offices. Jenna Zilincar, a founder and creative director, said four people were crammed into 800 square feet that they called “the hamster cage.”

Ms. Zilincar wanted to move closer to her clients and was able to find several affordable options in Asbury Park that had not been available a year earlier. One space was triple the size of M Studio’s previous office. The space needed modifying, Ms. Zilincar said, but she got the landlord to put up walls and take out doors, creating offices and a conference room. Ms. Zilincar was also able to sublease two small offices she did not need, substantially reducing her monthly costs.

Now, M Studio has five people working full-time in an open space. The office has a waiting area, a conference room and a kitchen. Ms. Zilincar also got the landlord to put in hardwood floors, outside lighting, air-conditioning and baseboard heating. She and her broker negotiated a slightly lower rent than the asking price, no increases for a year and a half and a $50 increase for the 18 months after that. If she renews for another three years, the increase will be 5 percent.

Ms. Zilincar believes the new space has helped her close deals. “People’s level of comfort went up because this space is more legitimate,” she said. “We don’t have to meet clients in coffee shops anymore.”

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=44654082f34cfbe9eab376497a4d1e91

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You’re the Boss: This Week in Small Business: Are Small Businesses the Answer?

July 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Dashboard

A weekly roundup of small-business developments.

What’s affecting me, my clients and other small-business owners this week.

The Deficit: Can Small Businesses Reduce the National Debt?

President Obama blogs about deficit reduction: go big! About that debt ceiling: Ezra Klein asks the question we’ve all been asking. A new poll reports that the president edges out the G.O.P. on helping small businesses. A Congressman says that small businesses are crucial to reducing this country’s debt. A massive deficit reduction plan is proposed by a staunch budget-cutter. Jared Bernstein says, “Consumer spending is way down, and it’s not getting much of a boost from jobs and paychecks. Which means that fiscal stimulus is about the only game in town, or it would be if policy makers weren’t spending practically every waking minute on budget cuts.”

The Data: A $300,000 Home Sells for $16

Mortgage refinancings surge but Wells Fargo reports a sharp decline in new mortgages. Existing home sales decline. Architectural billings fall. June housing starts, however, are at a six-month high and some economists think we’ve hit a housing bottom. A guy in Texas buys a $300,000 home for $16. American builders were slightly more confident in July, and the remodeling industry sets a record. Commercial property prices are increasing.

The Economy: A Slow Growth Decade Is Raging

As weekly jobless claims increase, here are nine signs the recovery might be losing momentum. Leading indicators grow slowly for the second month in a row. A well known forecaster says “a slow-growth decade is already raging. You feel it everywhere. And it’s going to get worse, much worse. A recession is virtually certain for 2012.” However, corporate cash is at an all-time high. David Beckworth concludes that the root of our problems lies in weak demand. The Hartford finds that we are optimistic about our personal finances, and (gasp) more are saving for retirement. A University of Helsinki study makes me re-think the benefits of gross domestic product growth. Borders is forced to liquidate, and Wharton’s Daniel Raff explains why this is bad for the entire publishing industry. Cisco cuts 6,500 jobs. Scott Grannis issues a money supply alert. Is Microsoft to blame for high unemployment?

Starting Up: Kauffman Wants Start-Up Legislation

The Kauffman Foundation proposes start-up legislation and laments that “start-ups are opening their doors with fewer employees and, once they get going, are hiring fewer people, regardless of the economic climate.” A microlender gives us eight crucial elements of start-up success, such as: “You want to raise enough money initially so that you can hit a major milestone and have something to show investors.” The founder of Cvent tells an inspiring story about his experiences as a start-up founder and dot-com era survivor. A 21-year-old sells her start-up for $21 million.

Marketing 1: Succeeding And Failing With Social Networks

Mediapost.com reports that Facebook scores low in customer satisfaction. Ever wonder which are the most expensive keywords for GoogleAds? Kristi Hines gives us four ways to increase traffic with Stumbleupon. Tim Hartford explains why social marketing doesn’t work. Example: “The first surprise, then, is that the typical Twitter cascade is both rare and tiny. Ninety per cent of Tweets are never re-tweeted, and most of the remainder are re-tweeted only by a person’s immediate followers, not by those at two or three removes.” More important: no new social networks were announced last week and, phew, a neuroscientist concludes that Google does not melt our memories.

Marketing 2: Men, Women, Cats and Dogs

New demographics contrast the shopping habits of men and women and dogs and cats. An infographic explains all of the ways to offer free shipping to customers. A research firm explains the five myths of selling to small businesses. Dan Ariely explains the tactics online companies use to get us to share more and spend more. Old Spice hires Fabio. American Express goes after Groupon.

Success Strategies: Anyone Know A Good Story?

Here’s how a bad economy can be the mother of invention. The Vancouver airport seeks a live-in storyteller for 80 days. Mark Perry explains why Wal-Mart is the most successful retailer in history. Chris Brogan creates “a private communication channel for aspiring Web entrepreneurs to learn how to build their businesses and grow their future.” New restaurant idea: build it under the sea. A video shares three lessons from Calvin Klein.

Your People: Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are

CareerBuilder is forecasting a better job outlook. In a Rasmussen survey, 75 percent support tough penalties against employers who hire illegal immigrants. A survey claims that by granting staffers early access to a percentage of their pay, small businesses can improve productivity and retention. A Staples Advantage survey shows telecommuters are happier and healthier. Some federal workers are more likely to die than lose their jobs. Employers debate letting workers sleep on the job.  Sylvia Ann Hewlett, consultant and author, writes about the benefits of coming out: “L.G.B.T. employees who stay on track and make it into senior management are much more likely to be out than closeted: 71 percent compared to 28 percent of their closeted counterparts.”

Around The States and The World: Parking Tickets Mean Corruption

The Small Business Administration goes on tour. According to Urbanophile.com, our states give us a smaller scale model to find out what works and what doesn’t and can serve as test beds for new policy ideas. California’s mortgage defaults fall to a four-year low, but chief executives say it’s still the worst state for business. New York challenges Silicon Valley. A start-up hotbed in Cambridge fuels the Boston rental market. And yes, there is definitely a connection between unpaid parking tickets and corrupt governments. A brave man crosses the street in Vietnam like a boss. Manufacturing’s still weak in Philadelphia.

Finance: Happy Birthday Dodd-Frank!

The Dodd-Frank bill celebrates its first anniversary but is still under fire. The brand new consumer protection bureau faces a long debate. A venture capitalist says entrepreneurs need to understand the benefits of preferred stock: “Suffice it to say that this is an important term for investors, including me.” Steve Blank tells two awesome venture capital stories. Venture capital funding for Web start-ups hits a ten-year high, and Magic Johnson gets into the business. Ten banks own 77 percent of all American banking assets. Small businesses see a spike in loan approvals in June. Google plans (why not?) a credit card.

Technology 1: Hacking and Attacking Small Businesses

As the cell phone hacking scandal continues in the United Kingdom, Kurt Marko says yes, our voicemail can be hacked, too. Symantec says that 40 percent of targeted attacks are aimed at … small and mid-size businesses! Google warns of malware redirecting to its search results. Data loss affects half of small businesses. The S.B.A. is offering a free disaster recovery webinar. A Reddit founder has been indicted on fraud charges. The Internet survives a brief Lady Gaga outage. Businesspundit.com lists the top 10 online scams.

Technology 2: Should Apple Buy Goldman Sachs or Hulu?

Clint Parr explains how to use mobile apps to increase sales. Sprint waives long-term contracts. A $350 contract-free iPhone is on its way. Makeuseof.com lists five critical tools for a more productive virtual office. Apple could buy Goldman Sachs, but instead makes a play for corporate business (and maybe Hulu). New data shows that cloud computing is growing among small businesses. More than 50,000 businesses have signed up to try Microsoft’s Office 365 cloud application. ADP plans a mobile payroll app. Chris Pirillo offers five tips for creating better videos (Chris, can you please talk to this guy?). Adobe buys electronic signature provider Echosign. PCWorld’s Patrick Miller explains how to turn your gaming hobby into a small business.

The Week Ahead: Confidence? Growth?

Big numbers to watch: consumer confidence, new home sales, durable goods and advanced GDP predictions.

This Week’s Bests

Thoughts On Borders’ Liquidation: Kip Bodnar offers some marketing lessons from Borders’ bankruptcy: “Block off a couple of hours each day to really examine the disruption that is happening in other markets like music and publishing. What mistakes are being made? Why are the companies that are winning actually winning? Understanding the traits that make a successful business thrive during technology disruption will help to guide adjustments to your marketing strategy.”

Reason Technology Can Cripple Productivity: Matthew Might says to boost your productivity you may want to cripple your technology: “The productivity paradox, popularized by economist Erik Brynjolfsson, notes that computational power has advanced exponentially for decades, yet growth in labor productivity remains modest. While many factors explain the paradox, the one most relevant to modern knowledge workers is the dual capacity of technology to aid and to distract. To resolve this paradox, my guiding principle for productivity applies: Mold your life so that the path of least resistance is the path of maximum productivity.”

Philanthropy Idea: Tony Elumelu, investor and philanthropist, writes about the newly created African Markets Internship Programme: “At this moment, the A.M.I.P. is placing students from top African, European, and American business schools in highly structured programs with African companies. A.M.I.P. matches the unique skills of each intern with the particular needs of each host business to tackle their most pressing business problems.”

This Week’s Question: Does technology sometimes make you less productive? Do you know what I mean?

Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. You can follow him on Twitter.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=58f2d270cec58be16742e56ae40333cf

Filed Under: Business News Tagged With: , ,

You’re the Boss: This Week in Small Business: Fat, Flat and Falling

July 11, 2011 by 2 Comments

Dashboard

A weekly roundup of small-business developments.

What’s affecting me, my clients and other small-business owners this week.

Jobs: Ugh!

Unemployment rises to 9.2 percent and weekly unemployment claims exceed 400,000 for the 13th week in a row. The National Federation of Independent Business says small-business hiring in June was “a bust” and another survey shows wages rising (and here’s why my kids have jobs this summer). A Bloomberg opinion piece argues that as bad as the employment picture looks, “the official Labor Department figures understate the magnitude of the crisis.” A few bright spots: The auto industry, seeing new life, is on a hiring spree. ADP says private hiring jumps. Gallup’s job creation index is the highest since 2008. And Harry finally defeats what’s his name (oh, come on, as if you didn’t know!).

The Debt Ceiling: Working Toward Compromise

Things are getting so tense that President Obama cancels his vacation and gets aggressive in less than 140 characters. Scott Grannis reports an unusual pickup in the money supply. Conan starts car-pooling with staffers. An investor tells us what we need to know and Bruce Bartlett offers five myths about the debt ceiling. Here’s one economist who’s not so gloomy: “I think what’s going to happen will be that the debt ceiling crisis will be resolved without upsetting financial markets or depressing the economy in the near term.”

The Data: Flat, Fat and Falling

The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index shows a slower expansion in June. The office market vacancy rate was flat in the second quarter compared to the first. Americans are getting fatter. Factory orders rose in May. Consumer bankruptcy filings fall 8 percent in the first half of 2011. Mall vacancies rise. The Los Angeles Times reports that gas prices are unlikely to rise much more this summer.

The Economy: It’s No Joke

Female business owners show cautious optimism about the recovery. Analysts at an investment firm say “hasta la vista, soft patch (PDF): “It’s no surprise to us that the Dow has now fully recovered back to where it was when the soft patch started to materialize. Stay long and stay positive, the soft patch is fading into the pessimistic abyss.” Kevin Spak says that even in this economy corporate profits are soaring. Meanwhile, Scott Shane reports that small-business owners are working harder for less. Smallbizlabs says the small-business economy is finally improving. An editorial says the stimulus was a joke for small business.

Red Tape Update: I Demand That You Audit Me

The New York Post predicts that in six short months, a new dark age will descend on America. Wayne Crews of the Competitive Enterprise Institute says “a simple perusal of the Federal Register shows over 430 rules costing over $65 billion so far this year alone.” Representative Sam Graves says we can’t create jobs without lifting the weight of regulations. Holly Sklar and Scott Klinger say that real patriots pay taxes. A business owner loses his fight to get audited. The recent dip in commodity prices could begin to act as a delayed tax cut. Does the United States have the second lowest corporate tax burden in the developed world? According to Ezra Klein this is the most important graph in health care policy: “It shows that we pay more than any other health care system and, to add insult to injury, have ended up with more government than most of our competitors, too.” Writing for Forbes, Sally Pipes says the small-business health care tax credits are having a minuscule impact.

Marketing: The Greater Good

Ever wonder what are the top 20 brands on Facebook? A new report says that 22 percent of small businesses use Facebook ads. Doug Ross lists 10 great rules for attracting people to your blog. Rene LeMerle shares her top five free social media automation tools. Roost’s survey of small businesses found that almost three-quarters believe social media to be a more effective marketing activity than paid search. Heidi Cohen gives us five ways to improve our social media marketing. For example: “One of social media’s unstated rules is the focus on the community and the greater good. If you’re only thinking about how to promote the next product or sale, you’ve missed the point of social media.” Michael Fauscette explains the business uses of Google+.

Management: It’s Magic!

Jamahl Keyes, the “Magic Motivator,” gives some business growth tips. Matthew DeLuca explains how a boss can take a summer vacation. These chief executives have a special advantage.

Success Strategies: Drinking and Puppies Don’t Mix

Flying cars are approved by the Department of Transportation. A Toledo small business wins the cupcake wars. A design firm proposes changes to how sales receipts look. Pet stores ban drunk puppy buying. The mobile payments market is expected to reach $670 billion by 2015. The N.F.I.B. celebrates the next generation of entrepreneurs with scholarships. What is the most important question a start-up looking for money should ask? An inventor takes it one step too far. And a little squirrel shows that sometimes you just have to be lucky.

Your People: The Advantages of Not Making Too Much Money

Regina Woods lists five ways to motivate employee bloggers, such as, “Share the results regularly. Hold your bloggers accountable for their work by posting their progress.” Entrepreneur’s Carol Tice thinks that owners who don’t pay themselves too much have an advantage — “putting their pay on a more even keel with workers. That likely also helps as owners are usually there on the front lines, looking workers in the eyes every day.” A guy eats 69 hot dogs. Eric Pages breaks down the 1099 economy: “Based on my experience, I see several segments within the broad category of the 1099 economy: the reluctant 1099ers, the entrepreneurial 1099ers, and the ‘gig economy’ work force.”

Around the Country: Virginia Is for (Old) Lovers

A sandstorm hits Phoenix. West Michigan veterans can get free business training. New York State thinks that fracking can save it. Virginia men live longer than Mississippi men. Austin tops the list of the 50 cities of the future — but my vote is with Denver.

Around the World: I’m With Switzerland

China raises interest rates. Namibia strikes black gold. The world’s youth would rather be in Australia or New Zealand. Britain’s best-selling newspaper closes. London has $34 billion of luxury homes currently in development. A Swiss political party tries to ban PowerPoint.

Finance: Hey, I’m No Squelcher

Mortgage applications fall. The Troubled Asset Relief Program makes a $10 billion profit. Office Depot offers a small-business loan program. Time’s Roya Wolverson wonders if small businesses will squelch the recovery: “For many economists, small-business lending is the safest gauge of the economic recovery’s strength. Too bad it’s headed in the wrong direction.” Investment advisers’ use of social media may spark regulation.

Technology: Keep The Faith In I.T.

Facebook teams up with Skype. New cyberattacks are aiming at small businesses. The software giant SAP focuses on smaller companies. Chief financial officers don’t have faith in information technology people, but boards do. Verizon is the latest to end unlimited data. ComputerWeekly has a case study showing how a business can benefit from software-as-a-service. Score’s Ken Yancey offers five commonly held beliefs about using technology in your business. Amazon invests big in a data start-up.

The Week Ahead: Trade, Retail, Geekness

A ton of new data hits us this week: Trade numbers, retail sales, producer and consumer prices, inventories and the Empire State Manufacturing Survey. And Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke gives midyear testimony to Congressional committees, once he’s done embracing his geekness.

This Week’s Bests

Connection Between Small Business And Libya A Harvard professor, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, lists three reasons everything goes better with partners. For example: “There truly is strength in numbers. Lining up others who feel the same way about a barrier or an obstacle makes change more likely. Coalitions lend credibility. They provide cover for controversial decisions, so that you’re not a target for retaliation, or at least not alone — a principle used in the air cover around Libya. In Nigeria recently, I was asked what small and mid-sized businesses can do to behave responsibly in the face of government corruption. The answer: Companies should get together and meet with officials as a group. A multinational has decided to take the lead.”

Reason To Outsource The Under30CEO gives us four reasons why every business should outsource. For example: “Outsourcing gives you access to experts in fields related to your business. Marketing gurus, certified public accountants, certified human resource professionals, and customer service coordinators are ready and waiting to help you grow your business. Outsourcing puts you in a unique position to stay informed as well as learn and gather information from industry experts.”

Marketing Lessons StartupSmart’s Jason Rose gives us six marketing lessons in six months: “Lesson four: Don’t do everything. You need to set realistic expectations around what you can do from one day to the next and that requires discipline as well as self-confidence. You will inevitably hear what other companies are doing and read the advice of marketing gurus, and the impulse to copy and obey will be immense. But before you do that, work out what is achievable and more importantly what your priorities are.”

This Week’s Question: Are you glad you have a partner?

Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. You can follow him on Twitter.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=46eb4c59aff239e8abd2b1d1bffc53cf

Filed Under: Small Business Tagged With: , ,
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