Government, Politics and the Economy
Does The Small Business Majority Represent You? Don't Bet on It!
They conduct polls and claim to represent all small business by not representing any particular small business. Who are they and what are they all about? We have some answers. NYTimes.com
Obama's Health, Energy Legislation Facing Democrats' Questionable Support
The fates of President Obama's top two priorities: extending health coverage to the uninsured and reducing greenhouse gases, rest in the hands of a group of pivotal Democratic senators, and so far they don't seem convinced. Bloomberg.com
Management and Operations
Learn to Make Better Business Decisions
Decision-making for your business can lead to unintended consequences and frustration if its not done properly. Take a walk through the decision making process and learn how to make the best decisions possible. BusinessKnowHow.com
Why Free is Not a Business Model
There is a blast of hot air blowing through the Internet in the form of a renewed discussion of how to make money from giving content and services away for free. The problem is that free is not a business model. ZDNet.com
Legal Issues
DHS: Federal Contractors Must Use E-Verify
They delayed the decision three times, but now the Department of Homeland Security has embraced a regulation that would require all federal contractors to use the e-Verify electronic employment verification system to screen new hires. Workforce.com
Taxes and Financial Issues
Can You Beat the Recession by Opening Your Books?
Revealing your company's finances to your employees may seem scary and a little bit odd, but its hard to ignore the experiences of CEOs who practice open book management and swear by its ability to lower costs and boost profits. BusinessWeek.com
Don't Screw up Your Taxes
With the next quarterly deadline for self-employed workers to file estimated taxes approaching, the tension rises. Here's a handy survival guide to help you get it right. CNNMoney.com
Technology Issues
Product Review: Lenovo ThinkPad T400s
Forget about netbooks—you need a screen you can actually see, a keyboard you can actually use and performance to actually get work done—and the ThinkPad T400s delivers on all these fronts, making it the best all-around business laptop money can buy. SmallBusinessComputing.com
Health, Benefits and Labor Issues
Requiem for the Employee Free Choice Act?
Although Senate Democrats have a filibuster-proof majority, there may not be 60 votes for it. Some say a key provision—union approval without a secret ballot—will be negotiated out of the bill in favor of other approaches. Workforce.com
Small Business Owners: Don't Wait for the EFCA to Think About Unions and Strikes
The Employee Free Choice Act has many business owners thinking about the issue of unionization, but they are probably not thinking about the numerous federal rules that govern labor relations for business owners regardless of whether or not their businesses are unionized. USNews.com
Branding, Sales and Marketing
Email Marketing: Mailing List Purchases
Building a good email list takes time and work. There are no shortcuts; and list purchase, like e-mail append, is all about the shortcut. ClickZ.com
Build Business Through Networks and Referrals
You need to generate business but your marketing budget is tiny. What do you do? Three words: Word of mouth. LATimes.com
Twitter Marketing: A Cautionary Tale
Moonfruit, a company that offers free website building tools, saw a great opportunity to raise brand awareness on Twitter, and it worked for a while. Here's what happened and what you should take away from their experience. ManageSmarter.com
