We are all familiar with social networking sites, and as a business owner, you know you should be utilizing these avenues to connect with your customers in relevant ways. However, it is not always clear how to bridge the gap between social networking and business marketing initiatives. To be clear, social networking effectively uses the web to enhance and simplify communications that focus on building relationships between people based on common interests and activities. From a business perspective, social networking offers an attractive opportunity to reach a wide range of potential customers. Continued…
EPIC Business Planning Blog
Even during an economically turbulent time, Texas is faring comparatively well. CNBC has named it the top state for business the second time in three years and the state also boasts the following facts:
•Since 2008, the state of Texas has created 70 percent of all U.S. jobs.
• In addition to ranking fourth in the country with the least amount of debt, Texas has half of the 25 cities in Milken’s Best-Performing Cities of 2010 producing the most growth. You can read the full report here.
• The Lone Star State is ranked fourth in the nation’s top home building centers for 2009.
• Three of the top five most resilient major metro areas for employment are in Texas with McAllen first, Austin third, San Antonio fifth and El Paso and Houston ranking in the top 15.
• 64 Fortune 500 companies, more than any other state, are in Texas.
• Texas has the 15th largest economy in the world, positioning it as a global economic leader.
Could this be due to the fact that Texas’ major cities have chosen comparatively stable industries with Houston as the nation’s energy hub, Austin leading in education and technology, and San Antonio dominating the health care and education sector in addition to military spending?
Kristine Benkhorn Rodriguez
Insight Magazine – The Magazine of the Illinois CPA Society
www.issuu.com
Below is EPIC’s summary of the article.
While the world is caught in an economic downturn, it is difficult to know whether to try to start that business you‘ve been dreaming about or not. Is it advisable, or even possible, to start a new business when workers are losing their jobs and businesses are shutting doors? Some would say “no”, citing valid concerns including “potential bankruptcy”, “capital drought” and “unrecoverable losses.”
You have a great idea, a location picked out, and even enough savings to launch your own business. So, you may be asking yourself “do I really need a business plan?” Surprisingly, no matter what type of business or what stage of development it’s in, studies show that a comprehensive business plan is essential for long term success. The biggest reason that most entrepreneurs don’t create a business plan is that they simply don’t know what to include in it. David Konning, an investment and retirement business planner at the Royal Bank of Canada, recently wrote an article about the simplest way to start your business plan. He outlines the groundwork that will help you visualize and articulate your goals, as well as communicate with lenders, customers and employees. You can find the complete article here.
There are currently more than 24 million veterans in the United States. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are adding to that number significantly with nearly two million American troops deployed to serve in the past eight years. During the most recent economic downturn, veterans were hit with an unemployment rate of 21.1 percent in 2009, compared to the non-veteran unemployment rate of 16.6 percent. The overall rate of self-employment among the general public in 2009 was 9.8 percent, whereas veterans had a self-employment rate of 13.6 percent. Continued…
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