A Weekly Roundup of Small-Business News - NYTimes.com

What?s affecting me, my clients and other small-business owners this week.

PARTY HATS ON! This week is National Small Business Week. Florida plans a bunch of activities. Citibank celebrates by having smart, sexy guys speak at some events. John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing is giving away an iPad a day in honor of the occasion. A collection agency recognizes the week with tips on managing late-payers. Chase offers a thousand incentives. (Someone should invite these kids to the party.)

LET?S KEEP IT ANECDOTAL, SHALL WE? Elizabeth Duke, a Federal Reserve governor, said last week that recent anecdotal evidence suggests conditions are improving for small businesses: ?Although no definitive data source exists, the combination of a variety of recent survey results paints a picture of increasing optimism about future sales and business conditions and a corresponding easing of credit availability for small businesses.? On the same day, the National Federation of Independent Business reported that its small-business confidence index fell to a seven-month low. A new survey of consumers showed that 76 percent are reducing their spending at restaurants. Intuit tells Forbes?s Eric Savitz that there?s a slow recovery in the small-business sector, but an Associated Press poll says Americans are more upbeat about the economy. Jason Fell says there are too many mixed messages on small-business optimism.

YES, IT?S ALL INSANE A bunch of economic bloggers see potential for employment growth despite ongoing economic uncertainty. Steven Meister says true national debt is nowhere near $14.3 trillion. The trade deficit widens. The top White House economist says that tying deficits to the debt ceiling is ?insane.? A bunch of business groups agree. Some Southwest Airlines employees make some insane trick shots. Ezra Klein lists eight facts (and three thoughts) about Social Security. Paul Krugman explains that inflation is not rising. Wholesale inventories are down, portending future sales.

CHINA COOLS China reports a cooling economy and wants the United States to lift its controls on technology exports. Timothy Geithner, Treasury secretary, wants China to rein in its growth.

THE DOCTOR?S ADVICE A small-business lender gets $6 million in venture capital funding. Some banks are now allowing us to get overdrafts with a text. An angel tax credit is proposed in Pennsylvania. The Loan Doctor tells small businesses to avoid big banks.

GETTING STARTED Twitter?s first engineer is hard at work on a secret start-up. Robert Scoble shares what he learned interviewing 23 start-ups. For example: ?The iPad is encouraging some interesting new businesses to form.? Steve Strauss writes about the benefits of incubators: ?The incubator is more than just a place that offers cheap rent; it is a multi-purpose entity intended to do nothing less than birth new businesses.? A university offers tuition for a stake in your business. And I like this cool infographic on how start-ups form, grow and behave.

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK A small-business bill fails after eight weeks of debate and 150 amendments. Small biotechnology companies oppose the Small Business Innovation Research bill currently in the House. Seattle may become the fourth city in the nation to require all private employers to provide paid sick leave to workers. Town Hall?s Lurita Doan asserts that Democrats are announcing new assaults on small business. Shannon O?Neil of the Council of Foreign Relations says that businesses can change the immigration debate: ?Of any constituency, business has a cross-cutting power to pressure for the necessary reach across the aisle.? According to a Chamber of Commerce survey, both the economy and Washington are hindering small-business growth. Keith Girard says that while Washington dithers, the recovery struggles. Every day, the Tax Foundation calculates, we work until 11:13 a.m. to pay taxes and to lunchtime to pay off the deficit. Companies doing business overseas may get a corporate tax holiday.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HYGIENE Scott Berkun explains why we get ideas in the shower: ?It?s only when we have quiet time, going for a walk, getting some exercise, or taking a shower, that our conscious minds quiet down enough for our sub-conscious to be heard. And that?s why you get ideas in the shower.?

SALT CARAMELS AND MORE CUSTOMERS Matt Heinz lists eight things our moms taught us about marketing. For example: ?Eat your vegetables. As we grow in our careers, the glamorous, strategic work is always more fun. But the hard work, the tedious work, the grinding, that?s what ultimately translates most consistently into success.? A blogger named Megan gets more than a thousand comments when she offers three free months of salt caramels. Jill Morton, color psychologist and branding expert, explains how to find colors that sell: ?The right color can be worth $80 million ? at least that?s what?s been said about search engine Bing?s blue link.? McDonald?s billion-dollar makeover is designed to bring in more customers.

NO, OUR SANDWICH IS MORE DEADLY BizBuySell.com offers to determine the value of your business for free. A gold recycler makes a mint. Daniel Frank gives us five ideas for charity-based businesses that work. Princess Beatrice sells that ridiculous wedding hat on eBay. Volkswagen unveils its 261 miles-per-gallon car. Score introduces a new Web site. Communications provider 8?8 introduces a virtual office system. A New York City deli claims ownership of the Heart Attack.

STOP THE SCOWLING Melba Duncan reveals the secret weapon of great leaders. Helen Antholis shares 10 things our employees wish we would stop doing, for example: ?Stop scowling if employees try to have some fun on the job.? A new Jennifer Aniston movie turns her into a horrible boss. John Warrilow offers the one interview question he asks to weed out rotten apples. A survey suggests that nearly eight in 10 of America?s office managers are doing more with fewer resources. The bottom line: get off your butt as soon as possible!

JOBS, JANITORS AND A $25 PC This year will be the biggest year ever for smartphone revenues, and Credit Sesame?s Colin Dobrin shows us, in pictures, why smartphones are replacing checkbooks. Visa?s digital wallet proves the point. AccessPR?s Michael Young loves Flipboard: ?If you haven?t tried it, Flipboard is a news aggregation app for the iPad, but to say Flipboard is an app, would be to say the iPad is a computer.? An interesting piece by Fortune?s Adam Lashinsky tells the story of Apple from Steve Jobs down to the janitor. David Braben creates a USB stick PC for $25. Businesses and schools are loving the new Google Chromebook. A guy flies over the Grand Canyon in a jet pack. Soon, Google will predict where he should go next.

SKYPE COSTS MORE THAN YOU THINK TechCrunch?s Steve O?Hear says Microsoft overpaid by about $4.5 billion. Others see a bubble. Hey, at least Osama bin Laden make a shrewd investment.

WE?RE NO. 47! Bloomberg Businessweek lists the best business schools by specialty. New Jersey is ranked the 47th best place to do business in the United States. These guys must be ranked last in the ability to load trucks. The most hipster state is ? Minnesota?

THE WEEK AHEAD The Fed takes center stage ? look for what Ben Bernanke has to say about the economy when he speaks to a business group Tuesday. And watch for the Philadelphia Fed?s manufacturing index on Thursday. Housing numbers are due this week: new building permits, new housing starts and existing homes sales.

THIS WEEK?S AWARDS

BEST CONFESSION FROM A SMART MAN After more than a quarter of a century as a professional economist, Harvard professor Gregory Mankiw has a confession to make: There is a lot he doesn?t know about the economy. For example: ?A striking feature of today?s labor market is the rise of long-term joblessness. The average duration of unemployment is now almost 40 weeks, about twice what it reached in previous recessions. The long-term unemployed may well lose job skills and find their future prospects permanently impaired. But because we are in uncharted waters, it is hard for anyone to be sure.?

BEST EXAMPLE OF LEADERSHIP A Japanese village survived the tsunami thanks to a huge wall that once was deemed a mayor?s expensive folly and now has been vindicated as the community?s salvation. At his retirement, Mayor Wamura stood before village employees to bid farewell: ?Even if you encounter opposition, have conviction and finish what you start. In the end, people will understand.?

BEST START-UP ADVICE Joel Nilson, a ?chronic? entrepreneur, shares five (sarcastic) truths about entrepreneurship. My favorite: ?You will be thought an idiot until you start making money. I only have one book that is mandatory reading for my staff: The Little Red Hen. Business ownership is exactly like the story. No one wants to plant the wheat or harvest the wheat or grind the wheat. But when the bread comes out of the oven, people will appear out of thin air.?

THIS WEEK?S QUESTION Did you have a Little Red Hen experience with your start-up?

Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. You can follow him on Twitter.

Source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/16/this-week-in-small-business-get-your-party-hats-on/

greece commodity prices bloons tower defense 4 si belgian malinois