SBA Lenders Pulling Back from Small Businesses

Government and Economy

Top SBA Lenders Dropping Small Business Loans

As new government programs are poised to inject more liquidity into the credit market, several of the SBA's most active lenders have sharply reduced their loan volume, refusing new applications or lowering volume to a trickle. CNNMoney.com

Business Forward: A Liberal Business Group

High-powered Democratic consultants, well-connected with the Obama Administration, are recruiting for a new trade group called “Business Forward.” They are doing this to drum-up support for Obama's programs and to counter the NFIB and the US Chamber of Commerce. TalkingPointsMemo.com

Management and Financial Issues

Circuit City: An Object Lesson in Management

The growth and success of Circuit City, and what eventually happened to that great company now gone, is a lesson for all business owners and may be painfully relevant during the current economic turmoil. BusinessKnowHow.com

How Low Can You Go?

With slow sales, many businesses have slashed prices, but price cuts raise some tough questions about your brand, whether you'll be able to raise them again and whether you can deal with narrower margins. Inc.com

Technology Issues

Calculating Utilization in a Services Company
Maintaining high employee utilization drives higher profits. Yet tracking and measuring utilization poses challenges. Learn how to calculate utilization consistent with industry practices and how to use professional services automation tools to measure and report utilization. TechnologyEvaluation.com

Benefits and Labor Issues

Taxing Employee Health Benefits
The Office of Management and Budget estimates that the tax exemption that helped create the employer-based health care system will cost the federal government $174 billion in lost tax receipts in 2009, which makes it a target for new taxes. Workforce.com

Sales and Marketing

Online Advertorials
The advertorial, paid editorial content that you, the advertiser, creates and provides, has been around for years and continues to evolve in the Internet age. Does it belong in your media plans? ClickZ.com

Make Them an Offer They Can't Refuse

Do you know what the two most important parts of any marketing or advertising piece are? The headline? That is easy, but the other is harder to guess and can make or break your effort. It is the offer. BusinessKnowHow.com

Unlocking the Potential of Your Website

Your website may be the most important asset in your marketing arsenal, but it may well be underutilized. For it to work for you, you need to be creative and test out new strategies to engage customers and increase sales. Here are some ideas. BusinessWeek.com