More Focus on SMB's in New Administration

Do you all ever read Kiplinger's? I remember reading his newsletter 20+ years ago when I worked at my 2nd job out of college. I check out the online articles now and then. This caught my eye today: the Obama administration seems to be paying more attention to SMB's than the previous administration.

I also read on Kiplinger's why a recession is a good time to start a business. But I'm betting some of you already know that, right? I started my business during the last recession and it worked out pretty well for me. Lean times make us more creative, and more accountable.

Cross posted at SMB Hub.

SMB's are the Job Creators

I just read this blog entry on the Washington Post that linked me to this fabulous site with small business stats. You can look up your site and find out how many jobs SMB's created and other small business facts. For example, small businesses were responsible for ALL of the net job gains in GA from 2004-2005.

I've read various statistics about job creation, but the one I see most often is that SMB's employ 80% of the nation's workforce. 80%! We need a larger voice in Washington -- or at least one that's commensurate with our awesome responsibility. We make up a huge part of the economy. We see the faces of our workers and go to sleep at night worrying about how we'll keep sales up so they can keep their jobs. Our employees are not nameless, faceless numbers that get cut when times are tough. (I'm not saying that Fortune 500 companies shouldn't make those cuts; just that it's more personal when we do.)

Cross Posted on the SMB Hub

New Loans For Small Businesses - Forbes.com

My favorite printing company, is also a pretty smart company. I've worked with them for years because they provide great quality printing at affordable prices. (We've tried other online discount printers and have been greatly disappointed with the quality.) Turns out their CEO, Andrew Field, is a strong advocate for SMB's (small and medium sized businessess). He is concerned with how the credit crunch is affecting us and how we are largely being ignored in the current recovery conversations. He has a simple plan to help. It's not a bailout. The government actually makes money if we do. Given that we employ 80% of the nation's workforce, it seems reasonable to me that we ought to at least be in the conversation.

SMB's don't have natural organizations. We tend to clump together in verticals related to our industry. There is no giant lobbying group representing us in Washington.

But look, we have the Internet and a whole host of word-of-mouth tools. I'm going to post a link to Andrew Field's proposal here on my blog. Then I'm going to put the link on my Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts. Read it. If you think the idea has merit, pass it along to your networks.

New Loans For Small Businesses - Forbes.com

Social News Sites for the Grown and......Serious

The concept behind social news sites such as Digg, Reddit and Newsvine is pretty simple: search and read the latest in news and happenings and share this content with your circle of friends, colleagues and (perhaps) admirers. But as information becomes increasingly customizable, democratized and instantaneous, these general sites may not feed your insatiable grown-up appetite for real news. Here's a list of great niche social news sites that will undoubtedly fill you up:



Great social news site specifically for small-to-medium sized business companies




Social news site for marketers, entrepreneurs and business professionals




#1 Social news site for internet marketers, with a focus on search




Social news site focusing on current health news



A news site that focuses on technology, start-ups, business and entrepreneurship




Financial Social news service





Internet marketing Social news site that focuses on making money




Great Design social news site



Web design news and tips

Related articles

• Go Wide or Go Niche?
• Swarrm Dishes Social News Recommendations (The Startup Review) - 100 Invites
• Series: Giants of Social Media: Digg

Check Out NTM on the Radio

Last weekend, I was interviewed for a radio show called "Tech Talk." The host, Craig Peterson, wanted to know how small businesses combat low productivity in the summer. I had a few thoughts,which you can listen to here . I think the thing we do best is manage expectations with our clients. We know things will take longer in the summer; not only are we on vacation, but our clients usually are, too. We discuss that up front so everyone is on the same page. There's more, but it's probably more fun to listen to it!

Listen to the podcast here: Tech Talk With Craig Peterson - Tech That Talks to Everyone