As Presidential Race Tightens Small Business Plays Big Role |  |
- As Presidential Race Tightens Small Business Plays Big Role
- Is Your Website Taking A Vacation Before You Do?
- Breaking The Spell: Are You Under the Spell of Success?
| As Presidential Race Tightens Small Business Plays Big Role Posted: 17 Jun 2012 02:00 PM PDT Mitt Romney recently outlined the important issues facing small business owners during a teleconference hosted by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The Republican nominee for President says what makes him optimistic about the country is the entrepreneurial spirit he sees as he campaigns across America:
Romney believes that President Obama’s policies have created a “hostile environment” that made things harder for small business owners. Chief among Romney’s targets, the stimulus package:
The Presidential challenger also took aim at Obamacare, which he says:
He vows to repeal whatever parts of the legislation that the Supreme Court upholds. Additionally, Romney has blasted government regulation and the “growing intrusion of federal regulators” during Mr. Obama’s first term. For his part, President Obama has been touting his successes, including the impact that SBA lending has had on small business owners . Further, he has pushed Congressional leaders to approve legislation granting a 10 percent income tax credit to firms that create new jobs or that increase wages in 2012. The President also wants to extend a 2010 measure that enables firms to deduct the full value of investments made through 2012. Mr. Obama believes his plan to help business owners is superior to help small companies create jobs. Meanwhile, the credit market remains tight for entrepreneurs in search of capital. The latest Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index, a monthly an analysis of 1,000 loan applications, found that loan approvals by big banks dropped from 10.6% in April to 10.2% in May 2012, but was up slightly from the 9.8% approval rate one year ago. Additionally, small bank lending fell from 45.9% in April 2012 to 45.5% in May 2012, a figure that is still a half percentage point higher than the 45.0% reported in May 2011. The May 2012 loan approval rate of credit unions increased to 57.6%, up 0.2% from April 2012 and up more than six percentage points higher than in May 2011. Alternate lenders also upped their lending to 63.2%, as a tight market for traditional funding is forcing small businesses to look for options such as factoring and merchant cash advance. This is the third month in a row that big bank lending to small businesses dropped. Small banks decreased their lending approvals for a second straight month, as well. Combined with another poor jobs report, continued jitters in Europe and uncertainty on Wall Street, the economy looks like it is slowing. Look for both Mitt Romney and President Obama to debate where the country is economically from now until Election Day. One thing cannot be denied: lending for small businesses, which create the lion’s share of new jobs, has stalled.
From Small Business Trends |
| Is Your Website Taking A Vacation Before You Do? Posted: 17 Jun 2012 11:00 AM PDT For small business owners there is never enough time to get everything done. It's hard enough to take time for yourself and your family. Yet shouldn't technology allow you to do more, so that you can take some time off?
Unfortunately, many small business websites are already in vacation mode with content that is out-of-date, nonfunctioning, confusing or ineffective. Your website may be sending out the wrong message to your clients. You must make sure that your website – the primary billboard for your company – is working for you. How can you get your website on track, so that you may take the well-needed vacation? Review this simple checklist to see if your website is earning its keep: 1. How much money are you losing because your website doesn't capture leads?
2. How up-to-date is your website?
3. Is it easy to find you on the Web?
4. Can mobile smart phone users see your website?
5. Does your website reflect the real you and tell users who you are?
An up-to-date website that matches your company's standards of quality is an important way to be sure that your visual marketing is supporting your mission. Remember, your website is not just about getting impressions…but making impressions. When you keep your website in working order, you can take some time off and keep your business running 24/7.
From Small Business Trends |
| Breaking The Spell: Are You Under the Spell of Success? Posted: 17 Jun 2012 05:00 AM PDT
I've been a fan and a follower of Debbie LaChusa for a few years. As a fellow marketer, I've always respected her insights and point of view. So when I received a review copy of her new book, I was eager to see what she saw as the truth behind money, success and the pursuit of happiness – especially since she's been the authority on the subject for so many entrepreneurs. I Wonder if the Get-Rick-Quick Gurus are Standing Outside Debbie’s Door Breaking the Spell starts with Debbie's tell-all story that should be familiar to many small business owners. She's very open about her career path, her successes and her self-proclaimed mis-steps on her journey toward real happiness; the kind that isn't a function of having all the material bells and whistles.
When I read this paragraph I thought, "Oh my goodness, Debbie! All those gurus are going to be knocking at your door with pitchforks!" Because, my dear readers, in this book, Debbie pulls back the curtain on not just the wizards of wisdom-for hire, but more frighteningly, she shows us how we've become entranced by success to the point of making poor decisions for our businesses as well as our lives. The goal of Breaking the Spell is to provide thought-provoking information for you to consider including questions to ask yourself so that you can find out exactly where you fall on what LaChusa calls the "Spellbound Scale." Personal Stories of Current and Former Success Junkies While a good portion of this book contains personal details about Debbie's journey, there are many, many stories and interviews that she's included of all kinds of people who have attained wealth, lost wealth and come out on the other side to experience true success – not just the financial kind. Take the story of Kristy and James from Australia who had bought into the idea that to be happy, they had to be rich. Then when they stopped and took a look around, they realized that they already had everything they needed and wanted. They started questioning WHY they felt they needed to "get rich quick." After all, they had tried everything and just about went broke. Even though Kristy says getting involved in personal development was a good experience overall, she's grateful that she's come out on the other side of the get-rich hype and is happier than ever when she focuses on her family, her health and making a difference. There are many, many more stories included in this book. In fact, this book almost reads like an infomercial in reverse. Where infomercials use testimonials and personal stories to sell us on a product, LaChusa turns this medium around and uses these personal stories and testimonials as lessons for not just the consumers of self-improvement products, but for the self-proclaimed experts as well. The Self-Improvement and Business Building Industry is Changing – Fast LaChusa has taken her personal experiences and her professional talents in marketing to herald a new day in the information marketing industry. It’s no secret that you can no longer go online with a web site and a promise and expect to make millions. Those days are long gone. Breaking the Spell is the warning sign to everyone who participates in the self-improvement products and services sectors to put their money where their mouth is and not just teach what they, themselves, have not had the ability to achieve. Is Breaking the Spell for You? If you’ve ever gone to a seminar to learn to start a business that promises millions, bought a success book or program or hired a coach to help you make more money — this book is for you. It will be the sobering whack on the side of the head that you need to bring your priorities back in line. While Breaking the Spell is NOT written to dissuade you from participating in self-improvement programs or buying these products, it IS written to help you become a better consumer of these products. As a marketer who also provides advice on how to market your business better — I’d recommend this book foir anyone who sells advice or information products online. Debbie LaChusa has saved you a ton of market research dollars and time if you dare to read what’s in here. Any criticism of the self-improvement products industry is done from the perspective that the very thing they promise is lost and the difference so many of these gurus are trying to make fails because their customers have their focus on the wrong side of success. I picked up and read Breaking the Spell over the course of a weekend. It’s an easy and powerful read — for the info junkies who dare. From Small Business Trends |
Are you a success junkie? You may not think you are, but if you find yourself trolling through and buying get-rich, successful products and investing into coaching and business opportunities just so you can HAVE some illusive materialistic dream – and even if you've achieved that dream, still find yourself feeling empty and unfulfilled, then you're going to want to get your hands on Debbie LaChusa's new book entitled | You are subscribed to email updates from Small Business News, Tips, Advice - Small Business Trends To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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