Small business newswire

Smallbusiness.com News Wire tracks small business-related news, features, and small business blogger commentary.

Receive (free) SmallBusiness.com News Wire via daily e-mail
Receive (free) SmallBusiness.com News Wire via RSS

1 Economy
2 Policy
3 HR
4 Technology
5 Startup
6 Marketing
7 Management
8 Finance and Accounting
9 Subscribe to Smallbusiness.com News Wire

Economy

Unemployment reaches 9.5% in June | NYTimes.com: The American economy shed 467,000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent from 9.4 percent
Factory orders rise more than expected in May | AP: Orders to U.S. factories jumped in May by the largest amount in nearly a year, another sign that the nosedive in manufacturing is nearing an end.
Manufacturing index has best showing since last August | AP: A report on manufacturing activity shows the sector contracted less than expected in June, posting its best showing since last August and another sign that a recovery may be near.
Consumer confidence falls in June | AP: Americans ? whose hope for the economy had been rising since March ? unexpectedly lost faith this month, pushing down a widely watched barometer.
U.S. Economy Not Headed for Another Downturn | Kiplinger.com: The climb out of recession will be rocky and tedious but free of backsliding.

Policy

Amazon turns up the heat in fight against state sales-tax plans | Los Angeles Times: Pulls affilate programs in two states, more likely. Overstock.com plans to join in the fight.
Taxes as a Cause of Small Business Bankruptcies | TaxProf Blog: Consistent with a growing body of evidence linking higher tax burden with limited entrepreneurial growth and higher closure rates, a new study has found that tax problems constitute an important reason for bankruptcy filings for a sizable number of entrepreneurs. (via: instapundit)
Amazon Says a New State Tax in NC Would End it's Affiliate Program There | News-Record.com: Amazon e-mailed affiliates in North Carolina with warnings that a tax measure being considered in the state " leave Amazon.com little choice but to end its relationships with North Carolina-based Associates.?
US Business Groups Bristle At Senate Health-Care Bill | WSJ.com: Groups representing U.S. employers are meeting Friday to discuss their strategy for contending with Senate health-care legislation that has so far been met with marked dissatisfaction from the private sector.
How Buying Local Boosts the Economy | TIME: By shopping at the corner store instead of the big box, consumers keep their communities from becoming "ghost towns" (areas devoid of neighborhood shops and services) or "clone towns", where Main Street now looks like every other Main Street with the same fast-food and retail chains.

HR

Unemployment reaches 9.5% in June | NYTimes.com: The American economy shed 467,000 jobs last month, and the unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent from 9.4 percent
Small Firms Attract Big-Company Exiles | WSJ.com: As major corporations lay off employees, small businesses are benefiting from an unexpected windfall: Displaced talent that is now knocking at the door.
How to Enlist a Global Work Force of Freelancers | NYTimes.com: A new generation of online service marketplaces is giving small companies more opportunities than ever to find specialized expertise and affordable labor.
U.S. CEOs' view of economy a bit less bleak | Reuters: U.S. chief executives took a slightly less grim view of the economy in the second quarter, but still plan to cut jobs and capital spending, according to a Business Roundtable survey released on Tuesday.
Americans struggle to pay for healthcare, says survey | Reuters: A quarter of Americans say they have had trouble affording health care in the past 12 months, according to a survey released on Monday.

Technology

Restaurants finding Twitter a cheap, effective marketing tool | The Boston Globe: What can you do with 140 characters or less, the length of each tweet? A lot, restaurants are discovering - everything from posting daily specials to luring followers with offers of free appetizers to offering a glimpse of kitchen life. It?s all good for business.
How to Enlist a Global Work Force of Freelancers | NYTimes.com: A new generation of online service marketplaces is giving small companies more opportunities than ever to find specialized expertise and affordable labor.
How Small Businesses Buy & Use Software | bMighty.com: New research reveals that small and midsize companies use and buy software differently than enterprises do. Check your plans against your peers to make sure you're following best practices.
Yahoo! Targets Small & Local Advertisers with new "My Display Ads" Service | Advertising Age: Yahoo rolls out the first version of its self-serve ad product, My Display Ads, a bid to win over local advertisers and convert search advertisers to display. Yahoo isn't the first to offer self-service display; Google, MySpace and Facebook have all rolled out similar self-serve display ad systems. AOL's Ad.com is developing its own self-serve system that new CEO Tim Armstrong wants pushed out the door.
Etiquette Debate Rages over Smart Phone Use in Meetings | NYTimes.com: Despite resistance, the etiquette debate seems to be tilting in the favor of smartphone use, many executives said. Managing directors do it. Summer associates do it. It spans gender and generation, private and public sectors.

Startup

Big Businesses Find Benefits in Mentoring Small Businesses | NYTimes.com: To serve both their interests, some major corporations, including I.B.M., Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble and Home Depot, offer programs to mentor small companies, particularly businesses owned by women, blacks, Hispanics and other groups.
Teenage Entrepreneurs, Building Their Own Job Engine | NYTimes.com: Unemployment for 16- to 19-year-olds is at its highest rate since 1992 ? at 22.7 percent in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That is causing some teenagers to rethink their notion of work and to embrace entrepreneurship.
'No-employee' Businesses Grew by Almost 1 Million in 2007 | Small Business Labs: According to new data released by the U.S. Census, the number of personal businesses - which are single person businesses with no employees - increased by close to 1 million in 2007 reaching 21.7 million. This is an increase of 4.5% over 20.8 million personal businesses recorded in 2006.
How to Write a Good Business Plan | WSJ.com: Truth be told, most business plans fail to make much impression on potential investors. Most aren?t even read in full. Their shortcomings tend to be obvious even in a two-page executive summary, largely because they are written before enough real work has been done to create a solid foundation.
Franchisees turn to faith-filled businesses | Reuters: With familiar names like Chick-fil-A, ServiceMaster and Christian Brothers, franchise companies with religious underpinnings offer operators with like-minded beliefs proven business models and an added measure of comfort: a familiar set of core spiritual values.

Marketing

Big Businesses Find Benefits in Mentoring Small Businesses | NYTimes.com: To serve both their interests, some major corporations, including I.B.M., Wal-Mart, Procter & Gamble and Home Depot, offer programs to mentor small companies, particularly businesses owned by women, blacks, Hispanics and other groups.
Restaurants finding Twitter a cheap, effective marketing tool | The Boston Globe: What can you do with 140 characters or less, the length of each tweet? A lot, restaurants are discovering - everything from posting daily specials to luring followers with offers of free appetizers to offering a glimpse of kitchen life. It?s all good for business.
Yahoo! Targets Small & Local Advertisers with new "My Display Ads" Service | Advertising Age: Yahoo rolls out the first version of its self-serve ad product, My Display Ads, a bid to win over local advertisers and convert search advertisers to display. Yahoo isn't the first to offer self-service display; Google, MySpace and Facebook have all rolled out similar self-serve display ad systems. AOL's Ad.com is developing its own self-serve system that new CEO Tim Armstrong wants pushed out the door.
Franchisees turn to faith-filled businesses | Reuters: With familiar names like Chick-fil-A, ServiceMaster and Christian Brothers, franchise companies with religious underpinnings offer operators with like-minded beliefs proven business models and an added measure of comfort: a familiar set of core spiritual values.
An Intro to Data Mining for Small Businesses | OpenForum.com: You too, can be a small business data miner. It only takes a spreadsheet, a few hours a week, and a curiosity about what might be hidden within your own data.

Management

Small Firms Attract Big-Company Exiles | WSJ.com: As major corporations lay off employees, small businesses are benefiting from an unexpected windfall: Displaced talent that is now knocking at the door.
Your decisions over next two years will define the decade | Management-Issues.com: Whether the downturn continues or we start to ride an upturn, the decisions managers make over the next two years are likely to govern not only how quickly their organisations recover, but how they perform over the next decade.
What Are You Afraid Of? | Entrepreneur.com: Advice for handling the top five fears of small business owners.
Etiquette Debate Rages over Smart Phone Use in Meetings | NYTimes.com: Despite resistance, the etiquette debate seems to be tilting in the favor of smartphone use, many executives said. Managing directors do it. Summer associates do it. It spans gender and generation, private and public sectors.
Entrepreneurs Take Second Jobs to Stay Afloat | WSJ.com: In a tough economic environment, alternate sources of income help owners fund their ailing companies.

Finance and Accounting

Taxes as a Cause of Small Business Bankruptcies | TaxProf Blog: Consistent with a growing body of evidence linking higher tax burden with limited entrepreneurial growth and higher closure rates, a new study has found that tax problems constitute an important reason for bankruptcy filings for a sizable number of entrepreneurs. (via: instapundit)
Cutting Off Mom and Pop Credit | NYTimes.com: A crackdown on credit limits by card companies is squeezing the nation?s 27 million small businesses, exacerbating the problems brought on by a stagnant economy.
Entrepreneurs Take Second Jobs to Stay Afloat | WSJ.com: In a tough economic environment, alternate sources of income help owners fund their ailing companies.
Venture Capital Industry Must Shrink to be an Economic Force | Kauffman.org: Contrary to popular belief, the venture capital industry is not a necessary condition in driving high-growth entrepreneurship, according to Right-Sizing the U.S. Venture Capital Industry, a new study by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
SBA Stirring Up Loans for Small Companies | Kiplinger.com: A more aggressive Small Business Administration is making some headway in improving lending conditions for small businesses.