Government, Politics and the Economy
Recession Watch: Leading Indicators Rise
The index of US leading economic indicators rose in June for a third consecutive month, reinforcing other signs that the economy may be emerging from the worst recession in five decades. Bloomberg.com
Management and Operations
Stay With Your Vision or Maybe Lose Your Business
The fall of Dial-a-Matress shows how overexpansion, bringing in executives who don't understand the corporate culture and straying from your vision can all work to kill a company. WSJ.com
By Charles M Cooper · July 20 2009
small business brief, marketing, small business, economy
Government, Politics and the Economy
Mobius: Derivatives and Stimulus Money May Trigger New Financial Crisis
According to Templeton Asset Management Ltd.’s Mark Mobius, a new financial crisis will develop from the failure to effectively regulate derivatives and all the extra global liquidity from the government's stimulus spending. Bloomberg.com
Survey: Small Business Optimisim Slips, Expect Slow Recovery
The NFIB's monthly index of small business optimism slipped one point to 87.9 last month. It had gained 7.9 points since March, indicating a view the the economy was stabilizing. FoxBusiness.com
By Charles M Cooper · July 15 2009
small business brief, marketing, small business, economy
Small businesses that would otherwise have difficulty securing private equity or venture capital may now find funding easier to get as a result of changes made as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to the US Small Business Administration’s Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program.
“The Recovery Act expands SBA’s venture capital program to increase the pool of investment funding available to the Small Business Investment Companies licensed by SBA,” said SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills. “We believe those companies will be better equipped by these changes to help sustain and grow small businesses for their next important growth steps.” SBICs are privately owned and managed venture capital firms which are licensed and regulated by SBA. SBICs use a combination of funds raised from private sources and money raised through the use of SBA guarantees to make equity and mezzanine capital investments in small businesses. There...
By Charles M Cooper · July 10 2009
small business, sba, stimulus, sbic
U.S. Small Business Office of Advocacy: The Small Business Economy 2009: A Report to the President
The Small Business Economy 2009: A Report to the President
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By Charles M Cooper · July 08 2009
small business, sba, advocacy, small business economy 2009
The number of nonemployer firms has risen steadily in this decade, from 16.5 million in 2000 to an estimated 21.1 million in 2007. An estimated 637,100 new employer firms began operations in 2007 and 560,300 firms closed that year.
That is what the Small Business Administration had to say about the growth of small business over the last decade. According to the agency, there has been a steady growth in the number of small firms opening up shop in the United States. As of 2007, small businesses (those with 500 employees or less) made up 99.9% of the businesses active in the country. These small businesses also:
Represent 99.7% of all employer firms.
Employ about half of all private sector employees.
Pay nearly 45% of total US private payroll.
Have generated 60% to 80% of net new jobs annually over the last decade.
Create more than half of nonfarm private gross d...
By Charles M Cooper · July 06 2009
small business, sba, decline, new york times
July 1st saw the beginning of the Small Business Administration’s Dealer Floor Plan (DFP) financing program, which will make it easier for auto, RV and other dealerships to borrow against their inventory and increase their cash flow. The new pilot program is one of the many tools SBA is making available to help increase access to capital and technical assistance to small business.
DFP financing is a revolving line of credit that allows a dealership to obtain financing through SBA’s 7(a) program for inventory that can be titled, such as autos, RVs, manufactured homes, boats and trailers. As each piece of collateral is sold by the dealer, the loan advance against that piece of collateral is repaid. As the loan is repaid, the dealer can borrow against the line of credit to add new inventory.
DFP loans will be available for a minimum of $500,000 up to the $2 million allowable under the 7(a) program. With a maximum repayment term of five years, the loans will co...
By Charles M Cooper · July 06 2009
small business, sba, loans, dealer floor plan financing
The US Small Business Administration has recognized two of its Emerging 200 (e200) initiative participants as being among the winners of the 2009 Inner City 100 competition, which is held by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), a national not-for-profit organization founded in 1994 by HarvardBusinessSchool Professor Michael E. Porter. The award spotlights and supports growing companies in urban areas and highlights the importance of a healthy economy in developing healthy urban communities. Chosen from a pool of nearly 6,500 applicants, the two small businesses recognized from the SBA’s Emerging 200 initiative program are Sacred Power corporation of Albuquerque, New Mexico and FutureNet Group of Detroit Michigan, both of them Native-American owned and operated.
Sacred Power Corporation (www.sacredpowercorp.com) is a 2008 graduate of the SBA’s Emerging 200 initiative with a charter...
By Charles M Cooper · June 24 2009
small business, sba, native american, inner city 100
The statistics are in: Growth of small and microbusiness lending was positive during the first half of 2008, but it was slower than in the previous year. This is according to the latest edition of the Office of Advocacy’s annual study of lending to small firms: Small Business & Micro Business Lending in the United States for Data Years 2007-2008, which gives a detailed account of small business lending overall, plus state-by-state totals and totals for individual lenders.
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The report uses the most recent Consolidated...
By Charles M Cooper · June 19 2009
small business, sba, office of advocacy, small business loans
