Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from around the world.
- Small Businesses Faces Sharp Rise in Cost of Health Care: As Congress nears votes on legislation that would overhaul the health care system, many small businesses say they are facing the steepest rise in insurance premiums they have seen in recent years.
- CIT Group Files for Bankruptcy Protection: Small Business Loan Giant Has Struggled for Months to Stay Afloat; 5th Biggest Bankruptcy Filing in History
- Free cash for your business: When hunting for cash, desperate small business owners may find themselves sucked into buying books and software packages promising “Billions in Free Grants!” from Web sites with names like NeverPayItBack.com, or hiring consultants who promise to find them gads of money. All they’re likely to get, though, are empty promises.
- Burden of Safety Law Imperils Small Toymakers: The law requiring safety standards for products used by children is costly for handcrafters and small businesses.
- Small business credit cards flourish as loans disappear: Want a loan for your business? Hit the plastic. That’s about all banks are going to offer — and the terms are much less favorable than traditional lines of credit.
- Small Business Internship Program: Small Business Internship Program is intended “to improve the competitiveness of SMEs by supporting businesses to actively market on-line and improve their competitiveness with e-business practices and technologies” – which means that your business could get financial support towards the employment of post-secondary students who will work on e-business projects.
- A Niche Market Can Be Your Train to Success: Talking to my fitness trainer the other day reminded me of niche markets and how they’re central to so many small business’s success.
- Halloween Business Ideas: Don’t just look at Halloween as a trick-or-treating obligation or a chance to party. Halloween presents many business opportunities that a savvy entrepreneur won’t want to overlook. Here’s why Halloween businesses are such good business opportunities and ideas for starting a Halloween business of your own.
- Entrepreneurs benefit from mentors: Starting a new business involves a steep learning curve, but thanks to a local mentoring program, owners of fledgling Sask atoon businesses can call on the experience of established entrepreneurs.
- Big trouble in small business: SMALL business advocates are worried that access to research and development tax incentives will be blocked rather than advanced under proposed changes designed to foster innovation.
- It pays to talk to pros: THROUGH the years I have been amazed how technically savvy this country’s entrepreneurs are, but it takes a special breed of business person to understand business and technology.
- Business cuts back on training and hours in bid to hang onto staff: A new survey by the Australian Industry Group has revealed that a third of companies are planning to cut their training budgets in the next 12 months, as entrepreneurs fight…
- India Inc’s business confidence surges, says CII: The business confidence of India Inc. has improved in the wake of the economic revival, says a survey by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Howevcr, slack consumer demand remains a concern.
- Hiring demand by small businesses is on rise: Hiring demand by small businesses is on rise – New Delhi: The job market doors are reopening. Including the IT and ITeS space, also the small firms in retail, banking and realty sectors are hiring.
- India Banking / Financial SMBs Are Set to Spend $1.24B on IT Infrastructure in 2009: SMBs in India in the banking/ financial sector are on track to spend $1.24B in 2009 on their overall IT infrastructure, up by about 3.5% over 2008. Significant growth can be observed in the field of broadband, intranet, website hosting, and website development.
- Powerful daughters of India Inc: There is an increasing involvement of daughters in a leadership role in family businesses when their fathers are reaching the end of their careers as active entrepreneurs.
- Bank lets down small firms over lease-back: The Bank of England has been accused of reneging on a promise to use some of its £175bn stimulus package to help small businesses by failing to free up leasing firms to lend more
- Financial Mail Extra: Data protection rules: From next year directors of small businesses could end up spending two years in jail or facing hefty finds if they breach the Data Protection Act
- Confidence boost hints that worst of recession now over: CONSUMER confidence has hit an 18-month high and small businesses are at their most optimistic for two and a half years, providing two of the strongest signals yet that the wo
- CBI says small business optimism has soared: Britain’s small and medium enterprises are now feeling more confident about their business prospects than at any time since April 2007, the Confederation of British Industry said today
- Small firms count cost of more postal strikes: Small businesses are set to lose up to £5,000 in orders if the ongoing postal strike is not resolved, the Federation of Small Businesses in Northern Ireland has warned.
- New Campaign Releases ‘Pool Of Talented Parents’ To Business: A new campaign has launched to encourage businesses to tap into the massive pool of talent that is available from parents looking for flexible work.
- Working Online With WinWeb To Benefit Parents: Flexible working or working from home can be a daunting prospect for many parents.
- Why Buying Accounting & Bookkeeping Software Is A Big Mistake: Many people start their business and at some point they need to think about administration of their small business start-up. That is the time when the decision to buy accounting software is made – and a big mistake.
- ‘Restructuring’ or Cost-Cutting For Small Business Enterprise With WinWeb OnlineOffice: Restructuring – a word used by BIG Business to lower cost, fire employees and squeeze suppliers. The small business owner was at a clear disadvantage – until now!
As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.
