Small Business News

Small Business News from Richard Turcott

• SBA Loan Programs
  The U.S. Small Business Administration offers many loan programs that can assist in a variety of business needs. There are many different types of costs and requirements when opening a business, expanding a business or just trying to keep a business running smoothly. SBA can assist businesses with an array of different loan options.
  
  
• Sleep Deprivation: Just as Bad for Work as Alcohol
  Feel proud of your 70-hour weeks? You may as well boast about coming to work drunk. Just how deep does the lionization of long work hours run in the entrepreneurial community? Pretty deep, according to Forbes writer Michael Simmons. When he started asking around Silicon Valley if 70-hour work weeks were worth it, he noticed founders turned cagey. "Talking publicly about the topic brought fear of judgment," he wrote. "Two of the people I interviewed said that things like sharing vacation photos was a taboo as investors might see them. People who start 'lifestyle' businesses and who talk about balance ...
  
  
• Did Marissa Mayer Pay Too Much for Tumblr?
  It's all about the future at this stage in a company's life. But to back out a $1.1 billion valuation for Tumblr, you have to be really, really optimistic. As all the world knows, Yahoo is paying $1.1 billion to acquire social media platform Tumblr. That's a very nice exit for investors who sunk in about $125 million, according to Business Insider. But was it a fair price for Yahoo? A number of people besides Marissa Mayer seem to think so. Matt Mullenweg, founder of Automattic and founding coder of Wordpress thinks the company could be worth 10 times what ...
  
  
• Need Help Exporting? Join SBA's Google+ Hangout for Tips to Get You Started
  Thinking about exporting, but don’t know where to start?  As part of World Trade Month, SBA will host a Google+ Hangout on May 22. The hangout will highlight ways that business can use federal government resources to increase exports. When: Wednesday, May 22 at 3pm ET Who: Dario Gomez, U.S. Small Business Administration, Associate Administrator for International Trade Antwaun Griffin, U.S. Department of Commerce- International Trade Administration, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Domestic Operations Dontai Smalls, UPS, Vice President for Public Affairs Al Youngworth, CEO of Rekluse and SBA’s Exporter of the Year Brian Kim, BBCN Bank Los Angeles and SBA’s Export ...
  
  
• What I Learned From My Waitress
  Do you and your employees do these three things? In other words, are they as good at their jobs as Brenda is at hers? I believe in life-long learning. I also believe you can learn something from almost anyone. The key is to extract the wisdom from the wood chips and apply it to your own life.For years, I've had a favorite waitress named Brenda. I hate to wait for anything, but I'm happy to wait for a seat in her section because I think she actually improves my digestion. I always learn something from her, which, given the fact ...
  
  
• 8 Start-Up Buzzwords to Avoid
  If you use any of these words, consider this your start-up slang intervention. Rockstar / • adjective, outstandingly good. As in, "We're looking for a rockstar developer to join our team." OK, but don't be surprised when one of them trashes a hotel room at South by Southwest. Value prop (or proposition) / • noun, the reason a customer would want to buy your product. As in, "I don't see the point of another crowdfunding site. What's the value prop? Another thing customers value? Plain English. Killing it / • verb phrase, to perform successfully. As in, "Our team is ...
  
  
• Are You Still the Right Person to Lead Your Business?
  How long should you — the person who founded your business — continue to lead it? It's a tough question, and the answer varies wildly. But there comes a time …
  
  
• Shorts Season: Is it Time for a Dress Code?
  As temperatures grow warmer, the days are numbered before an employee comes in wearing skimpy cut-offs. Here's how--and when--to deal with wardrobe issues in your office. As companies grow in size, the inevitable happens: Someone comes to work in attire that just isn't right. Maybe it's the party dress from the night before, or the "too short" cutoffs and flip-flops that are making you (and other employees) cringe. You decided to implement a dress code, but how do you go about enforcing it without looking like an ogre? Remember: you do have the legal authority to regulate the way your ...
  
  
• Intuit Helps to Shape the Clay School's Future
  When Kirsten Bassion received a master's degree in ceramics from the School for American Crafts at Rochester Institute of Technology in 2004, she knew she wanted to give back to …
  
  
• How to Maintain Productivity During Vacation Season
  More than a third of employees opted out of taking a vacation in 2011, reports CareerBuilder.com. Among those people who did opt for time off, few returned to work completely …
  
  
• 14 Ways to Qualify a Sales Lead
  These simple questions help you figure out whether you're talking with a real customer or a lookee-loo. During your first conversation with a prospective customer, your job is to discover if they've got the money to buy your offering and if you're talking to the person who has the authority to buy. To this end, there are fourteen questions that you should memorize so that you can introduce one or more of them during your initial customer conversation, according to the Keith Rosen, author of Coaching Salespeople into Sales Champions: How does your company purchase products of this type?How does ...
  
  
• How I Write and How I Decide What To Write
  People seem fascinated with routines – how other people get things done and the like. While you do need to develop your own way of getting it all done, it can be inspiring and reassuring to hear how others are doing it. (Yesterday I wrote – 7 Things I Did Not Know About Writing BeforeContinue ReadingIf You Liked This Post. . . :7 Things I Did Not Know About Writing Before I StartedThink Like An EditorBuilding a Consistent Blog ReadershipWhy Your Email Marketing Needs an Editorial CalendarHow to Create a Total Content System How I Write and How I Decide ...
  
  
• A $50 Million Bet on Las Vegas Tech Startups
  How the Vegas Tech Fund plans to help transform the tech scene in Sin City, in part two of our series on Tony Hsieh's $350 million Downtown Project.
  
  
• InnovateLTC plans entrepreneur competition in Chicago - Business First of Louisville
  InnovateLTC plans entrepreneur competition in ChicagoBusiness First of LouisvilleHow-To · Marketing · Funding · Human Resources · Technology · Growth Strategies · Buy/Sell A Business · How-To Videos · Buy · Subscriptions · Book of Lists · MyBookofLists · MyLeads · Sales Leads · Reprints · Single Issue · SMB Research · Post a Job ...
  
  
• Levels of marketing magic, the placebo effects of desire
  ANTICIPATION: Before the product is released, the true fans are buzzing and speculating and waiting in line. The anticipation is self-reinforcing, a placebo effect of desire. UTILITY: The album is good, the software is useful, the book changes things. It...
  
  
• SBA starting new lending program for veterans
  SBA starting new lending program for veteransBoston.comNEW YORK (AP) — The Small Business Administration says it has lined up pledges from more than 120 banks to increase lending to veterans. The agency said Tuesday it's starting a program, the SBA Veteran Pledge Initiative, aimed at increasing lending to ...and more »
  
  
• Small Business Administration starts new program with banks to increase ... - Washington Post
  Small Business Administration starts new program with banks to increase ...Washington PostNEW YORK — The Small Business Administration is starting a program to increase bank lending to veterans. The agency said Tuesday it's launching the SBA Veteran Pledge Initiative, aimed at raising business loans to veterans by 5 percent a year for the ...Jefferson Parish businesses honored by US Small Business AdministrationNOLA.com (blog)Hoping pilot programs spark more interest in small-business lendingNJBIZBusinessLoanFunds.com Aims to Offer the Largest Directory of Small Business ...SBWire (press release)PR Newswire (press release) -Sacramento Beeall 12 news articles »
  
  
• LG awards $357M in SMB contracts to support 'shared-growth' initiative - ZDNet
  ZDNetLG awards $357M in SMB contracts to support 'shared-growth' initiativeZDNetLG awards $357M in SMB contracts to support 'shared-growth' initiative. Summary: The South Korean conglomerate will award contracts for system integration, construction contracts and advertising to SMBs, and business projects to local suppliers.
  
  
• Introducing Small Business Patch - Patch.com
  Introducing Small Business PatchPatch.comPatch has launched a new site, Small Business Patch (smallbusiness.patch.com), to educate and empower small businesses with the digital tools, social media strategies and marketing know-how needed to ensure long-term growth. Readers will have access to ...
  
  
• 5 Proven Tips for Generating More Referral Business
  You've worked hard to make a customer happy. Now how do you get them to send more customers your way?
  
  
• Fiery nominee brings 'Herman Cain phenomenon' to Virginia governors race
  Virginia's Republican nominee for governor, Ken Cuccinelli, is tacking to the center, but Republicans picked a strong conservative, E.W. Jackson, to run for the No. 2 slot. Democrats dub him extreme.
  
  
• Cobblestone Quality Shoe Repair and Shoe Repair Express - Chicago Tribune
  Chicago TribuneCobblestone Quality Shoe Repair and Shoe Repair ExpressChicago TribuneYou've got to be honest. If you try to cheat people, you lose. You have to be straight with people. If you have a suggestion for a business to feature in a small business profile, please email triblocalbusiness@tribune.com. —Compiled by Kristy Kennedy ...
  
  
• Yahoo Redesigns Flickr to Make It 'Awesome Again'
  At a press event, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer calls new design 'heart-stoppingly beautiful.'
  
  
• Attention digital health startups: VCs say now is a 'great' time to raise money
  Partners at Sequoia, Norwest Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers discuss health industry trends and what they look for in potential investments.
  
  
• Retailer LL Bean keeping it in the family
  Retailer LL Bean keeping it in the familyBoston.com''I just think it's cool that such a big corporation can still be family owned, because when you think of family owned it's usually a really small corporation or small business,'' Laura Tims, who lives nearby, said while relaxing near a giant L.L. Bean ...and more »