U.K. To Get Its Own Version of Small Business Saturday |  |
- U.K. To Get Its Own Version of Small Business Saturday
- Twitter Chat: Spring Clean Your SMB with New Ideas
- Online Payment Feature “Mozilla Wallet” Currently in Development
- American’s Economic Outlook: Eternal Winter of the Consumer Mind
- Survey: More Businesses Changing Hands in 2013
- Why Paul Ryan’s Budget is Better for Small Business
| U.K. To Get Its Own Version of Small Business Saturday Posted: 09 Apr 2013 02:00 AM PDT
Small business owners in the U.K. will be getting Small Business Saturday in their country this year. British businesses and shoppers will see their own version of the highly-popular event that has resulted in over $5 billion in sales for small businesses in the United States last year alone. Small Business Saturday U.K. will be held on December 7, 2013. Shadow Business Secretary Chukka Umunna has been a champion of the event in the United Kingdom. Small business retailers there, like many in the U.S., have fallen on tougher times. According to a report from the U.K. news outlet The Independent:
The initiative in the U.K. is being backed by seven influential business groups. Backers include the British Chambers of Commerce, Federation of Small Businesses, The Association of Convenience Stores, British Independent Retailers Association, Forum of Private Business, the National Federation of Retail Newsagents and the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association. Small Business Saturday in the U.S. is held the Saturday after Black Friday. The concept and creation of Small Business Saturday may be a source of debate. But it came into the limelight in the United States when American Express picked up on the trend in 2010 and began promoting it heavily around the holiday shopping season. The Small Business Administratin (SBA) also supports it. Small Business Saturday in the U.S. now has hundreds of supporters including cities, states, chambers of commerce, small business advocacy groups, high profile public officials, and large brands like FedEx. Small Business Saturday in the United States has become a major movement active year round. It now has its own website at ShopSmall.com — and its own Twittter handle (@shopsmall) and hashtag (#shopsmall). It also has its own Facebook page with over 3 million Likes, wit conversation quite active all throughout the year. In the United States Small Business Saturday will be held November 30, 2013. The post U.K. To Get Its Own Version of Small Business Saturday appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Twitter Chat: Spring Clean Your SMB with New Ideas Posted: 08 Apr 2013 04:00 PM PDT
Just a peek out your window will let you know it’s that time of year again, time to do some spring cleaning at your business, both literally and figuratively. You should certainly get rid of some of the clutter that’s accumulated over the year, and cleaning up your work space is a great place to start. But there’s so much more to be done, too. This can also be the time of year to shake things up and try something new, or grab those great ideas you had bubbling on the back-burner and bring them to the forefront. Join The Twitter Chat: Follow #SMBSpringCleanBecome a part of the conversation to find out what other small business owners just like you are doing this spring to renew their companies. Get more good ideas for spring cleaning by joining us Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 8 p.m. EST for a live Twitter chat presented by FedEx Office. We hope you’ll take the time to participate and pose any questions you may have about revitalizing your business. If you have any tips to offer other small business owners about spring cleaning or how to bring in new ideas and innovation, we’d love for you to join us. Be sure to follow @FedExOffice too. Twitter Chat DetailsBe sure to join us for this live Twitter chat event: TOPIC: Spring clean your SMB: Get organized, bring in fresh ideas, shake things up. DATE: Thursday, April 11, 2013 TIME: 8 pm EST (New York time) LOCATION: Twitter.com: Just follow the hashtag #SMBSpringClean to participate. Be sure to follow me, Anita Campbell, at @SmallBizTrends too. If you’ve never taken part in a Twitter chat before and you need some pointers, be sure to read “How to Participate in a Twitter Chat.” Disclosure: FedEx Office compensated me to participate as a small business expert during the FedEx Office Tweet Chat program and write this post. The ideas in this blog post are mine and not ideas or advice from FedEx Office. The post Twitter Chat: Spring Clean Your SMB with New Ideas appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Online Payment Feature “Mozilla Wallet” Currently in Development Posted: 08 Apr 2013 01:30 PM PDT
Mozilla plans a new way for your business to make and receive payments online. The free software community is currently working on a new online wallet feature, Mozilla Wallet, that will be released on Firefox OS that will make paying for goods and services online easier, more streamlined, and, they hope more secure. According to a post on Mozilla’s official blog, the navigator.mozPay() function is a JavaScript API that would allow users of its Firefox OS phones and Web devices to choose how they want to pay for online purchases, including adding purchases to their mobile phone bills. The Mozilla wallet would allow users to make a purchase through a Web app without entering a credit card number each time. For online merchants, the Mozilla wallet would help avoid payment processor setup and many processing fees, according to Kumar McMillan, a Mozilla developer. “There are services to mitigate a lot of these complications, such as PayPal, Stripe and others, but they aren't integrated into Web devices very well. Mozilla wants to introduce a common Web API to make payments easy and secure on Web devices, yet still as flexible as the checkout button for merchants,” McMillan writes. McMillan says the Firefox wallet is inspired by a similar feature offered by Google. When users attempt to make a purchase, they are prompted with a window that asks for a password and processes a payment. For merchants and developers, products are defined and price points are set in the JavaScript. JSON Web Tokens (JWT) are created for each provider from whom a merchant accepts payments. This service is not yet live in the Firefox Marketplace, but would-be merchants who will likely take advantage of this service can test drive a simulation at the Firefox Marketplace Developer Hub. McMillan says the Firefox OS wallet is ideal for merchants who offer premium services through their Web apps, like games or news sites offering exclusive content. The post Online Payment Feature “Mozilla Wallet” Currently in Development appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| American’s Economic Outlook: Eternal Winter of the Consumer Mind Posted: 08 Apr 2013 11:00 AM PDT
Spring is here and just like the budding plants, by many accounts the U.S. economy shows signs of slow and steady growth. But nearly four years after the Great Recession officially ended, the sun isn't warming the hearts of U.S. consumers, many of whom are still feeling frankly pessimistic about the economic outlook, despite indicators of brighter days. A new study by Mintel, Consumers and The Economic Outlook, conducted in February, and reported in MediaPost, contends that the Great Recession permanently changed Americans' economic outlook and their attitudes toward their finances and their futures. Here's some of what Mintel discovered, and what it could mean to your business. Consumers' pessimism isn't fading away. Americans are traditionally resilient and optimistic, but those attitudes aren't showing up as much as you might expect. Nearly three-fourths (72 percent) of U.S. consumers believe the younger generation will have a harder time financially than they have had. Nearly half (49 percent) believe there are better opportunities for financial success overseas than in the U.S. While you might expect Millennials just out of college to be struggling the hardest in today's economy, Mintel found that the younger half of the Baby Boomer cohort and the oldest members of Gen X (aged 45-54) are actually having the most trouble financially. More than four in 10 (41 percent) describe their household as "struggling" or "just getting by," compared to 33 percent of consumers overall. Similarly, while you might expect high-income consumers to feel more optimistic in their economic outlook, 10 percent of households with incomes over $150,000 and 16 percent of households with incomes of $100,000-$149,900 say they are struggling or just getting by. Wage stagnation is a big factor. Overall, 57 percent of consumers expect their incomes to stay the same this year, and 47 percent of those in the $150,000+ income bracket say the same. The struggles of these demographic groups are bad news for the economy, since they are major drivers of consumer spending. Don't count on a housing rebound to save things, either. While home sales are picking up in many parts of the country, the housing crash has left many consumers leery of buying homes because they no longer feel confident that home values will appreciate. If fewer home sales take place and home ownership declines, home purchasing may not recover as a primary economic driver. The future doesn't seem that bright either, since many consumers aren't saving enough for retirement—mostly because they barely have enough money to get by today. Although there is a focus on saving, it's primarily on saving for the short term, rather than investing for retirement. A whopping 82 percent say creating a rainy-day fund for emergencies is a priority, and though 72 percent say they'd like to save more for retirement, the majority don't even have adequate emergency savings yet. More bad news for business is that consumers are focused on saving rather than spending, with 87 percent saying paying bills on time is a priority and 76 percent saying that good credit is crucial to financial success. Unable to rely on retirement savings or home equity, Mintel says consumers will focus on achieving financial security by different means. But what those means are is yet to be seen. How can you target consumers with this mind-set? Marketing messages that appeal to their need for security, certainty and savings will continue to resonate. Make sure your business is seen as a trusted partner by offering guarantees and providing all the consultation and information customers need so they fully understand and feel confident about what they're buying from you. Money Photo via Shutterstock The post American’s Economic Outlook: Eternal Winter of the Consumer Mind appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Survey: More Businesses Changing Hands in 2013 Posted: 08 Apr 2013 08:00 AM PDT
More businesses are changing hands this year than last, mainly due to more sellers and buyers in the market. However, valuations may be lower now, thanks to 2013 tax changes. According to a recent survey by business-for-sale marketplace BizBuySell of 169 of its broker members, about 75 percent said they were seeing as many transactions or more as they did this time in 2012. Of those brokers who said they saw more transactions in the market this year than last, 27 percent indicated they were seeing more buyers for businesses in the market while 25 percent said more sellers were responsible for the increase in transactions. More than half the brokers surveyed (54 percent) indicated they expected a slight or significant improvement in the number of transactions moving forward in 2013, with 33 percent of those saying they expected sellers to drive that increase and 18 percent saying buyers would be responsible for the increase. In terms of the overall value of those transactions, 77 percent of brokers said changes in the tax laws would slightly deflate small business values, while 15 percent said those changes would greatly deflate overall transaction values. BizBuySell believes these static or improving numbers in the amount of business transactions is a sign of economic recovery. "There has been a latent supply of buyers and sellers waiting for the right time to enter the market for a long time now," Curtis Kroeker, General Manager of BizBuySell, said. "Owners finally feel their businesses are healthy enough to put on the market, and buyers are finding better lending options to fund their purchases. With the economy improving and stocks at record highs, it isn't surprising to see the market growing more crowded." About half the brokers responding to the survey said they remain optimistic for the rest of the year. Business Sale Photo via Shutterstock The post Survey: More Businesses Changing Hands in 2013 appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Why Paul Ryan’s Budget is Better for Small Business Posted: 08 Apr 2013 05:00 AM PDT
For the first time in years, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are simultaneously developing federal budget plans. While some small business owners will undoubtedly prefer the Senate's plan to the House's, the latter aligns more closely with the interests of a majority of small business owners. The Senate's proposal, crafted by Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, would trim the deficit slightly by boosting revenues through the elimination of tax loopholes on corporations and well-off individuals, while preserving current spending levels. The House's proposal, written by Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, would cut spending significantly to balance the federal budget in a decade. Representative Ryan's budget contains several items favored by small business owners, while excluding several disliked dimensions of Senator Murray's plan. Small business owners largely favor his proposed repeal of subsidies for buying insurance under the exchanges established by the Affordable Care Act, and his effort to trim Medicaid's growth. The Small Business Outlook Survey (PDF), an online poll of 1,482 small business executives conducted at the end of 2012 by Harris Interactive on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce indicates that three quarters of small business leaders believe that the Affordable Care Act will raise their companies' costs and 71 percent believe that the new law makes it more difficult for them to add workers. The House budget proposal also would trade fewer tax deductions for a reduction in individual income tax rates, imposing brackets of just 10 and 25 percent in place of the current brackets. By contrast, the Senate budget proposal would increase taxes by eliminating deductions on the highest earning Americans. Representative Ryan's approach to taxes is consistent with the views of most small business owners. According to the most recent Wells Fargo-Gallup Small Business Index, 80 percent of small business owners believe that taxes are harming the "operating environment" of their businesses. Moreover, a recent poll of members of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) shows that they "strongly prefer a tax code with lower rates and fewer preferences," which is what Representative Ryan is proposing. Representative Ryan's budget also lowers the rate of growth of federal spending, which will boost economic growth in the long term. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) indicates that if the deficit were reduced by $4 trillion – Representative Ryan's budget cuts the deficit by $4.6 trillion – real gross national product would be 1.7 percent higher in 2023 than it would be if current policies continued. By contrast, if the deficit were reduced by $2 trillion – Senator Murray's budget trims the deficit by $1.85 trillion – gross national product would be 0.9 percent higher than under current plans. In 2023, the economy would be at least 0.8 percent larger in inflation-adjusted terms if the Republican budget passed than if the Democratic one became law. Small business owners favor higher economic growth, even if getting it reduces economic equality, because faster growth generally means greater sales. In recent years, weak demand for its products and services has been small business's biggest problem. The Republican's budget would also balance in 10 years. A balanced budget would benefit small business by eliminating the risk of "crowding out" in financial markets, which could raise the cost of credit. Douglas Elmendorf, the Congressional Budget Office Director, explained to the Monetary Policy Forum at University of Chicago Booth School of Business in February that the federal debt could "crowd out" private investment if it grew from its current level to a much higher fraction of gross domestic product. The resulting higher interest rates would be a problem for small business owners whose ability to service their debt falls as interest rates rise. Before they get too excited about Representative Ryan's budget proposal, small business owners should keep one thing in mind: His budget has about as much chance of becoming law as we have of seeing a July snowstorm in our nation's capital. Paul Ryan Photo via Shutterstock The post Why Paul Ryan's Budget is Better for Small Business appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Small Business Trends To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment