A new study by the Society for Human Resource Management revealed that only 25% of companies use social networking sites like LinkedIn to fill new positions and complete other tasks. That still leaves half of all businesses that are reluctant to use social networking. Social networking is simply the online version of doing this like advertising for a new position or getting a referral to a new client. If you don’t have a strong presence online, you could miss many opportunities to find employees and develop new business. Use a few of the following hacks to make it work for [...]

Economic shortfalls have led to a financial relief program for qualifying small businesses in the northwestern United States.  The United States government has modeled the offer of aid to ease small business’ struggle to regain lost profits.  The implementation of disaster assistance comes as an indirect result of uncharacteristic weather impeding revenue earnings.
The U.S. Small Business Administration has opened availability to Economic Injury and Disaster loans (EILs) to small businesses that qualify in fourteen Oregon counties and one neighboring county in Washington.  Eligible businesses, pending an application process, include those which have suffered economic loss due to agricultural failure.  However, [...]

If you’re in a food-related business, paying attention to trends in the industry can help you make key decisions.  The Institute of Food Technologists reports more people are preparing food at home due to the economy. Food categories that are likely to grow include tea, coffee, snack bars and desserts.  Food research is not the only source of future indicators. Take a look at what some food companies have done to stay successful.
Hantz Farms
Hantz Farms in Detroit, MI is trying to establish the biggest urban farm in the country. The pioneering farm is taking a big risk by settling in [...]

More often nowadays, companies seem to be headed in a direction where they count on young ideas and where they value the opinions of those that hadn’t had a chance to really enter life’s arena yet. As a start-up, especially a start-up in today’s economy, thinking young is incredibly important since it often is a merger between a fresh style and explosive creativity. This particular kind of combination is missing from the making of current big corporations – it’s hard to move fast and be creative when you’ve been in business for 50 years. Companies like Apple managed to keep [...]

Peer to peer lending has long been popular in the developing countries; however, it has recently gained momentum and popularity in the US as well as other developed nations. That’s mainly because of its simplicity, smoothness and efficiency. It allows you to skip the bank and borrow directly from the individuals.
Troubled with the lack of liquidity, the banks have now limited loans to only the most trustworthy customers. The demise of housing boom and credit crisis have made it hard for cash-strapped small businesses to borrow from traditional banks. It is significantly true in the current tight lending conditions by [...]

If you’re an Eagles fan, yesterday’s 29-16 loss to the Giants was painful to watch: every pass that left Michael Vick getting hit in the head was a reminder of his all-too-recent concussion.  But as he pointed out himself in a post-game conference (with a broken right hand), it’s not just lack of protection from his team but a lack of getting the same kind of calls that most quarterbacks expect: “You look at all the replays. I’m on the ground every time. I’d be lying if I sat here and said I wasn’t frustrated. The refs got to do [...]

Have you ever considered how easy it is to think, talk and feel one way and then to act completely contrary?

For instance, I’ve written several articles on sustainability and honestly believe it is in every person’s best interest to take the greening of America seriously. Yet, there are times (more than I care to admit) when it is more convenient to grab a bottle of water or to use a plastic zip bag.
In the MSNBC.com article,”Few smartphone owners take security seriously,” writer Suzanne Choney writes about the latest figures from The NPD Group’s report, “Emerging Technology Trends: Mobile Security.” What [...]

Outsourcing is a concept that is flourishing in our global community. What used to be a great, big, wonderful-world has become a smaller, more interactive, society. Marketing a product produced from across the globe has become common and there are few restrictions. Outsourcers do not even have currency worries. Employers and employees foreign to the United States, have the option of online banking and PayPal. It doesn’t matters if a country counts its currency in pounds, pesos or drachmas. About the only currency that cannot be transferred digitally is Monopoly money.
While big corporations are still outsourcing production, small businesses are [...]

Three years after the Lehman Brothers catastrophe, global recovery is faltering and the political paralysis in the US and European Union has dramatically given rise to economic uncertainties. Unemployment rate in the US is still at record 9.1%, banks are still puzzled and real estate still sucks.
In a recent article, the Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman revealed that the US economy has high chances of slipping back to another recession. He also mentioned that the $447 billion jobs plan proposed by President Barack Obama has “almost zero” chance of getting passed by the Congress. Small businesses are highly vulnerable to [...]

Fall is upon us.  With the change in seasons came the old familiar traditions: kids went back to school, football season started and a new lineup of television programming aired. The new lineup of programs offers to be an improvement over last year.  But television programs are a lot like retail shops.  They are all fighting for the business of a limited number of people.  In order to be successful at this, they have to establish their focus and show their audience how their show is different from others.  Retail shops should take this approach and apply it to their [...]