SmallBusinessNewz

BBB Says Small Businesses Should Consider Mobile Marketing

Mobile marketing is an increasingly effective way for small business owners to tap into a younger customer base according to the Better Business Bureau. The BBB says small business owners should check out the marketing potential in geo-location apps like Foursquare, Facebook Places and Yelp. As technology improves, cell phones continue to perform any number of functions beyond making calls. Many programs on mobile phones rely on geo-location and can tell you where you are and what’s nearby—including businesses.

FPB Plans Web Design/SEO/Networking Breakfast Events

UK-based small business owners who are interested in search engine optimization and Web design - or just the opportunity to perform a little person-to-person networking - may owe a "thank you" to the Forum of Private Business.  The FPB has organized a series of get-togethers that'll take place all over the region.

Small Business Hiring Up Slightly In August

Small business employment grew slightly in August, but at a declining rate compared to solid gains made in January through April, according to a new report by Intuit. While job growth slowed, hours worked and compensation per employees remained steady. The monthly report found that small business employment grew by 0.1 percent in August, equating to a 1.2 percent annual growth rate.

Majority Of Small Biz Owners Ready For Second Dip

The Dow is up 2.31 percent at the moment, and the Nasdaq is up an even more impressive 2.63 percent, perhaps making this bit of news irrelevant.  But we're still pleased to report that three-quarters of small business owners believe they're ready for a return to recessionary conditions.

Consumer Confidence Up In August

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index which fell in July improved moderately in August.The Index now stands at 53.5 (1985=100), up from 51.0 in July. The Present Situation Index decreased to 24.9 from 26.4. The Expectations Index increased to 72.5 from 67.5 last month."Consumer confidence posted a modest gain in August, the result of an improvement in consumers' short-term outlook,” said Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center.

Epson Announces New Printers For Small Businesses

Once upon a time, printing anything was a significant hassle.  You'd have to let the printer warm up, tolerate sluggish print speeds, endure loud noises, and finally tear off the paper's perforated edges.  Now, Epson wants small business owners to enjoy a totally different experience with a new generation of WorkForce ink jet machines.

Falloff In Small Biz Confidence Recorded

Whatever silver linings the recession's created apparently became much harder to find this month.  The latest Discover Small Business Watch report indicated that the average small business owners' confidence fell by quite a lot between July and August.Discover, which based its conclusions on a survey involving 750 small business owners, found that the drop in confidence qualified as "the largest one-month decline since November 2009."

7 Ways to Drive Traffic through Direct Mail

Why is it that marketers struggle to blend offline and online marketing efforts? It can be very effective if done right. Take for example, using direct mail to drive online traffic.

Small Businesses Receiving More Federal Contracts

Small businesses received a record 96.8 billion in federal prime contracts in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 (Oct. 1, 2008-Sept. 30, 2009), an increase of more than $3 billion from FY from FY 2008, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration's fourth annual small business procurement scorecard released today.This dollar amount represents 21.89 percent of all federal spending -- an improvement over FY2008. Additionally, performance in each of the government's socioeconomic subcategories increased for FY2009.

Google Apps Success Story Highlighted

A question that often comes up when discussing Google Apps is "why?"  People are often unsure why they should use new software when existing solutions work just fine.  Well, one small business figure has outlined how Google Apps helped improve things for him.