AT&T has hired me to help spread the word about their new Small business Tech Makeover contest – a contest so kick butt I’d write about it for free! The contest is to help them relaunch their new AT&T Small Business InSite. This site is a combo small business owner and AT&T customer support site – even if you aren’t one of their customers, they have resources on how to use mobile apps in your business, web marketing advice, and small business case studies. They also feature services I didn’t even know they had, like dedicated server hosting, PC tech support, and web design and development services.

But honestly, as much as I’m hoping I will win the technology makeover contest, it’s just too awesome of a prize package to keep to myself – check out the goods that any technology geek will drool over:

2- Samsung Epix smartphones

1-year subscription to AT&T Tech Support 360SM Advanced Service Package

1-year subscription to AT&T UNIX or Windows Enhanced Web Hosting services

AT&T Web Design service

1-year subscription to AT&T Unified Messaging

Digital Express Direct Mail Extreme Membership along with the first 500 postcards

AT&T Connect five (5) Integrated Edition Named Hosts Web conferencing

To enter, all you need to do is create a 2 minute video telling them why you need a technolgy makeover for your business. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll be cutting two hours worth of reasons you need their help into 120 secondes – good luck with that! Go to AT&T Small Business InSite for more contest info and to enter.

]]> http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/win-a-small-biz-technology-makeover-from-att/feed/ 0 http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/what-is-nfib-virtual-summit/ http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/what-is-nfib-virtual-summit/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:35:35 +0000 Kelly McCausey http://www.sparkplugging.com/sparkplug-ceo/?p=2716

The NFIB Virtual Summit is an exciting, informal online conference we are hosting on September 15, 2009.  No travel arrangements are necessary – you can attend from the convenience of your home or office!    In case you are not familiar with NFIB – we are the nation’s leading small business association, with offices in Washington, D.C. and all 50 state capitals. We are a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.  NFIB’s mission is to promote and protect the right of our members to own, operate and grow their businesses.

NFIB is proud to be the host of the Virtual Summit because now – more than ever, it is important for small businesses and entrepreneurs to come together to participate in open dialogues about critical issues that are directly affecting your business.

Who should attend the summit and why will it be beneficial to them?

This virtual conference is focused on entrepreneurs and small business owners.  It will give them a chance to meet and network with peers and industry experts.  This conference format is an exciting new way to connect, discuss the issues, learn from experts, and most importantly – find solutions to better your business.

What features/topics will be discussed at the NFIB Virtual Summit?

Inside the virtual “Auditorium” – NFIB, eBay, Google and Facebook will present webcasts on topics including:  “The Keys to Success for Your eBay Sales”, “Digital Marketing and Social Networking”, “Healthcare for Small Business”, and “Focus on the Economy”.

Will there be any Q & A sessions available for those attending that may have questions about topics talked about?

Each of the webcasts in the “Auditorium” will be followed by a scheduled chat session in the “Networking Café”.  Attendees will have the opportunity to ask industry experts questions – live!

Looking at the site I see an auditorium, exhibit hall, networking cafe, resource center and information. Can you explain what those areas are for and how they will work during the conference?

From the main lobby, there are numerous rooms to explore.  You can download free resources into your “virtual tote bag” in the “Resource Center”.  The “Exhibit Hall” will feature sponsor booths including eBay, Google, Solveras, Dun & Bradstreet, as well as our media sponsor, SBTV.  The booths will include prize giveaways, free small business resources, and will be staffed by company representatives to answer any questions you may have.  The Networking Café will be open for people to connect and network, exchange virtual business cards, participate in live schedules chats, as well as contribute to the “Hot Topics” message boards.

Registration is free with the promo code bgg737.   Register online at:  www.NFIB.com/VirtualSummit

We are honored to be included on such a great list.  There are some amazing websites there we encourage you to check out.

You’ll find Sparkplugging tn the Productivity at Work section.

I feel obligated to say that I was never the “popular” girl in school, my blog does not bring in thousands of visitors a day and my Twitter and Facebook numbers are not the highest around. However a couple of weeks ago my blog showed up on Nielson’s Power 50 Mom Influencer List and I was floored and excited until I started to hear the negative comments about the list.

Some people were saying they just picked the most popular moms, the moms with the highest twitter followers or the moms that post every day on their blogs.

I was shocked to read a post by one blogger, “It makes me crazy when I see mediocre writers who get more time in the spotlight then they deserve because they know a lot of SEO tricks or market themselves incessantly while fabulous writers are dismissed as lacking influence.”

She even went so far to say that race was a factor in the decision making.

So does popularity automatically make you a power influencer?

In the end I don’t think so. I would imagine that being a popular blogger is great, you get PR reps calling on you all day to promote their product, you get to attend amazing events and you get a ton of traffic coming to your blog which increases your monetization potential. You are basically treated like an “online” celebrity.

Jessica from JessicaKnows.com has been on the receiving end of a lot of negative buzz lately but she is one blogger that I find inspiring and a power influencer. She said, “In my opinion, popularity does not equal influence. You might get everyone reading your blog because you’re funny, but it doesn’t mean they’ll take what you say seriously when recommending anything.” While she might also be labeled as a “popular blogger” she helps out other bloggers when she can.

A popular blog is fun and entertaining to read and on occasion you may even pick up a few tricks of the blogging trade from them. But a blog of influence is a blog that inspires you to do something or take some kind of action. An influential blog is where we turn to when we need blogging advice or help with our business ideas. Or when we are looking for parenting and relationship advice.

When I first began blogging I immediately was sucked into the popularity and traffic game. I was disappointed when my traffic numbers were lower than then shopping and giveaway blogs. I asked myself, where are all the visitors everyone brags about on twitter? I mean how would I be able to influence anyone with such low traffic numbers?

Then I started to receive emails from people that were reading my blog telling me they were actually inspired by all that I’m doing. A blogging friend, Rosina from BabyFriendlyLA.com said she would complain to her husband when she felt overwhelmed but was motivated by all the things that I am trying to do. I have to say I was humbled and grateful for her comments. Because there are days that I’m ready to just throw in the towel. I really just didn’t think I was popular enough to make a difference, to be a real influence.

A new friend of mine Felicia from icompletemeblog.com said, “As a new blogger I initially thought popularity and influence meant the same thing. I mean you have influenced people to believe you are popular, right? And you want to be popular because you want all that traffic coming to your site. But as I grow my online business and look for tools that can really help me, I realized I don’t want just any traffic. I need targeted traffic that will purchase my product. This is where the influence comes in. I feel that in order to be a person of influence you must be able to make people take action (whether good or bad depends on how you want to be remembered). As I grow my business there are some things I just will not purchase regardless of how popular you may be.”

So which type of blog will win over the PR reps? I think when it comes to endorsements and promotion the “popular” blog will always win. After all isn’t that how all of society works, why would it be different online?

However, when looking for support, answers and advice it will be the power influencers that people will turn to. What kind of blogger do you want to be?

At the end of the day it does not matter how popular you are nor does it matter how far your reach is, what matters most is if you influenced someone in a positive way. If your blog post motivated someone else to make a change or take a stand then you truly are a Power Mom Influencer.

Stephanie Elie (@BizzieMommy) is a transitional entrepreneur and mother of two children under the age of four. The editor of BizzieMommy.com and was recently listed in the Power Moms 50 list by Neilson Online.

Bing has been all over the news since Microsoft announced its launch last week.  They’ve also done quite the commercial blitz.  Rumor has it that Microsoft has earmarked more than $80 Million for marketing their new search engine.

As a small business owner or freelancer, why should you care?

That’s a pretty tough question.

Google has made itself hella useful for business.  Since getting your company’s website to show up on the Google search results means more business for you, business owners love Google.  Can getting your website to show up on Bing help your business?

As of December of 2008, Google had a market share of over 63%.  Yahoo was at 16%, and Microsoft’s Live Search was at 9%.  Bing replaces Live search, so we can assume that Bing is starting with a 9% market share.  When you are looking at where to spend your resources, it seems like a better idea to put your efforts into the big G.

On the other hand, you may feel it’s worth it to conquer one tiny search engine.  Here are some ways you might benefit:

• Bing seems to be heavily weighted towards Domain Name relevance. One client company that I work with had four of its sub-domains show up on the first page of the results, where on Google the first page of the results show several negative reviews of the company.

• Microsoft pulled a fast one and made Bing the default search of Internet Explorer 6.  About 20% of people still use IE6. Note: this was a mistake and Microsoft is working on fixing it.
• Watch it and wait.  By many accounts, Bing doesn’t suck.  The search results are relevant, and if enough people are willing to give it a try, Bing might become a place where you’ll hope your customers find you.  From the Techcrunch Comments section:

I am curious to know how many Sparkplugging readers spend time on search engine marketing.  Let us know in the comments whether you engage in SEO or paid search tactics for your freelancing or small business work.

Oh, and let us know what you think of Bing.

Cory Huff is best known online for AgoodHusband.net.  He also works for an internet marketing firm that specializes in Search Engine Marketing.  Cory hopes to leverage the Sparkplugging internship to help performers and artists make money using the internet.

Follow Cory on Twitter: @aGoodHusband

The interwebs are alive with discussion about changes proposed by the Federal Trade Commission that will affect product reviews and testimonials found in social media.

There is some real fear bubbling up here and there among bloggers and everyday social media users.  The idea that something they write their opinion about could get them in legal trouble is unsettling. As both a blogger and an affiliate and information marketer, I’m paying close attention.   I’ll admit I’m concerend about how all this will affect my business.

This past week I asked several of the Sparkplugging Interns to dig in and explore the topic.

What’s published below will give you a better understanding of the proposed changes and get you thinking about how it may or may not have an impact on you in the future.

Why I’m Not Worried About the New FTC Guidelines

From Traci Feit Love (@TraciLove)

A lot of people seem to be concerned about the FTC’s new proposed guidelines, which cover bloggers who endorse or review products in exchange for money or free stuff.

I’ve read through the entire text of the FTC’s notice of proposed changes (I don’t recommend this unless you’re really into dense legal writing), and concluded that there’s really not much to worry about.

The Guidelines Mainly Require Honesty and Full Disclosure

The main idea of the guidelines is to make sure that consumers aren’t deceived by bloggers’ product recommendations. That means bloggers have to disclose their financial interests and be honest in their reviews.

So, for example, if a blogger writes a review of a product in exchange for compensation (money, a free product, or some other benefit), the blogger should disclose that he is being compensated for the review. That seems fair. When I’m reading a review, I like to know whether the reviewer stands to benefit from promoting a particular product. So if I’m doing the review, I don’t have a problem with the reader knowing that information.

When it comes to the particular claims a reviewer makes about a product, the FTC guidelines mainly require that the reviewer be honest. You can’t say that a pill cures cancer, for example, if it doesn’t actually cure cancer. And if the product manufacturer isn’t making a particular claim, you shouldn’t make the claim. Makes sense.

They Could Lead To Less Free Stuff for Bloggers

When it comes to the guidelines, I think advertisers/sellers have more to worry about than bloggers. In some situations, advertisers can be held legally responsible for claims and statements made about their products by compensated bloggers – and that may mean less free stuff for bloggers in the long run.

Big brands tend to be risk-averse and may decide that the risks outweigh the benefits of providing free stuff in exchange for reviews. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Recommended Reading:

• Official Notice of Proposed Changes - This is a downloadable PDF published by the FTC.
• What brands and bloggers need to know – by Latoicha Givens. This article is written by an attorney and has a good list of things advertisers and bloggers can do to avoid liability under the new FTC rules.
• Advertisers brace for online viral marketing curbs -  David Gelles, Financial Times. This article focuses on how advertisers may be held liable for untruthful statements made by bloggers about their product, and points out that it may be difficult to determine when a blogger is acting as an “agent” of the advertiser.
• Blogola: The FTC Takes On Paid Posts-  Douglas MacMillan, BusinessWeek.com. This article explains how the new FTC guidelines will affect both paid reviews by bloggers and reviews prompted by free products sent to bloggers. It has some good examples from the blogosphere and explains how Google’s rules and restrictions may actually have a greater impact than FTC regulations.

Social Media Readers Have a Right

From Leigh Anne Wilkes (@homebasedmom)

This summer the FTC is expected to issue new advertising guidelines that will require bloggers to disclose when they’re writing about a sponsor’s product and voicing opinions that aren’t their own. The new FTC guidelines say that blog authors should disclose when they’re being compensated by an advertiser to discuss a product.

The practice of product manufacturers using blogs to advertise their product for them by giving them free product to review has proved to be an inexpensive marketing technique and a perk to bloggers. In these times of reduced marketing budgets it is a good use of advertisers money to give bloggers free product in exchange for an endorsement.

If the FTC proposed legislation is passed this will become more difficult. Bloggers will be required to disclose if they are writing about a sponsor’s product and if the opinions are not their own. Bloggers would also need to disclose if they are being compensated to discuss a product.

The blogosphere has become a popular place for people to look to for product suggestions and endorsements. As bloggers build relationships with their viewers their opinions and recommendations become like that of a good friend. “If Scribbit likes it, I would probably like it too.” This type of product endorsement carries more weight than one you see on TV or radio paid for advertising.

From what I have observed, the majority of bloggers do disclose in the review of the product when the advertiser has donated the product to them although not if they are being paid for the advertisement. As a reader that would make a difference to me. Are they being paid, have they themselves personally used the product? When I know a blogger is being paid for promotion a product the credibility of the review is diminished for me.

I recently did a review and a giveaway of a cookbook that was sent to me by the publisher. In the post where I shared one of the recipes I had tried, I let my readers know that I had been sent the cookbook by the publisher and that I had personal experience with the item.

Should a blog reader have the right to know that an opinion he is reading and taking at face value was paid for by an advertiser? I believe so.

It is my opinion, just as we know when we watch an advertisement on TV or hear one on the radio we know that it is being paid for by the advertiser. if a product endorsement is being paid for on a blog that information should also be disclosed. In order to trust and have confidence in marketing/advertising in the blogosphere there should be disclosure.

Recommended Reading:

• FTC Expected to Crack Down – The Huffington Post
• FTC Bloggers Regulation – Ideas that Spread
• Well known blogger Scribbit has definite opinions on how she handles product endorsements and reviews.
• Although, some feel that bloggers are being “targeted’ by this legislation and that mainstream media journalists are given “freebies” all the time with no regulation or legislation.

We Guarantee Our Product Will…

From Christopher Johnston (@chrisjohnston)

There has been a story bouncing around in the blogosphere since the FTC proposed rule changes in December 2008 relating to endorsements, where bloggers and other site owners may be held liable for claims made about a product or service.

The issue isn’t just with deceptive claims, but also with atypical results.

Marketers have used “results may vary” and “results not typical” to cover themselves in the past but apparently this will no longer be sufficient as a disclaimer. The FTC now wants us to use typical results only.

I imagine that the FTC is acting because of incredible weight loss claims from Acai berry, P90X or something similar.  Also there are many online tools claiming that you can make tens of thousands of dollars if you buy their report for $47, $97, or $197.

I see several problems with this rationale by the FTC. There are no magic pills when it comes to losing weight or making money. They all require action on the part of the purchaser. The 80/20 rule is always in effect and most people who purchase these things think that by simply purchasing them something magical will happen. They skies will open, light will shine down, and they will lose 100 pounds or money will start flowing into their checking accounts.

Some of us know better and realize that for any of that to happen there is a secret. It’s called WORK. If the FTC requires that you ONLY use typical results there will be no claim of results. Your only claim with a weight loss product that could be called typical will be that your wallet will be lighter or your credit card bill bigger.

There are many post that deal with the endorsements issue and they are much more eloquent than I on that issue.  I will put links to them at the bottom of this post. My stand on that issue is “full disclosure”. If you get paid to write about a product, say that you were paid. If they gave you the product, say that they gave it to you.

Recommended Reading:

• FTC To Shut Down Pay For Posts – Will Bloggers Become Criminals?
• Federal Regulations and Full Disclosure about Advertising
• FTC Considers Extending Ad Jurisdiction to Blogs and Bloggers

Around Sparkplugging:

• Our new CraftBoom! author, Crissy Herron is hosting the Indie Biz Chicks Conference this week and I just happen to be one of her speakers.
• Over on our eBay/eCommerce blog, our new authors Michelle Waters and Jenn Cangelosi have introduced themselves.  They’re hungry to know what sort of information you’re craving so please do tell them!
• Leslie Truex points out the difference between being busy and productive on the WAHM 2.0 blog.
• Marketing Eggspert, Susan Payton explains to a few friends (and the rest of us) what a Tweet Up is all about.

Around the Web:

• Lynn Terry is sparking introspection with her post about keeping things simple or going big in business over on ClickNewz.
• I wrote about ‘What it takes to succeed‘ at WomenCo.  Preview: It takes Action!
• Jason Van Orden is delivering great content through his new podcast, Mastering New Media.  Episode number #3 is about Establishing Influence.
• Skellie is giving out priceless step by step help on writing an article or post that will get the most viral value.
• I was recently introduced to Missy Ward’s new podcast, The Spew.  (Thanks Andrew!) Episode #6 came through the technological fire – something most of us have been through lately.

Are there any great posts, articles or podcasts you want to make sure we know about?  Give us a link!

What’s good? Actually, plenty. I’m pleased to announce this week that Kelly McCausey from WAHM 2.0 is now the Sparkplugging General Editor. This means that Kelly is going to be moving her wise words from that blog to this blog, she will be working with the Sparkplugging writers, and she will be helping me to grow this site and offer more resources than I ever could have on my own. WAHM 2.0 is now in the perfectly capable hands of Leslie Truex and Laurie Ayers.

I’ve known Kelly for almost as long as I have been blogging, which is now a full three years as of this week! I’ve admired her a-plenty, and she has grown to be not just a great Sparkplugging contributor, but also a key person that I have turned to for advice on more than several occasions.

Probably the most exciting part is that Kelly is going to be heading up a new Sparkplugging Internship program (I’ll post about this separately so that it doesn’t get lost in this announcement). This is going to be a FREE internship program where both she and I  (mostly she) will be taking on a group of people and mentoring them on how to run an internet business. In this economy, we really wanted to find a way to give more to the community, and I couldn’t be more pleased to finally get this idea off the ground!

So, you may be asking why is Kelly taking on such a big role with Sparkplugging? What am I going to do?

Well, funny you should ask!

Last fall, I started up another blog network – this time, for kids, parents and educators. Woo! Jr. Websites for Kids started out as a bit of a whim (don’t all the good ones start out that way?!). Less than 6 months later, the network sites at Animal Jr., Craft Jr., Fantasy Jr. and Space Jr. are already outperforming Sparkplugging on several metrics. So I really needed a bit more time away from Sparkplugging to grow this new blog network that is kicking butt and taking names.

So the bad news?

Well, I’m not really good at saying this kind of stuff in such a public way, because it’s just not my style to talk about bad news until there is some kind of resolution to it. And it’s really, really hard for me to admit that I’m not super-woman and that my life isn’t perfect. But there’s no way around it, because I’ll be at SOBCon this weekend and Mind of Moms next week, and then it will be out.

I’m having some health issues. It’s not just a cold, but it’s not cancer either. We don’t really have a diagnosis yet, so I wish I could say more. Indications point to a thyroid condition that would be fairly easy to treat if that’s what’s going on, and I get to go swallow radioactive pills this morning to find out more. And I hope and pray it’s this simple. Because the last month or so has been hell.

So after three years of working my ass off to support you, I’m asking you to support me. (Don’t worry, I’ll make this easy for you!)

Please give Kelly a warm welcome and make her feel at home here on Sparkplug CEO.

Please help to spread the word about Sparkplugging and all the free advice we offer here for people who want to start a business.

Please visit my new sites and tell people about the Woo! Jr.  network for teacher resources, kids crafts, coloring pages, and games for kids.

And lastly, please don’t worry too much about me. My body is telling me to cut back, and I’m listening. This is why I haven’t been blogging or Twittering very much. I really think I will be ok. But for the next month or so, I’m going to be taking it easy. And when I’m back up and running, I’ll hope you haven’t forgotten about me.

*Hugs*

- Wendy

Obama & McCain Battle for
the Small Business Vote

Barack Obama’s Plans

John McCain’s Plans

Sound Off!
What do you care about the most as a small business owner?

You might be surprised as a regular reader to know that I am a closeted political junkie. I hide my strong opinions pretty well around here. But one of the things I have been watching extremely closely as the election heats up is how each candidate approaches helping small businesses. And how both of them are using their campaign promises to small businesses as a way to sway voters. (This whole Joe the Plumber thing is completely out of control!)

I have to say that I think both McCain and Obama tend to focus on ‘Small Businesses’ as those companies that have ‘less than 100 employees’. We can agree to disagree if we have to, but that is not a small business to me. I consider a business small if it has less than 10 employees, maybe 15. Not independent contractors, but actual employees. And while those bigger ’small’ businesses are critical to the health of our economy as they lead job creation, it also means that the ‘rest of us’ these tiny businesses, tend to get a little lost in the crowd. And that’s short-sighted, because single-person businesses bring in over $951 billion (US) in annual receipts or sales to the U.S. economy (source).

In other words – we single business owners are the ‘long tail’ of the US business economy.

In case you were getting scared with where I am going with this, I am not going to ask you who you are voting for. And I’m not going to tell you who I am voting for (though I haven’t hidden it well elsewhere online ).

I want to know what issues that you are facing in your business that is influencing your vote this November 4th.

• Are you concerned or not concerned about being taxed at earnings above $250K?
• Do you fear that taxes will limit your business growth?
• Are other economic factors affecting your business?
• Would a vote for either candidate benefit your customers or clients better?
• Do you think that a tax break for the middle class would boost your business?
• Is getting good health care an issue, or does your spouse get health care through their employer?

Please speak out!

Joe the Freelancer, Jane the Writer and Wendy the Professional Blogger want to know.

PS – Just be nice – you all know how scared I get about being mean in the comments around here. I’ll delete you if you personally attack anyone – please stick to the issues.

OR alternatively, you can skip the election and just vote WITH Joe – as in a cup of Joe.

Do you want to be able to print your own business cards, letterhead, brochures and postcards from your own home office?

Does your logo need a makeover or do you need a logo for your new business?

And do you want to be able to print from anywhere in your house?

Thanks to our Fairy ‘PrintMothers’ at Epson, you can have it all!

Here’s the Prize Package

• A kick-butt Epson WorkForce 600 Wireless Multifunctional printer
• Extra set of full-color ink cartridges
• Paper, cardstock, business card paper, labels, envelopes and everything else you could possibly need to create a complete set of business collateral

And to top it all off, Randa Clay from Randa Clay Design is going to give our lucky winner a new logo to plaster all over your new marketing materials!

Allow me to show off the shiny new prize goodies:

Epson Workforce 600

Here’s the Epson WorkForce 600. Yummy.

Client Service Network Logo from Randa Clay Design

Reynoldsburg Baptist Church Logo from Randa Clay Design

Zoom Administration Logo from Randa Clay Design

Here’s some of Randa’s amazing logo design work. Also yummy.

How to Enter the Whole New Brand & an Epson WordForce 600 Giveaway

There are two ways to enter:

1. Participate in our Group Writing Project! = 2 Entries
   Write a blog post sharing the best marketing advice you received when you were new to starting a business.
   OR
2. Leave a Comment telling us “What you would do with this prize if you won” = 1 Entry
   (We don’t want to exclude any readers who might not have a blog yet!)
   Edited to add: Comments saying ‘hey, nice printer!” don’t qualify. You must answer this question to be entered in the contest! C’mon, people!

As a bonus, when the contest is done we will be collecting the best marketing advice blog posts (with your permission, of course!) and putting them together into a free no-strings-attached eBook for everyone to share, distribute, and enjoy! (Read :: free publicity for you and your site!)

Deadline for entry is Friday October 24.

Open to legal residents of the United States 18 years of age and older. No purchase required. One entry per person. Void where prohibited by law.

I started to understand when one of the Representatives being interviewed said, “I got a call today from the owner of the largest car dealership in my district. He told me that he didn’t have enough cash to make payroll this week, and that this was the first time in his life that he was unable to get a credit line to cover his cash flow shortage.”

I hadn’t realized that the trickle effect of these banking problems were flowing so far ‘down the pipeline’, so to speak. I’d heard the phrase ‘banks hoarding cash’ for as long as I can remember in relation to the Great Depression, but I never stopped to think about what something like this could do to my life or my business today. I’m no economic or finance wizard – I’d go so far to say it’s one of my weaker traits as a business owner. But this credit crisis has forced me to take a crash course in understanding just what all of these economic factors mean to me.

I decided to ask a few people I really respect for their thoughts on the issue, and their answers were both varied and extremely helpful:

Anita Campbell is the Founder & Editor in Chief of SmallBusinessTrends and host of Small Business Trends Radio, and is @smallbiztrends on Twitter.

How is the bailout affecting ‘real’ small businesses?

Present Wall Street crisis aside (I’ll get to that in a moment), the U.S. economy during 2008 has been weak, and growth has slowed.  But although the ‘R’ word has been thrown around a lot, not everyone agrees we are in a recession.

Some sectors have done poorly but others hardly seem to have been touched – so far.  I’ve lived through several recessions and the current times are not as bad as others were.  Still, I’d hardly call this a robust economy.

Small businesses in real estate-related sectors seem to have been hit the most:  realtors; home builders; construction companies; mortgage originators.  And of course there’s a ripple effect among small businesses:  lawyers who do real estate work; suppliers to new home builders; and so.  But again, other sectors of the economy have not been hit hard.  For instance, some technology companies report  doing better than ever.

How do you think this bailout plan will affect us in the future?

The bailout is something that would have a much much bigger impact on us if it were NOT done.

The bailout for the current Wall Street crisis looks to be necessary to protect our entire financial and banking system.  The system needs liquidity — banks and corporations need money to operate.  If we don’t have that, then the entire financial system collapses – we could have bank runs, a tremendous tightening of credit leading to job losses, and other actions that put a chokehold on business expansion and the economy. And there are dire predictions that the stock market would crash.  If any of that were to occur, then everyone gets hurt.  For instance, small business owners and staff who have retirement funds invested in IRAs, SEPs, 401Ks could see their retirement funds disappear.  Also, credit card companies may start pulling back, REDUCING credit limits.  I don’t know about you, but I rely heavily on credit cards as a kind of credit line for my business.  So I would hate to be rudely surprised by having my credit limit cut drastically.

Jamila White runs eCommerce Diva and her firm Jamila White and Associates, Inc., as well as an online bath products site jblossom.com, and is @EcommerceDiva on Twitter.

How is this bailout/economy already affecting small businesses?

The current financial crisis is already affecting small business owners’ access to capital. A few months ago, the US Small Business Administration put a freeze on backing SOHO loans (”Small Office Home Office”) — loans aimed at the smallest of the small businesses, which usually are less than $20,000.

When you look at the big picture, the hypocrisy is unbelievable. Here you have small businesses, which are *creating* jobs in this bad ecomony when big businesses are not, getting shut down on access to capital, and then you have the SBA essentially out of money to back loans for small businesses. You have Congress drafting legislation, the FDA Globalization Act of 2008, that would shut down thousands of small, honest, hardworking, mom and pop beauty businesses by levying annual fees of $12,000 per year. If passed, this would have a huge negative impact on my business, j.blossom, which makes natural bath and body products for young girls. Tiny one- and two-person businesses are fighting for their right to exist, yet our government can find $700 Billion to bail out corporate behemoths whose own greed is the primary cause of their downfall? It’s not right, and it makes me angry.

How do you see the bailout changing things for us in the future?

I think people underestimate the cutbacks that will come as a result of the $700 billion bailout. Budgets are going to get slashed when citizens need services the most. I think the SBA is going to have further cutbacks on services to small businesses, and access to capital is going to continue to get even tighter, both SBA-backed loans and other financial resources.

Donna Maria Coles Johnson founder and CEO of the Indie Beauty Network and host of The Indie Business Radio Show, and is @indiebusiness on Twitter.

How is the bailout affecting ‘real’ small businesses? (Donna has defined them mostly as solo businesses that are doing less than $1M a year in revenue).

Credit is already nearly impossible to come by for small businesses. Members of the Indie trade organization I lead (700+ members) are telling me, for example, that their attempts to purchase manufacturing supplies using their Wachovia credit cards are being declined even though they have credit on the card, are not even close to maxing it out and have not missed any payments. I’m sure that will continue. How can they run their businesses if they can’t purchase supplies?

How do you think this bailout plan will affect us in the future?

The biggest problems are not that my and your business will be affected, but that our children’s businesses will be affected. It’s hard enough to start a business even with adequate assets and good credit. My children and theirs will be saddled with this one way or another, but I find it inexcusable that the rush to “solve” the problem is going to send my descendants the message that, no matter how hard they work to build a lasting business legacy, it will constantly be at risk of being demolished at worst and undercut at best, by the very government that is assigned the task of promoting it.

Donna has written more on of her thoughts on the “Bad Bailout” on her Indie Business Blog.

While all of these small business experts have sometimes highly contrasting opinions, I see that all of them make some very valid points. In the end, I honestly think we won’t know the real truth about what this bailout plan will do for Americans and American businesses until after we do it, or don’t do it [scratch that, it just passed]. It will be interesting to see what happens both in the upcoming days as this legislation moves through Congress, and in the months down the road, as we have time to see the plan in action.

But being the ‘glass half full’ person that I tend to be, even if the worst happened, at some point, we will recover. The Great Depression ended – so will this recession someday.

The Battle for the
Small Business Vote

Barack Obama’s Plans

John McCain’s Plans

Sound Off!
What do you care about the most as a small business owner?

Last week I “crossed the line” and talked about politics for the first time on my blog.  With great restraint I worked to give you an unbiased view of where Barack Obama stands on helping small businesses. Today with equally great restraint I’d like to share with you where John McCain stands on the exact same issues.

Both candidates have an existing track record and have made campaign pledges that will of course affect all aspects of our lives. But my focus in these articles is specifically on how the candidates’ pledges will affect micro-small businesses and entrepreneurs, with 3 or less employees. Remember that according to the Small Business Administration, their definition of a ’small business’ can be up to 1500 employees, depending on the industry.

McCain on Taxes Affecting Small Businesses

• Allow first year deduction of equipment and technology investment – currently this needs to be written off over the course of several years
• Reduce federal corporate rate from 35% to 25%
• Phase out the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
• Permanent ban on internet taxes
• Make R&D tax credit permanent

McCain on Workplace Issues

• Create laws that offer workers the choice of comp-time off rather than paid overtime
• National Commission on Workplace Flexibility and Choice: Would review current labor laws and rules with potential changes to enable more workplace flexibility; work-at-home arrangements; health coverage and retirement plan portability; and more choice in job training assistance

McCain on Health Care

• No coverage mandates for Small Businesses
• Replace employer tax exclusion with $2,500 credit for individuals and $5,000 for couples/families
• Small business health care purchase pooling through associations (not sure if he means professional associations or new government associations, as this is already happening with professional associations)

McCain on Immigration

Nothing that will directly affect small businesses that I can discern

McCain on the Environment

• Cap-and-trade system to bring emission levels below 1990 levels by 2050 – small businesses exempt from participating in the system

McCain on Federal Spending

• Review all special spending programs to end subsidies to high-income corporations and individuals (no info on the benchmark where “high-income” starts – Obama’s benchmark stood at $250K a year)

McCain on Small Business Initiatives

• Renewed emphasis on innovation through Research and Development Agreements (public-private partnerships)

Learn More About John McCain

I have to say that for a republican, who are traditionally champions of small and large businesses, I wished I could find more information from Mccain for this article.  But just like in my article on Obama, I do not claim to know all there is to know about our presidential candidates, or their campaign pledges.

You can find out more on the McCain-Palin website, join his social network at McCainSpace, or follow the campaign via video on YouTube.

Obama & McCain Battle for
the Small Business Vote

Barack Obama’s Plans

John McCain’s Plans

Sound Off!
What do you care about the most as a small business owner?

2008 is a landmark year in politics. No matter who wins the White House, history will be made. I’m excited about that, because as of November 5, a glass ceiling will be permanently broken in the United States of America. I may or may not like the candidate who breaks that ceiling, but I cannot help but be happy about the fact that it will be broken.

Ever since the 2000 election, I’ve known just how important it is to be active in politics. Al Gore lost the election to George Bush over 537 votes. It struck me at that time that one person could influence 537 votes in a campaign. So one person can theoretically alter our political history.

2008 is also a landmark for Sparkplugging in that I haven’t been willing to talk politics on my blog before now. It’s too divisive, too polarizing. But this election will affect us as entrepreneurs and small business owners – and I believe it is important for you to know how your vote will affect your business. So today I kick off a series of articles to help educate all of us on how each candidate plans on changing the way we work and live. I’ll be focusing specifically on the topics of interest to very small businesses, 1-3 employees, and for entrepreneurs/startups.

Obama on Taxes Affecting Small Businesses

• Democrats have a reputation for raising taxes, and Obama will do that to small businesses – but only if you make more than $250K a year.
• He is also considering imposing Social Security payroll taxes on salaries and wages above $250,000 in the range of 2% to 4%, which may or may not affect you (but will affect larger businesses much more).
• The top two tax rates would revert back to 36% and 39.6%. But roughly 97 percent of all small businesses would not be affected at all by increases in the top two tax rates (source).
• Obama has some tax cuts planned as well – he will eliminate all capital gains for small business start ups and make the Research and Development tax credit permanent.

Obama on Workplace Issues

While most of these issues are more important to employees than to entrepreneurs, they could affect you as an employer. They also give an indication of what the candidate’s priorities are, which will influence other decisions affecting small businesses

• Obama wants to expand FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) to 25 employees (from current 50 threshold). Expand the number of purposes for use (elder care, kids’ academic activities, etc.).
• He will raise the minimum wage and index to compensate for inflation.

Obama on Health Care

If you think health care has little to do with small business, then read on – these could greatly impact your expenses if you have employees. But like the FMLA, there may be a minimum number of employees your business has to have in order to be required to comply with these new laws.

• A new business mandate requiring businesses to buy health insurance coverage, contribute to private coverage, or contribute a portion of payroll toward public plan: “play or pay”.
• Small businesses would be able to buy into a national federal pool to receive a refundable tax credit up to 50% on premiums paid for employees.
• The government would reimburse employers’ health plans paying for a portion of the catastrophic cost they incur above a threshold if they use the savings to reduce the cost of workers’ premiums.

Obama on Immigration

• If you employ illegal immigrants, be prepared for a crackdown and get ready to electronically verify your employees.

Obama on Federal Spending

• If you do business with the federal government, there will be a new mandatory bid process in place for any project or contract over $25,000.

Obama on Small Business Initiatives

Most important of all are the candidates’ plans for how to support the startup and growth of new small businesses. Here are Obama’s plans:

• Establish a small business and microenterprise initiative for rural America – 20% tax credit for $50,000 investments in small businesses
• Expand the SBA (Small Business Administration) and micro-loan programs
• Implement a Women-Owned Business contracting program
• Strengthen SBA capital access programs directed at minority-owned businesses

Learn More About Barack Obama

I DO NOT claim to know all that I could know about any of the candidates. So I encourage you to leave a comment with your own information and ideas – but please be civil and please cite sources if you are going to state facts. I’ll warn you now that any attacks on me or my readers will be deleted immediately. But you can attack ideas all you want.

You can learn more about Obama at his website, and additionally you can find him nearly everywhere on the web, like Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, LinkedIn, BlackPlanet, and even Flickr.

Many thanks to the Small Business & Entrepreneurial Council for their candidate campaign report, which was the main source of information for this article. The SBEC is a lobbying group dedicated to influencing legislation and public policy as an advocate for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Next up in this series will be highlights of where John McCain stands on his campaign promises that will affect you.

And if you are sold on Obama, Momsational has the scoop on how to get a Free Obama Bumper Sticker!

Jessica has been wanting to write for Sparkplugging for a while – and celebrity gossip is her passion. So I fully expected her to jump in and hit the ground running. What I didn’t expect was for her to never hit the ground at all and start out flying.

TLC's Chili with her line of handbags

In less than 2 weeks, Jess has interviewed Stephan Pinto from CSI: Miami, talk show hosts Whitney & Wyatt and just recently Chili from the ’90’s Grammy Award winning pop band TLC.

Why do these celebrities matter to us?

• Stephan Pinto is both actor and web designer.
• Whitney & Wyatt left lucrative jobs at Microsoft to start their own talk show for women.
• And Mompreneur Chili is creating and selling her own line of beautiful photo handbags at BagsByChili.

I’ve never had an interest in celebrity gossip – but I’ve always had an interest in:

• How celebrities are leveraging their power into other avenues of business
• Being inspired by the creativity and innovation that celebrities always seem to have in abundance
• How people just like you and me take leaps of faith to pursue entrepreneurial goals
• Learning that the challenges celebrities have in starting their side businesses are just like my own challenges

THAT’S what Celebrity Business is all about – and Jessica might just be writing about herself sometime soon if this little clip is any indication of what she is capable of!

But that’s just it, I have so many ideas about what we could do next, I’m not sure which one to go with. Do I finally write that book proposal? Develop a training program? Put together a business coaching/consulting program with our authors? Do a Podcast? Video blog? Forum? Do a Sparkplugging Conference? Put together a tutorial section?

So This is Where You Get to Make a Wish

Everyone around here knows I’m always putting you first. So let’s celebrate the wrap up of a big expansion so you can tell us what we can do for you. Weigh in by Friday, May 17th at 2:00pm CST, and you can win a NEAT Receipts Scanner with organizing software worth $250.

NEAT Receipts’ reads receipts, business cards and documents and places the information in a spreadsheet format. It lets you scan and process multiple documents, and automatically organizes them for you. You can even export to TurboTax®. (Read more about it on the Home Office Organizer blog).

This is like, heaven, to someone so extraordinarily paper-challenged like me. Seriously, give me a little piece of paper and I can lose it faster than your server will crash on the front page of Digg.

Entering the Contest is Surprisingly Easy :: Choose ANY of the Following

Simply leave a comment letting us know what else we can do to help you as you work at home. Need help increasing profits? Driving traffic? Need more technical help? Want more how-to’s? Need specific information or advice that we aren’t providing yet? Need help breaking free from your day job?
Let us know!

-OR-

Subscribe to one of the Sparkplugging RSS feeds Via Email. You can find the link at the top of all of our blogs, and subscribing to any blog on this site qualifies you for an entry. All current Email RSS subscribers are automatically entered!

Here, we’ll make it easy for you

Sparkplug CEO		CraftBoom!		Freelance Parent
Simply Green		WAHM 2.0		Celebrity Business
The Man Page		Believer in Balance		Momsational Contests
Marketing Eggspert		eCommerce & eBay		Ask the Coach
Home Office Organizer		SOHO Tools, News & Tech		Kids Activities

-OR-

Link to us (any which way that works for you) and let us know about it.

We’ll have one winner that will be drawn with the random number integer chooser on Friday afternoon.

Upgrade WordPress

Technorati announced earlier this week that they will discontinue indexing WordPress blogs running version 2.3.2 or earlier (via) due to security issues. We just upgraded to 2.5 on this site, and though I’m not in love with the new writing interface, overall it’s a huge step forward for WordPress and I think they are on an impressive track as they grow.

Beware Dot.Moms

Psychiatrists & Psychologists are calling for an update to the next Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to include Internet Addiction.

…Mind docs say the problem is growing, now possibly affecting up to 10 percent of Internet users. Recent studies are surprising, indicating the problem is worst not among game-obsessed teens, but rather among middle-aged women who stay at home, constantly on the computer as a way of connecting to the outside world.

The fact that I run a business on the internet excludes me from this group… at least I think it does.

Free PR Leads

Peter Shankman (@Skydiver on Twitter) has a free service called Help A Reporter Out that matches up people seeking publicity with reporters, journalists & book authors seeking sources for their work. I signed up last week and immediately told all of the Sparkplugging authors to do the same. You should too, because I know of no other way for free PR leads to fall into your lap on a daily basis.

Wendy Piersall’s “Shady” Past

Stephen Hopson of Adversity University conducted a highly in depth and personal interview with me a few weeks ago and published Part 1 of it last night. If you’re at all interested in the ‘real’ story behind this site and the things I have overcome in my past to get here today, I spilled all with Stephen.

Sparkplugging, Thinking Big in the New Work at Home Generation

Why Sparkplugging?

Because the people who come to this site are Spark Plugs – we are people who make things happen. We love business, and we love our free time. And we’re willing to do what it takes to make a great living while also living a great a life.

One of the biggest things I have learned over the nearly two years of running this site is that the traditional model of a “Home Business” is on a path to extinction. Technology has drastically changed the way we work, and we are now able to create customized careers that fit into our lives. eMoms at Home has changed to Sparkplugging in order to meet the changing needs of the members of our community. (Catch up on more of the story as to why we’ve changed our name, or you might want to read Darren Rowse’s interview with me on the entire – and difficult! – renaming process.)

Allow me to give you a tour of what’s new and what’s to come! We’ve created two main sections of the site, Business Channels and Home Office Lifestyle Channels.

Current Sparkplugging Business Channels

• Sparkplug CEO (That’s me! Formerly the eMoms at Home Original Recipe blog)
  Geeking on Business & Life as a Chief Extraordinary Officer
• Freelance Parent
  Freelance Writing Resources for Parents & Everyone Else with No Spare Time
• CraftBoom!
  How to Start & Grow a Craft Business
• The Home Office Organizer
  Helping Home Office Professionals Organize Their Office, Time and Space

Current Sparkplugging Lifestyle Channels

• Momsational
  Contests, Coupons & Free Stuff for Moms
• Seasonal Kids Activities
  Kids Crafts, Activities, and Projects for Holidays, Events & Seasonal Fun
• The Man Page (Formerly Dad Balance)
  Career Advice, Parenting Tips, and Laughs For Every Man
• Believer in Balance
  Finding Balance with a Growing Family and a Growing Business

Additionally, over the next 5 weeks, we are growing the family around here! Be sure to stop by every Monday to check out the new Channels that we’re adding!

Business Channels

• Ask the Coach – Coming April 21st
  3 Business Coaches :: A Wealth of Business Answers
• WAHM 2.0 – Coming April 21st
  This Isn’t Your Mother’s Work at Home Business
• The Marketing Eggspert – Coming April 28th
  Marketing in a Web 2.0 World
• eBay & eCommerce Selling – Coming May 5th
  Learn How to Start & Run an eSelling Business
• SOHO Tools, News & Technology – Coming May 12th
  Products, Services & Tips to Help You Run a More Profitable Business
• Celebrity Business – Coming May 12th
  The Scoop on Celebrities in Business and Celebrity Entrepreneurs

Lifestyle Channels

• Simply Green – Coming April 28th
  Eco-Friendly Choices for Life, Home and Work

Where do I start?

Start anywhere you want – we love our readers and everyone is welcome here. But if you wanted some ideas, you could:

• Welcome the first of nine new authors – Brandie Kajino at The Home Office Organizer
• Check out Shannon Hutton’s new Believer in Balance blog, which will also have a special weekly segment called Ask the School Counselor
• Go behave badly with the other guys around here on Derek Semmler’s new blog The Man Page (formerly Dad Balance)
• Link to us & spread the word, because, you know, we really really need that right now

And I’ll say this now (because I’m writing this right before we launch) – moving a site of this size to a new domain and completely new WordPress template and plugin setup has been an enormous feat of technical excellence by Steve Johnson of SawtoothID. But even this man that I have up on a pedestal can’t predict everything that will happen once everything goes live. So if you encounter site problems a bit today, please forgive us and try again in a few minutes.

Most of All, What do you Think?

Though obviously we couldn’t act on every single suggestion that was made when we first launched our renaming project, I want each and every one of you to know that I took every word you said to heart and I thank you deeply for your input and feedback along the way. I probably spent over 120 hours working on just the naming process alone, and I do believe that “Sparkplugging” encompasses nearly all of the sentiments you expressed, while simultaneously being a perfect fit in my heart.

There has always been an “Open Door” policy around here – I always, always want to know what you want and need to grow your businesses and have fun while you’re at it. We’ve evolved from eMoms at Home to Sparkplugging entirely based on your feedback along the way, and we’ll continue to grow by listening to you. And Steve and I worked our tails off to build a technological infrastructure here to be able to add more and more content in the future to serve your needs.

Suggestions, comments, critiques, questions :: fire away!

It’s simple, brilliant, and an unbelievably great concept.

The machine is simply a small device that hooks up to the internet, and then gives you your own virtual ‘machine’. You can get the service for free if you are willing to look at ads. If you don’t like ads, no problem. For a measly $19 a month, you can subscribe to their service with no contract – start and stop anytime you want. And in case you are worried about some huge up-front free, forget about it. The device costs $9.99 to ship and you need to give them a $50 deposit for it.

The nimbus cloud computer is a re-imagination of this idea of a computer. We think that an ordinary computer is too expensive, too complicated, and too much for what most people want to use a computer for. What we did is put all of the costly and complicated pieces of hardware and software into our data centers. You then use a smaller, simpler, much less expensive device thats always connected to the internet to control your computer. We think this is a much simpler way for you to do what you want to do.

The specs are so simple it makes me wonder if I am missing something. Included in both paid and free plans:

• Use of nimbus cloud computer
• Network cable
• Power adapter
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• 2 GB storage
• Automatic back-ups
• Virus & spyware protection
• Automatic upgrades

Plus you will need:

• A monitor
• A high-speed internet connection

The Nimbus Cloud Computer also includes the Dynamic Desktop service, which makes this machine function like a regular computer:

Though I give Vijay & his team props for coming up with this cool toy, their website needs more info, to be sure. I can’t tell if the service is open globally or only North America. And although nearly all monitors will work, not all USB devices are supported. And their supported hardware page is, shall we say, incomplete. One drawback I see is the inability to use CDs/DVDs. I’ve only needed mine on a few occasions anyway, as I use mostly web-based applications in the first place. But I would like to know if the system supports an external drive in case you ever need it.

I have my order in for my machine, so that I can give you a in-action review. I want it for my kids so that I know they can’t break the [actually another ] computer. I also see this as the perfect way to get started working from home on less than $100 if you need a work machine.

And I won’t speculate on the future of the company, except for the fact that I believe they will have competition soon.

I’d love to know what you think. How would you use a machine like this? And what would you want them to add in the future to make you want to leave your old hardware behind?

Discliamer :: There isn’t one. I don’t work for NimbusCC, nor are they paying me anything for this post. I just think this is something you would be interested in, and I was impressed with them.

We’ve got two days planned of very hands-on training. I’ll be presenting on building online communities on day 1, and doing a live site clinic with Jennifer Laycock, Stoney deGeyter, & Mack Collier on day 2. Other workshops over the two days will be covering Viral Marketing, Paid and Organic Search, Web Analytics & Usability, among others.

The conference is specifically geared to small businesses with tiny marketing budgets. And in true cheap marketing form, here’s the completely cute low-budget viral video that the lovely and talented Jennifer has put together.

My friend Karen Putz AKA DeafMom was denied service at Steak & Shake because they refused to take her order at a take out window. She explained to them she couldn’t give her order at the drive-thru speaker… because she was deaf.

Honestly, I can’t believe people like this exist on our planet.

I’m not one to usually blog about things unrelated to business, but when a business defies both logic and ethics, I think we need to make our voice be heard.

I refuse to eat at Steak and Shake until Karen Putz gets an apology from the CEO of the company himself, Alan B Gilman.
Please join me in spreading the word & standing up for Karen and everyone else with a disability who wants a goddamn shake.