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Unions' House Victory May Be Fleeting
Tweet Share on Facebook March 2, 2007 CommentLoud banging by business groups wasn't enough to stall a measure that makes it easier for workers to unionize. The Employee Free Choice Act won approval by the Democratic-controlled House on Thursday. While the prospect of their workers unionizing seems to be far from the mind of most small-business owners, opponents of the bill often trotted out the little guy to help justify their position.
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Looking to India for New Ventures
Tweet Share on Facebook March 1, 2007 CommentThis week's jolt on global stock exchanges is a reminder of how events on the other side of the world can affect U.S. investors. Americans have looked abroad in recent years for new places to put their money. Not just day traders or mutual fund managers have bet on foreign markets. Venture capitalists also have gone abroad, and little foreign start-ups have gotten their share of the wealth, says Terri Forman of the Silicon Valley law firm Cooley Godward Kronish. Until 2000, venture capital generally looked only at domestic companies, she says. Then, as U.S. tech stocks tanked, they began to turn elsewhere, including India.
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Entrepreneurs Gain a Foothold Abroad
Tweet Share on Facebook February 21, 2007 CommentWith movies like Letters from Iwo Jima and Pan's Labyrinth popping up at this weekend's Oscars, it's clear that English-speaking actors no longer have a monopoly on award-winning films. That's also holding true for start-ups. Around the world, more people are starting businesses, with middle-income countries leading the way, according to the recently released 2006 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor done by the London School of Business and Babson College in Massachusetts. The study, begun in 1999, now looks at entrepreneurship in 42 countries and talks to about 160,000 small-business owners.
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Where Shopping for a Power Company Is Easiest
Tweet Share on Facebook February 13, 2007 CommentNew York State may be blanketed with snow this week, but at least small businesses won't have to worry much about heating bills. The state got a top rating in a comparison of states with the best energy climate for small businesses. Texas came in second, while Montana and Nevada were left out in the cold. Monday's study, done by independent utility Liberty Power, looked at how much choice small businesses in 20 states and the District of Columbia had when shopping for electric companies.
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In Starting Out, Know What You Don't Know
Tweet Share on Facebook February 12, 2007 CommentMany entrepreneurs start out getting tripped up by lack of planning. But for those who have done the research, pulled together the PowerPoint, and created an ironclad business plan, there's another trap lurking–"expert mind." That's the term consultant Pamela Slim coined for small-business owners who start out with the attitude that they know everything.
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Salary Isn't Everything, Employees Say
Tweet Share on Facebook February 5, 2007 CommentAsk people who work for a small business, and they'll often tell you that money isn't everything. Small-business employees are willing to accept pared-down paychecks to give up the grind of working in a cubicle farm, according to a Salary.com survey. About 62 percent of small-business employees think pay is better at larger companies (and 72 percent think benefits are better), but they stay at their jobs anyway, according to the survey of 474 employees at both large and small firms.
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Owners Wary of Healthcare Changes
Tweet Share on Facebook January 30, 2007 CommentIt's déjà vu time, with the healthcare debate waking up after hibernating for years. This time around, it's not alive just in Washington, D.C., but Sacramento and Boston are getting into the game by trying to create state measures that address how to provide insurance for their citizens.
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Lobbyists Like Bush's Healthcare Approach
Tweet Share on Facebook January 24, 2007 CommentPresident Bush's State of the Union address tackled everything from the war in Iraq to education at home. But small-business groups weren't paying attention to his shout-out to Dikembe Mutombo. Instead, they were closely watching how he weighed in on the ongoing debate about how to lower healthcare costs.
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Spurring Diversity Among Franchisees
Tweet Share on Facebook January 18, 2007 CommentFranchises can be a great idea for budding entrepreneurs who want to break free from corporate chains but don't want the risk of a start-up. That's the message that Miriam Brewer of the International Franchise Association wants to send women and minorities. As the new head of the group's diversity initiative, she's in charge of spreading the gospel of franchising and figuring out ways to make owning a franchise possible for a wide range of people.
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The Minimum Wage Faces Maximum Flak
Tweet Share on Facebook January 11, 2007 CommentThe No. 1 rule in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is "Don't Panic." That's the message small business might want to take to heart now as the House of Representatives embarks on passing promised legislation during its first 100 hours. Yesterday the House kept one of its pledges by approving a bill that would increase the federal minimum wage to $7.25 from $5.15 over two years, the first such increase in almost a decade.
