Following up on yesterday’s post, I found this in the SBA’s summery of the Economic Stimulus Act concerning guaranteed SBA loans:
Under the Recovery Act, no funds may be used by any state or local government or any private entity, for any casino or gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course of swimming pool.
I can understand excluding [...]

Financial Assistance for Small Business

At first glance I thought this article might be one of those deals where someone promises to tell you where the treasure is buried making you wonder, if he knows, why doesn’t he dig it up themselves.  I half-expected to be offered a special price on the latest how-to book.  So, I was pleasantly surprised [...]

Supporting “Local” Small Business When You’re Out of Town

This post is inspired by a comment on the 3/50 Project facebook page.  [In case you missed it, I wrote about the 3/50 Project earlier.  There’s also a link to their home page on your left.
Lili Johnstone wrote:  “Just wanted to say that even when you are far from home, you can still support local [...]

Memorial Day 2009

I feel very fortunate, my church backs up to the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.  Every time I go to church, and believe me, I’m a frequent visitor, I’m reminded of the brave men and women who have fought and died so that I can go to my church, or write this blog.
This morning my wife [...]

Free Advertising for your Small Business

I just read over the weekend that AT&T is going to stop publishing the white pages telephone directory.  According to them, most Americans look up phone numbers on the web so the dead-tree directory is no longer needed.  They will continue to produce (and heavily advertise) the yellow pages because they’re a profit center.
In other [...]

What’s Really Up with Retail

Yesterday I took Forbes.com to task for assuming that all retail is big retail in spite of readily available numbers to the contrary.  I found their assumption that as Wal Mart goes, so goes retail to be far off the mark.
Today I had lunch with a friend who is a sales manager for a well-known [...]

Why Retailing Will Never Be the Same Again?

Forbes gets it wrong! In an article called Why Retailing Will Never Be the Same Again, and What to Do About It, two business consultants discuss the problems that big retailers are having in the current economy.
The authors cite the bankruptcies of Circuit City, Linens n Things, and other big retailers.  What’s a poor big [...]

How Not to Halt a Sales Skid

Imagine this conversation:
Boss:  “Sales are in the toilet.  Does anybody have any suggestions to improve sales?”
Staff member:  “I know!  Let’s raise prices!”
Boss:  “Brilliant!  Why didn’t I think of that?  Let’s do it!”
You’re probably thinking “That’s ridiculous!  Nobody would raise prices in the face of declining sales.”  But that’s exactly what the US Postal Service did [...]

Welcome to the Real World

Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba write The Church of the Customer blog.  If the names sound familiar it’s because I have referenced the blog often in the past.  Ben and Jackie know their stuff and their blog is a good read.
The day-to-day problems of running a business can often seem overwhelming, especially in the [...]

7 Ways to Annoy a Flight Attendant

All of our jobs have their little aggravations, often involving customers.  From the Budget Travel website, here’s a chance to look at air travel through the eyes of the flight attendant.  I have to admit I do a couple of the things myself and I’ve sat next to all of these people, most of them [...]