SmallBusinessNewz

American Express Promotes Its 2nd Annual Small Business Saturday

As Thanksgiving approaches, so does the biggest shopping day of the year.  The madness of Black Friday brings crazy deals to retail outlets big and small, but it usually seems like the national stores get all the attention on that Friday.For the second year, the Saturday following Black Friday had been declared "Small Business Saturday."The day is sponsored by American Express, who launched the initiative in 2010 to help smaller retailers grab a piece of the biggest shopping weekend of the year.

Small Businesses Still Hesitant When It Comes To Hiring

The economy still seems to be affecting small businesses - especially when it comes to growth and the hiring of new employees.According to the CBIZ Small Business Emplyoment Index (SBEI), a barometer for hiring trends, October saw a decrease in hiring among companies with 300 employees or fewer.  In October, the index fell 1.28%, after already falling .81% in September.

5 Great Questions To Massively Improve Your Results

Here are 5 great questions to help your business thrive in any economy:

American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor

Twice a year, the American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor takes a survey of over 800 small business owners to see how they are reacting to the current economy. On October 4, the Fall 2011 survey results were released, comprised of the opinions of hundreds of small business managers and employees. Results indicate that while the National Bureau of Economic Research may have declared us free of the Great Recession back in 2009, nearly 40% of small business owners believe we're not out of the woods just yet.

Small Business CEOs Predict Continued Economic Slowdown

It appears that small to mid sized business CEOs aren't very optimistic about the pace of economic growth, in fact they expect the current economic situation to persist looking forward at least a year.

Banks Pledge Increase in Small Business Lending

On Tuesday in Cleveland Ohio, Vice President Joe Biden announced a partnership between 13 banks to increase small business lending over the next three years.The 13 banks have committed to a combined $20 billion increase to small business lending.  The largest player in the pledge is Citigroup, who said that they plan to loan small businesses $8 billion next year - up from $6 billion in loans they made last year and $4.5 billion they made in 2009.