The state of Ohio may be bouncing back from the depths of the recession, as new business filings in the state climbed by 20 percent in February, according to a report by Secretary of State John Husted.Last month, 7,656 business entities filed to do busin...
Posted: Mar 22nd, 2012
The world of online marketing is shifting dramatically.
Posted: Jan 9th, 2012
A revolution may be surfacing on the African continent, and it's all about entrepreneurship.
Posted: Jan 6th, 2012
There's no telling how the new year will shape up for the business community, but one thing is clear: Technology will continue to offer new ways of accomplishing old tasks.From an organizational perspective, companies have begun leveraging online learnin...
Posted: Jan 3rd, 2012
Borrowing by small businesses reached its highest level in nearly four years in November, offering further indication that small companies are investing in growth as the economy continues to rebound.The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index...
Posted: Jan 3rd, 2012
The pace of the U.S. economic recovery will pick up next year, although growth will remain tepid for some time to come.
Posted: Dec 27th, 2011
While the holiday season usually heralds increased consumer activity, this year may not be enough to satisfy small business owners. Recent economic woes have prompted most small business owners - 61 percent - to cite improved customer sales as the item o...
Posted: Dec 20th, 2011
Women in developing nations are more likely to start or maintain a business, according to the most recent Women's Report by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor.
Posted: Dec 19th, 2011
While successful entrepreneurs tend to share some basic characteristics - such as being self-motivated, confident, or determined - not all are natural-born leaders. For many, the idea of managing a company and placating board members is rather daunting, ...
Posted: Dec 19th, 2011
The volume of small bank loans to businesses in the U.S. has been waning since the recession began, according to data recently released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.While overall commercial and industrial lending by banks has risen for fi...
Posted: Dec 19th, 2011
Small businesses are often cited as engines of economic growth, with their history of job creation and entrepreneurial innovation. Of course, the narrative in recent months has shifted toward how policy can stir activity in the sector and progress the ec...
Posted: Dec 15th, 2011
Congress may actually have flouted its partisan gamesmanship for a few brief moments to provide support for small businesses, particularly those in research and development fields.
Posted: Dec 14th, 2011
Mobile payments and related technologies promise to revolutionize the way in which consumers and business alike make monetary transactions. Consider this scenario: You owe a friend money, but you don't have cash. No problem - just whip out your smartphon...
Posted: Dec 13th, 2011
An uptick in sales and hiring projections drove up confidence among U.S. small businesses in November, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Federation of Independent Business.The NFIB's Small Business Optimism Index climbed 1.8 poin...
Posted: Dec 13th, 2011
With more and more Americans completing the brunt of their holiday shopping during Thanksgiving weekend, a sort of sales lull has emerged in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Posted: Dec 12th, 2011
Partisan impasse in Washington continues to block any sort of meaningful economic legislation.
Posted: Dec 9th, 2011
As far as internet history goes, email is about as ancient as it gets. While its value as a communications channel is clear and its age a testament to its success, there are some major disadvantages to email, especially within a professional work environ...
Posted: Dec 5th, 2011
The evolution of digital media has provoked a variety of new trends in the world of marketing. One of the most sensational of these trends is content marketing, which a new study projects accounts for 26 percent of total business-to-business marketing sp...
Posted: Dec 5th, 2011
The U.S. unemployment rate fell to the lowest rate in more than two years last month, effectively putting fears of a double-dip recession to bed. The Department of Labor reported Friday that the jobless rate now stands at 8.6 percent, well below October&...
Posted: Dec 2nd, 2011
Small retailers may need to ramp up their deals and services not only during the holiday shopping season, but for the foreseeable future as well. While consumers spent an estimated $52.4 billion over Black Friday weekend, preliminary data from a number o...
Posted: Dec 1st, 2011
Private sector payrolls added an estimated 206,000 jobs in November, according to the ADP Employment Report, surpassing many analysts' projections and offering hope for a recovery in the much-ailed U.S. job market.As usual, small businesses accounted...
Posted: Dec 1st, 2011
The employment situation appears little improved for small business owners and entrepreneurs, as hiring in the sector remains tempered by general economic uncertainty. According to the most recent Small Business Employment Index from Intuit, small firms ...
Posted: Nov 29th, 2011
Defying many analysts' projections, retail sales over Black Friday weekend broke records and offered a wave of hope for the state of the economic recovery, much of which has been mired in recent months by weak consumer sentiment.According to the data...
Posted: Nov 28th, 2011
The current economy has been anything but a playground for entrepreneurs looking to form an LLC. While high unemployment has racked worker sentiment and driven up turnover rates, a weak credit market has made financing a challenge.With market conditions ...
Posted: Nov 22nd, 2011
Municipal officials have launched a nationwide crackdown on Occupy Wall Street camps in their respective cities, citing growing public safety and sanitation concerns as the reason for a slew of recent evictions. Encampments in Portland, San Francisco, an...
Posted: Nov 15th, 2011
While recent studies have shown a marked slowdown in confidence among small businesses, the sector appears to anticipate otherwise stable revenue and employment levels in coming months.According to a recent survey by TD Bank, two-thirds of small firms ex...
Posted: Nov 15th, 2011
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, often a punching bag for frustrated business advocates, asserted this week that policy makers need to think carefully about how to support small businesses.Since the economy tanked in 2008, the Fed has been leveragi...
Posted: Nov 9th, 2011
Optimism among U.S. small businesses nudged upward in October, although conditions remain too bleak to offer an otherwise hopeful forecast for the economy. The National Federation of Independent Business' Small Business Optimism Index increased 1.3 p...
Posted: Nov 8th, 2011
While Congress continues to struggle reaching an agreement over how to address the nation's looming employment crisis, Americans appear to hold the most faith in small or local enterprises.According to a new Gallup poll, approximately eight in 10 sur...
Posted: Nov 7th, 2011
How successful last Saturday's Bank Transfer Day was in driving consumers to community banks and credit unions may not be known until large institutions release their quarterly financial reports.However, according to the Credit Union National Associa...
Posted: Nov 7th, 2011
The employment situation improved slightly, albeit unenthusiastically, in October, as payrolls added 80,000 jobs on the month, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department. Only the private sector showed net job gains with 104,000 new positi...
Posted: Nov 4th, 2011
A number of business advocacy groups released an open letter to President Barack Obama this week, outlining five key steps to improving conditions for small businesses through comprehensive regulatory reform.The National Federation of Independent Busines...
Posted: Nov 1st, 2011
Last year's holiday shopping season broke a number of records, with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday and the days leading up to Christmas all showing record figures, including nearly $30 billion in online spending alone. While figu...
Posted: Oct 27th, 2011
As if weak consumer spending, price inflation and a struggling credit market weren’t enough, small businesses have been forced to grapple with rising energy costs as well. According to new research from the National Small Business Association, such...
Posted: Oct 24th, 2011
Facebook, Twitter and Google are joining American Express in promoting this year's Small Business Saturday. The date, the Saturday after Thanksgiving (November 26), is mashed between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and follows a similar consumerist et...
Posted: Oct 11th, 2011
Taxpayers and business owners in the state of Texas may face a new penalty fee for late tax filings, as the state comptroller's office seeks to add new revenue streams in light of considerable budget challenges.A report from the office of Texas compt...
Posted: Oct 6th, 2011
The Obama administration continues to stress the importance of boosting exports as a means of generating new revenue for businesses. Specifically, efforts such as the National Export Initiative, which aims to double business exports by 2015, have been me...
Posted: Sep 28th, 2011
With all 2012 presidential candidates attempting to assert themselves as the voice of small business, it's interesting to note how the sector really views its political leaders.A survey released this week by online business community Manta found the ...
Posted: Sep 20th, 2011
Once again, Texas has been ranked among the top business climates in the country. This time, Development Counsellors International placed the Lone Star State at the top spot, beating out North Carolina and South Carolina, which took the No. 2 and No. 3 s...
Posted: Sep 19th, 2011
When a business begins to expand, the pressure to outsource certain processes or services becomes immense. While some small firms may be able to manage handling everything in-house, a large enterprise demands a diverse and decentralized series of operati...
Posted: Sep 9th, 2011
Undoubtedly, most small business owners in the U.S. were huddled around their computers or television sets Thursday evening to watch President Barack Obama's speech on how the nation's economy can get back on the right track.The purpose of the sp...
Posted: Sep 9th, 2011
Craft beer entrepreneurs who have been hesitant to incorporate in Texas may begin to reconsider, following the passage of a bill in the state House of Representatives Thursday.House Bill 602 will allow craft breweries in the Lone Star State to sell beer ...
Posted: Apr 22nd, 2011
Most environmentalists agree that what the burgeoning green energy sector needs most is an incentive - for businesses and entrepreneurs, that is. Without a financial reason to invest in a new solar installation or multimillion dollar wind farm, there sta...
Posted: Mar 8th, 2011
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a key piece of legislation, repealing a much-debated stipulation in last year's healthcare reform bill.The so-called "1099 provision" was included in the bill as a means of paying for its ...
Posted: Mar 7th, 2011
Democrats in the California state legislature are pushing for the renewal of a bill that proponents hope will boost the state's renewable energy market, while rejuvenating the small business sector and further establishing California as the nation...
Posted: Feb 7th, 2011
President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday night - a speech that tackled some of the most urgent concerns currently facing the United States. Immigration, foreign policy, energy, the federal deficit and healthcare were all on...
Posted: Jan 26th, 2011
Congressional Republicans and Democrats are targeting a tax stipulation in last year's healthcare reform bill this week, as three Senate Democrats signed a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, requesting the House to repeal the contested 1099 provis...
Posted: Jan 21st, 2011
President Barack Obama signed an executive order this week that intends to alleviate the regulatory and compliance burdens faced by the nation's small businesses.Citing the need to improve the economic environment for small businesses, the order, &qu...
Posted: Jan 19th, 2011
While California struggles with a massive $28 billion deficit, it is also trying to stem the tide of businesses leaving the Golden State in search of less stringent regulatory climates.The nation's second largest state economy, Texas, has been a popu...
Posted: Jan 10th, 2011
Entrepreneurs looking to incorporate in New York City are likely taking comfort in the Big Apple's relatively strong emergence from the national economic recession. The city's unemployment rate has been steadily falling in recent months, while th...
Posted: Jan 6th, 2011
Texas state comptroller Susan Combs has been pushing for cuts in various government programs in an effort to tackle the state's estimated $24 billion budget shortfall.The state's business tax credit and incentive programs may be the first to get ...
Posted: Dec 28th, 2010
A number of recent surveys evaluating American cities' business and intellectual viability show a regional trend in regards to conditions such as the cost of doing business, brainpower and, most recently, MarketWatch's "Best Cities for Busin...
Posted: Dec 20th, 2010
According to the World Bank, the United States - with its reputation of tech innovation and entrepreneurship - ranks only eighth in the world for ease of registering for a new business. Australia, New Zealand and Singapore all surpassed the U.S. in this ...
Posted: Nov 23rd, 2010
More California-based small to mid-sized businesses were sold last month than any other month in the year, reflecting what many hope to be an indication of heightened economic activity in the Golden State and nationwide.According to the report from BizBe...
Posted: Nov 4th, 2010
In a show of support for firmer immigration laws, 13 states have joined together to request that the U.S. Supreme Court uphold an Arizona law which penalizes businesses for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants.The law permits a business' license to be...
Posted: Nov 4th, 2010
Yesterday's defeat of Proposition 23 in California has come as a sigh of relief to many small businesses and entrepreneurs looking to launch a green tech LLC in California. Consequently, the state's restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions as put...
Posted: Nov 3rd, 2010
Solar energy entrepreneurs and small business owners looking to launch an LLC in Texas may have something to look forward to with next week's Texas Renewables 2010 conference. To be held November 7 - 10 in San Antonio, the conference will seek to att...
Posted: Nov 3rd, 2010
Site Selection magazine has released its annual ranking of the top state business climates, placing New York down at No. 21 in a tie with Mississippi. North Carolina took the top spot, followed by Tennessee and Texas, respectively.The rankings factored w...
Posted: Nov 2nd, 2010
California's greenhouse gas emissions cap-and-trade program, which is expected to go into effect in 2012, was unveiled in a final draft form last week, provoking mixed reactions from state businesses.Supporters of the measure, which is a part of the ...
Posted: Nov 1st, 2010
Although California's Proposition 23 is widely considered to be an affront to the state's blossoming green tech industry, with backers in the oil industry citing its impediment to business operations, not many have considered how the law it is me...
Posted: Oct 29th, 2010
California has received a lot of attention in recent weeks as the state's voter Propositions include several landmark bills that could drastically alter the business landscape of the Golden State. Of crucial importance to businesses, particularly ren...
Posted: Oct 29th, 2010
Small Business Majority, a nonprofit organization that aims to promote small business interests and growth released a report this week claiming that California's existing AB 32 law will continue to spur entrepreneurial investment and small business g...
Posted: Oct 20th, 2010
Entrepreneurs looking to launch a green tech LLC in California are in the right place. The state leads not only the U.S. but the world in alternative energy startups and entrepreneurial ventures. However, a number of initiatives and competitions are begi...
Posted: Oct 8th, 2010