Banks Hasseling Businesses?

Many businesses are able to get the loans they need from mortgage lenders, business loan centers, and the like, but a recent Bloomberg article suggests that many are having much more difficulty.

``Many small- and medium-sized businesses are not complaining about credit conditions,'' Boston Federal Reserve Bank President Eric Rosengren said in a speech last week.

Bloomberg on the other hand decided they would take a deeper look into the situation rather than to take him by his word. They profile a small-business owner who is having quite a bit of difficulty acquiring cash.

``They're now saying we need two years of credit history before they will even consider us for a line of credit,'' says Arnett, who employs four people and estimates that revenue this year has soared to $900,000. ``Every financial institution we have talked to has used the same excuse, that banking regulators are scrutinizing loans, they're tightening up the restrictions. What they're saying is, we did some dumb things, we're not being penalized for it, but now you're going to get penalized.''

Solid and in depth artical discussing the issues that are being faced by business owners and by the Fed at this time.

The New Rules of E-Branding

Brandng a product off-line is a totally different thing than branding your business online. You may not be able to successfully brand your business offline, but if you learn enough and get the right people online you can actually compete with many of the big players there if you know what you are doing. Can't get sales for your audio racks with offline branding? Try some of these tips to successfully do it online.

1. Know your purpose. Are you an internet brand or a brand on the internet? The two are mutually exclusive. If you plan to use the internet primarily as a marketing vehicle and you have a store in the "real world," then you're a brand on the internet. The majority of DIY website templates are made with you in mind. However if you plan to generate most of your sales from your website, you're an internet brand--and everything gets more complicated. You'll need to conduct global competitive research, determine SEO strategies, investigate advanced shopping cart functionality, and forge other e-paths, like affiliate programs and partnerships, to get visitors to your site. Click here for 5 more tips

New UK Niche Site Promotes Free Line Rental Deals

I was just shown a really neat affiliate site (find-a-phone.co.uk) built with wordpress!

The site compares 50,000 mobile phone deals in the uk, and makes comission on every sale made.

Currently the site is heavily promoting so called free line rental deals, whereby retailers offer customers the opportunity to claim their money back at a later date.

Assuming the customer remembers to claim their money back on time (many do not, and this is where the mobile phone retailers make money on "free line rental deals") then they can run a mobile phone with inclusive minutes completely cost free!

If you are interested to see how wordpress can be used in afilliate marketing, or are in the UK and on the look out for a free mobile phone with 12 months free line rental

then you should check this site out ;-) .

Casual Games=Big Business

You know all those games that you play while you waste your employers' money? Solitaire, Bejeweled, etc. This industry is said to be a $2.25 Billion a year industry, and growing at 20% per year according to the Casual Games Association (CGA) 2007 Market Report.

With technology even becoming a necessity to waste time on vacations, people are packing away handheld game systems, iPods, and phones with their camping gear to play these time wasters. Check out more of what is on tap, and how this industry is booming here.

Would You Buy This Business?

IF you walk around with gold cufflinks because you like to spend your days on the course I doubt your manliness would sucumb tto such a business, but A Web pioneer, this online retailer began selling kitchen and home products--think pot racks and sinks--in 1996. Today, the average order is $310, and at presstime, the founder expected to close 2007 with $12.7 million in revenue and $1.25 million in net income. The company has 22 employees.

What does it cost? $9.9 Million. Drop in the bucket eh?

Why do I bring this up? Inc.com has an article discussin this very business and breaks down the reasoning behind the asking price, buying such a business, and selling such a business. IT is a very intriguing story about the way websites can be bought and sold, and really about what they are worth.

Entrepreneur.com's Top 50 Entrepreneurial Colleges

That's quite a toungue twister isn't it? Entrepreneurial is a toungue twister iteself, especially after following the base for the word. Anyways, going back to college may seem like a long lost dream for most of us who have decided to give up on being an employee and go out into the world as entrepreneurs. Although you may have the passion to go out and be your own boss ther emay just be a few things you need to know. Ever consider just going to college to learn how to run your own business? They don't really teach you that in business school. They teach you how to be employable for the most part. How can you run a business selling Hilton Head rentals with out a background in entrepreurialship (now that is my toungue twister of the day)?

Entrepreneur.com lists the Top 50 Entrepreneuial colleges for you and talks about hwy you woudl want to jump on board with their programs. Great article and very educational.

Hilton Head rentals

Inflation, and the Small Business Owner

Small business owners have many things to worry about. From competition with the big boys to individual health insurance. Some have big issues with inflation.

We all have issue with the rise of gas prices in recent years, but what of the small businesses that use durable goods to produce their products. John Gaines, president and co-owner of Subminiature Instruments, a million-dollar manufacturing company in Ogden, Utah, Gaines says he pays almost twice as much for steel, electrical wire and copper as he did a year and a half ago. "We saw a spike in many of our products," says Gaines, 31, who believes inflation may become a bigger economic threat and drag on his family's investment portfolio--63 percent stocks and 37 percent bonds. "[Prices] have been pretty flat over the past seven years, so I expect [inflation will] hit sometime." He says his risk tolerance has dropped considerably over the past few years since getting married and having a baby.

We Are All Born Rich

n an excerpt from their new book, Why We Want You to Be Rich, Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki tell you how to get rich by being more than a passive investor.

You want a plasma tv and a plasma lift console? You want to build an indoor basketball court in your back yard? I suppose if you believe in taking advice from richers you may want to check out Why We Want You to Be Rich: Two Men--One Message by Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump.

How Much Should Your New Website Cost?

More and more people are moving toward the internet to earn money. HAving your own website isn't anything unique anymore. It is almost something of a necessity and everyone is getting them. People want to sell baby gifts, old junk, sports memorabilia, or even just set up another in a million dating sites. The problem is figuring out how to do it right, bu most importantlu doing it at a reasonable cost. You want to make sure that everything is going to function properly, but at the same time you don't want to spend way more than you need to. So...how much should your website cost?.