US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Small Business Administrator Karen Mills hosted a webchat to discuss the benefits of the new health reform law. Sebelius and Mills highlighted some of the benefits of health reform for the American people and small businesses before answering pre-submitted questions from the public. The chat is the first in a series of discussions that will explain the impact of the newly passed health reform law. www.healthreform.gov We allow comments according to our comment policy newmedia.hhs.gov
-
02Sep
Tags: 03/31/2010, Businesses, chat, health, reform, Small
-
02Sep
We are all listening attentively about lenders on the radio, television, newspapers, and the Internet of promises to be “small business friendly”, “small business oriented”, wanting to be your “personal small business advisor” and a panoply of packages taking care of all your business needs. What small businesses really need is money, not personal hand caring services. So is there anyone out there really making small business loans? Yes. If you know where to look you can find one.
You can generally categorize banks into: 1) 10% that are actually making small business loans now and are serious about doing so, 2) 70% who will talk to you directly and indicate they are not making small business loans at this time because of the economy, and 3) 20% that slap you on the back, invite you in, and readily take your application. It is the latter group that gives us the most heartburn. It is not unusual after the initial review of your application papers for a bank represented to signal you have a good chance. Overjoyed, you begin to make plans, including executing contracts and receiving quotes for inventory, raw materials, or merchandise. Two months later, after the fourth loan committee review, you get a call that they have decided not to make the loan. The reason has little if anything to do with credit. It is typically something that was never been mentioned before and after reflection, it seems like an excuse not to make the loan in the first place.
Loan brokers such as myself are victims of the same misleading behavior. I cannot tell you how many banks have looked me in the eye and said: “Sure, we are making lots of loans. For unsecured loans of $75,000 to $150,000, we just need a credit score above 680, in business for over a year and a half, and decent financials. Real estate security is not required. We would love to entertain your applications.” Right.
What they really do is pour over the applications and pick 1 out of 100 that has the following fantasy credentials: a platinum credit score that Bill Gates would be proud of and which could support a small country, gushing positive cash flow, little competition, executed contracts stacked high on your desk, then a booming market niche. In other words, someone who doesn’t need the loan in the first place. You know the old adage: banks only give money to people who don’t need it.
It is simply psychology 101. Banks are filled up with loan officers and they have to show they are busy. If their boss walks into their office and sees nothing on their desk, they might be laid off. They have to show they are busy earning their salaries, which means receiving applications and going through the review process. It’s gotten so bad that the other day we had a client whose grandfather helped found the bank, whose father was best friends with the president, and who had received two successful loans before. Even he was turned down. Nor do they tell you the large SBA commercial loan department job layoffs of employees throughout the nation.
To prevent being too caught in this trap, look your banker in the eye and ask these questions:
1) “Tell me honestly. I don’t want to waste your time or mine. I know the credit crunch is quite depressing and there is really no secondary market. Are you actually entertaining small business loans at this time or should I wait.”
2) “How many small business loans have you personally made in the last 30 days?”
3) “What are the loan terms of the last three loans you made, including interest rate and monthly payments, for the amount of loan I am seeking?”
4) “How long will it take before I get a definitive answer?”
5) “Can you briefly describe to me the process I have to go through to get the final approval? Will you be the one making the final decision? What other people superior to you or committees will make that decision?”
But do not despair. There actually are real live prime lenders out there making small business loans. They just need to know where to look. In the next article I will discuss if such loans are available to startups.
Sue Malone is a small business advocate, consultant, and the nations #1 provider of unsecured SBA Community Express cash flow loans(start-up and existing). Email:smalone165@aol.com
http://www.StrategiesForSmallBusiness.com
Phone:(925)899-8449.Tags: Adviser, Business, Economy., Loan, Part1, Small, Troubled, Unsecured
-
02Sep
Remember the poor little bird in P. D. Eastman’s much beloved children’s book Are You My Mother? The one who hatches from his egg while his mother is out scratching around for food and can’t figure out who he is? By the middle of the story, this confused hatchling is in the midst of a full-blown identity crisis, wandering around asking everyone, “Are you my mother?”
That’s how it is in the business world.
We bandy around the words freelancer, consultant, and entrepreneur as if they are interchangeable, although they are not. Sometimes our clients are confused. Often we are, too. When we aren’t clear about how we offer our products and services, it makes it difficult for potential clients to know whether or not to hire us. That’s why it’s important for us to get clear about who we are and offer our products and services accordingly.
What’s the difference?
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: a freelancer is “a person who acts independently without being affiliated with or organized by an organization; who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer.” A consultant, on the other hand, is “one who gives professional advice or services as an expert.” In a completely different category is the entrepreneur who “organizes, manages, and assumes the risk of a business or enterprise.”
Freelance vs. Consultant
Technically, there isn’t much of a difference between being a consultant and being a freelancer. Both are independent contractors working for multiple clients. They are their own bosses. The main difference between the two is that one gives professional or expert advice and the other offers a deliverable.
Freelancers
Freelancers offer a deliverable–something concrete and tangible. Deliverables can include writing an article for a newspaper or magazine, designing a web site for a client, or painting a commissioned artwork for a building opening. Freelancers get in, do the job, and get out. Often enjoying a variety of assignments while working from home, they earn their living by contracting for work on a project-by-project basis. At the end of the year, they have plenty of 1099s to show for it.
Fields where freelancing is especially common include journalism, writing, copywriting, computer programming, software development, graphic design, film production, landscaping, architecture, translation, fine art, music, and acting.
Consultants
Consultants give professional or expert advice, generally to management. They may come in and evaluate how a company can streamline their production efforts or render a professional opinion on an accounting audit. They give their advice and opinion so that others can make informed decisions, select the best course of action, or accurately forecast an outcome.
Consultants, like freelancers, enjoy a wide variety of projects and earn their living by contracting for projects on a project-by-project basis. Unlike freelancers, most of their work is done outside of the home. At the end of the year, in addition to 1099s, they may also have some W2s to show for their work.
Fields where consultants are especially common include financial planning, strategic planning, marketing, research, training, business planning, business review, computing, integration of new technology, medicine, psychology, and law.
Entrepreneur vs. Freelancer and Consultant
What’s the difference?
Freelancers and Consultants
Freelancers and consultants sell themselves. Though they may have a few employees working for them, their focus is on getting a job done rather than running a business. What drives freelancers and consultants is the pleasure and satisfaction of working for themselves, setting their own hours, and deciding what projects they will or won’t take on. They don’t like to take too much risk.
Entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, sell their business. They focus on building something big, lasting, and profitable. They enjoy taking calculated risks and manifest their vision in the form of a business. For them, it’s all about making it big and leaving behind a legacy.
Some famous entrepreneurs include: Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, Hugh Hefner, Michael Dell, Mary Kay Ash, Debbi Fields, and Anita Roddick (founder of The Body Shop).
Freelancers and Consultants as Business Owners
Freelancers and consultants may decide to start up a small freelance or consultant business, although they have no interest in overseeing or operating a large company. They like putting themselves out there–just not too much. Freelancers and consultants are their product or service. Without themselves, their business is not sustainable.
Entrepreneurs as Business Owners
Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are all about their business. Though they may start out small with only a few employees, it is just a matter of time before their small business expands. The very nature of an entrepreneur is to take risks, think big, and grow. Often, venture capitalists and other investors are involved. An entrepreneur’s business is sustainable and can survive after they are gone.
Conclusion
Knowing the distinctions between the three very different categories is just the beginning. At the end of the day, it’s all up to you to determine how you label yourself. Whether you’re a freelancer, consultant, or entrepreneur, it’s up to you to decide for yourself the kind of success you want.
Susan L Reid, MS, DMA, Small Business Start Up Coach & Accidental Pren-her™ is the soon-to-be author of Discovering Your Inner Samurai. She provides value, inspiration and direction for entrepreneurial women starting up and launching small businesses. For ideas and start up tips, subscribe at http://SuccessfulSmallBizOwners.com for your free e-Zine today. To read about what’s inspiring other pren-hers, go to http://susanreid.typepad.com
Tags: Consultant, Difference, Entrepreneur, Freelancer, Whats
-
02Sep
Authors Jeff Nabers & Phoebe Chongchua appeared on Good Morning Arizona to talk about “accidental entrepreneurship.” In the current economy, many former employees are seeking entrepreneurship in light of the bad job market. Their new book, 5 STEPS TO FREEDOM: How To Cut Your Dependence On Institutions and Escape Financial Slavery, is available on Amazon.com.
Tags: Accidental, Arizona, Chongchua, Entrepreneurship, Good, Jeff, Morning, Nabers, Phoebe
-
02Sep
Money capital is the lifeblood of every investment. Without capital, there can be no product, no property, no sales, no cash flow. Check out Roberts video about his experiences raising capital for his first entrepreneurial venture. During this one-of-a-kind, never-to-be-repeated 3-day event with Robert Kiyosaki and his advisers you will learn: * Robert’s experiences raising capital * Why raising capital is the #1 skill of an entrepreneur * How you can develop this skill to benefit your business and real estate investing Whether your current or future investments involve business or real estate, raising capital is vital to keeping your investments alive and producing cash flow. Robert and his advisors are experts in this important skill who practice what they preach and will share with you their knowledge gleaned from years of real-life entrepreneurship and investment experience.
Tags: Capital, Entrepreneur, Raise, Skill
-
02Sep
Everyone agrees on a broad level that small businesses are vital to the American economy. However, most people would be surprised to know just how important. The United States Small Business Administration keeps records and statistics on small business in the United States and some of their findings are surprising.
First, the typical perception of a small business as a mom and pop operation with just a few, if any, employees is not the entire picture. The Small Business Administration defines a small business as an independently business with less than 500 employees. There are an estimated 23 million businesses in the United States that meet that classification. In some smaller towns in the United States, these businesses represent a major source of employment.
In fact, small businesses as defined by the Small Business Administration represent 99.7 percent of all the employers in the country and employ half of all private sector employees. More than 45% of the private sector payroll is generated by small business. Over the last decade small businesses have accounted for 60 to 80% of all new jobs created on an annual basis.
Although a large percentage of small businesses are in the retail and service sectors, small businesses are rapidly making gains in the technology sector. 41% of high tech workers like engineers, scientists and computer programmers are employed by small businesses. Employees at small businesses produce 13 to 14 times more patents than those employed by larger companies.
The Small Business Administration also offers some interesting observations on small business survival. Two-thirds of small businesses survive for at least two years declining to 44% after four years. Most of the factors that support a small business surviving are well known, such as access to capital and owner’s education level. However, a lesser known factor in small business survival is that the business is large enough to have employees.
Similarly, barriers to starting a small business include lack of access to start-up capital and lack of education. However, the number one barrier to small business start up and a primary concern of existing small business owners is access to private health insurance. Individual health insurance for sole proprietors is much more expensive than receiving coverage through an employer. If a small business owner is able to offer health insurance to its employees, the administrative and premium costs are often much higher than those for larger businesses.
Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Business, Real Estate, and Employment
-
01Sep
Marketing for Small Business www.capital-visions.co.uk Business marketing – Learn everything your need to know about small business marketing from Internet Marketing Success Coach Nathan Salmon. There are basic strategies you can put into place to market a small business on a budget. Learn how you can be creative in marketing your company and building Brand Equity. For More Information go to my site which is the home of Small Business, Big Marketing; click on the tabs for a FREE guide to powerful, cost effective marketing for small businesses. Marketing and branding tips for small business including SEO, SEM, public relations, and advertising can be shown when we have a direct 1on1 consultation together. What big businesses don’t understand about marketing to small business owners talk to a small business owner and they’ll tell you that the big businesses have know idea about Social Media marketing and how to position themselves in this medium have competitive advantage today. I have trained 100′s of marketers via my Small business marketing coaching and consulting ideas and strategies that are simple, effective and affordable. Are you the HUNTED instead of the HUNTER if not check out my Small business marketing ideas, Business marketing strategies to help you naturally attract customers who pay more, stay longer an refer repeatedly. For an up to date resource on the strategies click on the blog tab on my site my Traffic Vault Secrets Small business marketing blog is …
-
01Sep
It is proven that becoming a super affiliate marketing entrepreneur requires your consistency, patient, determination and strategic. To be a strategic, you can leverage and learn the proven steps in this article in order to maximize the profits online and be outstanding among other competitors.
Within this article, you will discover and learn steps-by-steps instruction of how to become a super affiliate marketing entrepreneur and earn top affiliate commission in any market. Prior to start the following steps, you should get better understand of what the passionate is or what you are interested in. With the passionate, you will be motivated, determined, grown and success in any market, in affiliate marketing business.
1. Learn About Affiliate Marketing. The first step for new affiliate marketing entrepreneurs is to learn about the affiliate marketing business. Obviously, it is a great idea to learn everything you have to know for starting, building, running and growing your online affiliate marketing business. There are many sources about affiliate marketing business on the internet.
2. Choose Information Affiliate Products. The easiest way to start your own affiliate marketing business is to promote the information affiliate products. There is no doubt that internet users are always looking for information to solve their problem. Also, those users or customers can use those information products instantly. Affiliate marketing entrepreneurs do not concern with the shipping and inventory as well. Thus, the highest recommendation is to start marketing and advertising those information products. Also, the Clickbank marketplace is a great place to start your own affiliate business. There are a lot of information products in the Clickbank marketplace.
3. Protect Your Affiliate Commission. Many studies reveal that it is an absolutely great idea to protect your affiliate commission. There are many affiliate links protection software on the internet. You have to find one of them to hide and protect your affiliate links and commission respectively. Also, some affiliate software can help you track the affiliate clicks. It is a great idea to get those tools to help you to protect the affiliate commission and track the affiliate clicks at the same time.
4. Choose the Email Auto-responder. Most successful and super affiliate marketing entrepreneurs are using the email auto-responder software to automate their email promotion marketing and back-end selling process. Thus, if you are truly serious about the affiliate marketing business, there is no doubt that the email auto-responder software is a must. There are many auto-responder tools on the internet. You can choose one of them to help you automate the email promotion marketing and back-end selling process. Aweber software is one of the best email auto-responder tools in the industry.
5. Create Your Affiliate Marketing Plan. Once you setup completely those stuffs, you have to plan for how to advertise and market those information affiliate products on the internet. Without planning, you will waste your time and will lose easily your focus. Many studies reveal that most successful affiliate marketing entrepreneurs have their own affiliate marketing business plan to help them market and advertise the affiliate products.
6. Generate Your Own Keywords. Researching keywords has proven that it is the most significant step in the affiliate marketing business. You have to brainstorm and generate a massive list of niche keywords. With those keywords, the opportunities to earn more affiliate commission through multiple marketing channels, like search engine optimization, pay per click online advertising and article marketing, are opened. Also, WordTracker is one of the best keyword search tools where you can start generating niche keywords.
7. Sign up Pay Per Click Search Engine. Pay per click (PPC) online advertising is one of the most effective ways to drive quality traffic and earn more affiliate commission. Also, you can use those PPC search engines to test your own keywords in order to discover your own high performance keywords for your affiliate business. Google Adwords, Overture and MSNAdCenter are three search engines where you can start your own PPC campaigns. Once you sign up those search engines, you can start building and managing your own PPC campaigns.
8. Write Your Own Articles and Submit Articles. The article marketing has been proven that it is the best affiliate marketing strategy to drive quality traffic and build the reputation, reliability and creditability. With the professional quality articles, you will grab the readers’ attention and gain their trustworthy. All you have to do to maximize the power of article is to write your own original articles and submit those articles to the article directories.
9. Write Your Own Press Release. The press release marketing is similar to the article marketing, but the different point is all about how to write the proper press release. This step is one of the most effective strategies to drive more traffic to your affiliate website. With the proper strategies on press release, there is a lot of traffic coming to your website. Also, there are many press release directories on the internet where you can submit your own press release.
10. Conduct Viral Reports. Conducting special reports is one of the best ways to spread out your affiliate business to the world. You can use those reports to build your online email list. Also, you can give away those reports to build up your reputation and creditability in the market.
11. Place Online Classified Ads. The next step for affiliate marketing entrepreneurs is to place online classified ads to the classified ads directories. There are many directories where you can submit your own online classified ads. With the proper classified ads, the opportunities to boost skyrocket the affiliate commission are increased.
12. Consider to Create Review Site. It is obvious that affiliate marketing business is the content-driven online business. It is a great idea to consider creating a review site to boost your affiliate sales and commission. Many studies reveal that you should review and compare 3-10 affiliate products in your review site at a time.
13. Create Your Own Blog. Blogging online is the most popular and fastest marketing strategies on the internet. Obviously, you should setup your own blog to reach wider range of customers. There are many types of blogs online now. You can start with the free blogging platform, like Blogger. You can also apply new technologies like RSS, Social Bookmarking and Podcasting, to help you to reach wider range of potential customers.
14. Participant in Forums and Social Networking Site. Using forums and social networking sites to promote your affiliate marketing online business is a great idea. The highest recommendation is to build the relationship with those members in the active forums, rather than sale pitch. The key to your success in this step is to be socialized with those members, rather than selling products to them.
15. Repeat Step #1 – #14 for Other Markets. The major benefit of being an affiliate marketing entrepreneurs is that you can promote multiple affiliate products in many markets at the same time. To become a super affiliate marketing entrepreneur, it is a great idea to diversify and expand the markets. You can advertise and promote other markets and products with those above steps to earn more money on the internet.
Final thoughts, you have learnt steps-by-steps of how to become a super affiliate marketing entrepreneurs in any market. With those steps, you will get better understand of how you can market and advertise the information affiliate products to maximize the profits online. However, the highest recommendation for new affiliate marketing entrepreneurs is that they should not give up too quickly. Becoming a super affiliate marketing entrepreneur requires the consistency, patient, determination and strategic.
Learn more secrets of how to become a wealthy affiliate millionaire through the best affiliate marketing strategies. You will discover up-to-date affiliate information, top profitable recommended online affiliate marketing programs, do effective research, improve continuously your home based affiliate business, learn how to make big money online from home over $5,000 a day and participant with other successful affiliate marketing entrepreneurs. You will discover great tips on internet affiliate marketing for your highly successful. Also, you will save your time and money for your trial & error.
Join now – get the full access to unlimited business and revenue ideas, detailed reviews of your sale letter, candid critiques of your website design, traffic campaign strategies proven to attract buyers and tricks to increase your sales by 400% or more! You will discover and learn proven moneymaking secrets to instantly increase your sales over $10,000 per month or more!
Read more valuable articles, news and up-to-date information about home based affiliate business at: http://www.zMillionDollars.com/blog. You will discover a wealthy of informative about how to start, build, run and grow your home based affiliate business.
*Reprint Policy: Reprint in full with writer’s name, contact information, active links and brief bio.
Siripong R. or zMillionDollars is a recognized authority on the subject of building super-profitable affiliate marketing business. His website, www.zMillionDollars.com, provides a wealth of informative articles and resources on everything you’ll ever need to know about affiliate marketing business. Grab free special reports at: www.zMillionDollars.com/free-report.
Tags: Affiliate, Entrepreneur, Market, Millionaires, Quick, Secrets, Steps, Super
-
01Sep
John Hartmann began his professional career in the famous mailroom of the William Morris Agency. He later served as the Morris office liaison to Colonel Tom Parker the legendary manager of Elvis Presley. A veteran agent, personal manager and record executive, John has provided career direction for such luminaries as Chad & Jeremy, Sonny & Cher, Buffalo Springfield, Canned Heat, Peter, Paul & Mary, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Eagles, Jackson Browne, America, Poco, Ringo Starr and many others. Series: Technology Management Program [8/2008] [Business] [Show ID: 14965]
Tags: Entrepreneurship, Media
-
01Sep
Gail Goodman, email marketing leader Constant Contact CEO, explains Social Media Marketing: the synergies between email and social media, the acquisition of NutshellMail and the benefits to small business. NutshellMail co-founders Mark Schmulen and David Lyman talk with Goodman about the company and how email and social media are complementary.
Tags: Businesses, Made, Marketing, Media, Simple, Small, Social, Video
![[Ask]](http://smallbusinessdelivered.com/cash-millers-blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/ask.png)
![[del.icio.us]](http://smallbusinessdelivered.com/cash-millers-blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://smallbusinessdelivered.com/cash-millers-blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://smallbusinessdelivered.com/cash-millers-blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[Google]](http://smallbusinessdelivered.com/cash-millers-blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/google.png)
![[LinkedIn]](http://smallbusinessdelivered.com/cash-millers-blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/linkedin.png)
![[Mixx]](http://smallbusinessdelivered.com/cash-millers-blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/mixx.png)
![[MySpace]](http://smallbusinessdelivered.com/cash-millers-blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/myspace.png)
![[OnlyWire]](http://smallbusinessdelivered.com/cash-millers-blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/onlywire.png)
![[Sphinn]](http://smallbusinessdelivered.com/cash-millers-blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/sphinn.png)
![[StumbleUpon]](http://smallbusinessdelivered.com/cash-millers-blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/stumbleupon.png)
![[Twitter]](http://smallbusinessdelivered.com/cash-millers-blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/twitter.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://smallbusinessdelivered.com/cash-millers-blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
Recent Comments