SmallBusinessExecutiveInforming, Inspiring and Connecting Businesses
Fast growing women-led firms employ 27,000
BrightStar Care, a Gurnee, Ill.-based staffing services firm owned by Shelly Sun, was named the fastest-growing woman-led business in North America in April. The Top 50 women-led businesses, which were ranked by Women Presidents’ Organization and American Express Open, generated a combined $4 billion in revenue in 2011 and employed 26,883 workers. The number of [...]
Business owners optimistic, but slow to hire
Submitted by SurePayroll Nationwide, SurePayroll Scorecard data shows hiring in March was down 0.2 percent from the prior month, but paycheck size remained flat. Despite this, optimism among small business owners was 70 percent, the first time optimism has reached 70 percent since May 2011. When small business owners were asked about their hiring plans moving forward in 2012, the SurePayroll’s [...]
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Kauffman study indicates Internet’s impact on startup longevity
Submitted by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (KANSAS CITY, Mo.) Oct. 20, 2011 — The Internet’s profound effect on how U.S. businesses operate is even more pronounced among young companies, according to a research report released today by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The study, “Casting a Wide Net: Online Activities of Small and New [...]
Some employers to drop health insurance when exchanges launch
The advent of government-mandated insurance exchanges could spur some companies to drop insurance for their workers, according to an Associated Press report published in the Chicago Sun-Times. About 20 percent of companies responding to a July survey by benefits consulting firm Towers Watson said they were uncertain what benefits they would offer after 2014, when health insurance [...]
Double click for fitness
One in four dieters are using online weight loss websites as a diet plan, the highest percentage in six years, according to a recent survey of 16,000 online dieters by Tampa, Fla.-based Marketdata Enterprises Inc. Those using a brick-and-mortar weight loss center fell 6.8 percentage points during the same six-year period. In general, more dieters [...]
Businesses up technology spending plans: CDW survey
Corporate information technology decision makers were gaining confidence heading into the new year, thanks to rising growth expectations among small and medium size businesses, according to one indicator. The latest CDW IT Monitor, a bimonthly indicator tracking the direction and momentum of the U.S. IT marketplace, shows the first increase in six consecutive readings, rising to [...]
`Small Business Saturday’ concept takes hold
American Express reports that its campaign to boost sales at small retailers on Saturday, Nov. 27, was effective largely because other groups embraced it. According to the company: Forty-one elected officials, including Illinois Gov. Quinn, declared the Saturday after Thanksgiving “Small Business Saturday.” Throughout the nation, 130 small business groups and public and private [...]
Mcommerce sites add gift centers: Chicago report
Mobile commerce sites are getting more sophisticated with 42 percent offering a gift center for mobile devices, according to Chicago-based e-tailing group’s third-quarter mobile mystery shopping report. That’s up from 30 percent of merchants who offered gift centers a year ago. That means many mobile sites now allow users to shop by criteria, such [...]
Survey says: Marketers plan to push more activities online
Watch for marketers to continue to boost their online marketing activities, while downplaying traditional advertising and tradeshows. That’s according to an online survey by Naperville-based FusionB2B, which found two-thirds of respondents planning to increase their marketing activities in the future. Internet marketing and social media received the largest vote of confidence, with 97 percent of [...]
