1. Research. Research who will be attending and who you want to try to speak with.
2. Prepare. Be prepared to effectively deliver your elevator pitch.
3. Listen. Be an effective listener so you can learn more about your potential clients
Source: Winmark Business Solutions
Author: Laura Kozien
Subject: Green Business Advice: Catching up with 'g' Green Design Center
| By Cailey Ryckman We recently caught up with Nicole Goldman, Founder and President of 'g' Green Design Center, to talk about her unique green business!
What does your company offer? Is a green business sustainable? Is there a demand for your products? 'g' Green Design Center is a green-building design center and retail showroom providing a full range of materials from flooring to renewable energy to build or remodel residences and small commercial facilities. Yes, a green business is sustainable – at least we believe so and are proving this through our success at our flagship showroom on Cape Cod, and with the expansion of our business to new franchise locations–presently one in Norwell, MA, and one opening in Toronto Canada this fall. We have seen the demand for our products grow tremendously since we opened three years ago. What was once the hope and dream for a homeowner seeking green building materials, has flourished to become a resource that homeowners and businesses can rely on for well-researched, quality, reliable green products. Who are your clients? How has your client demographic changed in recent years? Our clients are homeowners who are building new or remodeling, builders, architects, contractors and small businesses. I think the client demographic has broadened to include certainly builders who were previously skeptical of changes in building techniques, homeowners who were under the impression that green materials would be more expensive or out of their price range which they are not, and the general public who has embraced their part in considering the materials they use, reuse, ingest, throw away or recycle. What do you think the current perception of "green" is? Is it just a fad or is it here to stay? "Green" has really come into its own. Everyone wants to understand the concepts better and to participate to some degree. The underlying truth is that "green" is not a fad and not something that we need to learn to understand. "Green" is really just smart. It's about being smart about your choices, about using only what you need, being careful about how you use materials, and dispose of things. All of the recent issues with climate change, oil spills, food contamination, etc. reminds us that we have to be responsible for how we use the environment around us, or we will not have it available for us to enjoy. We have to change our interaction with environment – the macro view and the micro view (in our own homes). People are coming to understand their part. What advice would you give to other green businesses? Work within a proven business mode— absolutely. Do not give it all away because we are guilty for how much damage has already been done, or to gain initial acceptance. A business has to make money to survive. If you are providing a necessary service or product with a focus on assisting your customers, and in the green economy thereby helping to contribute to some of the answers, then you should be proud of your work. Believe in yourself and never give up. |
What is an elevator pitch?
One of the most important things you can do as a businessperson is to learn how to effectively tell others about your business. You should be able to sum up the most unique and compelling aspects of your service or product in a way that catches a person's attention and piques their interest. An elevator pitch will help you articulate your message, close deals, find new prospects and help your audience understand what you are talking about and why they should care. And as the name says, you should be able to do this in the amount of time it takes to ride the elevator – about fifteen to thirty seconds!
Why do you need an elevator pitch?
While you could spend hours talking about your business, most people do not have the attention span or time to listen to your “spiel” for hours. Therefore you need a concise, educational way to teach others about what you do and leave them intrigued. The elevator pitch allows you to explain your business quickly and to the point – think “Big Picture”. Your elevator pitch should not sound “salesy” or focus completely how great your product or service is. You want to talk about your business and what it is that you do - not just what you are selling.
Two Questions your elevator pitch must answer:
1. What is your product or service? Briefly describe what it is your company does, what your role is and who you work with. Keep this description high level and do not go into too much detail.
2. What is your competitive advantage? You need to communicate how your company is different and stands out from your competition.
Things to remember when creating your elevator pitch:
· Always Be Prepared and Know Your Audience
Adjust the pitch to the person who is listening, and refine it as you and your business continue to grow and change. Depending on how you market your business and which settings you frequent, you may want to develop several different elevator pitches, which feature key words depending on your audience.
· Be Concise and Clear
An effective elevator pitch contains as few words as possible and is spoken slowly and with confidence. Rather than filling your pitch with industry acronyms and verbiage, an effective elevator pitch should be able to be understood by a number of acquaintances from various industries and roles.
· Practice, Practice, then Practice Some More
Very few people have the power to make compelling speeches about their entire professional lives on demand and under pressure. Take time to write down a pitch, practice, tweak it, and practice again.
· Use it or Lose it!
Don't just save your elevator speech for networking events! Give your elevator speech to anyone willing to listen. Friends, family, colleagues all may offer different insight as to what points you are missing from your pitch. This will teach you how to adapt or change to appeal to a variety of different audiences, as well as allow you to prepare for the different types of questions your audiences may ask you.
Source: Winmark Business Solutions
Author: Elizabeth Garlow
Subject: Destination: Karl's Sausage
| ACCION USA client Karl's Sausage Kitchen & European Market is a destination for meat lovers throughout New England and beyond. On Tuesday night, it was a destination for ACCION USA staff, as some of us drove to Saugus, MA to participate in a ceremony celebrating the installation of their new business sign. It was for the design and installation of this sign that Karl's applied and was approved for an $18,000 loan from ACCION USA's Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Fund, a partnership between ACCION USA and Samuel Adams designed to provide access to capital and mentorship for small business owners in the food, beverage and hospitality sectors. "The credit crunch and recession have really made it difficult for businesses of our type to secure a loan. We were lucky to hear about the program," said Anita, one of the owners of Karl's.
Check out write-ups in boston.com's business updates and the Lynn Daily. Congratulations Anita and Bob! ACCION USA is thrilled to be a part of your business journey. Karl's Sausage Kitchen, located at 142 Broadway (Route 1 North), is open Tuesday-Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 9a.m. to 6p.m. Reach the business by phone at (781) 233-3099 or online at www.karlssausage.com. |
ACD Financial Services provide business loans to businesses going green!
Author: jspaziano
Subject: The Toxic Monster on Main Street: Dry Cleaning
|
According to the U.S. EPA, almost 40 percent of dry cleaners don't have the resources needed to comply with regulations. With some green upgrades carrying heavy price tags for small businesses, many small dry cleaners choose to forego going green altogether or opt for "natural" options that are not so "green" in reality. The result has been a number of storefronts making the "green" dry cleaning claim without the security you would like. Consumer uncertainty, fear and product confusion keep small businesses providing the high-toxic options. The Federal government has caught onto the issue, and by 2020 all "co-inhabiting" dry cleaners (those located in apartment buildings, schools, etc) will need to transition from using perchloroethylene (perc for short). http://www.epa.gov/region2/capp/dryclean.htm Some states (i.e. CA, NJ & MA) are already providing incentives for dry cleaners to go "green". What's so bad about perc? The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that clothes dry cleaned with perc can elevate levels of the toxin throughout a home and especially in the room where the garments are stored. Nursing mothers exposed to perc may excrete it in their milk, placing their infants at risk. If governments, both local and national, are legislating around and promoting greener professional cleaning and if consumers are demanding real green options – why are 85% of dry cleaners still using perc? http://departments.oxy.edu/uepi/ppc/index.htm Could it be that many of the dry cleaners are mom and pop companies just trying to weather the recession? ACCION USA, through it's Green Loan Program www.accionusa.org/green has started speaking with industry leaders such as Peter Sinsheimer, director of the Pollution Prevention Center at Occidental College and Joy Onasch at the Toxic Use Reduction Institute at the University of Massachusetts to see how microlending can play a role – financing the gap between government incentives and a business owner's pocket. Is your dry cleaner really green? Do you have dry cleaners claiming to be "green" on your block? Do your part – get informed and fight the toxic monster on main street one piece of clothing at a time. |
Author: Laura Kozien
Subject: Sex Discrimination and Credit Cutbacks
| Change.org recently posted a fascinating (and enraging) blog on the latest phenomenon in credit cutbacks. Women are facing nothing less than sex discrimination in that mortgage lenders are now considering loss of income due to maternity leave as unemployment, resulting in disqualification or severe reduction in the loan amount. The article couldn't have been timelier—the very same day that it was released, I was participating in a brainstorming session with ACCION USA's loan consultants about the challenges that our women borrowers face. As a single woman with an independent streak—especially when it comes to finances—I was shocked to hear the laundry list of credit, family, and financial issues that make it harder for many women to get loans:
If you're a microfinance lender that works with women—what issues can you add to this list? What do you think are the most important things to address in terms of increasing access to capital—be it for personal or business use—for women? |
| Guest post by: Percy Allison Percy Allison is an intern at ACCION USA in New York. He is the co-founder the Trinity Microfinance Project (TMP) and the ACCION Youth Microfinance Council which is creating and connecting youth microfinance initiatives, starting in New York City. You can find TMP at www.trinitymicrofinanceproject.com or become a fan of Trinity Microfinance Project on Facebook What attracts a high school senior to microfinance? It may be hard to draw the comparison between a stu During four years of struggling to become the varsity starting goalie I learned about risk, drive, persistence and perseverance. Every entrepreneur is taking a risk. They are starting their own business. They are taking a chance to succeed. Every young person takes risks. Every young person needs someone to give them a chance to prove to the world that they too can do it. Whether it is the teacher staying after class and giving an inspirational pep talk or the football coach giving the quarterback another chance after he threw the game-losing interception – every young person needs someone to believe in them – and so does the entrepreneur. This is why so many young people are fired up by microfinance. It is other people being creative and finding their own way. So are we. It is other people putting their heart out for something. So are we. It is other people being courageous, intelligent and believing in themselves and more importantly believing in the world to support them. I guess that is the big thing. They believe. As young people, that is the most important thing. We believe. We are new to life and we believe in it. We want to find our way. These entrepreneurs share that same contagious passion. How could we not be inspired? How could we not see ourselves in the ACCION USA client? There are a ton of organizations and a variety of ways to help alleviate poverty and do good. But among all of those, microfinance finds a special place in the heart of teens. In this way, helping the entrepreneur is like helping ourselves — seeing them achieve is seeing ourselves achieve. And it all is confirming our belief that in the end, success is believing in yourself. |
| Everybody in the non-profit sector should make sure to read the New York Times article "Pledge to Give Away Half Gains Billionaire Adherents" published yesterday. According to Stephanie Strom close to 40 American billionaires including NYC' Mayor Bloomberg, David Rockefeller, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett made the promise to donate at least half of their fortune to philanthropy. The combined total of the donations will be close to $600 billion ! What do you think this means for microfinance and the non-profit sector? |
Negotiating extended payment terms with your suppliers is a technique that can be used to delay your cash flows and improve your overall cash flow. Most of your suppliers will require payment within 20 or 30 days after you receive their bill. If you're like most other business owners, you probably assume that these payment terms are non-negotiable. However, some of your suppliers may be willing to negotiate longer credit terms. Their willingness to offer you better credit terms may be based on one of the following:
· your past and present business relationship with them
· your past payment history and perceived credit worthiness
· securing a large order or your continued business
This is one of those situations where it can't hurt to ask. But, be prepared to justify your request. Your suppliers will likely extend your payment terms if presented with a strong case!
Deferring expenses. To a limited extent, your business may be able to delay cash flows by deferring the payment of certain expenses. Payroll is one example of an expense that you may be able to defer. If your business pays its employees once a week, you may want to consider switching to paying your employees once every two weeks instead. Likewise, if your business writes payroll checks once every two weeks, you might switch to a monthly payroll cycle. Sales commissions or sales bonuses are two other expenses that may provide you with some deferral possibilities. Be sure to review your business for any other expenses that can be reasonably deferred.
This is a great article…
It's Not About How Your Message Is Delivered
July 2010
I was part of a team conducting a focus group for a large nonprofit client. The focus group comprised representatives from the financial sector, a target audience this particular national nonprofit was most interested in cultivating through its messaging.
One or more of the messages we were about to test had the words "partners" and "partnership" in them, which we thought were no-brainers. After all, they are simple, easy-to-understand words that convey affiliation, cooperation, collaboration, alliance, all the good stuff, right?
Wrong!
As the messages came up for the group's reaction, two bankers immediately raised their hands.
"In our industry, the words 'partners' and 'partnership' are loaded with legal implications," said one. "We don't mind being recognized as 'working together' with the organization, but we'd rather not be identified as 'partners,'" said the other.
Bad-dah-bing!
Had we allowed our client to go public with the original messages, chances are the impact that they might have had on their intended audience, namely potential financial sector funders, would have been the opposite from what the organization was hoping for.
The lesson learned: It's not about how your message is delivered but rather how it is received that makes all the difference.
Fact is, most organizations shoot from the hip when it comes to talking about themselves. They don't pay enough attention to the messages they send out and often have no idea how those messages are affecting the very audiences they are seeking to reach.
Gain Control Over Your Messages
Gain control over your messaging process by creating a "messaging package," namely by compiling the core messages you want to convey to your target audiences. The purpose of your messaging package is to help everyone affiliated with your organization stay on message.
What follows is a simplified version of how to get started.
Step 1: Come to internal consensus about what you want to convey about your organization through your messaging. These messages may include your organization's core cultural values, the kinds of programs and services it provides, how it provides them, and so forth.
The best way to come to consensus around these messages is to conduct an internal SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. The goal of this introspective analysis—which gets best results when conducted by a knowledgeable, objective third party—often goes beyond messaging and allows an organization, perhaps for the first time, consciously to identify and promote its strengths, address its weaknesses, leverage its opportunities, and prepare for any threats it may perceive.
Keep in mind that whatever messages come out of this process need to reflect your organization's story, not its fairy tale. For example, if one of the strengths you identify is that your organization is a good steward of public funding, make sure that that's the case, without exception!
Step 2: Conduct external research. Through focus groups, surveys, or informal conversations, learn what your target audiences want to know about your organization. Are their current perceptions of who you are and what you do accurate? If not, why not, and how do you need to alter your messages to gain their attention, recognition, and understanding?
Step 3: Draft your messages. Use what you have learned through your internal SWOT analysis and external research to draft a messaging package that contains all the messages you believe are true and accurate about your organization and that will resonate with your target audiences.
Step 4: Test your messages! Before going public with your messages, be sure to test them. Remember, I may enjoy working with your organization, but I might not appreciate being identified as a partner.
Step 5: Make sure everyone affiliated with your organization knows what your messaging package contains. The goal of every organization should be "to stay on message." Otherwise, if everyone affiliated with your organization is sending out different messages, your audiences will be confused.
To understand who you are and what you do, people outside your organization need to receive clear, consistent, and concise messages. A messaging package can help you do this—and take a lot of the stress out of talking about your organization as well.
· How useful did you find this article? Give us your feedback
Larry Checco, Checco Communications
© 2010, Checco Communications
Larry Checco is president of Checco Communications and author of Branding for Success: A Roadmap for Raising the Visibility and Value of Your Nonprofit Organization. Larry is a nationally recognized public speaker, workshop presenter, and consultant on branding.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may or may not represent GuideStar's opinions. GuideStar is committed to providing a range of topics and perspectives to our users. We make every effort to obtain articles from knowledgeable, trustworthy sources, but we make no warranties or representations with regard to articles written by persons outside GuideStar.
Great post by Bill Siegel at The Receivables Exchange. We are a funder on the exchange.
Feed: BLOG | Capital Matters
Posted on: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 4:50 PM
Author: Bill Siegel
Subject: How the SBA is Inextricably Linked to Our Economic Future
|
If scientists can solve such ancient riddles, it stands to reason that we can solve some more modern ones, too. The U.S. unemployment rate has been hovering at 9.5% for two months now, down from a high of over 10% at the end of 2009, and, adjusted for one-time restocking of inventories, Q2 GDP remains anemic. So, here's the riddle: how do we create jobs when the demand simply isn't there? Giving more money to employers so they can pay more salaries is a good place to start. Some quick analysis provides evidence that monthly employment figures and business lending statistics are inextricably linked. Extending credit allows business to not only buy more goods (capital spending and working capital), but also pay salaries to new workers, who in turn spend their salaries on consumer products. Business credit begets both corporate spending and consumer spending. Spending drives GDP. It's a less complicated chain of logic than the genetic work performed by the chicken and egg scientists, but perhaps more relevant. If we agree that the above logic is reasonable, the place to start when tackling the job creation problem is by stoking credit, particularly to small and midsize businesses (SMBs). SMBs employ 52%[1] of the workers in the U.S., but they account for under 2% of the total issuance of credit. The dearth of small business credit is directly correlated to the poor employment picture. The past 24 months of data show a very strong correlation between the amount of SBA-backed 7(a) loans issued, and the rate of change in employment reported monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The below chart plots the two statistics against each other:
With a correlation coefficient of 66%, the relationship is not only practical, but visually and statistically[2] clear. But the chicken-and-egg problem is that increasingly risk-averse banks will be reluctant to lend to small businesses that actually need capital to hire employees. We can solve this by providing incentives, but some of the more successful incentives we've devised are disappearing. At the end of June, a program started under TARP, which moved the SBA's loan guarantee to 90% from 75%, expired. The effect on lending to small businesses was dramatic, and rippled through to employment. In the first four months of the year, net new SBA loans covered by the 90% guarantee, averaged $1.2 billion per month. In June and July following the expiration of the program, new SBA loans have been running just over $300 million, a 75% drop. Legislation to renew the program is currently stalled in the Senate. Meanwhile the Fed continues to support the credit markets which remain open to only those companies large enough to access them. The Fed's drive to keep rates as low as possible is actually creating a further drag on the ability for commercial banks to lend. One of the biggest obstacles for SBA lending is the lack of economic scale and profitability to the issuing bank. The loans are simply too small and time consuming to underwrite for the program to scratch the upper half of most banks' priority lists. The Fed's compression of the yield curve (the difference between short term rates and long term rates on Treasury notes) has made it difficult for commercial banks to create robust earnings from new lending. Net interest margins (the difference between what a bank earns on its loan portfolio, offset by the amount it cost the bank to borrow the money from depositors and other lenders) have been similarly compressed by the Fed's actions. Tight margins mean less profit, and result in more costly lending programs being curtailed. The scalability and cost of issuing lots of SBA loans make the programs easy targets to cut. Could the problem be solved in reverse order perhaps? A rise in employment could finally give SMBs the resources to go out and take on new projects, thus increasing the demand and subsequent issuance of SBA loans. Sounds reasonable except for one thorny reality: Employees generally like to be paid first, so the money has to be in the bank before the employment letters hit the mailboxes and ripple through to the statistics. No, unfortunately the current state of SMB balance sheets does not afford them the ability to hire in the absence of credit –- unless they can manage cash flow more effectively. The Receivables Exchange is just one tool SMBs are using to continue growing when credit is tight. In fact, receivables trading volume on our platform has increased 300% YTD as of July 31, which means there's a hunger for innovative ways to optimize cash flow and access growth capital. Companies are now lowering their cost of capital by 30%, on average, by selling receivables on the Exchange. SMBs may not solve this particular chicken-and-egg problem, but with innovative financing sources like The Receivables Exchange, perhaps they don't have to. Bill Siegel, CFA, is senior vice president and head of the Liquidity Desk at The Receivables Exchange, an accounts receivable financing tool. The Exchange is the the world's first online marketplace for real-time trading of accounts receivable. Find out how to trade accounts receivable. [1] U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) [2] Using N=24, df=22. Correlation Coefficient of .66 is statistically significant at a P-value of .01 http://blog.receivablesxchange.com/blog/bid/12937/How-the-SBA-is-Inextricably-Linked-to-Our-Economic-Future
The Receivables Exchange is the world's first online marketplace for real-time trading of accounts receivable. |
Feed: Main Street Microfinance
Posted on: Thursday, August 19, 2010 1:34 PM
Author: Alejandra Boggiano
Subject: CDFI Awards $750,000 to ACCION USA
| This morning ACCION USA received a $750,00 grant, the largest given to the New York City office. This grant is part of $104.9 million in awards for 180 local financial institutions serving 44states and the District of Columbia from CDFI, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund from the U.S. Treasury Department. (Read the full press release.) This grant will allow ACCION USA to lend more and continue improving small businesses everywhere.
ACCION USA's Grant by CDFI |
Once your are set up with a factor, you'll be advanced a large percentage of the face value of the invoice. Credit worthy accounts receivables can be traded in or cashed in for immediate cash that is available to you in less than 24 to 48 hours.
If you are waiting for the invoice to be paid in the next 30-45 days, or longer, the cost of doing business with a factor is the discount fee. These fees from an invoice factoring company range from one to ten percent, depending on volume, creditworthiness of the customer being invoiced and risk.
Source: Interface Financial Group
***************
Small Business Procurement Scorecard Shows Progress toward Meeting 23
Percent Goal for Small Business Contracting
SBA Working with Federal Agencies to Improve Integrity of Data, Clarity
***************
Release Date: August 27, 2010
Contact: Tiffani Clements (202) 401-0035
Hayley Matz (202) 205-6948
Release Number: 10-48
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news
***************
WASHINGTON - Small businesses won a record $96.8 billion in federal prime
contracts in Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 (Oct. 1, 2008-Sept. 30, 2009), an
increase
of more than $3 billion from FY 2008, according to the U.S. Small Business
Administration's fourth annual small business procurement scorecard released
today. This dollar amount represents 21.89 percent of all federal spending
-
an improvement over FY2008. Additionally, performance in each of the
government's socioeconomic subcategories increased for FY2009.
"Small businesses received a record $96.8 billion in federal contracts in
2009.
There was an increase in both dollars and contracting share for every small
business category. This represents real progress, but not enough, we must
reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that the 23 percent goal is met and
exceeded," SBA Administrator Karen Mills said. "Federal contracts awarded to
small businesses are a 'win-win' - providing small businesses with the
opportunity to grow and create jobs, and offering innovative services and
essential goods to the government at great value to the taxpayers."
Small Business Goaling Summary Report
Small Businesses
2009 Goal 23%
2009 Percentage 21.89%
2009 Contract Dollars $96.8 billion
2008 Percentage 21.5%
2008 Contract Dollars $93.2 billion
Women Owned Small Business
2009 Goal 5%
2009 Percentage 3.68%
2009 Contract Dollars $16.3 billion
2008 Percentage 3.40%
2008 Contract Dollars $14.7 billion
Small Disadvantaged Businesses
2009 Goal 5%
2009 Percentage 7.57%
2009 Contract Dollars $33.5 billion
2008 Percentage 6.76%
2008 Contract Dollars $29.3 billion
Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business
2009 Goal 3%
2009 Percentage 1.98%
2009 Contract Dollars $8.8 billion
2008 Percentage 1.49%
2008 Contract Dollars $6.4 billion
HUBZone
2009 Goal 3%
2009 Percentage 2.81%
2009 Contract Dollars $12.4 billion
2008 Percentage 2.34%
2008 Contract Dollars $10.1 billion
SBA is required to report to the President and Congress on achievements by
federal agencies and departments against their annual goal to ensure greater
accountability. The small business Procurement Scorecard fulfills that
requirement by providing an assessment of federal achievement in prime
contracting and subcontracting to small businesses by the 24 Chief Financial
Officers Act agencies. It also measures progress that departments are making
to ensure small business opportunities remain an integral part of their
acquisition of goods and services to meet mission objectives.
The fourth annual Scorecard is an assessment tool (1) to measure how well
federal agencies reach their small business and socio-economic prime
contracting and subcontracting goals, (2) provide accurate and transparent
contracting data and (3) report agency-specific progress. The prime and
subcontracting component goals include goals for small businesses, small
businesses owned by women, small disadvantaged businesses, service-disabled
veteran owned small businesses, and small businesses in located in HUBZones.
As it does every year, the SBA has closely examined federal procurement
reporting and data to ensure the greatest level of transparency possible.
After identifying anomalies in initial reports, the SBA has worked
collaboratively - and will continue to work - with agencies across the
government to correct as many data issues as possible, and improve the
integrity of all small business federal contracting reporting moving
forward.
The Recovery Act and small business contracting
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided additional
resources to federal agencies in fiscal year 2009, providing additional
opportunities for small businesses to win federal contracts. Through early
August, small businesses have secured over 30 percent of Recovery Act
Contracts. This preliminary data underscores the priority the
Administration
and the SBA have placed on increasing small businesses access to federal
contracts so that they can grow and create jobs.
About the Scorecard
SBA graded 24 agencies on each of the individual prime contracting goals
established by Congress and used a new A+ through F letter grade system
rather than the previous red, yellow, and green ratings. The new scorecard
format was implemented this year to provide greater clarity and transparency
on how well each agency is doing in meeting its individual small business
prime
contracting goals.
Each federal agency has a different small business contracting goal,
determined annually in consultation with SBA. SBA ensures that the sum
total
of all of the goals meets the 23 percent target established by law.
Each agency's overall grade will show an A+ for agencies that meet or exceed
120 percent of their goals, an A for those between 100 percent and 119
percent, a B for 90 to 99 percent, a C for 80 to 89 percent, a D for 70 to
79
percent and an F for less than 70 percent. An agency's overall grade was
comprised of three quantitative measures: prime contracts (80 percent),
subcontracts (10 percent) and its progress plan for meeting goals (10
percent).
The scorecards released today by SBA, as well as a detailed explanation of
the
new scorecard methodology, is available online:
http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/goals/index.html.
As part of its ongoing efforts to increase access to contracting
opportunities
for small businesses, the SBA is continuing to work with federal agency
procurement staff to strengthen the integrity of contracting data, including
providing tools to facilitate public review of data, improvements to systems
and training to improve accuracy.
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You can invest up to 100% of your existing retirement funds into a small business or franchise without taking a taxable distribution or paying tax penalties.
Similar to buying stock in a publicly traded company, your retirement plan can buy stock in your own privately held business. You can also use IRA/401K funds as a down payment for SBA or unsecured loan.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has been promoting the participation of DBEs in federal-aid highway contracts through state-managed programs since 1982. DBE/SS grants are part of an ongoing federal effort to help state departments of transportation train certified DBE firms on a wide range of business management practices, including procurement assistance and guidance on securing bonding. The goal of the program is to help DBEs successfully compete for federal highway projects.
Another business management practice being used has to do with invoice factoring. Many real estate developers and construction companies are also facing economic slumps thanks to the economy, and many are only barely getting by and are using construction factoring to survive from one job to the next. Many factoring companies are educating small businesses on how to use their services.
Expenses and Using Accounts Receivables Factoring
| When it comes to keeping track of your company's finances, research shows that a great number of business owners neglect their books. They neglect to track income and expenses by letting business receipts pile up, or worse, they lose the receipts altogether. They also fail to enter their expense data into a bookkeeping system. Or maybe they are keeping their income and expense records up to date, but they fail to use the numbers to answer questions about their business's financial condition. This scenario is more common among owners of small to medium-size businesses. The reality is that by simply keeping up with the basics, or possibly employing accounts receivable factoring, you can help prevent a true financial disaster, especially given today's economic conditions. Many business owners look at financial management with fear or they claim to be too busy running the business to deal with tracking their income and expenses. There are also excellent procedures that can help your cash flow such as accounts receivable factoring, but first, here are some essential tips for better managing your business expenses:
Implementing the above steps will help you to pace your company's growth, trim expenses and/or price your services or goods more effectively. It is also possible that you will be able to reduce your taxes by being better prepared to claim all deductible expenses. What's more, you will be able to manage your business's cash flow better. And if you are currently in a pinch and are cash poor because you don't yet have these systems in place, and you can't pay your bills on time, an effective cash management tool known as accounts receivable factoring. You may also need to hire a financial business consultant a couple of times during the start-up phase of your business to help the business get off the ground. Original post blogged on b2evolution. |
As we stood outside for the lighting of the new sign, a fresh and catchy look that fully maintains the Karl's tradition, I glanced around me at the family, friends, distributors, and loyal customers that had gathered for an evening of German Sausages and celebration with the owners of Karl's. 
For many consumers and small business owners, green is an aspiration – a way of life. We rarely find ourselves swimming in the scientific details. So today, here's a close look at dry cleaning, the toxic "Monster on Main Street" that feeds on the uninformed consumer and business owner alike!![soccer2.jpg_0[1]](http://www.accionusa.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/soccer2.jpg_01.jpg)
dent's soccer struggle and the effort of the entrepreneur, but I would argue that the raw similarities are surprisingly real.-resized-600.gif)
