Yesterday's "Tube Talk" e-newsletter discussed rising gas prices and the effect the increase is having on small businesses. More than 64 percent of small business owners polled on DollarDays.com said revenue is down as a result of increased gas prices, and more than a quarter said they will have to lay off employees as a result. (more...)
Posts Tagged ‘small-business’
Are small businesses optimistic enough to hire?
February 23rd, 2011
By: Vicki Bell
By: Vicki Bell
Do you own or work for a small business? How's your business faring these days? Are you hiring?
February 16, the House Committee on Small Business held a hearing titled "Putting Americans Back to Work: the State of the Small Business Economy." Speaking before the meeting, Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez (D-NY), ranking member of the Committee, delivered a statement that said, in part, "the economy has begun to grow again and a recovery is underway. However, it is clear that there is a long way to go and entrepreneurs are still struggling on many fronts." (more...)
Crisis management and small business
June 3rd, 2010
By: Vicki Bell
By: Vicki Bell
Google "crisis management" (with the quote marks) and you'll retrieve a list of almost 3 million results, many with links to articles about how companies can manage crises that threaten their existence.
Google "BP crisis management" (also with quote marks) and you’ll get more than 6,000 results, including a link to the article "Visual tools for BP's crisis managers" that appeared in Computerworld in 2008. This article described how a Web-based tool combining 3-D satellite imagery and real-time weather data helped BP crisis managers make quicker, better decisions "when a disaster like a hurricane was barreling down on the company's workers and assets." (more...)
'150 jobs for $1.3 million would be a steal'
February 3rd, 2010
By: Vicki Bell
By: Vicki Bell
Among the items in last month’s “Tube Talk” e-newsletter was one about Leonard Maniscalco, who owns Sackett Systems Inc., Bensenville, Ill. This small-business owner wants the government to give him a $1.3 million grant. In return, he’ll create 150 new jobs.
According to Chicago Tribune columnist Greg Burns, who wrote about Maniscalco’s quest for government funding, “If the idea sounds pie-in-the-sky, or maybe just batty, consider how the government expects to lose $30 billion on its investment in General Motors and Chrysler. By that score card, 150 jobs for $1.3 million would be a steal.” (more...)
