The latest jobs report came out on Friday. Overall, another 95,000 jobs were lost in September. Maybe they should start calling it the no-jobs report. Ezra Klein crunches the numbers to explain why the addition of 64,000 private sector jobs is pitifully inadequate:
That's about 35,000 less than the 100,000 or so jobs needed to keep up with population growth. It's about 180,000 less than the number of jobs needed to get back to 5 percent unemployment in the next 10 years. It's about 257,000 less than the 320,000 jobs needed to get back to 5 percent unemployment in five years.
In other words, the economy is not bouncing back any time soon. Even worse, it's clear that Washington is not up to the task of creating the conditions for the job growth the country so desperately needs. And as we find ourselves in the silliest stretch of the electoral silly season, it doesn't inspire confidence that the government that emerges on November 2nd will do any better.
A deep-seated cynicism is not an unreasonable response. But I'm pleased to report that hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country are choosing to react by taking action. As a result, a parallel economy is being created by people who, finding there are no jobs, have decided to create their own.
Of course, this burgeoning parallel economy doesn't mean the government is off the hook. But while millions of Americans are waiting for the government to do the right thing in terms of bold infrastructure spending, a payroll tax holiday, etc, etc, many have decided to stop waiting.
Through the creative use of technology, social media, and a focus on community, this new wave of small businesses is making its mark in a true convergence of left and right. At the moment, our government may be can't-do, but more and more of our citizens are solidly can-do -- and irrepressibly American.
To turn a spotlight on this nascent movement and encourage its continued growth, HuffPost is launching Small Business America, a new blog sponsored by FedEx where entrepreneurs can exchange ideas, get advice, and keep up with the latest small business news. Small Business America's contributors will run the gamut from CEOs to mom-and-pop business owners to policy-makers, business writers, professors, and social media experts.
Some of those we'll be featuring in our first week include:
- Aaron Patzer, founder of the online personal finance site Mint.
William Aulet, Managing Director of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center.
Karen Mills, Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
Tim Westergren, Founder of the online radio site Pandora.
Christopher Hytry Derrington, whose company helps firms outsource their work to rural America instead of overseas.
Small Business America will also feature the first-person accounts of people who have already jumped in and started their own business -- as well as those thinking of taking the leap.
One of those forced by circumstances into creating her own business is Brenda Carter, whose story is featured in Third World America. A grandmother living in Marietta, Georgia, Carter had worked as a manager of information systems at the same company for thirteen years. Then, in 2007, she was suddenly laid off. "Imagine getting up every day for 13 years and suddenly that part of your life just ceased," she wrote. "I cried and cried and cried. I just could not believe it."
She didn't know what she was going to do, but then had an idea. Her mother, to help pay the bills as a single mother in New Orleans, had sold pralines door-to-door. "People would knock on our doors at all times of night asking to purchase these pralines," she said. "So as I was sitting at home I thought 'Hey I can do this too! This is something I can do and am comfortable doing.'"
And now she's the proud operator of a growing praline operation -- except instead of selling door-to-door, she's doing it computer-to-computer. Her online store can be found here. "Times are changing and so must we," Carter says. "We need to be supporters of ourselves, otherwise we will not survive."
Americans have a lot of passion and ingenuity, and there is a clear market in helping bring them to market. Enter Etsy.com and Cafe Press, which have now grown large enough to have a multiplier effect rippling across the country.
Etsy was founded in 2005 by Robert Kalin. Then 25, he was an aspiring furniture designer feeling frustrated by his attempts to sell his work online. So he created a streamlined platform for handmade goods of all kinds, and launched it from his apartment.
The site's mission? "To enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers. Our vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice." Which is exactly what Etsy.com is doing. And along with creating jobs, this new economy is creating connections, and caring, and community. As Kalin said in a 2009 interview:
One of the most important things anyone can do right now is create jobs. What's important is to empower people to make a living, and I support renting and running a 9,000-square-foot workspace in Red Hook, Brooklyn, that provides other small businesses with affordable studio space. And we have big community dinners there once a week for networking and sharing our ideas.
Etsy's effect is being felt far beyond Brooklyn. Colleen Fields, 54, lives in a remote town in the mountains of North Carolina. Two years ago, she was laid off from her job as a newspaper subscriptions manager. "I must have sent out a thousand or more resumés and applications," she told The Huffington Post. "I applied for a job at a convenience store, and they said they had over 200 applicants. It's just crazy. There are no jobs around this area."
A friend suggested she look into Etsy. Not exactly computer literate, she nevertheless gave it a try. In December 2009 she opened her online store, Gemstones and Wire, selling necklaces, earrings and handmade clay vases. She wrote about how some women pay all their family bills with small businesses started through Etsy. "I'm just not one of them yet. I would love to be one of them," she added.
Several other successful sites have followed in Etsy's footsteps. Among them is Bonanza, which, with its "friendliest social community online," aims to put the human element back into e-commerce, "making people relevant again."
Then there is ArtFire, which started two years ago in Tucson, Arizona. It provides a platform for "handmade goods, fine art, vintage, designed items, supplies and media," and aims to "celebrate the unique individuality of artists and crafters around the globe."
Cafe Press was started in 1999. Based in San Mateo, California, the company provides on-demand printing for mugs, t-shirts and products designed by users, "uniting and rewarding self-expression." It now gets 11 million unique visits a month and, with its 6.5 million users, adds around 2,000 new, independent shops and 45,000 new products every day.
Another great example of making a business out of helping people make a business is Recession Wire. Begun in February 2009 by Sara Clemence and Laura Rich, who were laid off when Portfolio magazine folded, and partner Lynn Parramore, the site aims to "chronicle the 'upside of the downturn' through personal stories, helpful advice and reportage on the changes underway in these hard times."
In its small business section, the site features articles like: "How to Bootstrap Your New Business Wisely," "Don't Close Your Business, Change It," and "A Cool, Free Way to Figure Out a Business Idea's Potential."
At Inc.com, the website of Inc. Magazine, the editors aim to provide "advice, tools, and services, to help business owners and CEOs start, run, and grow their businesses more successfully." Its start-up section includes advice on writing a business plan, running a home-based business, naming a business, how to incorporate, and financing.
StartupNation bills itself as a "free service founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs." Headed by Jeff and Rich Sloan, two experienced entrepreneurs, who started the site to share their "years of in-the-trenches experience," the site features blogs, forums, advice, and networking tools.
Micro-financing, another entrepreneurship model greatly enhanced by the web, has been around for awhile. But the founders of InVenture Fund wanted to take the model to the next step. It was launched in October 2009 because, as the site says, "traditional microfinance models weren't doing enough to lift communities out of poverty." The problem was that the 75 million or so borrowers around the world were locked into loans they had to repay, sometimes at interest rates of 30 percent. InVenture finds microloan recipients who have good track records and gives them the financing to expand, with no fixed repayment schedule. "Give entrepreneurs an opportunity for real financial and social growth," the site says, "and they'll lift not just themselves but their communities out of poverty." A portion of the site's profits is then invested in responsible community programs, like clean water and education.
Indeed, one of the hallmarks of this entrepreneurial movement is community -- including an emphasis on local food, local agriculture, and sustainable business practices. One of the ironies of this new wave of small businesses is how the global reach of the web has been so pivotal in connecting people to their own communities.
Judy Wicks, the owner of the famed White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia, founded the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), which now has 80 local chapters in the U.S. and Canada. To spread the local food gospel of the White Dog, Wicks also founded Fair Food, which connects local family farms with city dwellers.
In Lexington, Kentucky, Fresh Stop is an attempt to bring the benefits of community-supported agriculture to those who couldn't normally afford it. Forming partnerships with churches, Fresh Stop asks those who can afford it to pay a bit more for what they buy, which subsidizes those for whom the fresh -- and healthy -- food would otherwise be out of reach.
Whether you're directly involved in a small business or not, I hope you'll check out Small Business America. After all, we're all affected by the well-being of the communities we live in. At least for the time being, real solutions are less likely to come from politicians than from the thousands of people in thousands of communities taking the initiative to connect, share, and create.
I love how human this movement is. It's fueled by technology, but at its core is a real person connecting to another real person. As Twitter founder Biz Stone said of his company: "Twitter is not a triumph of tech. It's a triumph of humanity."
Technology is what will allow this very American movement to scale up and begin to have a real impact. But it's in our backyards and basements that it begins. "To be attached to the subdivision, to love the little platoon we belong to in society, is the first principle (the germ as it were) of public affections," wrote Edmund Burke. "It is the first link in the series by which we proceed towards a love to our country, and to mankind."
Click here to check out Small Business America... and let us know what you think.
(Editor’s note: Patrick Driessen is the CEO of Seed Accelerator, an Asian-Pacific technology startup & business accelerator. He submitted this story to VentureBeat.)
Having started, run and lead various companies since I was 15 years old, I’ve learned a few things about being an entrepreneur – often the hard way. I’ve had successes, failures and massive failures, but each taught me something valuable.
While a lot has been written previously about the key qualities of successful entrepreneurs, I’ve always thought there were a few items that were missing. Sure, things like passion, creativity, self-confidence and coordination skills are helpful, but those just scratch the surface. If you’re an emerging entrepreneur looking to succeed faster, just ask yourself the following questions…
Are you persistent? – There is no “instant gratification” when you’re running your own business. There’s no monthly pay check and you may work very hard for little reward.
If you don’t fully believe in yourself and your business, you’ll find the temptation to quit can be overwhelming. When you make mistakes, it’s important to get past the ego blow and learn the lesson – then use the experience to move forward.
Are you financially responsible? – When you’re your own boss, you’re a CEO, accountant and finance manager wrapped in one. When you start making profits, you’ll need to know how to manage it wisely. Successful entrepreneurs know how to actively manage their P&L balance sheet; especially their cash position.
Do you have the required health and physical condition? – Being the founder of a startup means that you’ll have to put most – if not all – of your time and energy into your new venture. Only founders whose health is able to take the physical punishment of the long hours will make it to the finish. Your best bet? Become your own health coach and build up a regular exercise schedule, practice meditation and make sure to develop an ongoing health & well-being program for yourself.
Can you become the king or queen of sleep? – This sort of goes hand-in-hand with your physical condition. Adequate sleep is often the first thing sacrificed in startups – but that can ultimately have a negative impact. Find a way to sleep a consistent number of hours – and try to compensate with power naps to revive yourself.
Also, as odd as it sounds: Practice daydreaming. Letting your mind wander, especially in the early morning, can help you solve tough problems that may seem impossible when you focus too hard later in the day.
Do you have enough supportive friends & family? – Being an entrepreneur often means having to deal with tough personal, financial and emotional challenges. People around you may doubt your plans, vision and growth strategy.
It can be depressing, which is why it’s important to have a support system – to console you or kick your ass when necessary.
Are you self-motivated? – Without self-motivation, you’re doomed as an entrepreneur, since there’s no one to egg you on or watch over your shoulder. If you’re not, the way to mitigate this risk is pretty simple: Get a business partner.
What’s your personal mission statement in life? – The second of Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” advises, “Begin with the end in mind”. He recommends formulating a “personal vision statement” to document your perception of your vision in life. It’s good advice. By knowing your own mission and having a view of the big picture, you can help your company grow.
Are you hungry for success? – If you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to think and act as a leader. Business isn’t a hobby you can take lightly. Try that approach and you’ll never achieve true success. Above all else – don’t allow personal affairs interfere with your business.
Next Story: Viewdle raises $10M for facial recognition “in the palm of your hand” Previous Story: Azuray teams with Suntech, Renhe for “smart solar panels”
Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com
Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...
Breaking <b>News</b>: EMC-Isilon Deal Talks Are Fizzling - Deal Journal - WSJ
Storage giant EMC Corp. and Isilon Systems Inc. have put their takeover talks on hold, according to people familiar with the matter.
This is Terrific <b>News</b> | RedState
I just heard that Jeb Hensarling is going to run for Conference Chair to replace Mike Pence. This is terrific news. Hensarling is one of the most substantive.
bench craft company
The latest jobs report came out on Friday. Overall, another 95,000 jobs were lost in September. Maybe they should start calling it the no-jobs report. Ezra Klein crunches the numbers to explain why the addition of 64,000 private sector jobs is pitifully inadequate:
That's about 35,000 less than the 100,000 or so jobs needed to keep up with population growth. It's about 180,000 less than the number of jobs needed to get back to 5 percent unemployment in the next 10 years. It's about 257,000 less than the 320,000 jobs needed to get back to 5 percent unemployment in five years.
In other words, the economy is not bouncing back any time soon. Even worse, it's clear that Washington is not up to the task of creating the conditions for the job growth the country so desperately needs. And as we find ourselves in the silliest stretch of the electoral silly season, it doesn't inspire confidence that the government that emerges on November 2nd will do any better.
A deep-seated cynicism is not an unreasonable response. But I'm pleased to report that hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country are choosing to react by taking action. As a result, a parallel economy is being created by people who, finding there are no jobs, have decided to create their own.
Of course, this burgeoning parallel economy doesn't mean the government is off the hook. But while millions of Americans are waiting for the government to do the right thing in terms of bold infrastructure spending, a payroll tax holiday, etc, etc, many have decided to stop waiting.
Through the creative use of technology, social media, and a focus on community, this new wave of small businesses is making its mark in a true convergence of left and right. At the moment, our government may be can't-do, but more and more of our citizens are solidly can-do -- and irrepressibly American.
To turn a spotlight on this nascent movement and encourage its continued growth, HuffPost is launching Small Business America, a new blog sponsored by FedEx where entrepreneurs can exchange ideas, get advice, and keep up with the latest small business news. Small Business America's contributors will run the gamut from CEOs to mom-and-pop business owners to policy-makers, business writers, professors, and social media experts.
Some of those we'll be featuring in our first week include:
- Aaron Patzer, founder of the online personal finance site Mint.
William Aulet, Managing Director of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center.
Karen Mills, Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
Tim Westergren, Founder of the online radio site Pandora.
Christopher Hytry Derrington, whose company helps firms outsource their work to rural America instead of overseas.
Small Business America will also feature the first-person accounts of people who have already jumped in and started their own business -- as well as those thinking of taking the leap.
One of those forced by circumstances into creating her own business is Brenda Carter, whose story is featured in Third World America. A grandmother living in Marietta, Georgia, Carter had worked as a manager of information systems at the same company for thirteen years. Then, in 2007, she was suddenly laid off. "Imagine getting up every day for 13 years and suddenly that part of your life just ceased," she wrote. "I cried and cried and cried. I just could not believe it."
She didn't know what she was going to do, but then had an idea. Her mother, to help pay the bills as a single mother in New Orleans, had sold pralines door-to-door. "People would knock on our doors at all times of night asking to purchase these pralines," she said. "So as I was sitting at home I thought 'Hey I can do this too! This is something I can do and am comfortable doing.'"
And now she's the proud operator of a growing praline operation -- except instead of selling door-to-door, she's doing it computer-to-computer. Her online store can be found here. "Times are changing and so must we," Carter says. "We need to be supporters of ourselves, otherwise we will not survive."
Americans have a lot of passion and ingenuity, and there is a clear market in helping bring them to market. Enter Etsy.com and Cafe Press, which have now grown large enough to have a multiplier effect rippling across the country.
Etsy was founded in 2005 by Robert Kalin. Then 25, he was an aspiring furniture designer feeling frustrated by his attempts to sell his work online. So he created a streamlined platform for handmade goods of all kinds, and launched it from his apartment.
The site's mission? "To enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers. Our vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice." Which is exactly what Etsy.com is doing. And along with creating jobs, this new economy is creating connections, and caring, and community. As Kalin said in a 2009 interview:
One of the most important things anyone can do right now is create jobs. What's important is to empower people to make a living, and I support renting and running a 9,000-square-foot workspace in Red Hook, Brooklyn, that provides other small businesses with affordable studio space. And we have big community dinners there once a week for networking and sharing our ideas.
Etsy's effect is being felt far beyond Brooklyn. Colleen Fields, 54, lives in a remote town in the mountains of North Carolina. Two years ago, she was laid off from her job as a newspaper subscriptions manager. "I must have sent out a thousand or more resumés and applications," she told The Huffington Post. "I applied for a job at a convenience store, and they said they had over 200 applicants. It's just crazy. There are no jobs around this area."
A friend suggested she look into Etsy. Not exactly computer literate, she nevertheless gave it a try. In December 2009 she opened her online store, Gemstones and Wire, selling necklaces, earrings and handmade clay vases. She wrote about how some women pay all their family bills with small businesses started through Etsy. "I'm just not one of them yet. I would love to be one of them," she added.
Several other successful sites have followed in Etsy's footsteps. Among them is Bonanza, which, with its "friendliest social community online," aims to put the human element back into e-commerce, "making people relevant again."
Then there is ArtFire, which started two years ago in Tucson, Arizona. It provides a platform for "handmade goods, fine art, vintage, designed items, supplies and media," and aims to "celebrate the unique individuality of artists and crafters around the globe."
Cafe Press was started in 1999. Based in San Mateo, California, the company provides on-demand printing for mugs, t-shirts and products designed by users, "uniting and rewarding self-expression." It now gets 11 million unique visits a month and, with its 6.5 million users, adds around 2,000 new, independent shops and 45,000 new products every day.
Another great example of making a business out of helping people make a business is Recession Wire. Begun in February 2009 by Sara Clemence and Laura Rich, who were laid off when Portfolio magazine folded, and partner Lynn Parramore, the site aims to "chronicle the 'upside of the downturn' through personal stories, helpful advice and reportage on the changes underway in these hard times."
In its small business section, the site features articles like: "How to Bootstrap Your New Business Wisely," "Don't Close Your Business, Change It," and "A Cool, Free Way to Figure Out a Business Idea's Potential."
At Inc.com, the website of Inc. Magazine, the editors aim to provide "advice, tools, and services, to help business owners and CEOs start, run, and grow their businesses more successfully." Its start-up section includes advice on writing a business plan, running a home-based business, naming a business, how to incorporate, and financing.
StartupNation bills itself as a "free service founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs." Headed by Jeff and Rich Sloan, two experienced entrepreneurs, who started the site to share their "years of in-the-trenches experience," the site features blogs, forums, advice, and networking tools.
Micro-financing, another entrepreneurship model greatly enhanced by the web, has been around for awhile. But the founders of InVenture Fund wanted to take the model to the next step. It was launched in October 2009 because, as the site says, "traditional microfinance models weren't doing enough to lift communities out of poverty." The problem was that the 75 million or so borrowers around the world were locked into loans they had to repay, sometimes at interest rates of 30 percent. InVenture finds microloan recipients who have good track records and gives them the financing to expand, with no fixed repayment schedule. "Give entrepreneurs an opportunity for real financial and social growth," the site says, "and they'll lift not just themselves but their communities out of poverty." A portion of the site's profits is then invested in responsible community programs, like clean water and education.
Indeed, one of the hallmarks of this entrepreneurial movement is community -- including an emphasis on local food, local agriculture, and sustainable business practices. One of the ironies of this new wave of small businesses is how the global reach of the web has been so pivotal in connecting people to their own communities.
Judy Wicks, the owner of the famed White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia, founded the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), which now has 80 local chapters in the U.S. and Canada. To spread the local food gospel of the White Dog, Wicks also founded Fair Food, which connects local family farms with city dwellers.
In Lexington, Kentucky, Fresh Stop is an attempt to bring the benefits of community-supported agriculture to those who couldn't normally afford it. Forming partnerships with churches, Fresh Stop asks those who can afford it to pay a bit more for what they buy, which subsidizes those for whom the fresh -- and healthy -- food would otherwise be out of reach.
Whether you're directly involved in a small business or not, I hope you'll check out Small Business America. After all, we're all affected by the well-being of the communities we live in. At least for the time being, real solutions are less likely to come from politicians than from the thousands of people in thousands of communities taking the initiative to connect, share, and create.
I love how human this movement is. It's fueled by technology, but at its core is a real person connecting to another real person. As Twitter founder Biz Stone said of his company: "Twitter is not a triumph of tech. It's a triumph of humanity."
Technology is what will allow this very American movement to scale up and begin to have a real impact. But it's in our backyards and basements that it begins. "To be attached to the subdivision, to love the little platoon we belong to in society, is the first principle (the germ as it were) of public affections," wrote Edmund Burke. "It is the first link in the series by which we proceed towards a love to our country, and to mankind."
Click here to check out Small Business America... and let us know what you think.
(Editor’s note: Patrick Driessen is the CEO of Seed Accelerator, an Asian-Pacific technology startup & business accelerator. He submitted this story to VentureBeat.)
Having started, run and lead various companies since I was 15 years old, I’ve learned a few things about being an entrepreneur – often the hard way. I’ve had successes, failures and massive failures, but each taught me something valuable.
While a lot has been written previously about the key qualities of successful entrepreneurs, I’ve always thought there were a few items that were missing. Sure, things like passion, creativity, self-confidence and coordination skills are helpful, but those just scratch the surface. If you’re an emerging entrepreneur looking to succeed faster, just ask yourself the following questions…
Are you persistent? – There is no “instant gratification” when you’re running your own business. There’s no monthly pay check and you may work very hard for little reward.
If you don’t fully believe in yourself and your business, you’ll find the temptation to quit can be overwhelming. When you make mistakes, it’s important to get past the ego blow and learn the lesson – then use the experience to move forward.
Are you financially responsible? – When you’re your own boss, you’re a CEO, accountant and finance manager wrapped in one. When you start making profits, you’ll need to know how to manage it wisely. Successful entrepreneurs know how to actively manage their P&L balance sheet; especially their cash position.
Do you have the required health and physical condition? – Being the founder of a startup means that you’ll have to put most – if not all – of your time and energy into your new venture. Only founders whose health is able to take the physical punishment of the long hours will make it to the finish. Your best bet? Become your own health coach and build up a regular exercise schedule, practice meditation and make sure to develop an ongoing health & well-being program for yourself.
Can you become the king or queen of sleep? – This sort of goes hand-in-hand with your physical condition. Adequate sleep is often the first thing sacrificed in startups – but that can ultimately have a negative impact. Find a way to sleep a consistent number of hours – and try to compensate with power naps to revive yourself.
Also, as odd as it sounds: Practice daydreaming. Letting your mind wander, especially in the early morning, can help you solve tough problems that may seem impossible when you focus too hard later in the day.
Do you have enough supportive friends & family? – Being an entrepreneur often means having to deal with tough personal, financial and emotional challenges. People around you may doubt your plans, vision and growth strategy.
It can be depressing, which is why it’s important to have a support system – to console you or kick your ass when necessary.
Are you self-motivated? – Without self-motivation, you’re doomed as an entrepreneur, since there’s no one to egg you on or watch over your shoulder. If you’re not, the way to mitigate this risk is pretty simple: Get a business partner.
What’s your personal mission statement in life? – The second of Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” advises, “Begin with the end in mind”. He recommends formulating a “personal vision statement” to document your perception of your vision in life. It’s good advice. By knowing your own mission and having a view of the big picture, you can help your company grow.
Are you hungry for success? – If you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to think and act as a leader. Business isn’t a hobby you can take lightly. Try that approach and you’ll never achieve true success. Above all else – don’t allow personal affairs interfere with your business.
Next Story: Viewdle raises $10M for facial recognition “in the palm of your hand” Previous Story: Azuray teams with Suntech, Renhe for “smart solar panels”
Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com
Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...
Breaking <b>News</b>: EMC-Isilon Deal Talks Are Fizzling - Deal Journal - WSJ
Storage giant EMC Corp. and Isilon Systems Inc. have put their takeover talks on hold, according to people familiar with the matter.
This is Terrific <b>News</b> | RedState
I just heard that Jeb Hensarling is going to run for Conference Chair to replace Mike Pence. This is terrific news. Hensarling is one of the most substantive.
bench craft company
bench craft company
bench craft company
Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com
Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...
Breaking <b>News</b>: EMC-Isilon Deal Talks Are Fizzling - Deal Journal - WSJ
Storage giant EMC Corp. and Isilon Systems Inc. have put their takeover talks on hold, according to people familiar with the matter.
This is Terrific <b>News</b> | RedState
I just heard that Jeb Hensarling is going to run for Conference Chair to replace Mike Pence. This is terrific news. Hensarling is one of the most substantive.
bench craft company
The latest jobs report came out on Friday. Overall, another 95,000 jobs were lost in September. Maybe they should start calling it the no-jobs report. Ezra Klein crunches the numbers to explain why the addition of 64,000 private sector jobs is pitifully inadequate:
That's about 35,000 less than the 100,000 or so jobs needed to keep up with population growth. It's about 180,000 less than the number of jobs needed to get back to 5 percent unemployment in the next 10 years. It's about 257,000 less than the 320,000 jobs needed to get back to 5 percent unemployment in five years.
In other words, the economy is not bouncing back any time soon. Even worse, it's clear that Washington is not up to the task of creating the conditions for the job growth the country so desperately needs. And as we find ourselves in the silliest stretch of the electoral silly season, it doesn't inspire confidence that the government that emerges on November 2nd will do any better.
A deep-seated cynicism is not an unreasonable response. But I'm pleased to report that hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country are choosing to react by taking action. As a result, a parallel economy is being created by people who, finding there are no jobs, have decided to create their own.
Of course, this burgeoning parallel economy doesn't mean the government is off the hook. But while millions of Americans are waiting for the government to do the right thing in terms of bold infrastructure spending, a payroll tax holiday, etc, etc, many have decided to stop waiting.
Through the creative use of technology, social media, and a focus on community, this new wave of small businesses is making its mark in a true convergence of left and right. At the moment, our government may be can't-do, but more and more of our citizens are solidly can-do -- and irrepressibly American.
To turn a spotlight on this nascent movement and encourage its continued growth, HuffPost is launching Small Business America, a new blog sponsored by FedEx where entrepreneurs can exchange ideas, get advice, and keep up with the latest small business news. Small Business America's contributors will run the gamut from CEOs to mom-and-pop business owners to policy-makers, business writers, professors, and social media experts.
Some of those we'll be featuring in our first week include:
- Aaron Patzer, founder of the online personal finance site Mint.
William Aulet, Managing Director of the MIT Entrepreneurship Center.
Karen Mills, Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
Tim Westergren, Founder of the online radio site Pandora.
Christopher Hytry Derrington, whose company helps firms outsource their work to rural America instead of overseas.
Small Business America will also feature the first-person accounts of people who have already jumped in and started their own business -- as well as those thinking of taking the leap.
One of those forced by circumstances into creating her own business is Brenda Carter, whose story is featured in Third World America. A grandmother living in Marietta, Georgia, Carter had worked as a manager of information systems at the same company for thirteen years. Then, in 2007, she was suddenly laid off. "Imagine getting up every day for 13 years and suddenly that part of your life just ceased," she wrote. "I cried and cried and cried. I just could not believe it."
She didn't know what she was going to do, but then had an idea. Her mother, to help pay the bills as a single mother in New Orleans, had sold pralines door-to-door. "People would knock on our doors at all times of night asking to purchase these pralines," she said. "So as I was sitting at home I thought 'Hey I can do this too! This is something I can do and am comfortable doing.'"
And now she's the proud operator of a growing praline operation -- except instead of selling door-to-door, she's doing it computer-to-computer. Her online store can be found here. "Times are changing and so must we," Carter says. "We need to be supporters of ourselves, otherwise we will not survive."
Americans have a lot of passion and ingenuity, and there is a clear market in helping bring them to market. Enter Etsy.com and Cafe Press, which have now grown large enough to have a multiplier effect rippling across the country.
Etsy was founded in 2005 by Robert Kalin. Then 25, he was an aspiring furniture designer feeling frustrated by his attempts to sell his work online. So he created a streamlined platform for handmade goods of all kinds, and launched it from his apartment.
The site's mission? "To enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers. Our vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice." Which is exactly what Etsy.com is doing. And along with creating jobs, this new economy is creating connections, and caring, and community. As Kalin said in a 2009 interview:
One of the most important things anyone can do right now is create jobs. What's important is to empower people to make a living, and I support renting and running a 9,000-square-foot workspace in Red Hook, Brooklyn, that provides other small businesses with affordable studio space. And we have big community dinners there once a week for networking and sharing our ideas.
Etsy's effect is being felt far beyond Brooklyn. Colleen Fields, 54, lives in a remote town in the mountains of North Carolina. Two years ago, she was laid off from her job as a newspaper subscriptions manager. "I must have sent out a thousand or more resumés and applications," she told The Huffington Post. "I applied for a job at a convenience store, and they said they had over 200 applicants. It's just crazy. There are no jobs around this area."
A friend suggested she look into Etsy. Not exactly computer literate, she nevertheless gave it a try. In December 2009 she opened her online store, Gemstones and Wire, selling necklaces, earrings and handmade clay vases. She wrote about how some women pay all their family bills with small businesses started through Etsy. "I'm just not one of them yet. I would love to be one of them," she added.
Several other successful sites have followed in Etsy's footsteps. Among them is Bonanza, which, with its "friendliest social community online," aims to put the human element back into e-commerce, "making people relevant again."
Then there is ArtFire, which started two years ago in Tucson, Arizona. It provides a platform for "handmade goods, fine art, vintage, designed items, supplies and media," and aims to "celebrate the unique individuality of artists and crafters around the globe."
Cafe Press was started in 1999. Based in San Mateo, California, the company provides on-demand printing for mugs, t-shirts and products designed by users, "uniting and rewarding self-expression." It now gets 11 million unique visits a month and, with its 6.5 million users, adds around 2,000 new, independent shops and 45,000 new products every day.
Another great example of making a business out of helping people make a business is Recession Wire. Begun in February 2009 by Sara Clemence and Laura Rich, who were laid off when Portfolio magazine folded, and partner Lynn Parramore, the site aims to "chronicle the 'upside of the downturn' through personal stories, helpful advice and reportage on the changes underway in these hard times."
In its small business section, the site features articles like: "How to Bootstrap Your New Business Wisely," "Don't Close Your Business, Change It," and "A Cool, Free Way to Figure Out a Business Idea's Potential."
At Inc.com, the website of Inc. Magazine, the editors aim to provide "advice, tools, and services, to help business owners and CEOs start, run, and grow their businesses more successfully." Its start-up section includes advice on writing a business plan, running a home-based business, naming a business, how to incorporate, and financing.
StartupNation bills itself as a "free service founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs." Headed by Jeff and Rich Sloan, two experienced entrepreneurs, who started the site to share their "years of in-the-trenches experience," the site features blogs, forums, advice, and networking tools.
Micro-financing, another entrepreneurship model greatly enhanced by the web, has been around for awhile. But the founders of InVenture Fund wanted to take the model to the next step. It was launched in October 2009 because, as the site says, "traditional microfinance models weren't doing enough to lift communities out of poverty." The problem was that the 75 million or so borrowers around the world were locked into loans they had to repay, sometimes at interest rates of 30 percent. InVenture finds microloan recipients who have good track records and gives them the financing to expand, with no fixed repayment schedule. "Give entrepreneurs an opportunity for real financial and social growth," the site says, "and they'll lift not just themselves but their communities out of poverty." A portion of the site's profits is then invested in responsible community programs, like clean water and education.
Indeed, one of the hallmarks of this entrepreneurial movement is community -- including an emphasis on local food, local agriculture, and sustainable business practices. One of the ironies of this new wave of small businesses is how the global reach of the web has been so pivotal in connecting people to their own communities.
Judy Wicks, the owner of the famed White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia, founded the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), which now has 80 local chapters in the U.S. and Canada. To spread the local food gospel of the White Dog, Wicks also founded Fair Food, which connects local family farms with city dwellers.
In Lexington, Kentucky, Fresh Stop is an attempt to bring the benefits of community-supported agriculture to those who couldn't normally afford it. Forming partnerships with churches, Fresh Stop asks those who can afford it to pay a bit more for what they buy, which subsidizes those for whom the fresh -- and healthy -- food would otherwise be out of reach.
Whether you're directly involved in a small business or not, I hope you'll check out Small Business America. After all, we're all affected by the well-being of the communities we live in. At least for the time being, real solutions are less likely to come from politicians than from the thousands of people in thousands of communities taking the initiative to connect, share, and create.
I love how human this movement is. It's fueled by technology, but at its core is a real person connecting to another real person. As Twitter founder Biz Stone said of his company: "Twitter is not a triumph of tech. It's a triumph of humanity."
Technology is what will allow this very American movement to scale up and begin to have a real impact. But it's in our backyards and basements that it begins. "To be attached to the subdivision, to love the little platoon we belong to in society, is the first principle (the germ as it were) of public affections," wrote Edmund Burke. "It is the first link in the series by which we proceed towards a love to our country, and to mankind."
Click here to check out Small Business America... and let us know what you think.
(Editor’s note: Patrick Driessen is the CEO of Seed Accelerator, an Asian-Pacific technology startup & business accelerator. He submitted this story to VentureBeat.)
Having started, run and lead various companies since I was 15 years old, I’ve learned a few things about being an entrepreneur – often the hard way. I’ve had successes, failures and massive failures, but each taught me something valuable.
While a lot has been written previously about the key qualities of successful entrepreneurs, I’ve always thought there were a few items that were missing. Sure, things like passion, creativity, self-confidence and coordination skills are helpful, but those just scratch the surface. If you’re an emerging entrepreneur looking to succeed faster, just ask yourself the following questions…
Are you persistent? – There is no “instant gratification” when you’re running your own business. There’s no monthly pay check and you may work very hard for little reward.
If you don’t fully believe in yourself and your business, you’ll find the temptation to quit can be overwhelming. When you make mistakes, it’s important to get past the ego blow and learn the lesson – then use the experience to move forward.
Are you financially responsible? – When you’re your own boss, you’re a CEO, accountant and finance manager wrapped in one. When you start making profits, you’ll need to know how to manage it wisely. Successful entrepreneurs know how to actively manage their P&L balance sheet; especially their cash position.
Do you have the required health and physical condition? – Being the founder of a startup means that you’ll have to put most – if not all – of your time and energy into your new venture. Only founders whose health is able to take the physical punishment of the long hours will make it to the finish. Your best bet? Become your own health coach and build up a regular exercise schedule, practice meditation and make sure to develop an ongoing health & well-being program for yourself.
Can you become the king or queen of sleep? – This sort of goes hand-in-hand with your physical condition. Adequate sleep is often the first thing sacrificed in startups – but that can ultimately have a negative impact. Find a way to sleep a consistent number of hours – and try to compensate with power naps to revive yourself.
Also, as odd as it sounds: Practice daydreaming. Letting your mind wander, especially in the early morning, can help you solve tough problems that may seem impossible when you focus too hard later in the day.
Do you have enough supportive friends & family? – Being an entrepreneur often means having to deal with tough personal, financial and emotional challenges. People around you may doubt your plans, vision and growth strategy.
It can be depressing, which is why it’s important to have a support system – to console you or kick your ass when necessary.
Are you self-motivated? – Without self-motivation, you’re doomed as an entrepreneur, since there’s no one to egg you on or watch over your shoulder. If you’re not, the way to mitigate this risk is pretty simple: Get a business partner.
What’s your personal mission statement in life? – The second of Stephen Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” advises, “Begin with the end in mind”. He recommends formulating a “personal vision statement” to document your perception of your vision in life. It’s good advice. By knowing your own mission and having a view of the big picture, you can help your company grow.
Are you hungry for success? – If you want to be an entrepreneur, you have to think and act as a leader. Business isn’t a hobby you can take lightly. Try that approach and you’ll never achieve true success. Above all else – don’t allow personal affairs interfere with your business.
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Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com
Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...
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Storage giant EMC Corp. and Isilon Systems Inc. have put their takeover talks on hold, according to people familiar with the matter.
This is Terrific <b>News</b> | RedState
I just heard that Jeb Hensarling is going to run for Conference Chair to replace Mike Pence. This is terrific news. Hensarling is one of the most substantive.
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Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com
Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...
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Storage giant EMC Corp. and Isilon Systems Inc. have put their takeover talks on hold, according to people familiar with the matter.
This is Terrific <b>News</b> | RedState
I just heard that Jeb Hensarling is going to run for Conference Chair to replace Mike Pence. This is terrific news. Hensarling is one of the most substantive.
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Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com
Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...
Breaking <b>News</b>: EMC-Isilon Deal Talks Are Fizzling - Deal Journal - WSJ
Storage giant EMC Corp. and Isilon Systems Inc. have put their takeover talks on hold, according to people familiar with the matter.
This is Terrific <b>News</b> | RedState
I just heard that Jeb Hensarling is going to run for Conference Chair to replace Mike Pence. This is terrific news. Hensarling is one of the most substantive.
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Why Facebook Deals is Bad <b>News</b> for Foursquare - Techland - TIME.com
Foursquare just got Facebooked. And it's more than just a poking. It might be a body blow to one of the location-based service's killer features. When I first covered Foursquare for TIME in January, I gave the (then) pint-sized start-up ...
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Storage giant EMC Corp. and Isilon Systems Inc. have put their takeover talks on hold, according to people familiar with the matter.
This is Terrific <b>News</b> | RedState
I just heard that Jeb Hensarling is going to run for Conference Chair to replace Mike Pence. This is terrific news. Hensarling is one of the most substantive.
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This year, money is on everyone's mind. With the economy in flux, bills to pay and employment tentative, gaining a better handle on finances rises on the list of New Year's resolutions for 2009. Managing personal finances, as a category for a New Year's resolution, is very broad. Each person's finance topic may differ from another, spanning employment, savings and daily spending or retirement funds. With so many topics to choose from, discussing personal finance resolutions has more to do with how to make the resolution successful in place of a stock list of "to dos." Here are five steps that can help people succeed with a resolution. They can be applied to any resolution, but what is more important these days than getting finances under control.
1) Overstretching leads to failure. The reality is many resolutions quickly fall to the wayside. According a study conducted by Stephen Shapiro's Goalfree.com and Opinion Research Corp. of Princeton N.J., New Year's Resolutions do not work. Shapiro says, "According to our study, only 8% of Americans say they always achieve their New Year's resolutions". This leaves 92% of resolutions to fail. What can we do to make better financial management a long-term part of life?
Pick and focus on the biggest, baddest, but most important piece of your financial picture. Is it getting your retirement accounts in order or back on track? Or, managing your current cash by putting a budget in place? Or, even down to the basics of knowing understanding where all your money goes by learning how much and on what you spend your pay every week? These may seem small tasks, but they all require research, selection, and action to make them happen. Trying to do all at once can be overwhelming. Remember: it is better to succeed with one goal than fail at many goals.
No only is taking on too much demoralizing when failure occurs, you will be forced to say "no" to yourself more often if you attempt to take on too many change. This leads to using will power in place of a plan in your change process (the effects of will power will be discussed in step 4). Pick the resolution that means more to you than any of the others so it will have value and meaning. It will be worth the challenge that comes with change.
2) Change is about planning. Resolutions are about change. Making resolutions into habit requires lasting change not just a momentary gritting of teeth that will power is made. Change requires planning, organization, and action. It requires emotional investment and belief that even partial change is possible. The idea of change is not what is daunting, but the action of change.
You've selected the biggest, baddest, but most important financial issue from your resolutions list. It's time to get organized. Take the financial resolution and jot down ideas of what would be necessary to success, helpful to do and nice to have as a part of the outcome. Prioritize them and check to see if it's possible to achieve. If it seems possible, press on! If it seems overwhelming, you've selected too much to take on, which means you need to pare it down to something more manageable. Realize that some items may be dependent on others, so when organizing or cutting items, look for dependencies. Remember to put some rewards into your plan, too, so it's not all about deprivation or "to do's".
If you don't have much experience organizing project, take a few moments to read a few article on project management to get an idea of how to define your resolution and identified the steps and order they need to occur to make them successful. The Project Management Institute resources site is a good source for quality information.
3) Habit comes from practice. The fact that 92% of resolutions fail is not surprising. Humans are habitual creatures. We like to know things and count on them. That's why we marry, buy houses, have children, have pets. These things provide stability and accountability. Habit is how we make sense of the world around us. If we weren't capable of remembering how to grow food or where to hunt or fish, we would have been extinct long ago.
Habit is derived from memorizing and reenacting actions repetitively. Repeating the steps of the financial plan created in step 2, you'll work toward your goal at the same time as cementing new behavior in yourself and how you work with your money.
4) Realize will power has very little to do with success. Many blame the breaking of resolutions on will power, or lack of it. In reality, will power has very little to do with long-lasting, effective change. Think of will power like any "power" practice: sprinting, lifting heavy objects, or hiking up a steep incline. They are done in short bursts and can only be sustained for brief periods of time. The body and the mind fatigue under such pressure and exertion. Using will power to effect the change required of a resolution is bound to fail because it is unsustainable.
Will power does have a role in change, but is not the main vehicle. It is a tool of last resort tool to keep you on track. Will power is the digging deep to keep to the change decisions made in the face of very strong competition for you to break. It should be counted as a very minor player in your strategy for creating change.
5) Accept failures and celebrate successes! No one is perfect, yet striving for perfection is America's national pastime. Resolutions are often tossed aside at the first signs of adversity or the first failing. It is comfortable and easy to fall back to doing things the way we've always done them because they are known, they are habit (there's that nasty word). The whole purpose for defining a resolution is to make planned changes in how we act into habits that form better solutions. In our case, it is to get a better grip on personal finances. And, since we are human and not programmable automatons, we will make mistakes, bad choices, or just plan indulge.
Resolutions stay in place better when we learning to accept our failure and grow to understand we are not infallible. Rewarding our changes can make the success even sweeter. Successful management of finances does not have to be about spending in a way that may open the door to an old habit you've been striving to change.
For example, if controlling spending is the resolution and stopping spontaneous shopping trips was a decided remedy, then a reward should not be indulging in a spree. It would only serve to reinforce the bad, old habit. Choose something special and fun that is not shopping, possibly a concert or dinner with a close friend at a nice restaurant. Something that has budget and foreseeable boundaries associated with it.
With these five steps, your most important money resolution can be successful in 2009. Resolutions are about changing your behavior, and in this instance, about changing your relationship to some part of your finances. Change is never easy, so be forgiving but be firm. Follow the plan you establish and take the time to review it. Invest in your plan by further educating yourself on how to keep making your plan successful. Happy Finances in 2009!
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