Posts Tagged ‘Business’

Where is the Internet Going this Year

March 1st, 2010

Internet 2010

So where is the Internet going this year? Is it gonna be another social network that we will allow follow like mindless drones? Will it be something creative and groundbreaking? There is no better way to see the feature of the internet than PLUGG in Europe.

This convention has been featuring for years the hottest new trends and the most innovating online businesses and this year their are not going to disappoint.

Looking over the big news makers of this year’s Plugg, I can see a lot of B2B development but some end user new products and services stand out.

Fits.me – is a new website that claims to change the world of online shopping as we know it. This is aimed to be a virtual dressing room where you can try on, mix up and coordinate your purchases before you pay for them and get them in the mail. I for one think is brilliant as after last Christmas, I am no longer allowed to buy my wife anything from the web :) . The site is not up yet but it will be functional shortly.

Another great service out there is English-Attack.com. For those of you that have relatives that can’t speak English and have a tough time learning it through conventional methods – community college, church group, etc. – this website will provide the first 100% free, 100% entertainment way of learning English. I for one again am excited about the promises of this site as I have grown impatient to my mother’s slow learning curve :) .

All in all it is safe to assert that the Internet has a lot more B2B products in the workings than retail or public use. But I am still going to have a drink knowing that there is no new social network coming up to fill up my mailbox.

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Small Business Unemployment on the Rise

February 28th, 2010

Small Business Unemployment on the Rise

With unemployment at a 26 year high at 10.2%, its no wonder that DC movers and shakers are starting to focus more attention on small business owners.

Statistics supplied by ADP (and reported by CNN) show that small businesses (businesses with less than 50 employees) cut 68,000 jobs in the last quarter of 2oo9. A huge portion of the total 5.3 million jobs lost this year alone was due to the 2 million jobs lost in small business.

With challenges such as small business loans drying up, SBA subsidies running out, and other small business financial institutions going bankrupt, it will be harder to recover those lost jobs. In fact, large banks have axed close to $10 billion dollars in small business lending. » Read more: Small Business Unemployment on the Rise

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Posted in Business, Finance, Politics

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Democrats Shut Down Senate Jobs Bill

February 16th, 2010

Where's the Party At?

This has to be the shortest lived jobs bill to ever enter senate, and sooner than you can say “bi-partisan effort” the bill has been nixed by Senate Majority Leader Reid. Apparently the bill introduced on the 11th by senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) was little “too bi-partisan” for Mr. Reid’s taste. After been hashed out in the senate for weeks, the democrats opposing the bill (and that would be most of them) complained to Mr. Reid that the bill contains too many tax cuts for small and medium businesses and no unemployment benefits extension. In other words… the bill did not include enough government spending.

With unemployment benefits standing to end on February 28th, it seams that the bi-partisanship effort we have grown accustomed to in the last 8 years is well and thriving on Capitol Hill. I just love watching my elected officials at work, especially when by now I am quite amused by the hatred and poisonous debates that the health care reform had to go through and the job bill is falling victim to.

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Creating a Basic Budget for Your Small Business

February 16th, 2010

Basic Business Budget

One of the oldest sayings in business is that you have to spend money to make money. But you have to spend your money wisely. And that’s where budgeting comes into play.

A basic budget tries to anticipate your spending needs and forecasts your sales and other revenue. A budget helps you predict when money comes in and goes out so you can better manage your cash flow. It’s also useful when dealing with bankers on loans. In short, a budget is a useful road map to guide your business through the year.

A good basic budget can:

1. Forecast the timing and amounts of your spending
2. Set realistic goals for income and expenses
3. Give you a standard against which to measure performance
4. Help you control your expenses
5. Show you when you’re overspending so you can adjust

The three main elements of any business budget are sales revenues, expenditures and profits. To create your budget, you’ll need to anticipate a dollar amount for each elements. Existing businesses can look to past figures for guidance; new businesses must make an educated guess. » Read more: Creating a Basic Budget for Your Small Business

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President Proposes Strong Budget for Small Businesses

February 15th, 2010

Small Business Administration

Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary L. Landrieu, D-La. today praised the Small Business Administration (SBA) components of President Obama’s budget proposal. For the second year in a row, the President has proposed increasing funding for the SBA and its programs, taking decisive steps to rebuild the SBA after eight years of cuts. The request proposes to increase funding to the agency by $170 million from last year’s enacted level, to $994 million. This, along with new small business job-creating proposals the President outlined in his State of the Union address last week, show the Obama Administration’s strong support for small businesses.

“By requesting more money to help our small businesses succeed, President Obama’s budget proposal emphasizes that small business remains a top priority for the Administration and is central to the President’s efforts to create jobs,” Sen. Landrieu said.

“As part of his budget, the President again showed his support for increasing the caps on small business loans as a way to provide small businesses with immediate capital to grow and hire workers. This is a proposal I, along with Ranking Member Olympia Snowe, introduced last year. It has since gained even more bipartisan support and passed the Committee. It is my hope the proposal will be included in any job-creating measure introduced in the Senate. » Read more: President Proposes Strong Budget for Small Businesses

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Posted in Business, Politics

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How to start selling on ebay

February 12th, 2010

Make Money on eBay

For the last 9 years I’ve been ask how to sell successfully on eBay.  Ebay is the place where today, for example, 1.3 million people in the world make a living on the internet. VMEUXA3996NB

eBay continues to attract people who would like to make a portion of their living selling online. Of course, there’s a big difference be­tween making a buck and making a living, between a sometime-thing and a steady gig. I’ve been paid a few times to play the guitar—it doesn’t make me a professional musician.  There’s a lot that goes into making a living on eBay that some people need to think about first before becoming a seller. First you will need to determine just how serious you are about becoming an eBay seller, it takes a lot of time and research.  You will spend a lot of time taken pictures, answering emails & phone calls, as well as determining just how much your product is worth.  » Read more: How to start selling on ebay

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Can You Still Make a Living Selling on Amazon and eBay?

February 12th, 2010

Selling on online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay is getting more complicated. As Kelly K. Spors reports today in her small-business guide:
The sites are crowded with sellers, and new third-party marketplaces are cropping up all of the time. Plus, the rules change frequently. EBay angered many longtime sellers in recent years by restricting payment options, changing seller feedback procedures and promoting fixed-price items over its original auction-style listings. Amazon’s Marketplace stopped accepting new sellers in some product categories and requires pre-approval in others.

“Merely being listed on eBay or Amazon isn’t a sustainable business,” said Dennis Ceru, an entrepreneurship professor at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass. “There are a lot of people going down this path that are making little or no money.”
Is it still possible to make a living on eBay or the other sites? If so, what are the keys to succeeding? Please tell us about your experiences.

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Posted in Business

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