But a funny thing happened last week. The American Sustainable Business Council, the Main Street Alliance and the Small Business Majority released a survey blaming the stagnant economy not on onerous regulations but on weak consumer demand.

Source: UPI.com

Source: Huffington Post

It’s about time. After all, small businesses are the back bone of America’s economy.

Source: The Washington Post

Advocates for these radical measures claim they are primarily needed because regulations are the top reason for small businesses not hiring. But a new nationwide poll of small business owners released today adds to numerous other surveys that refute this position.



Source: TheHill.com

Why After Three Years I Dropped Mailchimp as My Newsletter Service for Aweber
I’m willing to give up a free service and pay for another because saying Mailchimp performs the same function as Aweber is like saying your Ford Escort performs the save function as my Maserati…
RyanHanley.com

Small Business Share of Economy, Job Growth Shrinks
It’s no secret that the years since the financial crisis have been tough on small business. What’s more surprising, though, is that their role in the US economy had already been diminishing for years before the Great Recession.
BusinessWeek

T-Mobile Caters to Small Business with New Services
Bouncing back after its proposed acquisition by AT&T crumbled, T-Mobile is aggressively courting small business customers with a variety of services.
PCWorld

Small Business Majority Opinion Poll: Small Business Owners Say Access to …
Opinion polling released today by the Small Business Majority shows 90 percent of small business owners believe access to credit is a problem and that loans are harder to get now than four years ago.
San Francisco Chronicle

Being candid with employees is essential to performance
Managers have a responsibility to be candid. Judith Glaser joins Jim Blasingame to talk about the power of candor when dealing with employees and why it is a management responsibility.
The Small Business Advocate (audio)

Five small business technology trends for the year ahead
Dr. Hugh Bradlow, Telstra’s chief technology officer, delivers his five predictions for the 2012 small business technology landscape.
Dynamic Business

The Nightmare of Sales Tax for Everyone
An Internet sales tax has long been a hot-button issue in Congress and industry. But as more businesses embrace e-commerce to sell their goods, states struggle to bring in revenue in a struggling economy and political candidates talk tax reform, it’s a button that keeps getting pushed.
The Street

How Success Cost a Small Business Owner His Health Insurance
Small business is iconic in America. For years, big business has cleverly used small businesses to be messengers for campaigns financed by corporate America.
Huffington Post (blog)

Entrepreneurial Tightrope: Outsourcing, interns can be handy
What’s a small business to do regarding finding and holding on to help? This has been a challenge for small business owners for a long time. Outsourcing and hiring interns can be helpful.
USA TODAY

Small business hours can be hard on customers…
In a day and age, when more families have multiple incomes, it gets harder and harder to find time to eat and shop. When people do somehow manage to find the time, it can often be later in the day, or on Sundays.
Buffalo Rising

Small Business Accounting: Tips, Tricks and Advice from TaxMama
From day one, small businesses should get their accounting act together and apply crucial tips and tricks, said tax expert Eva Rosenberg
International Business Times

Obama wants small business tax, investment breaks
The legislative package, which will be part of Obama’s 2013 budget proposal later this month, also would include a new 10 percent tax credit for small business that add jobs or increase wages in 2012.
Boston.com

Identifying prospects for your global business strategy
What do you know about your global prospects? Jim Blasingame reveals information about global prospects for developing a strategy to grow your business outside of the U.S.
The Small Business Advocate (audio)

Demand for Small Business Loans Most Since 2005
Banks reported the greatest increase in demand for loans from small companies since 2005, the according to the Federal Reserve’s survey of senior loan officers out today. That may be good news for job growth later in the year.
BusinessWeek

5 Tips For Managing Overwhelm and Overload
Just like we have power strips that absorb energy surges to protect our computers, we need to install acircuit breaker on our brains to absorb some of the overwhelming data coming in all the time.
The International Association of Self-Employed Communication Professionals

Big Banks’ Small Business Lending: Do The Numbers Really Add Up?
So it’s no surprise that Bank of America, Chase, Citibank and Wells Fargo were eager to release seemingly impressive small-business lending figures for 2011. Problem is, many of those loans may be going to businesses that aren’t that small.
Huffington Post

Can a brand be genuine on Twitter?
Self-promotion is just plain tacky in the age of social media.  You just can’t tell people how awesome you are, you need to show them.
The Washington Post

Why You Need to Compartmentalize Your Life when Building a Business
When you start a business, you will likely wear many different hats, and in many cases wear all of the hats. You might be in charge of marketing, sales, legal, HR, operations, finance, accounting, IT etc. And you might add on top of all that a personal life of some degree.
Youngentrepreneur.com

Japan Small Business Confidence Rises In January
Confidence among Japanese small scale businesses rose for the first time in four months in January, a survey conducted by the Shoko Chukin Bank showed Tuesday.
NASDAQ

Branding for the small business
Far too many business owners feel that they are too small to worry about branding, don’t understand it entirely or they think they don’t have the time or resources to invest in it.
Crain’s Chicago Business

JPL to Host High-Tech Small Business Conference
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., will host the 24th annual High-Tech Conference for Small Business on Tuesday, March 6, and Wednesday, March 7, at the Westin Los Angeles Airport Hotel.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Managing a Small Business: How to Inspire Employee Loyalty
A big part of successfully managing a small business is inspiring loyalty and getting the most out of employees.
International Business Times

27 Small Business PR Ideas For February
Here are 27 ways entrepreneurs can seek out small business PR opportunities during the month of February.
Understanding Marketing

How To Raise Money To Start Your Small Business
There are many ways you can raise the money you need to start your small business. Don’t give up until you’ve exhausted every single opportunity in existence, and you’ll be happy you did.
Noobpreneur.com

India offers opportunities, but there are pitfalls to avoid
As the second-fastest growing market in Asia, with more than one billion people, India is considered by many small business owners fertile ground offering a variety of opportunities.
Washington Post

Postal service offering classes for marketers, small business owners
The United States Postal Service recently announced it will host Grow Your Business Day, designed to help small and medium-sized businesses create affordable direct mail pieces for integrated marketing campaigns.
123Print.com

5 Simple Steps for Promoting Your Blog
Here are five steps that will help you promote your blog, differentiating it and creating awareness. With the steps here, you’ll be able to maximize the daily traffic that comes to your website.
Earningdiary.com

What Makes A Good Website?
Now what constitutes “good” is very subjective, we all have different tastes. But I think we can all agree that certain principals need to be followed when setting up a website to make sure you’re not putting your good time to waste.
Respectfully Disobedient

Export loans rise, SBA reports
The Small Business Administration is making a big push to help small companies who get export loans, and companies in Central Florida are seeing the fruits of those efforts.
Orlando Sentinel

Behind the Brand
In these videos, host Bryan Elliott examines brands, innovators, authors and small businesses by engaging them in conversation about their passions, their challenges and how it is these personalities have achieved such a high level of success.
Get Busy Media

Location can make, break new business
Potential small-business owners are faced with many decisions; from how to obtain capital to which bookkeeping software is right for the business. Choosing the right location should be a priority early on.
San Angelo Standard Times

“Organize Your Home Office” For A Workable Office Space
Many small business owners work from home, but very few of these same owners would be comfortable inviting a prospective client to see their home office.
Small Business Trends (book review)

Insurance for small business in case the unthinkable happens
In addition to disability insurance, other types of coverage for small business owners and partners include life, partnership or buy-sell, critical illness, and key person.
The Tri-City News

Writing a business plan
The prospect of writing a business plan for a new start-up business or a young / small business that is looking to expand is something that sounds daunting. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be a struggle
The Guardian

Bill Would Create New Small Business Tax Break
Two Republican lawmakers are hoping a new bill will give small businesses the same tax deductions as big corporations when they donate excess products to charity and nonprofits.
Inc.com

What is Your Twitter Strategy for Following Someone?
Are you on Twitter? How do you use it? How do you decide who to follow?
Keep Up With The Web

Bring Customers to Your Door with Andromo App Maker for Android
Small business owners can now create Android apps that drive customers right to their door, thanks to the interactive map feature found in Andromo App Maker for Android.
PRWeb (press release)

6 Ways to Improve Your Focus at Work
Staying alert and productive all day, every day seems like an insurmountable task. With instant access to e-mail, YouTube and Facebook, the challenge becomes that much greater.
American Express OPEN Forum

Small Businesses Got $3.5B in Lending from Jobs Act Fund
The Small Business Lending Fund has helped issue $3.5 billion in loans to businesses by providing capital to qualified community lenders, according to the US Treasury.
eCreditDaily.com

Using social media to promote good public relations
Can you prevent bad PR? Jane Jordan-Meier joins Jim Blasingame to talk about why you must include social media in your crisis management plan, plus how to handle negative online comments, aka, user generated content (UGC).
The Small Business Advocate (audio)

Getting started on your small business tax return
Do not look at the calendar and think, “I don’t need to start on my small business tax return yet. I have more than three months to do it.” That attitude is begging for last-minute panic and mistakes…
MiamiHerald.com

What to Know About Google’s New Update
Last week Google announced another algorithm update, called the “page layout algorithm update”, which will target sites that have too many ads above the fold.
Brick Marketing Blog

Why campaign spending rules hurt small business
A recent poll conducted by Lake Research found that 66% of a random sample of 500 small-business owners believe the Citizens United decision was “mostly bad” or “somewhat bad” for small business.
CNN

Small Business Owners, Nonprofit Execs: Don’t Make These Retirement Mistakes
13 mistakes small business owners and nonprofit execs make in retirement planning revealed in Ventureneer webinar.
PR.com (press release)

Effective Sales Techniques Regardless of Your Industry
If you want your business to excel in the market, you have to implement some great sales ideas that will ensure that you are at the top of your industry.
Expert Business Advice

Small business administrator on cabinet is good first step
President Barack Obama may finally have it right – about small business, that is, and its importance to our economy. Two weeks ago, he appointed the administrator of the Small Business Administration to his cabinet.
Biddeford Journal Tribune

HP updates small-business color printer line
New laser printers and multifunction devices are targeted at SMBs that produce their own marketing collateral or that require professional-quality color output.
ZDNet (blog)

Small Business Plan: A Template for Making Sales
“Nothing happens until something gets sold.” This statement, posted on the Web site of Sales Engine, is something any small business plan should adhere to.
International Business Times

The pricing formula (S&S)
Pricing your product is actually simple, as long as you consider it from the buyer’s point of view.
Seth’s Blog

Office of Advocacy Releases Small Business Profiles for All 50 States
Today the Office of Advocacy released the annual Small Business Profiles for the States and Territories. This is the 16th year Advocacy has published a state-by-state profile of American small business for the United States.
PR Newswire (press release)

Grow your business with resources in the “Cloud”
Could the “cloud” help you grow your business? Pat Sigmon joins Jim Blasingame to reveal innovative ways to use web-based tools – the “cloud” – to help you grow your business more efficiently.
The Small Business Advocate (audio)

Thinking of closing down your business? Read this before you quit
Recently, I have repeatedly found myself in the company of veteran self employed professionals or business owners who feel they have come to the end of their entrepreneurial journey.
awovi

Business Rx: What to watch this year for small business
The fortunes of small business are not solely tied to the local markets in which they operate, but are also affected by national and global events. Keeping a watchful eye on the big picture is key to remaining nimble in such uncertain economic times.
Washington Post

How Many Customers Did You Lose Today?
But genuinely, one of the most vexing dilemmas for senior executives is being plugged in to what is actually going on in the front lines of their business.
Harvard Business Review

Weight Watchers For Small Business: Silver Lining Helps You Set Financial Goals
The majority don’t raise any kind of venture money or angel investment — most small business owners probably don’t even know any venture capitalists. Owning a small business is tough.
TechCrunch

Make Sure Your Tweets Are Being Seen!
Getting information and ideas out to the masses is what social media and networking is all about, particularly if you are in business, but is anyone reading what you have to say?
FamousBloggers.net

Do Small Businesses Really Need the SBA’s Help?
I’ve sometimes heard from business owners that “nobody” uses the SBA’s 900 field offices known as small business development centers or SBDCs. Turns out that’s just not true.
Entrepreneur.com

Entrepreneur Relationships With Technology Can Damage Productivity And Personal Lives
Business expert says that small changes in the use of common technologies can make entrepreneurs more productive and sane.
Gaebler.com

Ask an Expert: Content is king, entrepreneurs
Oh, how some small business owners long for the days when all they had to do was run their business and not worry about their computers, systems, mobile technology and Internet presence.
USA TODAY

Sick Days as a Home Business Owner
It’s really hard to take a sick day when you own a business. Sometimes, though, you have no choice.
PlantingMoneySeeds.com

BUSINESS TIPS: Don’t quit amid fear on plans of success
This seems to happen often in a small business. It’s easier and feels better to deal with the urgent tasks that can be done today, rather than the bigger important issues that don’t give us immediate gratification.
San Angelo Standard Times

10 Tips For Starting a Service Business
You can see the request here on the right, posted to me on Twitter. I decided it’s a good subject for a blog post here, and I went on my own first as a service business and survived that way for 12 years before Palo Alto Software finally established itself as a product company.
Bplans.com

Small Business Exporting Advice: Crucial First Steps
Small business exporting can sound intimating, but with the right advice and research, business owners can make thoroughly informed decisions.
International Business Times

Small Business Marketing Ideas, Tips from a Top Expert
Marketing guru John Jantsch has built a small empire around his “Duct Tape Marketing” brand, which dispenses practical small business marketing ideas and tips.
International Business Times

Small Business CRM Looks to Make Friends out of Customers
Small business customer relationship management (CRM) services face a unique challenge, one that larger companies can often ignore: the need to connect with customers in a timely manner.
Infoboom

An End To Social Media Automation?
At the weekend big news hit my Facebook news feed. Facebook have removed the share link from content posted via an application. This will have a huge impact on Facebook users that rely on applications like Networked Blogs or Hootsuite to post content to their wall.
Bloggertone

Is Obama The Choice of Small Business?
Take, for instance, these two surveys that crossed our desk this week: one, the Q4 Small Business Study from the US Chamber of Commerce, and the other, from Pepperdine University.
CNBC.com (blog)

13 Types of Insurance a Small Business Owner Should Have
1. General Liability Insurance: Every business, even if home-based, needs to have liability insurance.  The policy provides both defense and damages if you, your employees or your products or services cause or are alleged to have caused Bodily Injury or Property Damage to a third party.
Forbes

3 Things You Should Know About Small Business: Jan. 19
1. The B Corp gains traction. There’s a new level of business incorporation called benefit corporations, or the B Corp, gaining traction in a handful of states and appealing to small businesses such as Greyston Bakery of Yonkers, N.Y., and Comet Skateboards of Ithaca, N.Y., as well as some more well-known companies such as Patagonia.
TheStreet

How Your Small Business Can Use Technology to Replace the Post Office
If trips to the post office are a regular part of your business day, you may be concerned about the news that many post offices will be scaling back operations this year.
Business Insider

Small Business Takeaways from Candidates’ Social Media Campaigns
A recent study performed by iContact highlights key lessons that small businesses can learn through the Republican presidential candidate campaigns that are going on.  With Newt Gingrich mastering Twitter, Ron Paul engaging the audience of YouTube, and Mitt Romney attracting millions of fans through Facebook, these candidates are relying heavily on social media to increase their chances of winning.
Everything PR

Don’t Make Excuses in Your Small Business
Don’t make excuses in your small business. Making decisions is much better. Deciding to blog, deciding when it’s best to raise prices, deciding which client or team member might be the right fit for your business and which might not–all of these are critical decisions that must be made for your business to function properly.
Small Business Trends

Staples Gives Small Businesses a Push with $250,000 in Free Advertising
52 percent of small business owners revealed they would grow their business through advertising and direct marketing if they had a larger marketing budget. To help address this need, Staples today launched the Staples “Give Your Small Business the Push It Needs” contest to make it easy for five small businesses to win up to $50,000 each in free television advertising in their home market.
MarketWatch (press release)

How to turn fuming customers into lifelong fans
One expert says small business owners are the worst at handling conversations with irate customers, whether they take place on the phone, in person or online.
Washington Post (blog)

Constant Contact acquisition adds mobile loyalty for small business
The growing online marketing company says it is acquiring mobile loyalty technology developer CardStar to expand its services for small business.
ZDNet (blog)

(Iowa State) Sen. Hatch proposes jobless benefits for owners of small business start-ups
Sen. Jack Hatch, D-Des Moines, filed a bill Thursday in the Iowa Senate that would allow payment of unemployment benefits to out-of-work Iowans who are trying to establish full-time small businesses.
DesMoinesRegister.com

Facebook contest to award ad credit to small businesses for bulking up fan bases
Facebook quietly launched a contest Tuesday called Small Business Boost that will award $10000 to 10 small businesses that gain the most new Likes by April 1.
Inside Facebook