Blog
December 13, 2011 - 12:29pm
As a marketer it’s extremely important to me that the branding I establish and the promises I make regarding our services are fulfilled on by our staff when the clients come in the door. Marketing and operations must be in sync. When marketing brings the client to the door, operations must open that door, fulfill on the expectation set and make the sale. Here, in his recent post*, Michael Bowers* District Director of the Ohio Small Business Development Center shares his position and experience on the importance of fulfilling on the client’s needs and expectation and making the sale…
December 12, 2011 - 8:04am
The first sign that any business is in trouble often comes in the form of missed or late payroll. But missing payroll doesn’t always spell doom. In small business, cash flow is king and it can be quickly compromised by late receivables from tardy customers, seasonal lows, and of course, a general economic downturn.
However, excuses aside, not paying your employees and associated payroll and employment taxes should be avoided at all costs. Here’s why:
Unpaid employees can file a wage claim against you with their state.
December 8, 2011 - 10:47am
The U.S. Census Bureau today released findings from the American
Community Survey — the most relied-on source for detailed, up-to-date
socio-economic statistics covering every community in the nation every year —
for the combined years from 2006 to 2010.
Consisting of about 11 billion individual estimates and covering more
than 670,000 distinct geographies, the five-year estimates give even the
smallest communities timely information on more than 40 topics, such as
educational attainment, income, occupation, commuting to work, language spoken
December 8, 2011 - 7:03am
Cloud computing is surely the buzz technology for the early 21st century. Yet, as red hot as it seems, confusion remains about what it is and what benefits it brings, as well as how secure it is for sharing and storing business information.
Cloud computing may seem like a new technology, but in truth, we’ve all used cloud computing in some way, shape or form for years. Take Facebook, for example; this social sharing site stores your comments, photos, videos and so on right up there in the cloud. Gmail, Picasa, Flickr, and others all rely on the cloud.
December 7, 2011 - 11:15am
Guest blog post by Assistant Administrator for Weather Services
and Director of the National Weather Service Dr. Jack Hayes
As the extreme weather year of 2011 comes to a close, I
want to reflect back on this year’s events and look ahead at ways to reduce the
devastating impacts of weather on our society.
Crippling snowstorms in the Northeast and Midwest, violent
tornadoes in the South, massive river flooding in the Central U.S., Hurricane
Irene in the mid-Atlantic, and the epic drought in the Southern Plains accompanied by heat waves and devastating wildfires
in some areas have
December 7, 2011 - 6:44am
Making the right hiring decisions for your company is critical to your business success. But getting it right isn’t easy.
We all know the negative consequences of making the wrong hire – it can lower your team’s morale, hinder productivity, and even impact customer relations. But did you know that the cost of replacing an experienced worker who doesn’t work out can cost 50 percent or more of that individual’s salary, and these costs go up if the employee has specialized skills such as nursing (Source: AARP).
December 6, 2011 - 11:35am
The world’s largest submillimeter camera—based on superconducting technology
designed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)—is now
ready to scan the universe, including faint and faraway parts never seen
before.
Mounted on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii, the NIST
technology will help accelerate studies of the origins of stars, planets and
galaxies.
The new 4.5-ton SCUBA-2 camera, which contains more than 10,000 of NIST's
superconducting sensors, is far more sensitive than its predecessor SCUBA (the
December 5, 2011 - 6:56am
Although tax season is still a few weeks away, now is the time to take advantage of a basket of tax opportunities that can help your small business reduce its tax liability and save money come April 2012. Â
Read on for seven tips that can help you maximize your deductions and claim the credits you deserve.
December 2, 2011 - 5:00pm
Guest blog post by Francisco J. Sánchez, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Secretary, Department of CommerceEntrepreneurs
are a major key to U.S. economic growth. Their ideas, creativity and pioneering spirit are among our nation’s
greatest resources, and are helping to pave the road to recovery.Â
That’s
why the Commerce Department, under the leadership of Secretary John Bryson, is
firmly committed to supporting American business owners in every way we
can. And, our partnership with the
private sector is essential to this work which is why I traveled to Miami,
December 2, 2011 - 12:57pm
Guest blog post by U.S.
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development John R. FernandezThis year, President Obama
hosted the third White House Tribal Nations Conference to hear directly
from tribal leaders about their priorities. I had the opportunity to address some of the representatives of federally
recognized tribes during a series of briefings and listening sessions hosted by the White House.
The President is committed to
strengthening the government-to-government relationship with Indian Country and
partnering and investing to find solutions to complex issues and to win the