By: Scott Olson
IBJ.com
An upscale Dolce hotel and 27,000-square-foot YMCA are among the tenants slated for a $150 million mixed-use development being built on 10 acres of land Eli Lilly and Co. owns near its Indianapolis headquarters.
The development, details of which were announced at a Monday morning news conference, also include plans for 320 high-end apartments and 40,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space.
The city plans to fund the project by issuing bonds, using income generated by the development to pay off the costs, pending approval by the City-County Council. Indianapolis also plans to provide $90 million in tax-increment financing for sewer and street improvements. Council members are expected to vote on the financing by the end of the year.
to read the full article... click here.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Check out Finding Surprises in the Small-Business Jobs Bill
By: Robb Mandelbaum
New York Times
Business Day - Small Business
Monday, September 27, 2010
Most of the controversy surrounding the small-business jobs bill that cleared the House of Representatives on Thursday - after nearly a year of discussion - concerned a $30 billion small-business lending fund to be established by the Treasury Department.
But like most of the legislation, the lending fund is a temporary fix. It will make investments in banks for just one year. The tax breaks in the bill, worth about $12 billion, are mostly good for a year or two.
But one part of the bill, which President Obama will sign into law on Monday, also makes permanent and far-reaching changes to the Small Business Adminstration's guaranteed loan programs - it both allows banks to make much largers loans and permits bigger businesses to take advantage of them - changes that have not been widely discussed. Taken together, these measures potentially could alter the essential character of the S.B.A.'s borrowers - it could make them not very small.
to read the full article... click here.
New York Times
Business Day - Small Business
Monday, September 27, 2010
Most of the controversy surrounding the small-business jobs bill that cleared the House of Representatives on Thursday - after nearly a year of discussion - concerned a $30 billion small-business lending fund to be established by the Treasury Department.
But like most of the legislation, the lending fund is a temporary fix. It will make investments in banks for just one year. The tax breaks in the bill, worth about $12 billion, are mostly good for a year or two.
But one part of the bill, which President Obama will sign into law on Monday, also makes permanent and far-reaching changes to the Small Business Adminstration's guaranteed loan programs - it both allows banks to make much largers loans and permits bigger businesses to take advantage of them - changes that have not been widely discussed. Taken together, these measures potentially could alter the essential character of the S.B.A.'s borrowers - it could make them not very small.
to read the full article... click here.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Liquor License Permit List!
PERMIT AUCTION - COMING SOON!
The 2010 ATC permit auction is scheduled for October 21, 2010.
To see the license permit list... click here.
The 2010 ATC permit auction is scheduled for October 21, 2010.
To see the license permit list... click here.
Check out Three Best Ways to Use Location-Based Social Media
By Riva Richmond
Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com)
Restaurants, retailers and other small businesses with storefronts are embracing location-based social networks - think Foursquare or Facebook Inc.'s Places - to woo customers and keep them coming back.
The services allow smartphone-toting customers to "check in" to a business or address, and then instantly share that information with friends and connections. Other fast-growing pioneers in the field include Brightkite Inc., Gowalla Inc. and online-review heavyweight Yelp Inc.
Marketing experts say the services offer inexpensive, easy and effective ways for a small business to get its name out and engage customers (see related article, "Getting Customer to 'Check In' With Foursquare"). Foursquare and Yelp currently offer the most developed tools for small companies that want to run promotions, though other services are developing similar ones.
If you want to try location-based service, it's easy to get started. First, find out whether your business is already listed in services popular to your area. If so, claim ownership and make sure the listed information is complete and correct. If not, add the listing yourself.
to read the full article... click here.
Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com)
Restaurants, retailers and other small businesses with storefronts are embracing location-based social networks - think Foursquare or Facebook Inc.'s Places - to woo customers and keep them coming back.
The services allow smartphone-toting customers to "check in" to a business or address, and then instantly share that information with friends and connections. Other fast-growing pioneers in the field include Brightkite Inc., Gowalla Inc. and online-review heavyweight Yelp Inc.
Marketing experts say the services offer inexpensive, easy and effective ways for a small business to get its name out and engage customers (see related article, "Getting Customer to 'Check In' With Foursquare"). Foursquare and Yelp currently offer the most developed tools for small companies that want to run promotions, though other services are developing similar ones.
If you want to try location-based service, it's easy to get started. First, find out whether your business is already listed in services popular to your area. If so, claim ownership and make sure the listed information is complete and correct. If not, add the listing yourself.
to read the full article... click here.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Check this out... too weird!
Only in Japan, Real Men Go to a Hotel With Virtual Girlfriends
Dating-Simulation Game a Last Resort For Honeymoon Town and Its Lonely Guests
By Daisuke Wakabayashi
ATAMI, Japan - This resort town, once popular with honeymooners, is turning to a new breed of romance seekers - virtual sweethearts.
Since the marriage rate among Japan's shrinking population is falling and with many of the country's remaining lovebirds heading for Hawaii or Australia's Gold Coast, Atami had to do something. It is trying to attract single men - and their handheld devices.
In the first month of the city's promotional campaign launched July 10, more than 1,500 male fans of the Japanese dating-simulation game LovePlus+ have flocked to Atami for a romantic date with their videogame character girlfriends.
The men are real. The girls are cartoon characters on a screen. The trips are actual, can be expensive and aim to re-create the virtual weekend outing featured in the game, a product of Konami Corp. played on Nintendo Co.'s DS videogame system.
to read the full article... click here.
Dating-Simulation Game a Last Resort For Honeymoon Town and Its Lonely Guests
By Daisuke Wakabayashi
ATAMI, Japan - This resort town, once popular with honeymooners, is turning to a new breed of romance seekers - virtual sweethearts.
Since the marriage rate among Japan's shrinking population is falling and with many of the country's remaining lovebirds heading for Hawaii or Australia's Gold Coast, Atami had to do something. It is trying to attract single men - and their handheld devices.
In the first month of the city's promotional campaign launched July 10, more than 1,500 male fans of the Japanese dating-simulation game LovePlus+ have flocked to Atami for a romantic date with their videogame character girlfriends.
The men are real. The girls are cartoon characters on a screen. The trips are actual, can be expensive and aim to re-create the virtual weekend outing featured in the game, a product of Konami Corp. played on Nintendo Co.'s DS videogame system.
to read the full article... click here.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Value of Free Publicity!
Eateries cash in on TV appearance
Scott Olson
September 2, 2010
IBJ.com
The venerable Edwards Drive In on Indianapolis' southeast side has built quite a clientele in its 53-year existence. But the old-fashioned eatery has attracted scores of newcomers since its national television debut last month.
Edwards, along with Bub's Burgers & Ice Cream in Carmel and Gray Brothers Cafeteria in Mooresville, were featured Aug. 18 on the Travel Channel's popoular "Man v. Food" TV show.
For Jeff Edwards, who operates the family-owned drive-in at the corner of Raymond Street and Sherman Drive with his sister, the national exposure has created quite a stir.
After the airing, Edwards instructed his staff to query customers on whether they've been to the restaurant before.
"Three out of five were brand new, which is an alarming amount considering we out 500 to 600 customers through every day," he said. "It's created a tremendous amount of travel business, because they've seen it on the show."
to read the full article... click here.
Scott Olson
September 2, 2010
IBJ.com
The venerable Edwards Drive In on Indianapolis' southeast side has built quite a clientele in its 53-year existence. But the old-fashioned eatery has attracted scores of newcomers since its national television debut last month.
Edwards, along with Bub's Burgers & Ice Cream in Carmel and Gray Brothers Cafeteria in Mooresville, were featured Aug. 18 on the Travel Channel's popoular "Man v. Food" TV show.
For Jeff Edwards, who operates the family-owned drive-in at the corner of Raymond Street and Sherman Drive with his sister, the national exposure has created quite a stir.
After the airing, Edwards instructed his staff to query customers on whether they've been to the restaurant before.
"Three out of five were brand new, which is an alarming amount considering we out 500 to 600 customers through every day," he said. "It's created a tremendous amount of travel business, because they've seen it on the show."
to read the full article... click here.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Check out... SBA Program Proves a Hit, but Now It Is in Limbo
By Ruth Simon
August 5, 2010
Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com)
Pinnacle Bank made just two loans through Small Business Administration in 2007 & 2008. So far this year, the Orange City, Fla., bank's total is nine, to borrowers from an auto dealer to a computer-equipment wholesaler to a bakery.
"The SBA program is the only way we can continue to lend right now," says David Bridgeman, president of Pinnacle, which has two branches and assets of $213 million, including about 600 loans. For many of the $3.4 million in loans Pinnacle made through the SBA in 2010, the bank has to set aside capital against only the 10% slice that isn't guaranteed by the U.S. government.
Across the nation, many banks have turned to the SBA's so-called 7(a) program to help unfreeze credit. Nearly 3,000 lenders have made 7(a) loans in the current fiscal year, up 21% from 2008.
The 7(a) program, the SBA's largest loan program, is hardly a cure for the credit shortage affecting many borrowers. The agency is involved in less than 10% of all small-business loans, and some banks won't participate because of red tape. Lenders must follow the SBA's rules when making 7(a) loans, which can be used for working capital, fixed assets and other business expenses. The term of the loan can be as long as 25 years.
Last year, Congress temporarily sweetened the 7(a) program by increasing the SBA guarantee to 90% of any given loan from as little as 75% previously. Lawmakers waived fees costing borrowers as much as 3.5% of the loan amount, as well as costs charged in a separate SBA program providing structured financing for fixed assets.
But the sweetened program is now in limbo, drawing complaints from borrowers and lenders, as lawmakers haggle over broader small-business legislation.
To read the full article... click here.
August 5, 2010
Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com)
Pinnacle Bank made just two loans through Small Business Administration in 2007 & 2008. So far this year, the Orange City, Fla., bank's total is nine, to borrowers from an auto dealer to a computer-equipment wholesaler to a bakery.
"The SBA program is the only way we can continue to lend right now," says David Bridgeman, president of Pinnacle, which has two branches and assets of $213 million, including about 600 loans. For many of the $3.4 million in loans Pinnacle made through the SBA in 2010, the bank has to set aside capital against only the 10% slice that isn't guaranteed by the U.S. government.
Across the nation, many banks have turned to the SBA's so-called 7(a) program to help unfreeze credit. Nearly 3,000 lenders have made 7(a) loans in the current fiscal year, up 21% from 2008.
The 7(a) program, the SBA's largest loan program, is hardly a cure for the credit shortage affecting many borrowers. The agency is involved in less than 10% of all small-business loans, and some banks won't participate because of red tape. Lenders must follow the SBA's rules when making 7(a) loans, which can be used for working capital, fixed assets and other business expenses. The term of the loan can be as long as 25 years.
Last year, Congress temporarily sweetened the 7(a) program by increasing the SBA guarantee to 90% of any given loan from as little as 75% previously. Lawmakers waived fees costing borrowers as much as 3.5% of the loan amount, as well as costs charged in a separate SBA program providing structured financing for fixed assets.
But the sweetened program is now in limbo, drawing complaints from borrowers and lenders, as lawmakers haggle over broader small-business legislation.
To read the full article... click here.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Check out A struggle to sell small businesses | PressDemocrat.com
A struggle to sell small businesses
By Robert Digitale
The Press Democrat
August 29, 2010
Carmen Campos spent two years seeking the right location for her second Carmen's Burger Bar.
Campos wanted a more visible building than her original restaurant, which sits tucked in a residential neighborhood in Santa Rosa's Town & Country Village. She found it in a small strip center next to Wells Fargo Center on Mark West Springs Road at Old Red Highway.
Campos and her husband, Alvaro Ramos, bought the shuttered pizzeria on the site and last month opened it for business. Already the couple and 14 employees are matching the sales at the original location, even though the new site is still awaiting a full liquor license.
"We're making more burgers than they are," Campos said Thursday afternoon at the Larkfield location.
Carmen's is bright spot in the battered world of small business sales.
More common are tales of owners reeling from depressed business values, buyers who can't get loans and business brokers who, over the past three years, have seen transactions plummet.
"I think the industry's probably off 50 percent from what it was," said Al Statz, owner of Exit Strategies, a business brokerage in Petaluma.
Sales of Sonoma County small businesses - cafes, markets, auto parts stores and more - declined 44 percent from 2007 to 2009, according to BizBen.com of Dublin, an online website for the sale of businesses. Sales statewide declined 46 percent.
To read the full article... click here.
By Robert Digitale
The Press Democrat
August 29, 2010
Carmen Campos spent two years seeking the right location for her second Carmen's Burger Bar.
Campos wanted a more visible building than her original restaurant, which sits tucked in a residential neighborhood in Santa Rosa's Town & Country Village. She found it in a small strip center next to Wells Fargo Center on Mark West Springs Road at Old Red Highway.
Campos and her husband, Alvaro Ramos, bought the shuttered pizzeria on the site and last month opened it for business. Already the couple and 14 employees are matching the sales at the original location, even though the new site is still awaiting a full liquor license.
"We're making more burgers than they are," Campos said Thursday afternoon at the Larkfield location.
Carmen's is bright spot in the battered world of small business sales.
More common are tales of owners reeling from depressed business values, buyers who can't get loans and business brokers who, over the past three years, have seen transactions plummet.
"I think the industry's probably off 50 percent from what it was," said Al Statz, owner of Exit Strategies, a business brokerage in Petaluma.
Sales of Sonoma County small businesses - cafes, markets, auto parts stores and more - declined 44 percent from 2007 to 2009, according to BizBen.com of Dublin, an online website for the sale of businesses. Sales statewide declined 46 percent.
To read the full article... click here.
Check out 5 Things Small Businesses Want from Washington | Business News Daily
5 Things Small Businesses Want From Washington
August 23, 2010
By Jeanette Mulvey
Business News Daily Managing Editor
Hardly a day passes without President Obama calling on Congress to pass the small business bill in September. The legislation would free up $30 billion in loans and institute a number of tax credits for small businesses. Small business owners are skeptical about how effective the bill will be.
Business News Daily asked 50 small business owners across the country how Washington can help get their businesses back on track. Five key trends emerged.
Ease lending requirements...
Repeal 1099 reporting requirements...
Make it easier to get government contracts...
Communicate better...
Get out of the way...
"Let business do what it does best: Make stuff and provide services that meet the needs of the customers." said Paul Chase, a Pennsylvania-based real estate agent. "There is certainly a need for some regulation, but companies are being regulated to death."
To read the full article... click here.
August 23, 2010
By Jeanette Mulvey
Business News Daily Managing Editor
Hardly a day passes without President Obama calling on Congress to pass the small business bill in September. The legislation would free up $30 billion in loans and institute a number of tax credits for small businesses. Small business owners are skeptical about how effective the bill will be.
Business News Daily asked 50 small business owners across the country how Washington can help get their businesses back on track. Five key trends emerged.
Ease lending requirements...
Repeal 1099 reporting requirements...
Make it easier to get government contracts...
Communicate better...
Get out of the way...
"Let business do what it does best: Make stuff and provide services that meet the needs of the customers." said Paul Chase, a Pennsylvania-based real estate agent. "There is certainly a need for some regulation, but companies are being regulated to death."
To read the full article... click here.
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