Pitney Bowes Survey Reveals Resiliency of Small Businesses Facing a Tough Economy
About half (52%) of small business owners would describe their business' economic situation as worse now compared to 12 months ago, according to a new survey released on April 26 by Pitney Bowes Inc. However, despite financial struggles, almost three quarters (73%) are optimistic about the future of their business.
Tax law changes for 2010 may affect your decision to buy or lease the vehicle, and which vehicle to obtain. Here are some changes to consider when making your choice.
Mary Cantando
WE Inc. Business Growth Advisor
October 6, 2009
This has been a rough year for many of us, but as the economy begins to recover, don't just go back to business as usual. You can use the experience of this recession year to create a stronger, more profitable business than ever before.
Kent Hoover, Washington Bureau Chief of BizJournals.com reports, "The number of women-owned firms may be growing, but their share of total business revenue is declining, according to a new report by the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce." Read the full story here.
Washington, DC- The National Women's Business Council (NWBC) announced it was pleased with the findings of the latest U.S. Census report, which indicates a 20% increase in women's business ownership. Estimates from the 2007 Survey of Business Owners (SBO) indicates that majority-owned (51%+), women-owned businesses increased from 6.5 million to 7.8 million over the years 2002 - 2007. This number, however, does not reflect the current economic downturn, first evidenced in December 2007. To read the NWBC press release about the census date, please click here.
Washington, D.C. In May, a group of women entrepreneur leaders co-signed comments to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) regarding the proposed rule to implement the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program (75 FR 10030. "For eleven years, women business owners have anxiously awaited the creation of a women's federal contracting program... The federal government has never met its contracting goal of 5% with respect to women-owned businesses, and we believe that the women's procurement program as proposed will finally provide a mechanism by which contracting officers can increase contracting opportunities for women." Read the full comments by clicking here.
// The "Flex-Options Guide"
Excellent Resource:
The Flex Options Guide
How do you go about implementing workplace flexibility?
Where do you go to learn about enabling a flexible workplace
culture, or developing policies and procedures? The Flex-Options
Guide, a popular tool
developed by the Flex-Options project, U.S. Department of
Labor, Women's Bureau, was recently updated. It includes
practical and easy-to-access information and tools.
The updated guide covers the latest information about workplace flexibility,
and new model practices to help business leaders, managers and employees develop
and implement flexible workplace solutions.
The Flex-Options Guide spells
out flexibility definitions, benefits and common approaches; shares tools to "get
started"; and includes helpful templates. The guideline templates
drill down to specific arrangements including flextime, compressed workweek,
job-sharing, part-time and telecommuting.
The guide also includes “Manager Tips: The Fundamentals of Creating a Flexible
Workplace” and “Reviewing and Implementing a Proposal.” Employees
will also find tips for both considering and proposing a flexible work arrangement.
WE Inc. Journal
