Blog
October 27, 2011 - 7:32am
Trade shows are big business. According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research, more than 14,000 are held annually in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and no doubt some of them fit nicely with your small business marketing strategy.
Trade shows provide a great venue for showcasing your business and its products, entering new markets, meeting and spending time with customers and suppliers, and of course, checking out the competition.
But trade shows are also a huge investment of time, people, and money – all precious resources to a small business.
October 26, 2011 - 3:00pm
Secretary Bryson and Acting Deputy Secretary Blank have
recognized three Commerce teams that are improving customer service and saving
taxpayer money. Teams from the Bureau of
Economic Analysis (BEA), Census Bureau, and Department of Commerce Human
Resources offices have received the Performance Excellence Award.
The Performance Excellence Award is distributed to teams
that support the Secretary’s vision of an evolving department and continuously
improve service delivery to the American public. Bryson hopes to establish the
October 26, 2011 - 7:40am
If you are a consultant or freelancer you’ll be familiar with this often asked, yet perplexing question: “Do I need to incorporate?”
Legally, the answer is no. The truth is over 70 percent of U.S. businesses are owned by sole proprietors, and operate successfully without incorporating.
So, if you can legally operate and be successful without it, why would you want to incorporate your business? Here are some reasons why:
Liability
October 25, 2011 - 5:07pm
HUBZone Certification—How Does a Business Get Certified?
Are you a small business owner located in an economically distressed urban or rural community with high unemployment or low income levels? Are you looking for help with federal contracting and interested in becoming certified in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) program?
If so, you may be eligible for the program if you can answer yes to the following questions. Ask yourself:
Am I a small business according to SBA’s size standards?
October 25, 2011 - 1:15pm
The national income and product accounts, produced by the Bureau
of Economic Analysis (BEA), provide a
consistent and comprehensive picture of the nation’s economy; as a result, they
provide a useful tool for analyzing the economic effects of recent federal
legislation designed to stabilize and stimulate the economy. For example, it’s logical that reduced
income tax rates and expanded tax credits lowered personal current tax receipts, but by how much?
It makes sense that a reduction in the social security tax rate lowered contributions for government
October 25, 2011 - 11:15am
Guest blog post by David Kappos, Under Secretary For
Intellectual Property and Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office, Department of CommerceAt a ceremony at the White House Friday, I had the
pleasure to join President Obama as he honored recipients of the National Medal
of Technology and Innovation—the highest honor bestowed by the United States
government on our nation’s brightest innovators and inventors.
Whether unraveling the information intertwined in a DNA
helix, improving the safety of air travel, or digitizing the way we capture
October 20, 2011 - 12:15pm
Devastating drought in Southern Plains likely to continueThe Southern Plains should prepare for continued drier and warmer
than average weather, while the Pacific Northwest is likely to be
colder and wetter than average from December through February, according
to the annual Winter Outlook released today by Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
For the second winter in a row, La Niña will influence
weather patterns across the country, but as usual, it’s not the only
climate factor at play. The ‘wild card’ is the lesser-known and less
October 20, 2011 - 7:46am
Do you have a rock-solid email marketing list of engaged prospects and customers that you can consistently communicate with?
October 19, 2011 - 3:15pm
Guest blog post by Debbie Cohn, Commissioner for Trademarks at
the United States Patent and Trademark Office.Learning about the value of intellectual property may not sound
like fun and games, but for more than 15,000 people who visited the United
States Patent and Trademark Office last Friday and Saturday, that’s exactly
what happened.
The 2011 National Trademark Expo featured exhibits and seminars
designed to educate the public about the importance and value of trademarks in
the marketplace. Trademarks help inspire confidence in a brand and build an
October 19, 2011 - 3:00pm
Guest blog post by by
John Fernandez, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, Department of CommerceThe
Obama administration is collaborating with the private sector in an unprecedented
way to promote American innovation, ignite entrepreneurship, and spur small
business development to get the economy moving and put people back to work.
And
we are seeing results. Private sector payrolls increased by 137,000 in
September. And despite a slowdown in economic growth from substantial headwinds
experienced throughout the year, the economy has added private sector jobs for