Archives: July 2009

The FTC's Red Flags Rule: Last Chance to Learn

Posted by: Nick Leiber on July 30

This is a post by guest blogger Jonathan Ezor. The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that it was postponing the implementation of the Red Flags Rule from August 1, 2009...

Obama on Balancing Needs of Small Business and Multinationals

Posted by: John Tozzi on July 29

We just published an interview that BW editor Stephen Adler and Washington Bureau Chief Jane Sasseen did with President Obama in the Oval Office earlier this week. Among other things,...

Sorting Through Small Business Health Reform Polling

Posted by: John Tozzi on July 29

I haven't seen any conclusive polling on how much support or opposition there is among small business owners for health reform that would require them to provide coverage or pay...

Obama Makes the Case to Small Business for Health Care Reform

Posted by: John Tozzi on July 28

This week small business is a big part of the health care narrative the White House is pushing. Over the weekend the White House Council of Economic Advisers released its...

Contest Seeks Entrepreneurs from the African Diaspora

Posted by: John Tozzi on July 27

US AID and Western Union are seeking business plans from U.S.-based African entrepreneurs to spur investment in Sub-Saharan Africa. Between 10 and 20 winning business ideas will get seed grants...

In France: the Government is Pushing Small Business

Posted by: Stacy Perman on July 25

In America we like to say that small business is the engine that drives the economy, but in France, not so much. That conventional axiom however has been turned on...

Responding to Readers About New Research on Entrepreneurs

Posted by: Nick Leiber on July 24

This is a guest post by BusinessWeek contributor Vivek Wadhwa. One thing I've learned after joining academia is that with every research project, you create more questions than you answer....

The Problems Franchisees Face with Conglomerate Franchisors

Posted by: Nick Leiber on July 24

BusinessWeek's SmallBiz team is introducing two new guest bloggers today. Don Sniegowski, who wrote the post below, is the founding editor of the daily franchise news site BlueMauMau. (Watch this...

Internet Law: Less at Risk Doesn't Mean Never at Risk

Posted by: Nick Leiber on July 24

BusinessWeek's SmallBiz team is introducing two new guest bloggers today. Attorney Jonathan I. Ezor, who wrote the post below, will be blogging about identifying and managing the risks that the...

NFIB Opposes Health Care Reform Proposed By House

Posted by: John Tozzi on July 23

The National Federation of Independent Business raised some important concerns about the health reform bill in the House during a conference call with reporters today. The group opposes any mandate...

Could Competition Fix Small Business' Health Insurance Woes?

Posted by: John Tozzi on July 22

There's a crucial point for small businesses in a story up today by BW's Cathy Arnst about competition in the health insurance market: [The Government Accountability Office] found that, for...

VC Funding Edges Up, First-Time Fundings Remain Low

Posted by: John Tozzi on July 21

Venture capital investment ticked up slightly in the second quarter to $3.7 billion invested in 612 deals, up from $3.2 billion in 603 deals in the first quarter, according to...

"Under-the-Table Pay Is Unacceptable"

Posted by: Nick Leiber on July 17

That's the provocative headline on the latest feature within our ongoing Debate Room series. In it, two thinkers spar over what employers should do when it comes to compensating low-wage...

More on Health Care Lobbying

Posted by: John Tozzi on July 10

Here's a good story from Kaiser Health News on the small business health care lobbying effort. Key point: While MSA is one of the newest small business advocacy groups on...

Health Care Lobbyists...Partisan?

Posted by: John Tozzi on July 08

We've been covering the health care reform debate in Washington because small business owners have a huge stake in finding a solution that reduces costs and expands coverage. And following...

Bankruptcies: What Happens When Your Loan Gets Sold?

Posted by: John Tozzi on July 08

While I was reporting a story about rising business bankruptcies last month, one trend stood out: creditors are less willing to work with insolvent businesses to return the business to...

The Anatomy of an Entrepreneur

Posted by: Nick Leiber on July 08

This is a guest blog by Emily Schmitt, who joined BusinessWeek’s Small Business team and Investing team in June. When Ken Rapp was 16 years old, his mom died of...

Who Represents Small Business in Health Care Reform?

Posted by: John Tozzi on July 07

There’s a YouTube video making the rounds that takes aim at two progressive groups lobbying for health care reform, the Small Business Majority and the Main Street Alliance. The video,...

Will Small Business Lead the Jobs Recovery?

Posted by: John Tozzi on July 07

The recession has claimed more than 6 million private non-farm jobs since it began in December 2007. Brian Headd, an economist with the SBA's Office of Advocacy, has an essay...

Advanta Settles "Deceptive and Unfair Practices" Charge for $35 Million

Posted by: John Tozzi on July 02

Advanta agreed to pay $35 million in restitution to small business cardholders who saw their APRs jacked up unfairly, in a settlement announced by the FDIC. The agreement also covers...

KIND Bars Land in Starbucks

Posted by: Stacy Perman on July 01

One of BusinessWeek's Most Promising Social Entrepreneur finalists: Daniel Lubetzky, whose PeaceWorks Foundation helps spur Middle East peace through business ventures between Arabs and Jews, just earned a big business...

Is Entrepreneurship Declining?

Posted by: John Tozzi on July 01

Scott Shane says yes. Steve King says no. I'd like to see a closer analysis of the trends in the past 10 years. There's been a fundamental shift in how...