Check out 7 Silly Myths About The Economy, Jobs, Taxes & Small Business...

Posted on Inc.com, July 18, 2012
By Gene Marks

7 Silly Myths About the Economy, Jobs, Taxes & Small Business

America's Got Talent is the No. 1 show. Spider-Man is the No. 1 movie. Call me Maybe is the top song in the country. Who's the most popular guy in Washington D.C.?

Why, me! The small-business guy. Everyone's buzzing about me. That's because I represent more than 20 million others who are supposedly just like me. According to the National Federation of Independent Business, my confidence is down. Oh, no! But don't worry! The President and Congress are battling over ways to help me succeed. Hooray!

I appreciate everyone's concern. And I certainly love the attention. But, really, I don't want to waste your time. My technology company has 600 small business customers. And I agree that I probably don't have the right to speak on behalf of the other 19,999,400 small businesses in the country. But then again, why not? I know that small businesses will be an important part of this year's election. We're already getting a lot of attention from the media. So let me help explain a few things. And put to rest a few silly myths about us.

Silly Myth #1: Small Businesses collectively oppose higher taxes....

To read the full article, and find out the other 6 myths and their explanations... click here.

Check Out Questions Business Owners Ask Me and the Answers I Give Them

Great article by Loren Marx Schmerler put out by the Business Brokerage Press...

Posted @ 6/28/2012 9:13 am

Throughout my years of successfully assisting business owners in selling their companies, I've been asked the same questions by many potential sellers. In this article I have compiled a list of common question about selling a business along with my answers that you may find helpful.

1. How much is my business worth?
2. How long will it take to sell my business?
3. Is there anything I can do to make my business more desirable?
4. Is there anything I should not do during the listing period?
5. What is due diligence?
6. What else do you suggest I do to impress a Buyer?
7. What happens if I agree to do some owner financing and the Buyer misses a payment?

To read the answers Mr. Schmerler gives to the above excellent questions... click here.

Check out Starbucks Initiative to Brew Up U.S. Jobs through small business lending

A Starbuck Initiative to Brew Up U.S. Jobs

Posted by Michelle Goodman
Entrepreneur.com, January 2012

For little more than the price of a latte, the average American can help finance a new business startup. That's the premise behind Create Jobs for USA, the brainchild of Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz. Through the program, every $5 donated at a Starbucks location or through CreateJobsforUSA.org supports $35 worth of small-business lending.

To get these funds directly into the hands of business owners, Starbucks partnered with Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), a collection of 180 Community Development Financial Insitutions (CDFIs) that specialize in lending to low-income and disadvantaged indiaviduals and underserved communities throughout the nation.

To read more about this great initiative of Starbucks... click here.

Check out this article with great tips for LinkedIn

7 Things You're Doing Wrong on LinkedIn

By Tom Searcy
EXPLOSIVE GROWTH, INC.COM
Jun. 27, 2012

Today, LinkedIn is the No. 1 social media platform for professionals. Estimates of professional participation in LinkedIn are as high as 83%.

But when I talked to one of my friends -- social media expert Alexandra Gibson from OttoPilot Media -- she told me that she sees too many professionals making a lot of mistakes...

Click here to read the full article and see the seven mistakes and how to rectify them.