All Articles Tagged "small businesses"
President Obama On Recovering from the “Worst Financial and Economic Crisis In Our Lifetimes”
Image: AP
Each day it seems, President Obama is answering questions about The Great Recession, whether or not the economy is getting better, and what we’re doing to make that happen. He answered those questions directly for Black Enterprise EIC Derek T. Dingle.
“The African American community ends up being hurt during recessionary times more than the population at large,” the President said during the exclusive interview. “[The] African American unemployment rate is still way too high. You had a credit crunch for small- and medium-sized businesses that disproportionately impacted African American businesses. But part of what we have been able to do is to specifically focus on disadvantaged businesses, disadvantaged communities.”
President Obama also talks about the administration’s support for black entrepreneurs, unemployment in the black community, and the impact of predatory lending.
“I told every single member of my cabinet, ‘I want you to increase transparency, simplify the process, make sure that the goals that we have for small, minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses are prioritized inside your agency, and think about other ways that we can break up these contracts into smaller pieces so that smaller businesses could actually bid for them,’” President Obama added.
The Presidential election is in full swing with fewer than 100 days left until we head to the voting booths. For more from President Obama about these important issues, visit BlackEnterprise.com.
Entrepreneur Spotlight: Black Women-Owned Stores Provide Pleasant Alternatives
Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. For months now politicians have been encouraging shoppers to support independent store owners within their communities. We say why not show the sistahs some love. Black women have boutiques, wine stores, and a myriad of ways to help shoppers looking for a unique experience find exactly what they’re looking for. Here’s a list of some black women, with boutique businesses worth supporting:
Ooh La La Fashion boutique in Atlanta is owned and operated by fashionista Ronni McBride. The African American proprietor’s store promotes many Italian designs and showcases lines that are mostly European influenced. The store features innovative designers from around the world as well as talented locals. In addition offering fashion forward clothing, the boutique offers a range of unique and even custom made accessories including precious stone jewelry, purses, shoes, and hats.
Business Accelerator Program Helps Small Businesses Succeed
(Technorati) — An entrepreneur starting a small business today is taking a gamble. According to the Small Business Administration, 50 percent of all businesses fail within the first five years. But the help of a business expert can mean the difference between small business failure and small business success – 90 percent of successful small businesses reported they sought out expert help, according to a Dunn & Bradstreet study.
US is Losing its Edge as Entrepreneurial Activity Drops
(Phoenix Business Journal) – Americans aren’t as entrepreneurial as they used to be, according to two new studies. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor found that only 6.9 percent of Americans were involved in early-stage entrepreneurial activity last year, down from 10.6 percent four years earlier.
The only increase in activity in 2009 came from necessity-driven entrepreneurs — those who started a business because they needed a job, not because they saw new opportunities. That’s not a good sign for an innovation-driven economy, according to researchers at Babson College and Baruch College, which conducted the study.
5 Intriguing Growth Companies
(Inc) — Serial entrepreneur Brad Oberwager founded Sundia (No. 130) in Oakland, California, in 2004 with the goal of creating the first national watermelon brand. To that end, he began licensing the Sundia brand to watermelon distributors, including Timco Worldwide, which packages and transports the fruit grown on this 5,000-acre farm in Bakersfield, California. Distributors, in turn, benefit from Sundia’s nationwide promotional campaigns, deals on bulk packaging, and other perks. In the past year, the $6.1 million company has shifted its focus to sales of fruit cups, none of which feature watermelon, in stores such as Kroger and A&P.
Why Small Business Job Cuts Hurt More Than Big-Employer Layoffs
(Entrepreneur) — Troubling statistics have been rolling in lately about job losses. While the beginning of the recession saw the shedding of thousands of jobs en masse at major corporations, by the end of last year, job cuts were concentrated at small businesses. While financial aid aimed at small businesses continues to sit in the Senate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 62 percent of cuts were at firms with less than 50 workers — the kind that provide nearly one-third of all jobs.
Small Business Paychecks Dip
(Inc) – The phrase “The only certain thing in life is that nothing is certain” comes courtesy ofPliny the Elder, an ancient Roman philosopher and military commander. And it seems fitting nearly 2,000 years later as a description of today’s economy. Over the last few months, I’ve written that the economy was showing signs of stabilization, but I wasn’t ready to call it a recovery. In light of this month’s SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard, I’m glad I haven’t.
D.C. to Give $50,000 to Ward 3 Businesses
(Washington Business Journal) — The District is making $50,000 available to Ward 3 businesses willing to organize and launch a business improvement district-like nonprofit to support commercial operations along their corridor.
The Ward 3 Business Association Development Project, funded through a grant secured by D.C. Councilwoman Mary Cheh, D-Ward 3, will “support the retention of businesses operating” along the chosen corridor. A coalition of businesses from one corridor will be selected through a competitive process that started Monday, when the Department of Small and Local Business Development released the applications.
Dell Boosts Lending to Small Businesses
(WSJ.com) – For years, Dell Inc. has relied on sales to small businesses for a big chunk of its revenue. It sells more personal computers to small companies than any tech supplier. Now, it is offering more credit to spur small business purchases.
The financing strategy is showing promise. Its small-and-medium-business division posted a 10% gain in revenue in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 29 from the same period last year, versus an 11% gain for the company as a whole. Operating-profit rose 17% from the same quarter last year to $282 million, surpassing the $281 million in operating profit from Dell’s large-business unit, which posted an 8.4% rise from last year.
Dell Boosts Lending to Small Businesses
(WSJ.com) – For years, Dell Inc. has relied on sales to small businesses for a big chunk of its revenue. It sells more personal computers to small companies than any tech supplier. Now, it is offering more credit to spur small business purchases.
The financing strategy is showing promise. Its small-and-medium-business division posted a 10% gain in revenue in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan. 29 from the same period last year, versus an 11% gain for the company as a whole. Operating-profit rose 17% from the same quarter last year to $282 million, surpassing the $281 million in operating profit from Dell’s large-business unit, which posted an 8.4% rise from last year.
