STRATiCOM

Economic confidence among small business owners jumped to its highest level in 18 months in August as more owners expressed faith that the U.S. economy is on the rise and gave signs that they are more willing to invest in advertising and new inventory, according to the latest Discover® Small Business WatchSM. The index rose to 89.8, up 7.7 points from July and the highest level since 90.9 in February 2008. 

(Sept, 2009 - Discover Small Business Watch)

Announced layoffs and actual job losses declined in August, a sign the job market may be improving.

That's according to two companies with insights into the U.S. labor base. Payroll firm ADP said that the U.S. private sector lost 298,000 jobs last month, the lowest number of job losses in 11 months, while Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. reported that companies announced 76,456 planned layoffs in August, 21 percent fewer than the 97,373 announced in July and nearly 14 percent fewer than August 2008. It was the third year-over-year decline in a row, the longest such stretch since late 2007.

Federal agencies will be hiring more than 270,000 workers for mission-critical jobs by the end of September 2012, according to a new report from the Partnership for Public Service.

The total projected hiring for mission-critical jobs is expected to jump by more than 40 percent during fiscal 2010 to 2012, compared to the previous three years.  The D.C.-based nonprofit compiled the report by surveying 35 federal agencies about government-wide projected hiring needs for the next three years.
(Sept 3, 2009 - Washington Business Journal)

One of the most important things to look at when analyzing a prospective investment is the financial health of the business. Companies with a lot of debt and little cash flow are candidates for bankruptcy, leaving your investment worth nothing, regardless of how much you paid per share of stock. On the other hand, strategic debt can often help greatly improve a business's growth rate, and is almost required for start-up and early-stage companies. In this article, I'll go over 5 basic questions related to analyzing a company's debt burden, including what it is, and what is good or bad debt. In a follow up article, I'll go through a Magic Formula example to illustrate the process.
(Sept 4, 2009 - GuruFocus.com)

Overall economic activity in the Upper Midwest remained flat in the past month, according to The Beige Book, a publication from the U.S. Federal Reserve that highlights economic activity in various regions of the country.
The Beige Book's report on the Ninth District, which includes Minnesota, reported modest decreases in activity in consumer spending, agriculture and commercial real estate and construction.

The region benefited from moderate increases in activity for manufacturing, energy, mining and residential real estate in the past month, the report said.  Since the last report, the labor market has remained mixed and wage increases have been subdued.  Prices remained stable in the past month as well.
(Sept 9, 2009 - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal)

 

25 social media sites for entrepreneurs If you're an entrepreneur who has been seduced by social media tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook, you may realize the benefits of using these basic tools to finding and staying in touch with business partners, employers and customers, along with learning new information.

If you're late to the party, though, we've listed a variety of basic social media tools for networking - as well as a number of social media sites designed just for entrepreneurs. Some may be familiar, but some could be new finds. Through these sites, you can network, build a Web presence, place ads, find funding and more.
(Sept 2, 2009 - VentureBeat)

"The offline continues to be cut, whereas digital continues to grow. People continue to understand the relevancy of the digital channel, plus with digital you can measure and optimize efficiently," said Bill Camp, general manager of Organic's San Francisco office.
(Sept 4, 2009 - San Francisco Business Times)

 

Since June, a Web site called SharesPost has been helping a small pool of qualified buyers and sellers trade shares in fast-growing startups that have not yet gone public. Now, the private stock exchange is hoping those same startups will use its site to search for funding.

 

Next week, SharesPost plans to add a Private Placement Marketplace that will let larger startups - with a market capitalization of at least $100 million - connect with investors directly. Previously, the site was meant for shareholders - such as employees - to sell shares among themselves and other investors.
(September 2, 2009 - AP)

It isn`t easy being a start up company or a small/medium-size business especially in today`s economic environment, but companies are succeeding in spite of a down turned economy through creatively looking at their business
goals and strategies in new ways.

 

Typically in a down economy, companies look to cut the area of marketing/communications first but many companies have learned this can be a big mistake when in reality the function is needed more than ever.
(Sept 3, 2009 - Business Wire)

When does a small business become a large business for health-insurance purposes? Answer: When the small business hires its 51st employee, according to federal and state statutes.

Then, a formerly small business might be in for an eye-popping jolt upon seeing the annual renewal quote from the insurer - especially if a large medical claim was filed in the interim. That's just what happened at Biotest Laboratories in Coon Rapids. During the 12-month period the 20-year-old company's staff grew to 77 employees, a worker was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
(Sept 4, 2009 - MINNPOST)

...marketers are challenged with two new dimensions to writing: searchability and transparency. 

 

Searchability of your writing can help or hurt. An offensive tweet on Twitter can cost you a job, a client or a friendship, but a few well-chosen words placed early in a blog post can get the attention of a new customer for an order.  Transparency is the idea that what you're communication is not so much selling as it is informing in an honest and revealing manner.

 

Meanwhile, your writing still has to make sense and be engaging enough for people to want to read it!  That's because customers are searching, especially in this economy, for products and services that meet their needs. They want ideas more than promises. They want, most of all, to understand how you can help them. And they like finding this out on their own. Once they have, they might be ready to talk to you. 

 

To get that conversation started, there are techniques you can use to help ensure searchability and transparency:
(Sept 4, 2009 - The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area)