Day: October 29, 2014
Small Business Size Regulations
The Small Business Act was created, in part, to help small businesses compete in our economic market. The passage of this act has made it necessary to establish standards of identifying small businesses. Below are the size regulations used to review business size. Size Regulations SBA’s size standards define whether a business is “small” and thus eligible for government programs and preferences reserved for “small business” concerns. What is a Small Business Concern? A smallRead More
What’s New with Size Standards
SBA proposes to revise Small Business Size Standards for some industries in NAICS Sector 31‑33, Manufacturing The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has proposed to increase small business size standards for 209 industries in NAICS Sector 31-33, Manufacturing; and, increase the refining capacity component of the Petroleum Refiners (NAICS 324110) size standard to 200,000 barrels per calendar day total capacity, and the requirement that 90 percent of output being delivered be refined by the bidder (footnote 4). As part of its ongoingRead More
You’re Never Too Old to Start a Successful Business
Think you’re too old to start a business? Think again. Mark Zuckerberg may have started Facebook at 19, but he’s in the minority of entrepreneurs. Through the years, there have been plenty of successful people in business and other endeavors who didn’t get started until a bit later. Funders and Founders recently shared an infographic outlining late bloomers who displayed proficiency in a variety of fields showing that great achievements don’t always happen at aRead More
How to Put “More Serve in Your Sell” to Make More Sales
The shift from sell first to serve first is here and now. We no longer sell by leading with the product. Sales are made by leading with the person and a relationship with them. Referrals, recommendations and introductions play a huge part in the sales process now. The sales process has changed consistently over the past decade and educating customers is essential and integral to building a trust bond. We no longer buy things and engage with businesses, people and companies that weRead More
Obama Administration Opens Health-Insurance Portal to Small Businesses
The Obama administration has opened a new health-insurance portal to small businesses in five states after a yearlong delay of the Affordable Care Act’s online marketplace for small-employer health plans. The exchange, which was shelved last year amid mounting technical problems, quietly went live for the first time over the weekend in Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey and Ohio. Companies in those states that have fewer than 50 full-time workers can start using the siteRead More
Small Business Development Center Welcomes New Director
The Southern Maryland branch of the Maryland Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has welcomed a new regional director – Ellen Flowers-Fields. Flowers-Fields has a history in the county, having moved to Calvert 14 years ago. She spent 10 years heading federal workforce initiatives with the Tri-County, then went to work for the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation as the deputy secretary of workforce development. She brings her background to her work with theRead More
Free small business help available
MARSHFIELD – A counselor from the Small Business Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will be in Marshfield, by appointment only, Nov. 12. Confidential business counseling is available without charge to current or prospective small business operators on issues ranging from financial management to sources of capital. The SBDC staff member will meet clients at the Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MACCI) from noon to 4 p.m. Appointments must be madeRead More
Start-Up Lendoor Aims to Use Crowdfunding for Small-Business Loans
Crowdfunding — gathering lots of small checks from individuals to finance a company or a project — is a hot area in Silicon Valley at the moment. Now, one fledgling company in New York wants to bring the principles of crowdfunding to a dusty sector of American finance: small-business lending. The company, Lendoor, plans to introduce a way for local businesses to borrow money from their customers and other individuals online. It is the latestRead More
The Water’s Fine: How hiring a business broker turned a Florida couple into pool entrepreneurs
After 30 years of telecom and network systems work in corporate America, John Smee was ready for a change. He’d thought plenty of times before how nice it would be to find a little operation of his own and take over as its boss. So in late 2012 he decided to get to it. He was ready to buy a small business. Fast-forward six months, and Smee and his wife, Kathleen, had set up asRead More
Chris Myers: Small Business, Startups and the Wisdom of Crowds
My fascination with the concept of crowdsourcing started back in 2004, as it did for many who read James Surowiecki’s brilliant book “The Wisdom of Crowds.” The idea that the collective wisdom of a large group could prove superior to the expertise of individuals is powerful. It has been proven out to a great degree by experiments both large and small. However, for the longest time I wondered about the commercial aspects of collective wisdom.Read More