Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from the United States:

• Lending groups to talk finance in Santa Fe: Three small business lending groups will host a free talk in Santa Fe on March 19 about financing businesses in the City Different.
• NFIB survey: Inflation worries small businesses: Most small business owners surveyed in February say their credit needs were being met, but many weren’t ready to invest in new equipment, despite the stimulus package passed by Congress Feb. 7.
• Entrepreneurs and Iraq: A look at how the war has transformed four companies, for better and for worse.
• Tool Kit: Need Money for a BUsiness? Start at the Bank: For small business owners, forging a good working relationship with your banker is crucial, and it can result in more credit, lower fees and streamlined paperwork.
• Lockheed Martin to recognize local firms: The local operations of Lockheed Martin has announced it will recognize 14 companies, including two area businesses, as their outstanding small business providers for 2007. (LMT)
• Economic trends in small business: A recent report published by the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) gives indications that although American small businesses are certainly tightening their game plans a bit, they are by no means going down for the count. The report reviews a number of important indicators, testing everything from optimism to inventories.
• Payco Inc Anticipates clients success with SaaS.com’s Small Business: BRIDGEWATER, N.J. – March 4, 2008– WebApps, Inc. a.k.a. SaaS.com, a leading provider of Software as a Service (SaaS) with a major push in Workforce Management Solutions, helps Payco, Inc., a payroll service bureau based out of Johnson City, NY, serve its’ clients with a more robust solution.
• Entrepreneurial Edge: Small Business Offer Alternatives to Gang Life: Small Business Offer Alternatives to Gang Life: A Los Angeles corporation is demonstrating that the training and discipline of working in a small company can help change the lives of former gang members.

As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.

I’m sitting in the Singapore Changi Airport waiting to board my flight to Melbourne I’m always surprised how friendly people are here, everyone smiles all the time, it seems that way anyway. This attitude of the local people has a profound effect on everyones stress levels.

Having ben here before and after spending the last 24 hours here I can say there are no signs here, reminding the customer not to abuse the staff. Why is that?

I think it is fair to say that the government tries to influence all people living in Singapore in many aspects of daily life, no chewing gum, no littering and so on. They also started the “always smile” trend in Singapore, with profound results. You feel safe her, it is clean and you feel welcome. People in hotels, restaurants and other places go out of their way to give you a good customer experience.

There is no talk about it, it is just being done in a friendly way. I’m sure people here are not any more happy or less troubled then elsewhere, but they have learned that being friendly helps you to get things done in a more positive way, with less stress for themselves, their customers and it will not create barriers to future business.

There is something to be learned here - it’s called good customer care - I’m convinced this is they way to deal with customers and not to put up signs. — ST.

Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from the United Kingdom and Ireland:

• SFA confident for small businesses: SFA remains positive about economic prospects despite downturn in economy.
• Local Council’s Could Save Post Offices: Post Office owners in some parts of the country have received a shot in the arm from local County Councils. Portsmouth councillors have become the latest local authority to throw a potential lifeline to local Post Offices, faced with the threat of closure.
• Taking the Plunge: Tales from the front: A new era of cost-effective and user-friendly technology is changing the way accountancy firms view CRM. Verity Gough reports on the products and practices taking the industry by storm.
• IDM announce new computing centre for Dublin: The Minister for Employment, Micheál Martin, has announced that IBM is to establish Europe’s first Cloud Computing Centre in Dublin.
• Bosses face jail threat over employment law breaches: Company bosses can be jailed for three years or fined up to €250,000 under tough new employment laws unveiled today.
• Business predicting a slowdown: Just over one-third of businesses on the island, both North and South, experienced turnover growth in the third quarter of 2007, October-December.
• Could you take on the Dragons?: Dragons’ Den continues to offer entrepreneurs from across the country the chance to make their business dreams come true. If you’re genuinely seeking investment for your business idea or invention, the Dragons would like to hear from you.
• £100 tax incentive from HMRC: HMRC is offering a £100 incentive for completing your employer annual return online. This offer applies to businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Read on to find out more.

As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST

Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from India:

• Mid-Cap, small stocks bleed most: The stock prices of mid-cap and small-cap companies have fallen sharply on Thursday, following the poor figures of industrial production for January 2008 on Wednesday.
• Promote mobile phone banking in JandK : Banks are facilitators for fulfilling the financial requirements of every individual. In fact the profitability of the banks is directly dependent on the quantum of interaction they have with their customers. In other words, it is the customer who keeps them in business and today’s customer is so much empowered that he can push any business house out of business if he turns his back towards it. The liberalization and globalization of financial services have put the banks on tenterhooks.
• More funds for patent offices relief for RITES, IRCON: New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday gave its approval for…
• FCIK hails extension of MSMED Act to JK: Srinagar, Mar 16: The Federation Chamber of Industries Kashmir (FCIK) Sunday hailed the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Jairam Ramesh for asking the State government to implement the Micro Small and Medium Enterprise Development (MSMED) Act in the State. andnbsp;The federation members, in a meeting expressed their pleasure that the union minister has formally taken up the issue with the Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, while terming their demand as ‘genuine’
• Quality and innovation essential for MSMEs: New Delhi: Inaugurating the fifth India Global Summit on Micro Small and Medium Enterprises

As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.

I always enjoy the opportunity to meet entrepreneurs out in the field, during speaking engagements, trade-shows and other events. After 30 years in business I still get a buzz out of conversations with young and just starting business owners. Yesterday I had a very special experience in as much that I was kindly asked - thanks to Phyllis Mercer - to be a guest judge at the Year 2 BTEC National Business Course for their business plans. The event was held in the St. Francis Xavier Sixth Form College in London. This unit is being led by Janice Hurley and her very capable and dedicated team.

During the course of the day I listened to 16 business plans, I was supposed to be a bank manager (!) approving bank loans for the presented ventures. I might as well mention now that I approved each and everyone of these loan applications, and I do not believe that my actions would have resulted in anything like the Northern Rock or Bear Stearns debacle. But then my business education does not limit me to just ticking boxes on a form (-forgive me for this little side dig, but it had to be done!).

What have I learned yesterday? Here are some highlights:

• Bootstrapping is alive and well, a fair amount of business plans needed no external funding, due to good focus on the business essentials;
• not all businesses wanted necessarily to grow, but focused on an income based business idea with a high job satisfaction element;
• Home-businesses, was also mentioned more than once;
• strong family and friends connections and elements in the business ideas.

These guys must be reading my blog, each one of these ideas was achievable. The format of the business plans was very good too. Not too long and drawn out with irrelevant information and to the point:

• business idea
• entrepreneur details
• very basic market study
• cash-flow and break-even calculations
• SWOT analysis

Some had added some political, economical and other risk factor analysis, which let’s be honest, is difficult to asses given the greed and stupidity circulating in the upper echelons of our business and political world currently.

So here are my favorite small business start-up ideas:

• Natalie Douglas is going to continue in a good family tradition and open a child care nursery, keeping it small and personal for parents and children.
• Cohen Gordon-Swhyer is going to offer us a sleeping experience with good customer care in his high street bed store - Ikea take note - customer care is the way forward and a great small business differentiator.
• Valerie Iwenya is opening a African cinema with a cultural experience - what a great idea.
• Carlton Nicholson is offering to make your hatchback car into something special, at a price of cause.
• Farrah Smith is opening a music store with cafe and internet so you can download your music too.
• Emmanual Opanuga is opening a shoe store chain, focusing on customer care while understanding the price pressures in this business.
• Raphael Dobbin is not going to help me loose any weight soon with his idea of a West African restaurant, but he was going to offer me free fruit as a dessert option for healthier living.
• Ibilola Johnson presented her idea for an internet cafe for local youth, as a focusing point to get our kids off the road, great social engagement thru a well established business idea.
• Monica Osborne is opening a hair saloon, judging by her own hair style she will be doing very well.
• Jeffrey Owusu will be offering a chauffeur/taxi service with multimedia entertainment for longer journeys.
• Jose Ruales is going to entertain us with a Karaoke sing-along bar. Very professional presentation, I certainly committed all the banks funds for this idea.
• Fleurette Irakoze will offer all different genres of young generation attire in one convenient location.
• Koyinsola Quadry is helping ladies to buy better shoes, especially for bigger shoe sizes. Quality, customer service and a niche market, what could possibly go wrong.
• Lawrence Madukaife will focus on the college and university student with his telecoms offering.
• Meron Nour and his Underground Imports will import trendy cloths and shoes from Japan. He explained his company was called “Underground Imports” because it was situated in the basement of a building - no other reason.
• Juan-Carlos Valverde will continue breeding his puppies and make that into a business, from home and maybe part-time.

Sadly some business ideas will not be acted upon in real life since most of the presenters will go to university in Autumn, but then maybe some on them will end up running their own business in the future. Others, I believe, were outlining their plans for the future to me and I believe they will be successful in their ventures.

It is good to know that their will be enough good and solid small businesses in the future to bail the the big, greedy and egotistical business failures out, while at the same time punishing incompetence in public life at the polls.

For me yesterday was a great and above all reassuring day that I will remember for many years to come - or to say it in their language: Guys - you rock! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. — ST.

An important early decision that will have long-term consequences for your business is to determine the legal form it will trade under.  

Things to remember: 

• The legal form that your business takes will affect numerous aspects of your business trading. Areas affected include how much control you will have over its operations, the amount of tax you will pay, how much money you can take out of the business for yourself and your own level of personal liability if the business fails.
• If you are running the business by yourself you will be a sole trader. You benefit from having an easily organised business that you are in complete control of. All of the profits go directly to you and it is not very difficult to dissolve the business in the future if you so require. The main disadvantage of this form of business ownership is that you will be personally liable for any debts the business accrues and you could lose any assets you own to in order to pay them off, including your home. It can also be hard for a sole trader to raise funds other than their personal savings or taking out a loan.
• If you want a similar type of business, but there are more people than just you involved, then you will likely want to draw up a partnership agreement. It is important for a partnership to have a formal agreement in place that clearly sets out the parameters of the business relationship on matters like decision-making, profit sharing and dispute resolution. It also deals with issues that may be important in the future such as what would happen if the partnership is dissolved or if one partner needs to be bought out. Without the agreement in place it could cause chaos down the line. Partnerships benefit from finding it easier to raise capital and drawing on the combined skills and knowledge of all partners. However, there is still unlimited liability in most partnerships and profits must be shared between partners.
• Other forms of partnership are a Limited Partnership (which is more complex to set up and gives limited input in managerial decisions, but limits liability) and a Joint Venture (similar to a normal partnership but lasts for a limited period of time or for the duration of one project).
• If limiting personal liability is your main concern, you will probably wish to become a corporation. This makes the business a separate legal entity from you. The owners of a corporation are its shareholders and their only liability is their investment in company stock. The corporation itself is able to quite easily raise capital by selling off stock. However, the initial process of incorporation can be lengthy and expensive. It also can result on income being taxed twice, because the dividends are not deductible.

Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from Australia and New Zealand:

• Selling your business: Many enterprising New Zealanders toil away at their small businesses, working crazy hours, weekends and holidays, but always with the thought at the back of their minds that they will sell it for millions.
• Small business - a rewarding enterprise: Do you enjoy sleeping in? Love having regular holidays? Prefer a no-stress lifestyle? Then setting up a small business isn’t for you. However, if you enjoy a challenge, are prepared to donate your blood, sweat and tears, then the…
• Give low paid an extra $10 - ACCI: A KEY business group says any minimum wage increase this year should be comparable to last year’s hike - about $10 a week.
• DoubleClick deal boosts Google: Google won approval yesterday from the European Commission for its planned acquisition of DoubleClick and promptly closed the deal, sending its stock 6 per cent higher. The move will allow the web search and advertising leader…
• IT security budgets on the rise: Three out of five IT professionals plans to increase spending on security over the coming year, according to a study by Cisco..
• Apple in Oz: iPhone for Telstra; three retail stores: Apple has signed up Telstra for the iPhone in Australia. Apple plans three Australian stores and intends making its iPhone available through Telstra there.
• Keeping your hats on: WITH all the hats a small business operator has to wear, it’s perhaps understandable if they sometimes get behind in things.

As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.

Web design can be a lucrative business choice if you have the creativity and knowledge required. The majority of businesses will not have the skills in-house to create an outstanding website from nothing. Therefore, if you are able to do it for them then they can hire you and pay for your time. The work you receive can vary from a few hours of simple designing to large undertakings which may require you to work full-time for one employer for some time.  

Skills needed: You need to know HTML language and be must able to update the website of your clients. Knowledge of multimedia programming languages like Flash or Java is also required for the sophisticated webpages of today.  You also need to be capable of doing your own graphic design to a high standard. Other programming languages would be extremely helpful and make you more valuable, but due to the rapidly changing programming standards it is difficult to keep up to date with all the latest ones and instead you should focus on becoming an expert in one or two.  

Business environment and set-up cost: There are not many barriers stopping you from working internationally, you can even travel abroad with your laptop if you need to meet with clients. The biggest issue is probably the client trusting you with full access to their website. The business should not cost much to start as you will be able to design your own website. If you do not own them already, you will need various software web design tools like Dreamweaver. The total cost will range from almost nothing to about £1000 if you need to purchase software.  

Marketing Techniques:  

• Join a pay-per-click scheme at one of the major search engines  
• Build your site around a quality portfolio that showcases your previous work and includes testimonials  
• Become actively involved in forums and newsgroups, not just those related to web design but also general business ones. When you post make sure you have an impressive signature which directs people to your website  
• Add your website address to business service link directories in order to reach your target market  
• Consider adding regular content to your website that encourages repeat visits, like advice columns about the software you use
• Use OnlineOffice to set up web-site, blog and online shop to promote your business online

Complimentary business ideas: As a web designer you have numerous related sideline business opportunities such as graphic design or project management.  

Notes: Due to the highly competitive nature of the market, the only thing that will set you apart from the others is a portfolio of very high standard. Make sure you provide links to the clients you have worked for so potential customers can see for themselves.  

Online examples & resources:  

• Verb Interactive – an example of an impressive web design company  
• Web Design – daily web design advice blog from About.com  
• Open Source Web Design – free web design templates
• Tlbox – free web design tools

Here is this week’s news round-up for home business, micro business, sole-traders, freelancers, self-employed and any one who is interested in small business news from Canada:

• Island Business want balance:CFIB: Charlottetown - The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) and its 1,100 Island members want to give government a clear message: balance the budget.
• Labour limiting economy: Regina’s economy is strong, but a shortage of workers poses a serious challenge to the business community, according to John Hopkins, CEO of Regina & District Chamber of Commerce.
• Zero growth forecast for Canadian economy: There will be no growth in the Canadian economy through the first half of this year, according to a new forecast that suggests Canada will come as close to recession as it can without actually sliding into one, and that at least two provinces, Ontario and Quebec, may already be in one now.
• Quebecor Media plans wireless bid: Confirms application for May wireless spectrum auction.
• Senior positions rare air for women in business: Strong women, strong world: That was Canada’s theme for International Women’s Day this year. But if strong women make a strong world, why aren’t there more women among Canada’s business elite?
• Portfolio manager offers advice for small business: Managing both your small business and investment portfolio requires extensive knowledge and due diligence. You need wide expertise in business planning. Not to mention investments, retirement planning, income tax and managing the many risks.
• Main Dish grows with food on the go: Small Business — The Main Dish
• Budget 2008: Another baby step: The federal budget has a few goodies for entrepreneurs, but it’s not near bold enough.

As always this list is not exhaustive, but I hope it will give you a little overview. — ST.

An important consideration for a small business owner when looking towards the future is the possibility that the ownership of their business may change. In fact, a third of privately owned businesses in the UK expect that this will happen to them within the next ten years, a slightly higher amount than the worldwide average.

Over half of all business owners in South Africa and New Zealand expect a change of ownership, the highest level in the world. At the other end of the scale, only about a tenth of Russian and Indian businesses expect a change. Businesses in the Phillipines, a rapidly developing nation, have in the past two years gone from almost no expectation of ownership change to nearly half of all business owners thinking it will happen to them. This is in contrast to the UK where the figure has remained the same since 2003, although if the anticipated crackdown on capital gains tax relief happens then a large increase is expected.

The reason for different countries having such huge differences is thought to be related to low interest rates, banks willing to lend and successful businesses with high profits creating an entrepreneurial culture. This is particularly true in the high levels of anticipation of business ownership change throughout the western world.

For many businesses in the UK it will be useful for them to have some form of an exit plan in case the day comes when it seems like the right time to sell. This is because:

• It will be one of the most important decisions you ever make, both for the company and your own finances
• In order to continue the success of the business following a transition of ownership meticulous planning is required
• You will wish to make as much money from the sale as possible!

With this in mind, the commonest forms of ownership change in the UK are:

• Trade sale – over half believe that they would sell their business to someone else when the right time arrives
• Management buy out / buy in -16% of UK business owners believe they will sell their business to the management team within ten years
• Private equity investment – 13% feel they are likely to be bought out by investors, lower than the global average expectation of 20%
• Flotation / IPO – only 8% feel they are likely to make a public offering in the next ten years

Hat-tip to Robert Moore from Business Data International Limited