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As reported by the Office of Advocacy, Small Business Administration.
How did the distribution of income and wealth for households owning small businesses change in the expansion and recovery period of the American economy from 1998 to 2007? This report updates previous studies and is based on additional data from the 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances. The study finds that households owning small businesses in the 1998-2007 period had a higher probability than other households of being within the top 50 percent in income and wealth. Other findings include the following:
o Households owning any business were significantly more likely to be high income earners in 2007 than in 1998; the largest percentage gain was among owners with more than one business.
o The characteristics of households and businesses were somewhat different in 1998 than in 2007. By 2007, high income households were headed by younger people, while higher wealth households were headed by older people, and high income and wealth households were more likely to own public stock and real estate.
o By 2007, the income gap between households with and without small businesses had widened slightly and the wealth gap had remained about the same.
o However, households owning small businesses did much better from 2004 to 2007. The likelihood of households owning a small business being high income increased by 4.2 percent and their likelihood of being high wealth increased by more than 20 percent, compared with comparable increases of 2.1 and 5.2 percent in households not owning businesses.
o From 1998 to 2007, households not owning a business increased real mean wealth by just under 40 percent; the comparable increase for those owning a small business was 63.4 percent.
A copy of the report is located at: http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs357tot.pdf and the research summary can be found at: http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs357.pdf.
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The Wall Street Journal’s Collen DeBaise wrote an interesting article on how to cope with the stress of being the boss. She says no one can avoid it, so its a good idea to manage it and here’s how:
1. Take Mental Health Time
2. Make Fitness a Priority
3. Eat Right
4. Get Your Rest
To read her entire article click here.
Technorati Tags: Boss, Collen, Fitness, How To Manage Stress, Mental Health, Priority, Wall Street, Wall Street Journal
The provisions, which helped bolster small-business lending over the past year, had run out of funding in late November. With the new extension, included in the Defense Appropriations bill, the government’s maximum guarantee on SBA loans is restored to 90%, compared to pre-stimulus levels of 75%. Fees that the agency normally changes banks are also waived.
“Small businesses have been left in limbo since the funding ran out,” said Mary Landrieu (D-La.), one of the senators who requested the extension, in a statement. “[The legislation] will provide a lifeline to small businesses in need of credit.”
The provisions, however, are only extended through February. Lenders and small-business advocacy groups will have to wait on another piece of legislation – the House’s Jobs for Main Street Act, which passed in the chamber last week – for the provisions to be extended through next September.
Technorati Tags: Advocacy Groups, Banks, Business Advocacy, Business Lending, Defense Appropriations Bill, Late November, legislation, Lenders, Lifeline, Limbo, Loan Extensions, Mary Landrieu, Provisions, Sba Loan, Sba Loans, Senators, small business, Small Businesses, Stimulus Levels, Street Act
As reported by Colleen DeBaise in online.wsj.com
Adapted from THE WALL STREET JOURNAL COMPLETE SMALL BUSINESS GUIDEBOOK (Three Rivers Press).
So maybe 2010 will be the year that you finally break out on your own. Voluntarily or not.
As we continue to dig ourselves out of the deepest recession since the Great Depression, many of us have lost corporate jobs. Others worry that layoffs are lurking. We’re taking on free-lance assignments, contract work and short-term projects — and getting them done in the extra bedroom, eat-in kitchen or spare corner in the utility room.
Flexibility — and Distractions
The home is the new hotbed of entrepreneurial activity.
For those who have temporarily joined the ranks of the self-employed, a home office is the natural (and cheapest) place to get work done. For others who are using severance packages to take a shot at entrepreneurship, the home can be an ideal incubator to test out ideas. Many a successful venture began life in a garage (Hewlett-Packard, in 1938) or launched from a living room (LinkedIn, in 2003).
In many cases, it makes sense to grow the business at home before moving into a separate physical location. Other times, your new venture, career or sideline is simply well-suited to be run out of your home. And in a tough economy, a business owner who has rented office space might return to a home office to trim costs.
About 52% of all small businesses are home-based — representing a broad swath of industries, from software development and mail-order sales to plumbing and general contracting — according to statistics from the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy.
What are the advantages of working from home? … click here to read the entire article.
Technorati Tags: Business Guidebook, Contract Work, Entrepreneurial Activity, General Contracting, Great Depression, Hotbed, Incubator, layoffs, Linkedin, Mail Order Sales, Physical Location, Severance Packages, Sideline, Small Business Administration, Swath, Term Projects, Three Rivers, Wall Street Journal, Working From Home, Wsj
Brett Arends, of the online.wsj.com, wrote a great article last Friday about how to get back on your financial feet once you’ve found a job. Here are a few of his suggestions:
Confront your debt:
If you are behind on debt payments, you should talk to your lenders and discuss the situation. You may be able to negotiate with them a reasonable catch-up plan. Remember: Your mortgage lender needs to come first, because that debt is secured against your home.
Get yourself insured again:
If you had let any critical insurance lapse while you were unemployed, this is the moment to look into getting yourself covered again. That may include signing up for health insurance at your new workplace, as well as purchasing life and disability coverage.
Stay frugal:
Keep those expenses low.
To read the entire article click here.
Technorati Tags: Brett Arends, Debt Payments, Disability Coverage, Feet, Health Insurance, Health New, Insurance, Job, Last Friday, Lenders, Mortgage Lender, Purchasing, Wall Street, Wall Street Journal, Wsj
