Help Your Business: Shipping & Mailing

Shipping & Mailing
The United States Postal Service recently launched its Commercial Plus service, which offers volume discounts for businesses that do a lot of shipping. We mean A LOT. If you ship 6,000 or more pieces of Express Mail per year, you can get a volume discount of 14.5%. If you ship 100,000 or more pieces of priority mail, you’re eligible for a 7% discount. To qualify, businesses must use a USPS-approved postage system.

Help Your Business: Car Rentals

Car Rentals
To get the best rate on cars, try Kayak.com and Hotwire.com, which scour dozens of sources to find the best local rates. Zipcar and Hertz offer car shares. For airport parking, LongTermParking.com is a national database of coupons for discounts at parking lots close to airports.

Help Your Business: Professional Services

Professional Services
Cash may be king, but 2009 may see the resurgence of bartering. That’s how dog trainer Cassera got "free" accounting and legal work done. "The economy is bad, but so are dogs," Cassera says. Luckily for Cassera, both his lawyer and his accountant had unruly pooches. In return for getting the pets to behave, Cassera received advice on branding and logos and help on his estimated taxes. If a more formal agreement appeals to you, U-Exchange and ITEX are just two of many barter sites that help businesses find suitable bartering partners in any state. Remember: You’ll usually need to pay taxes on the fair-market value of the goods and services exchanged via barter.

For good rates on legal basics, such as incorporating or developing a trademark, you might try LegalZoom.com. To form a limited partnership, for instance, you answer a series of questions online about you, your partners, and the business. LegalZoom’s staff then creates the necessary forms and files them. The economy package for a limited partnership costs $150. For the true DIYer, Nolo offers free templates of documents you need to create trusts, wills, and business partnerships. It also offers upgraded services, where attorneys help file your paperwork once you submit it online.

Helping Your Business: Utilities

Utilities
About half of states have deregulated their electricity markets, which means you may be able to get a better deal by comparing providers. Some utilities also offer level payment plans, letting you sign up for fixed monthly payments based on an estimate of your year’s consumption. In some cases the company continues to record your usage each month. If you use less than the forecast, you’ll get a refund at the end of the year. Another option: time-of-use plans. These divide the day into peak, mid-peak, and off-peak hours. The more you can shift your energy use to mid- and off-peak hours, the more you’ll save. Pacific Gas & Electric, in California, offers savings of nearly 70% for shifting use to off-peak hours.

Help Your Business: Phone Servie

Phone Service
Paying big bucks to talk on the phone is so 1990s. Instead, piggyback on your Internet connection and make most of your phone calls using the Internet. Skype lets you make unlimited free international calls; magicJack takes care of the local ones. It’s free to connect with other callers within the Skype network. You can use SkypeOut to make unlimited domestic or international calls to those who don’t use Skype for $24 and $120 annually, respectively. Basic Skype requires a special headset with a microphone that plugs into your computer. MagicJack lets you make free domestic calls on traditional phone lines, but you need to buy the $39.95 jack, which plugs into your computer. After a year, renewal costs $19.95. Your computer needs to be on for you to make calls.

Help Your Business: Labor

Labor
Think interns. Start by visiting the job placement office of your local college. Nelson approached professors at Georgia Institute of Technology in 2003 to find students who would design an online coupon database for her. They did it for free. "Software development is very expensive, but I was at a point where I could not grow without it," Nelson says. Once her business turned a profit, she set up a $25,000 endowment at the school.

Another option is Elance, an online marketplace where you can hire contract workers for specific tasks. You post a description of your project, and providers write back with proposals and pricing. You vet the contractors, with help from an eBay-like ratings system, and choose the best—and/or cheapest—one.

Help Your Business: Office Equipment

Office Equipment
Printers, desks, telephones, and monitors are the lifeblood of your business, and they can be costly. For big-ticket items, head to the "free" section on craigslist or freecycle listings. If you’re willing to pick through offers for floral love seats, Star Wars figurines, and ’70s-era shag rugs, you’ll also likely stumble on Epson printers, Ikea desks, file cabinets, and shelving, and they won’t cost you a penny. You can list your needs there as well. Gary Cassera, owner of Balanced Dog, a Marlton (N.J.) dog walking and training business with about $100,000 in sales, says he found three free kennel cages by posting on craigslist. “Most times these things just sit in people’s garages,” Cassera explains.

Then there are yard sales, the Salvation Army, Goodwill, and your local thrift store. Companies going out of business often donate what they can’t otherwise get rid of, says Jeff Yeager, author of The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches. "A week does not go by when I don’t go to a thrift store," he says

Helping Your Busines: Meals & Entertainment

Nothing says cheap—or tacky—like whipping out a coupon to pay for a business meal or drinks. Register your credit card at rewardsnetwork.com and you’ll get discounts of up to 15% at about 10,000 bars, restaurants, and clubs nationally. The discount applies automatically and shows up as a deduction from the total cost of the bill on your statement. It’s free to join and you can register up to five cards.

By Jeremy Quittner

Help Your Business: Cut Costs

A great article

By Jeremy Quittner

Pinch Every Penny
Stephanie Nelson has a passion for a good deal. That’s fitting: Her two-person Atlanta company, CouponMom.com, runs an online coupon site. "I have a $3 business phone, a $4 lamp from my neighbor’s garage sale, and I use stationery I rescued from my husband’s office when they moved," Nelson says. (She blocks out the incorrect return address with free address labels.) For office equipment, she scours the newspaper for sales, gathers up rebate coupons, and heads right back to the store if prices drop after she buys. Her Hewlett-­Packard (HPQ) color laser printer—retail price $500—cost her $190. She meets clients over coffee, not dinner. She almost never travels for business, preferring conference calls. She does make those calls from a lovely $1,800 desk, though. How? Her husband bought it for her.Not every entrepreneur will be inspired to match Nelson’s thriftiness. But for those who want to channel their inner cheapskate, a little cash and a lot of tenacity can go a long way.

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Small Business Loans

Small Business Loan Demand Rising at Community Lenders

click here for original article

Posted by: John Tozzi on June 05

I had an interesting chat today with Mark Pinsky, CEO of Opportunity Finance Network, which is an organization of financial institutions that focus on low-income and low-wealth communities. These mostly non-profit Community Development Financial Institutions include banks, credit unions, venture funds, and other lenders.

As an industry, CDFIs have committed about $30 billion in capital to financing. CDFIs focus on lending to people, businesses, and nonprofits in areas that banks don’t normally serve, or don’t serve adequately. Pinksy pointed out a trend worth noting: Since last fall, CDFIs have seen a big jump in loan requests from companies that wouldn’t normally seek them out.

“We are just seeing so many businesses who are not our usual customers, who are in effect up-market from us, who’ve been banked for 5 or 10 or 15 years, and have just seen credit dry up,” Pinksy says.

The evidence is anecdotal but strong. I heard the same thing last October, early in the financial crisis, from Laura Kozien of microlender ACCION USA (a member of Opportunity Finance Network). At the time, she said she was seeing more demand from business owners with good credit (FICO 650 or higher) who would normally qualify at banks. In February, Louise Lee delved deeper into the trend.

It’s interesting that demand for small business loans is up at microlenders and CDFIs — because it’s down at banks. At least according to the Fed’s quarterly lending survey, demand for commercial and industrial loans is falling, and credit standards are tightening. (Prior coverage here, Fed report here.)

If you’ve sought funding from a community lender after being turned down from a bank — or if you work in a CDFI and have spotted this trend — let us know in comments or on Twitter.

On a related note, we just published a special report on the fastest growing companies in low-income and low-wealth communities — the same areas that CDFIs serve.

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Facebook Will Upend Advertising

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How Facebook Will Upend Advertising

With social networks like Facebook transforming the way companies communicate with consumers, it's time for the ad industry to get its head out of the sand

By Jonathan L. Yarmis

The guessing games over Facebook's worth are back on again. They were reignited by the news on May 26 that Facebook has accepted a $200 million investment that values the company at $10 billion.

Much of the discussion centers on the ability, or lack thereof, of Facebook and other social networks to sell advertising and deliver advertising results. People get on Facebook to socialize, not hunt for products—or so the argument runs.

But that argument misses the point. The question isn't how advertising will work on Facebook but rather how Facebook and social networks like News Corp.'s (NWS) MySpace are changing advertising. I'm loath to affix the 2.0 moniker to yet another phrase, but if ever an industry needed to be 2.0-ized, it's advertising.

Almost a century ago, retailer John Wannamaker is reported to have said: "Half of all advertising works, I just don't know which half." Today the percentage may be far lower. On the Internet, click-through rates have fallen precipitously as clutter has replaced clarity. These days an ad has performed exceptionally well if at least 1 in 10 people who see it click on it. Much of the time click-through rates that once approached 3% are more like 0.3%.

The Holy Grail of ads: word of mouth

The good news is that we're on the verge of a major rethinking of advertising's fundamental premises. One of the biggest challenges facing advertisers is ad credibility. Consumers typically rate advertising as their least credible information channel. However, businesses have continued to invest in advertising because they could compensate for the lack of credibility through broad distribution and high-impact messaging.

Today that trade-off is being turned on its head. Word of mouth—peer opinion—has consistently been rated the most credible source of information. But traditionally there's been a limit as to how widely you could distribute a friend's point of view. Readers of a certain age will remember the Fabergé Organics commercial from the 1970s depicting a shampoo user who "told two friends," who in turn "told two friends, and so on, and so on." Three decades ago, telling a lot of friends wasn't nearly as easy as it is now.

Credibility now has a channel for mass distribution. It's called the Web and it particularly thrives in social networks. Such distribution will have profound implications for how we "advertise."

Obviously, we can use social networks to reach friends. But social tools woven into various sites can deliver the opinions and reviews of a group—"people like me"—whose views may be just as credible as those of my friends.

Say I'm a chief information officer. I may find the opinions of fellow CIOs I've never met every bit as credible as the ones I know—perhaps even more so, in that I'm less willing to denigrate the opinions of people I don't know. After all, I know the biases and shortcomings of the people in my friendship circle.

deploying social maps

These tools are showing up in a variety of online destinations. Facebook's Connect and other similar technologies let people bring their social map with them as they traverse the Internet. Businesses have to be thinking about how they might incorporate the social map into the way they deal with customers and prospects. This is going to be huge—and the opportunities are immediate.

I'm a big fan of Loomia's SeenThis application. While it was designed for Facebook, I actually "use" it elsewhere. You're probably familiar with the boxes on such newspapers sites as The Wall Street Journal that show what stories other readers have read. This "most read" designation rarely interests me. However, the Loomia tool gives me an additional box that shows me what stories my Facebook friends and groups have read. Generally I end up clicking through on most or all of those articles. The "recommendation" from my peer group is much more interesting and relevant to me than those of the general WSJ readership or editorial board.

In sum, social networks and related tools are transforming the way companies communicate with consumers and potential consumers in profoundly interesting ways. In this light, questions of Facebook's valuation are at best mildly amusing to me. If, as I suspect, Facebook is at the vanguard of transforming how companies reach consumers, $10 billion will some day seem laughably small.

Now it's up to the advertising industry to get its collective head out of the sand and exploit this transformation to its advantage.

Jonathan Yarmis is founder and principal analyst with the Yarmis Group, an independent analyst group.

SBA Sees Improved Business Outlook

Improved Business Outlook

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--One hundred days after President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law on February 17, 2009, the U.S. Small Business Administration is seeing signs of improved small business lending.

Nationally, loan volume has increased more than 25 percent compared to the weeks just prior to passage of the ARRA legislation. As of May 29, SBA had approved $3.15 billion in Recovery loans, and supported nearly $4.3 billion in lending to small businesses. Also, from February 17 to May 15, 423 lenders that had not made a loan since October 2008 made 7(a) working capital loans. Of those, 188 had not made a loan since at least 2007.

In Nevada, the economic recovery being experienced in many other parts of the country has remained just over the horizon. “We remain hopeful Nevada’s economic recovery will be evident soon,” says John Scott, SBA’s Nevada District Director. “Experts say our unemployment and real estate indicators should start to improve in the coming months. That would signal the recovery is beginning to take hold here in Nevada.”

On March 16, SBA implemented temporary fee elimination for borrowers on its 7(a) loans and for both borrowers and lenders on its 504 loans. The agency also increased loan guarantee levels up to 90 percent for 7(a) loans. The two loans are the agency’s largest loan programs.

One Nevada-based company taking full advantage of this new development is Tectonics Design Group in Reno, a civil and industrial engineering and design company. The federal economic stimulus package reduced origination fees for the SBA 504 program by nearly two percent of the loan amount, saving the company nearly $6,500 in fees. “It sweetened the deal and gave us confidence,” says company president Jeffrey Turnipseed. “And it allows us to keep some cash reserves in place to ride out these rough times.”

Beginning June 15, SBA’s new ARC (America’s Recovery Capital) program will provide loans of up to $35,000 to viable, but struggling small businesses to help them make debt payments. The no-interest, deferred repayment loan will provide a “bridge” for many small businesses through these tough economic times.

SBA Administrator Karen Mills is confident the tide is turning. “At SBA, we are using all the tools in our toolbox to help small businesses lead our nation’s economic recovery,” she said. “Small businesses are getting the dollars they need, not only to keep the doors open and employees working, but also to grow and create jobs.”

Interested parties can get current information on SBA’s Recovery efforts and program updates through www.sba.gov/recovery.

Good News for Las Vegans

25 percent off for locals

By Amanda Finnegan · June 4, 2009 · 5:29 PM

Editor's note: Vegas is all about glitz and glamour, the velvet ropes and the VIPs. In this space, we couldn't care less about any of that. On The Coin Bucket, we'll cover the deals Vegas has to offer, all in the name of value. No steak special will be spared. Penny slots will be embraced. If you spot a deal, let us know in the comments area below.

Tourists will come and go, but locals will always be here.

So, to express his thanks for locals’ business and recommendations to out-of-towners, Wolfgang Puck has started a “Summer Locals’ Appreciation” special at five of his Las Vegas restaurants.

Locals will receive 25 percent off their check with the presentation of a local ID at CUT, Spago, Postrio, Chinois and Trattoria del Lupo.

For residents who are new to town and haven’t ventured to the DMV for a local ID, here is an incentive. The deal runs until Sept. 30.

Utah’s High-Tech and Life Science Companies Faring Better Than Most

Utah’s High-Tech and Life Science Companies Faring Better Than Most

By: Business Wire

Jun. 2, 2009 02:01 PM

The Utah Technology Council (UTC) has issued its annual report of technology and life science industry growth, based on its own survey and results of North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) reports from September 2007 to September 2008. Although the U.S. continues to suffer from the current recession, Utah’s high-tech and life sciences industries continue to grow. Indicators such as business climate, stable revenues and economic outlook show that during the current economic downturn, Utah’s technology companies are faring better than most.

“While the nation’s economic challenges create difficulties on every front, Utah’s data for year over year performance of our technology and life science companies continues to show reason for optimism,” said Richard R. Nelson, President and CEO of the UTC. “From September 2007 to September 2008, Utah’s tech industries showed a combined rate of 2.6 percent growth. Certain sectors in technology, such as information services and marketing consulting, showed surprisingly high growth of 41.2 and 19.5 percent. The challenges we face are still daunting, but compared to other states, Utah’s technology climate is solid and continuing to grow.”

The UTC recently conducted an informal poll of 52 CEOs from leading technology companies in Utah regarding the current state of their growth. Of these 52 respondents, 1 is thriving, 31 (59 percent) are growing, 14 (27 percent) are holding steady, and only 6 (12 percent) report a decline.

“While this growth is less than companies reported in a similar survey last year, the level of growth and resilience our technology industries are showing is giving Utah entrepreneurs and employees plenty of reasons to continue to be positive,” said Alan Hall, UTC Chairman.

Utah continues to win national accolades as well. Forbes Magazine ranks Salt Lake City #1 as the Best City for Jobs and Utah #2 as the “Best State for Business.” The ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitive Index ranks Utah #1 in Economic Outlook.

In addition to its own survey, the UTC uses the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) to annually track Utah’s technology industry. NAICS is the standard used by the federal statistics agencies in classifying business establishments for the collection, analysis and publication of statistical data related to the business economy in the U.S. It also uses data gathered by the Utah Department of Workforce Services and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to verify and produce information under the NAICS system.

About Utah Technology Council

Utah’s premier professional association, the Utah Technology Council, has become the essential business resource for life science and high-tech companies seeking to achieve greater success. At its core, UTC exists to foster the Growth of the state’s more than 5,000 technology companies, ensure Utah develops the highest Quality Workforce in the nation, and attract an ever-increasing array of Funding. Members join UTC to share insights with industry peers, counsel with government and academic leaders, and receive help from professional service providers and funding resources. To become a member of this “must join” organization, visit www.utahtechcouncil.org or call 801-568-3500 today.