SmallBusinessNewz

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.

Congressman Supports Extending Small Business Tax Cuts

U.S. Representative John Boehner (R-OH) today challenged statements made by Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday about the economic effect of raising taxes.According to the New York Times, “[a]t a forum in a pizza restaurant in Washington on Wednesday, [Vice President Biden] said, “To extend those tax cuts costs $700 billion over 10 years at a time when we are worried about the economy, when long term, we have to be worried about deficits.”

Five Business-Oriented People To Follow On Twitter

Traditionally, small business owners have probably used Twitter as a means to broadcast information, or maybe interact with customers, rather than receive advice.  Twitter's just too full of comedians and celebrities.  A new list outlines five individuals who small business owners may want to follow, though.

Google Launches Site Guide For Small Businesses

 Google launched today “Getting Started Guide for Google Sites and Google Places,” aimed at helping small business owners increase their presence online and on Google Maps.The company says creating a Google site for a small business will help potential customers learn more about products, hours and location before they visit a store.Google says it will help answer customer’s frequently asked questions instead of over the phone.