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August 11th, 2011 Issue #59
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Director's Corner
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Unemployment Inches Down
Dear ,
The past three weeks have been some of the most volatile market conditions seen in the past three decades. Consumer confidence is low, and stock market uncertainty about the U.S debt crisis, and market uncertainty foreign currencies/debt are creating the perfect storm of market tensions. A wise business person is monitoring all the conditions, and attempting to diagnose how this might impact their particular market (both consumers of their product or services, as well as sources of raw materials). For most investors, the message has been patience; any sudden actions could result in paper losses become monetary ones. For entrepreneurs, solutions include adapting production to anticipate increased raw material costs (lean production), or working with customers who are being pinched by lost income and decreased net worth (resulting in lower consumer confidence).
The latest news (8/11/11) is that the unemployment numbers are lower than expected, which is excellent news at a time of year when employment is typically increasing anyway with agricultural harvests and school's back in session. With luck, this momentum will continue over the next two months and consumers will stop reading the financial headlines, and return to "somewhat" normal spending, buying clothes and other supplies for back-to-school.
Dan Ripke
Director
Northeastern California SBDC
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NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS NEWS
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To Boost the Economy, Help the Self-Employed
Noelle Stary's three-year-old marketing consultancy will see revenue of nearly $100,000 this year, yet she's worried about the company's survival. Stary works from a shared office in central New Jersey where she faces typical startup hurdles such as tightfisted bankers and slow-paying customers. A bigger problem, though, is that she can't take advantage of tax incentives and labor laws that benefit larger businesses. "Every new step of growth is almost always more complicated than the step before," says Stary, 29, a former manager at a small ad agency in Manhattan.
Stary is one of over 40 million self-employed in the U.S.-31 percent of the labor force-who form an increasingly important part of the economy. The Great Recession accelerated the trend. In December, an American Staffing Assn. survey of 10,000 employers showed the number of temporary workers assigned to companies by agencies such as Manpower (MAN) and Kelly Services (KELYA) has jumped 19 percent over the past year. By 2019 the self-employed will account for 40 percent of all American workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. READ MORE
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| NECSBDC REGIONAL SMALL BUSINESS NEWS |
 13th Annual Women in Business Conference E m p o w e r · E d u c a t e · E n c o u r a g e
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Registration & Check-In: 8:00 am to 8:30 am
Conference: 8:30 am to 2:30 pm
Chico Masonic Family Center
1110 West East Avenue · Chico, California
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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| CALIFORNIA SMALL BUSINESS NEWS |
NFIB/California Issues Statement on Lt. Governor Newsom's Economic Development Plan
America's leading small-business association today issued a statement in response to Lt. Governor Newsom's economic development plan for California.
"We appreciate that Lt. Governor Newsom realizes the important role small business owners play in economic growth and job creation for California," said John Kabateck, NFIB/CA executive director. "We agree that California needs to encourage and incentivize innovation and adopt a "do no harm" approach to state policies concerning small businesses. He has obviously put a lot of time and thought into his proposal."
The plan, entitled "An Economic Growth and Competitiveness Agenda for California," addresses everything from barriers to business and education reform to innovation and exports. In fact, it makes note that 96% of California's exporting firms are small businesses. And it stresses the need for regulatory reform. READ MORE
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Sincerely,
Dan Ripke
Director
Northeastern California SBDC &
Center for Economic Development
California State University, Chico
www.necsbdc.org
(530) 898-4598
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