August 2007 - Posts
I spent time at the beach in the mid-Atlantic region this summer and while I was ordering margaritas or shopping for local peaches, I came across many workers that I suspect were illegal immigrants, including many from Russia and Mexico.
Maybe you know someone who employs an illegal immigrant. Some small businesses thrive thanks to this labor pool.
So what happens when the federal government decides to crack down on businesses that hire illegals, instead of focusing on border security and long fences?
It’s not going to be pretty.
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| Jason Reed / Reuters |
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“So, OK, maybe I don't know what I'm doing.”
I recently read this line in a blog written by a small business owner.
The blog goes on to include other demeaning things about this guy’s own business, albeit tongue and cheek. But even if he was the Rodney Dangerfield of the business blogosphere, I would argue that putting down your business or yourself is not a great way to garner faith in your product or service.
I know, I know, blogs are supposed to be more personal, allow you to let your guard down and get close with your customers and potential customers. But sometimes these online business diaries go horribly astray.
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| Orion Pictures / AP |
| Rodney Dangerfield is shown in this promotional movie still from the 1983 film "Easy Money." |
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When you work from home you start to think the world outside doesn’t know you exist anymore.
It can be a thankless and lonely life. Trust me. I spend a lot of time talking to my dog Odysseus.
That’s why I was excited when I found out there was going to be a new listing for the top home-based business in the United States, a la the 'Fortune 500'.
Turns out someone thinks we matter.
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| Eve Tahmincioglu |
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Are you sick of the Gap and Macy’s telling you what to wear? Then go small.
How about bypassing the mall and checking out your town’s small, independent boutiques? They’re out there people, I promise you. You probably drive by one everyday, or stroll by one on your community’s main street.
Based on the most recent Small Business Administration figures, there are about 63,000 clothing and accessories shops with fewer than 20 employees in the U.S.
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What a great moment in history to be a small maker of toys in the United States of America.
Questionable Chinese labor practices? Loss of well-paying U.S. manufacturing jobs? These weren’t good enough reasons to get us buying American products. But poisoned toys? That may just do the trick.
Who would have ever thought that megaretailer Toys “R” Us, awash in Chinese toys, would actually be looking to buy more U.S. made products? “We are exploring it as we speak,” a spokeswoman for the retailer told me this week after the latest recall of millions of toys tainted with lead paint or made with dangerous, potentially harmful magnets.
This is a shout-out to all small toy makers in this nation, and to those aspiring entrepreneurs who have the toy industry in their sights. It’s a perfect storm for firms here to break in.
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A self-employed colleague of mine recently called me on the telephone. Can you stand it? I felt so honored that she actually put down her PDA to pick up the phone and call. Usually she interacts with the world outside via e-mail, as I do.
She made a point of telling me at the beginning of our conversation: “I rarely call anyone on the phone.”
Her pronouncement implied that she considered me sort of special to abandon her regular e-mail routine. I felt a lot of pressure to make the phone call great for her. I’m not sure I succeeded, having been out of practice myself for a while.
Call me a technoramus.
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| Business Wire |
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Earlier this week, I found myself rummaging through my 7-year-old daughter’s jewelry box. I was on a mission to throw out every little fake metal trinket made in China she has accumulated in her short life.
There was plenty of it, but I was undeterred. With news now that faux jewelry made in China may be tainted with lead I had to do my motherly duty to rid our home of the poisonous scourge. I’ve also stopped buying food from China, toys from China and anything else from China. This is not an easy task.
But my mission -- a growing mission among many people in this country -- is probably making a lot of small business owners see red. It’s not just big companies like Mattel feeling the brunt of the China backlash.
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| Fisher-Price |
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Let’s say there’s a horrific natural disaster in your town. Don’t you think it would make sense to have the small businesses in that community get the bulk of government contracts to rebuild the community?
Duh!
Alas, it’s not a “duh” to the federal government.
Last week, the House Small Business Committee reported that the government dropped the ball when it came to this very simple concept: Let Gulf Coast small businesses share big time in the reconstruction efforts to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina.
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One of my favorite "Seinfeld" episodes is when Jerry bounces a check at a local bodega and the shop owner hangs the check up at his store for everyone to see. Jerry claims it was a mistake and he’s embarrassed because everyone he knows shops at the store.
He goes to the store and offers to pay the merchant the $40 in cash, but the bodega owner refuses to take the check down.
Shame is a great tool for small business owners who have few tools when it comes to getting money they’re owed.
But is hanging a check on the wall enough? One Delaware retailer didn’t think so, taking shame to a whole new level.
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