SmallBusinessNewz

Small Businesses Paying Debt Quicker to Help Credit Ratings

Business credit bureau Cortera has shared some interesting findings from its November 2009 Small Business Index (SBI) report. The report is a monthly index of accounts receivable (A/R) activities covering businesses with less than 500 employees (the SBA's definition of a small business).

Get Customers to Show Their Love

Intuit, the company behind software programs like QuickBooks, Quicken, and TurboTax, has started a sweepstakes called the "Love a Local Business." The contest asks Americans to enter their favorite local business into a drawing for a chance to win a $1,000 Intuit Growth Grant.

SBA: Signs of Improved Small Business Lending

The US Small Business Administration says they are seeing signs of improved small business lending. Loan volume has increased over 25% compared to the weeks before President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law. Since May 29th, the SBA has approved $3.15 billion in Recovery loans. It has also supported nearly $4.3 billion in lending to small businesses.

Facebook IPO Talk A Good Sign For Small Businesses

According to various rumors and hopeful statements, Facebook might be moving closer to conducting an IPO, and although this idea may not mean much at first to the average small business owner, it actually has some interesting ramifications for marketing strategies and perhaps even the economy as a whole.

Many CA Small Business Owners Expected to Lose Jobs

An interesting and somewhat disheartening study shows that over 2.1 million California small business jobs will be lost over the next 3 to 4 years. This is being significantly impacted by toxic home mortgages.The study from Bornstein & Song, CPAs & Consultants Study with MerchantCircle, indicates that over a third of all California small business owners took out risky or toxic mortgages to get cash for business expenses from '04 to '07.

Financial SEM Trends Affected by the Economy

The Microsoft AdCenter blog is reporting on an interesting phenomenon which has advertisers going for financial topics far more than in the past as the economic downturn continues to plague us.

Franchises and the Economy

Starting a business can be tough in this economy. As you're probably well aware, it's tough to raise capital to get off the ground. People don't want to invest, particularly in something has yet to be proven successful. This might be one reason that opening a franchise could prove to be a more reachable goal. While still not a sure shot, there are some areas that are looking more favorable than others.

Marketing Dollars Are Going Online For a Reason

Marketers are going to be a doing a lot of budget rearranging heading into the new year. It looks as though this has already begun though. Many are shifting a good amount of their offline marketing dollars to online methods.

SBA Disaster Loan Deadlines

This probably isn't much of a surprise, but is still worth mentioning. SBA disaster loan centers will be closed on Thanksgiving Day. “I encourage everyone who needs help with their disaster loan application to meet with our Customer Service Representatives at one of the Centers located throughout the disaster area for one-to-one assistance as quickly as possible before the December 16, deadline,” said Brenda Ballew, Acting Director of SBA’s Disaster Field Operations Center in Atlanta.

Marketers May Have to Mix it Up in 2009

The economy has without a doubt left a bad taste in the mouth (and wallet) of many business owners, and a fair number have indicated that they will reduce their marketing budgets just to save some money and continue surviving. I personally feel that this should be done as a last resort only, because marketing is what drives customers to your business, and customers are what drive growth, and ultimately survival.