US Small Business News Round-up - 23/06/2008

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:

• Entrepreneurs Relying on Web-Based Software: Is traditional desktop software a thing of the past? According to a recent survey conducted by online payroll service SurePayroll, it is–at least for small business. Instead, many small businesses are choosing to use web-based software that better allows them to compete with big businesses. In fact, three out of four entrepreneurs surveyed said they rely on online software, which enables them to work in an online environment in place of purchasing or licensing software.
• Retain Employees With Unique Perks: These days, employee retention is a concern for many small businesses. Workplace Options, a provider of work/life employee benefits, hopes employers will try a new tactic to help keep workers: offering caregiving assistance.
• Entrepreneurial Edge: Keeping the Water Pure Is Suddenly in Demand: Small companies are finding opportunities in ambitious plans to bring new supplies of clean water to drought-stricken areas in the U.S. and the world.
• Strickland signs small- biz paperwork waiver measure: Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland signed House Bill 285 this week, a measure that gives one free pass to small businesses in the state that rack up first-time paperwork violations.
• SaaS Spells Relief For Small Business: As small businesses feel the pressure to survive in the current state of the economy, relief is emerging in the form of software-as-a-service, or SaaS. For small businesses in particular, the introduction of a growing range of SaaS solutions could not have arrived at a better time. SaaS is delivered through an online service that offers a low maintenance, cost-effective alternative to onpremises solutions. What’s more, SaaS solutions are now more secure and easier than ever to integrate into an existing infrastructure.
• Bogus Domain Registrar Scamming Small Business, FTC Says: A Toronto company is accused of scamming thousands of small business out of millions of dollars since 2004 by charging to renew domain addresses without providing such services, the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday.
• Small-business staff face the axe: Trading outlook remains bleak, Small retail businesses are expected to close shop during the course of the year, along with job losses in the banking sector as a result of depressed trading conditions.
• Cutting Costs In Your Small Business: I was perusing some of my favorite blogs this morning, and read a post over at PortlandFoodAndDrink.com that got me really thinking about business these days.
• Small Business Lending Up: Small-business lending grew at a faster pace in 2007, the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy reported this week.
• STATE LEGISLATURE: AUSTIN – After getting a month’s respite from the state’s chief tax collector, Texas businesses will finally have to pay up today as a new business tax takes effect.
• Beshear announces new round of funding for small business grants: Speaking Thursday at the BIO International Conference in San Diego, Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear announced that the state will provide a new round of funding for Small Business Innovation Research and

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

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