Most Clicked NFIB SmartBrief Stories
1. Top business trends for 2009
NFIB SmartBrief | Dec 29, 2008
Columnist Steve Strauss talks about what he sees as the top business trends of the new year and suggests how small businesses can take advantage of them. Topping the list, Strauss advises businesses to offer discounts and bundle services to appeal to consumers looking for bargains. USA TODAY (12/29)
2. A year-end review of some odd office behaviors
NFIB SmartBrief | Dec 30, 2008
The Globe and Mail chronicles workplace oddities from 2008 in its year-end "Office Awards." Among the incidents that caught the newspaper's attention: employees who lost their jobs for bathing at work, a worker who sued his employer after being waterboarded in a sales meeting and the suspension of a Japanese worker who managed to log 780,000 visits to pornography sites on a company computer before being sent home. Globe and Mail (Toronto), The (12/29)
3. Controlling cash essential with credit so tight
NFIB SmartBrief | Dec 29, 2008
Managing cash flow and inventory have become more important to the survival of small businesses. Financial experts recommend staying on top of bookkeeping and collections while holding onto cash as long as possible. Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.) (12/29)
4. Thousands of retail stores expected to close this year
NFIB SmartBrief | Jan 02, 2009
A disastrous drop in retail sales in 2008 is certain to trigger bankruptcy filings and store closures by the thousands in 2009, experts said. Michael Burden, an executive with retail adviser Excess Space Retail Services, said California, Florida and Nevada will be among the states hardest hit by store closures. CNNMoney.com (01/01)
5. Financial resolutions for a new year
NFIB SmartBrief | Jan 02, 2009
Fred Dawson Jr., an executive with Commerce Bank of Arizona, offers tips for small businesses making financial resolutions for 2009. Dawson recommends maintaining a positive perspective, reducing unnecessary expenses fast, encouraging employees to stay in control of their personal finances, and maintaining a relationship with the bank. AzBiz.com (01/02)
6. Outsourcing business may pick up in 2009
NFIB SmartBrief | Dec 31, 2008
Despite a third-quarter decrease in outsourcing contracts, 2009 likely will bring new opportunities for small companies to pick up work that other businesses are casting out of the house, says U.S. News & World Report Risky Business writer Matt Bandyk. Fewer small businesses are outsourcing but more large ones are, something to keep in mind if you're looking to start an outsourcing business, says Bandyk. U.S. News & World Report (12/30)
7. Entrepreneurs clean up -- thanks to foreclosures
NFIB SmartBrief | Dec 30, 2008
Foreclosures have created a niche industry for new entrepreneurs who "trash out" homes and buildings so they can be staged for sale. Hundreds of listings for foreclosure clean-up businesses have sprung up across the country, and Entrepreneur Magazine listed one on its 2008 Hot 100 Fastest Growing Businesses list. USA TODAY (12/29)
8. Some new businesses find success despite economic weakness
NFIB SmartBrief | Dec 29, 2008
Some businesses that opened as the U.S. economy weakened are actually thriving. Many of these new businesses are successful because they are in a niche that thrives during a downturn. However, others say that deals they negotiated this year have fallen apart. Salt Lake Tribune (Utah), The (12/25)
9. More workers will be counted among disabled this year
NFIB SmartBrief | Jan 02, 2009
More workers likely will ask for some form of accommodation for disabilities this year because more workers will be classified as disabled, says labor law specialist Myra Creighton of Fisher & Phillips in Atlanta. Changes to the Americans With Disabilities Act that took effect on New Year's Day mean a massive change for most employers, she says. ERE.net (12/31)
10. Hope grows for health care reform
NFIB SmartBrief | Dec 30, 2008
An expectation is growing for the next administration to reform health care coverage, an issue that is pressing for small businesses across the U.S. "I've had three employees leave to work for a public agency simply because they offered better benefits," a Denver business owner said in a statement posted on the NFIB Web site. "The next president and Congress have to work together to find a reasonable solution that works for small business." Daily World, The (12/30)
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