February 2009 - Posts
I was recently searching through the dress rack at a gem of a consignment shop in Mystic, Conn., called Pennywise, and I felt compelled to ask the store's owner how business has been.
I'm usually fighting back other women when I rifle through such shops, so I wondered why the store wasn't packed given the fact that discount shops tend to fare better during a recession.
But Donna Maden, the owner of a 22-year old family run consignment shop, told me sales are down substantially this year.
"There's just not a lot going on. Not a lot of people. Not a lot of tourists," Maden explained.
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Venturedeal.com provides funding news from the world of VC's. You can find out about the latest deals, what industries are attracting attention, and perform due dilligence on potential investors.
1. Raleigh, NC.
2. Charlotte, NC.
3. Seattle, WA.
4. Austin, TX.
5. Boise, ID.
Source: BizJournals.com
Small Business Newsmakers
Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez (D-NY), Chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee and a senior member of the Financial Service Committee, discusses the state of the economy and what the federal government is doing to help small business owners.
Lessons from the Great Depression
Many politicians and pundits are comparing the current economy to the Great Depression of the 1930s, and businesses have to be resourceful to survive. See how Ella Brennan, owner of The Commander's Place, an iconic family-owned New Orleans restaurant that survived the Depression, is using lessons passed down from those hard times to guide her business right now.
Panelists
--Lawrence Gelburd, successful entrepreneur and instructor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
--Doug Tatum, founding Chairman of Tatum, LLC., working with clients from state and federal governments, startups, and multinational corporations.
From the Floor
Your Business hit the floor of the American International Toy Fair in New York to find out small business owners' thoughts on what Washington and the Obama Administration is doing to help them survive during these tough economic times.
Profit Margin: Franchising Your Business
Rieva Lesonsky, CEO of SMB Connects, a provider of information, data, decision support tools and research for and about America's small and midsize businesses, discusses the best options for potential franchisees.
We're debuting a new segment in the show in a couple of weeks where we get small business owners’ take on important questions from the floor of the nation’s biggest trade shows.
Earlier this week I went to the 2009 Toy Fair at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. As the mother of two kids, I found it hard to walk through the show and not get distracted at every turn, but once I got my fill of testing out new toy trucks and pens that light up, I did get the chance to get to the task at hand: Getting a reading on how the companies at the show feel about their prospects in this economy.
CONTINUED >>
This economy has got me scratching my head a lot lately.
There are just so many things I don't get, especially when it comes to financing. We're told constantly that banks, venture capital firms and other lending institutions are reluctant to hand out loans, and tons of small business owners I talk to tell me they're being squeezed because of the tight reins on financing right now.
So how the heck did a company that hasn't made a red cent get $35 million in venture capital money?
CONTINUED >>
Joy Gendusa runs her own business, but she's also made it her mission to help clients run their businesses as well. Gendusa is the CEO of PostCardMania, but she also speaks, writes newsletters, posts videos on YouTube, blogs and writes books. Joy's goal is to teach all of her clients (and others) how to market themselves. Her own business took a tumble during the mortgage crisis. Mortgage companies used to account for almost half of her business, but that figure has been dramatically reduced. As many entrepreneurs cut costs, Joy is trying to educate her clients as to why marketing is one of the last things they should scale back.
Panelists
--Rod Kurtz, senior editor at Inc. Magazine, overseeing Inc.com's daily news coverage.
--Jennifer Hill, Vice President of Astia, a non profit organization which helps female entrepreneurs find funding.
Business War Chest: Unique Selling Propositions
Lynda Resnick, CEO of FIJI Water, successful entrepreneur, and co-author of "Rubies in the Orchard: How to Uncover the Hidden Gems in Your Business," discusses how business owners can find, create, and market their unique selling proposition.
Elevator Pitch
Dave and Stacy Bruns, co-founders of Charlottesville Day School, a private school that educates early childhood and elementary age children through enrichment programs focused on music and physical education, are looking for capital to purchase a new building.
1. Get everyone involved
2. Offer special programs
3. Wellness incentives
4. HSA-Qualified plans
5. Renew later in the year
Source: SMSmallBiz.com
MissionStatements.com is a collection of mission statements from a wide range of businesses and organizations. So if you're looking to re-work some of your core philosophies, you can check out the mission statements of Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, and other small businesses for some guidance.
My local newspaper has been shrinking and that's making me very sad. But you know what's been making me very mad? The number of coupons in the damn thing seems to be multiplying.
I may not be able to read in-depth stories about my community, but I can get 50 cents off diapers and poisoned peanut butter products. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
What will happen to all those glossy coupons when the foretold death of newspapers finally occurs in this country?
One entrepreneur is already benefiting from print media's downfall, and the economic downturn.
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Small Business Newsmakers
Richard Murphy, editor of FORTUNE Small Business Magazine, and William Dunkelberg, Chief Economist for the National Federation of Independent Business, discuss the status of the economic stimulus package and what it means for small business owners.
Moving Forward
Despite the economic downturn, Grant Cleveland says he's going forward with plans to launch as many as 50 new products in 2009. His company, DuneCraft, produces low-cost, educational kits that sell at stores like Toys "R" Us, Borders and K-Mart. The company already has 250 items on the market, but Grant insists he's not backing down from his expansion plans. The Cleveland-based company sells its products to major retailers, catalogs, and online. Grant says his profits only rose about 6% in 2008. He says the number would have been closer to 200% if the economy hadn't taken a turn. Grant says there's a market for educational items especially when they're affordable.
Panelists
--Susan Wilson Solovic, CEO & Chairman of SBTV.com, a television network on the Internet dedicated to small business.
--Ben Terk, partner with Rho Ventures, specialzing in the information technology and communications sectors.
Profit Margin: Web site design
Tom Leung, Senior Business Product Manager for Google, provides some tips on how small business owners can build an effective homepage.
Elevator Pitch
Jason Olim, CEO and co-founder of Freshman Fund, a service that lets people give and get the gift of a college education, pitches his company to the panel. He is looking for capital to add more content to his growing site.
1. Franchises
2. Traffic-driven web sites
3. Independent contracting
4. Green businesses
5. Restaurants
Source: U.S. News & World Report
Trade shows can be a great way to meet new people and get the word out about your business.
EventsInAmerica.com provides listings to trade shows all over the country. You can search by industry, learn about booth sizes, and find contact information.
From JJ Ramberg:
This past weekend our senior producer Chris and I went down to Tampa to do a story on small businesses that were working with the NFL around the Big Game. As so often happens, there were so many more interesting things about the companies we covered than we had time to talk about on air.
We met a woman named Cindy Dervech who owns a company called Breezin Entertainment and Productions which provides bands and other entertainment for events. She was thrilled to be working with the NFL since, as you can imagine, business had been down recently.
CONTINUED >>
With the credit markets gummed up, everyone is holding their breath and waiting for banks and other lenders to re-open their money spigots. But for many small businesses the funds may be too little, too late.
Until recently, GiGi Stetler's 35-employee business -- RV sales Broward in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -- was booming, hitting sales of more than $20 million in 2007.
In 2008, the business "crashed," she said. Sales plunged to $11 million, and three months ago she let go of the bulk of her staff and now only employs nine. A decline in sales and the tightening of credit was the double whammy for her business.
"We can barely pay the electric," she laments.
CONTINUED >>
Small Business Newsmakers: Mary Landrieu
--Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, discusses the Obama Administration's proposed economic stimulus package and the effect it would have on small business owners around the country.
Turning Away Your Biggest Client
Small business owners often dream of landing that one big client that can sustain their business. Jim Christy did just that, and found it was not all it was cracked up to be. Christy is the founder of Incredible Foods, a Pittsburgh-based pastry delivery company. When his company was hired by Starbucks in 1996 to distribute pastries to stores all over Pennsylvania and Ohio, he thought he had hit it rich. However, he found it difficult to meet the needs of the rapidly growing coffee giant. See why he decided to turn away his biggest client, and is finding his business is much easier to manage.
Panelists
--John Mariotti, President and CEO of The Enterprise Group, and author of "The Complexity Crisis, Why Too Many Products, Markets, and Customers Are Crippling Your Company--and What to do About It."
--Alfred Edmond, Editor-In-Chief of Black Enterprise Magazine, and Senior Vice President of Earl G. Graves Publishing Co. Inc.
--Farnoosh Torabi, Senior Correspondent for personal finance website TheStreet.com, and author of "You're So Money: Live Rich, Even When You're Not"
Small Business War Chest: Credit Insurance
Scott Pales, Vice President and U.S. Country Manager for Atradius Trade Credit Insurance, Inc., discusses credit insurance and how it can help small business owners.
Learning From the Pros: Jake Burton
Jake Burton founded Burton Snowboards in 1977 with the dream of turning his passion for snowboarding into a successful business. Three decades later the sport has become a mainstream phenomenon, and Burton is an industry leader selling snowboards and apparel around the world. Find out his strategies for success.
1. Small Business Development Centers
--SBA.gov
2. SCORE
--Score.org
3. Local Universities
4. Other Entrepreneurs
5. Social Networking
--Micromentor.org
--Partnerup.com
Source: WSJ.com
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