Entrepreneurial

Small Business Week heads to D.C.

It’s Small Business Week, and here are a few links to help you know what’s going on.

Inc. has a list of ten impressive attendees in D.C., and the New York Times has a post packed with useful Small Business Week links. At Entrpereneur.com, Victoria Tifft, the Small Business Administration 2012 National Small Business Person of the Year and founder of ClinicalRM, a medical device and vaccine research company, discusses the growth of her business.

And at Reuters, John Stoehr is asking, in light of a challenge to the health care law: Who truly speaks for Small Businesses?

Not in D.C. but want to get involved? The White House is holding a Google hangout with SBA Administrator Karen Mills at 3:00pm ET on Wednesday, May 23, 2012. Log on and hang out.

Image: U.S. President Barack Obama holds up a hoagie sandwich after he meets with small business owners to discuss income tax credits during a roundtable discussion in Taylor Gourmet restaurant in Washington, May 16, 2012. Second from left is Small Business Administration Administrator Karen Mills. REUTERS/Larry Downing

It’s Small Business Week, and here's what's going on. Join Discussion

Small business owners are optimistic

Small business owners are optimistic about the future of the economy. That’s the gist of a new Bank of America survey released last week. The first of its kind, the survey included some 1,000 small business owners.

“The overarching theme here is despite of all the stress and challenges, small business owners in this country are confident folks and feeling pretty good about the near term future of their business,” said Robb Hilson, a small business executive with Bank of America. “Optimism has improved over the last several quarters.”

Though the survey found that small business owners feel confident about their local economies, they feel less confident about national leadership, which is unsurprising given the upcoming election and the shaky economic recovery.

According to the survey, talent retention ranked as the biggest concern for small business owners. Of the companies surveyed, 44 percent did not offer a benefits package, and Hilson cited the need for employee retirement plans to help retain talent and avoid losing workers to larger firms and companies. That jibes with another recent study Reuters covered about a crisis in employee retirement planning among African-American owned businesses.

Aside from retirement planning, the survey also found that cash flow problems, though helped by debt collection technologies like mobile payment platforms, were another point of stress for small business owners.

To read the full Bank of America survey, click here.

Image: U.S. President Barack Obama talks with small business owners to discuss income tax credits during a roundtable discussion at Taylor Gourmet restaurant in Washington, May 16, 2012. REUTERS/Larry Downing

A new survey found that small business owners feel confident about their local economies, but feel less confident about national leadership Join Discussion

GoCardless tries to disrupt the credit card industry

For small business owners, frustration with credit card companies is nothing new.

“You are a slave to the lender,” said Doris McMillon, owner of a communications consulting business, in a recent Reuters article. “What some of these banks have done to small business owners is unconscionable.”

Luckily for entrepreneurs like McMillon, one UK based startup, fresh with $1.5 million in venture capital, is trying to shake up the credit card industry. GoCardless is building a way for UK businesses to cut out the credit card middleman, and instead allow customers and businesses to deal directly with banks by tapping into banks’ APIs, which were previously reserved only for larger companies and organizations, reports Wired.

GoCardless joins the ranks of companies, like Square and Dwolla, that are trying to challenge and out-innovate traditional payment/credit companies like Visa, Mastercard and even PayPal, which was acquired by eBay in 2002. With the ubiquity of mobile devices, and new technologies like the Square payment system, the credit/debit payment space seems wide open and ripe for innovation.

“As a merchant, card companies are a rip-off and the application process is eye-wateringly complex,” said Matt Robinson, founder of GoCardless in an interview with Wired. “We charge 1 percent per transaction — a step-change cheaper than alternatives. We can do this and still have attractive economics because we’re able to cut out the cost and complexity of the card networks.”

To read the full Q & A with GoCardless founder Matt Robinson, click over to Wired.

A UK-based startup is trying to shake up the credit card industry, after receiving $1.5 million in venture capital. Join Discussion

NPR looks at crowdfunded athletes

The big business of sports may have a new challenger. Endorsement deals, giant salaries, big name sponsorships — this is what we’ve come to expect when we watch our favorite teams compete at their huge stadiums broadcast on major television networks. But what about the lesser-known, lesser-viewed sports? And the athletes who don’t have broad appeal and access to these sorts of lucrative deals? How do they support their athletic hopes?

That’s the subject of a Mike Pesca’s report on NPR’s Morning Edition: Olympic Runners Find Unique Ways To Raise Funds. A few athletes are changing the way they get paid to compete. For Anthony Famiglietti, a steeplechase runner, the reason for looking for alternative sponsorships was fairly simple. None of the shoes produced by shoe companies willing to sponsor him fit comfortably. He literally could not compete in their products. So he tapped into the crowd, raising smaller amounts of money and offering advertising space on his running uniform to bidders.

Nick Symmonds, an 800 meter runner, also tried an alternative sponsorship idea: auctioning a sponsorship placement in the form of a temporary tattoo he applied before a race.

It’s not hard to imagine a day when even more athletes get the seed funding they need to compete from the crowd. And, yes, now even a Kickstarter for athletes seems possible too.

Photo Credit: Runners start during a men’s 100m heat at the BUCS Outdoor Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium in London May 4, 2012. REUTERS/Toby Melville

The big business of sports new challenger? Crowdfunding. Join Discussion

Looking at the new crowdfunders and the JOBS Act

The crowdsourcing site Kickstarter just turned three years old, and the New York Times has a nice profile that explores how the company has evolved and how its changed the way entrepreneurs, artists, and anyone else with an idea can raise capital online.

Much as the introduction of cheap Web services lowered the barrier to entry for people seeking to create a start-up, and as offshore manufacturing gave entrepreneurs a chance to make products without having to build a factory, Kickstarter offers budding entrepreneurs a way to float ideas and see if there’s a market for them before they trade ownership of their company for money from venture capitalists.

Tapping into the wisdom of the crowd is nothing new. And now that Kickstarter has beaten the path, there are a few similar, and niche-focused, alternatives to Kickstarter. One interesting development to consider, though, when thinking about the online fundraising space, is the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, also known as the JOBS Act. As Talking Points Memo reports:

Kickstarter and other crowdfunding websites are also facing something of a watershed moment in the wake of passage of new bipartisan legislation, the JOBS Act, that would specifically allow for private startup companies to solicit investors with stock options offered online, something previously not allowed under Securities and Exchange Commission regulations.

One of those companies that hopes to capitalize on this new opportunity is Return on Change, which recently launched. The mission, according to their website, “is to provide an online medium by which start-up companies and bright entrepreneurs will be able to pool capital through crowdsourcing, while creating a community of advice and collaboration.”

Understandably, opening up crowdsourced investing opportunities online has some concerned. The SEC is still figuring out how to implement the JOBS ACT, but once the details are finalized we can expect to see even more companies like Kickstarter and Return on Change, maybe even a crowdfunding startup that is ITSELF crowdfunded.

Image: REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

How the JOBS Act, Kickstarter and a few other companies are changing the way entrepreneurs raise money Join Discussion

Q & A with MycroBurst co-founder Joe Witte

Joe Witte is the co-founder and Executive Vice President at MycroBurst, a crowdsourcing site for companies and individuals who want custom logos and designs. Reuters Small Business interviewed Witte about building a tech startup and how Mycroburst balances work with clients and designers.

First off, can you briefly describe MycroBurst? How it works, etc.

I’ve always described MycroBurst as an eBay for design services. We have a community of more than 35k designers representing more than 100 countries. They participate in design contests for our customers (aka Project Holders), who require anything from a brochure, postcard, website or logo design. What makes our marketplace so powerful, is that a Project Holder will typically receive dozens, and typically more than 100 design concepts from our design community to choose from. And that’s in one week. Our platform makes it easy to communicate with all the designers, and easy to review the concepts side by side.

Where did the idea come from?

Previously, we had a design team that provided services to our clients via online transactions. Many of our designers were leaving in order to freelance for sites like eLance. And after seeing this model work for other crowdsourcing sites, we felt that this was where the future was with sourcing design services. After we shifted in 2009, it was apparent that everyone was happier. Our designers had freedom, and our clients received far greater choice, and flexibility in a faster delivery method.

MycroBurst relies on a crowdsourcing model that actually helps pool talent for clients. Are there any other sites that you think are operating a similar model (not necessarily with design), and how has that affected MycroBurst?

We are actually a member of a “Crowdsortium” which had more than 100 crowdsourcing companies such as UTest, CrowdFlower, and GeniusRocket. Some of the other services that are crowdsourced include videos, website/application testing, content writing, labeling, research, translation, and the list goes on.

Reuters Small Business interviewed Joe Witte, the Co-Founder and Executive Vice President at MycroBurst, about building a tech startup and how Mycroburst balances work with clients and designers. Join Discussion

Q & A: Starting a Distillery

Brothers Will and Dave Willis launched the Boston-based craft distillery Bully Boy in 2011. It’s the first distillery in Boston since prohibition and one of many new small batch distilleries that have sprang up across the U.S. in the last few years. Reuters Small Business interviewed Dave Willis over email about launching Bully Boy and what he’s learned along the way.

How long did it take to go from deciding to start a distillery and actually distilling? And what were the biggest obstacles? Funding? Licensing?

Moving from the idea of a distillery to actually distilling took about a year and a half. Nothing about the process was easy. We knew we wanted to be in Boston, so one of the biggest challenges was finding suitable manufacturing space. We need fifteen-foot ceilings for our still, concrete floors, and either a loading dock or bay doors. Most of the industrial space in Boston is either way too big, or small, cramped, and raw. Funding the operation wasn’t easy either. We started looking for capital in 2010. The economy was improving, but there still wasn’t much appetite for risk, and starting a distillery is very risky. What’s more, the risk is difficult to assess because the banks have no point of comparison. We ended up raising cash through friends, family, and anyone who was willing to listen. Then, of course, there is the licensing component. Don’t even get me started.

(more…)

Reuters Small Business interviewed distillery owner Dave Willis about launching Bully Boy and what he’s learned along the way. Join Discussion

How to avoid getting swindled under the JOBS Act

The new JOBS Act was aimed at making it easier for start-ups to raise cash, but critics warn the legislation makes it easier for criminals to do the same. In this Reuters TV video, Fred Katayama explains how you can avoid getting ripped off.

The new JOBS Act was aimed at making it easier for start-ups to raise cash, but critics warn the legislation makes it easier for criminals. In this Reuters TV video, Fred Katayama explains how you can avoid getting ripped off. Join Discussion

Study: Crisis in employee retirement planning

A study from Nationwide Financial shows African American small business owners are worried about their employees’ retirement plans, but are increasingly optimistic about the economy and willing to invest more in employee benefits than other small business owners.

According to the study, small business owners say not enough of their employees have sufficiently planned for  retirement and the situation has reached  “crisis levels.”

“There’s a tremendous level of desperation with small business owners today,” notes Robin Wilson, CEO of Robin Wilson Home, in the below video from Reuters.

Despite the bleak situation with retirement planning and the economy, the survey found that many African American small business owners are hopeful that the economy will improve. Nearly a quarter of those African American small business owners surveyed said they would start to offer employees a 401(k) plan within the next two years, compared to 11 percent of all small business owners. Similarly, 28 percent of African American small business owners said they would add health insurance plans for their employees within the next two years, compared to 11 percent of all small business owners.

See the video below for more on how African American small business owners see the economy:

 

A study from Nationwide Financial shows African American small business owners are worried about their employees' retirement plans, but are increasingly optimistic about the economy and willing to invest more in employee benefits than other small business owners. Join Discussion

Looking at Greece’s entrepreneurs

Maybe it’s Instagram-size payouts or maybe it’s just pure desperation and a lack of good opportunities that drives someone to start a business in the middle of a recession. Either way, instead of protesting or moving away in search of work, a group of entrepreneurs in Greece are tapping into that same spirit and defying the odds to launch their own startups, NPR reports.

The Athens entrepreneurs, based around an incubator called CoLab, include at least one tech startup, BugSense, that has already raised capital from Silicon Valley. So while many tech startups, including those in Greece and those that launch during a recession, will never turn a  profit, it’s worth noting that a more than few startups have successfully launched during a recession.

For perspective, here are just a few of those companies that launched during hard economic times:

GE, IBM, Microsoft, Apple. Oh and of course, Instagram.

Photo: A Greek presidential guard hoists the Greek flag in front of the Parthenon temple at the Acropolis hill in Athens October 3, 2010.  REUTERS/John Kolesidis

 

Instead of protesting or just moving away in search of work, a group of entrepreneurs in Greece are taping into that same spirit and defying the odds to launch their own startups, NPR reports. Join Discussion