When Congress finally got its act together to get a new Farm Bill to the President’s desk earlier this year, there was much cheer among rural development advocates, thanks to the mandatory funding for the new rural microenterprise development program written into the legislative language. That mandatory funding provision was important. Congress has a history [...]

Possibly you will remember the plan hatched in Congress calling for merchant account banks to collect and verify the taxpayer identification numbers (TINs) of the vendors whose transactions they processed and report those amounts to the IRS. In addition, if they could not verify a TIN, they would be required to withhold 28% of that [...]

Most of these charmingly two-faced politicians have been touring our communities this month, trying to convince us that they deserve to keep their jobs. This is the time when we have all sorts of excellent opportunities to let them know that we intend to hold them accountable for all of the above.

Except, of course, that we don’t.

We don’t hold them accountable. Heck, we don’t even say that we’re planning to hold them accountable and leave them to decide whether it’d be worth it to try to call our bluff.

I bet you thought that was the name of a microbusiness in the title of this article. Perhaps you were even intrigued enough to wonder what sorts of products or services might be offered by such a cleverly named business. Sorry, but this is not going to be that sort of story. Cynthia Lockrow, MSSW, [...]

This week, I’m happy to report yet another bit of startling research on small businesses. Here’s the news: employer businesses are different from nonemployer businesses, according to a data analysis released last week by the SBA Office of Advocacy. On its surface, I’m sure that statement must seem so obvious that it shouldn’t even need [...]

Last week, the SBA Office of Advocacy released its Small Business Quarterly Indicators for the second quarter of this year and, once again, there was a lot more red in the numbers than anybody likes to see. The financial markets were making their pain felt, with tightening credit standards and weak small business loan demand. [...]

If anything, technology has made it seem more possible for one person — a nonemployer business — to make a lot more money than they really need. But, making it more possible does not necessarily make it any more desirable.

All of which explains why nonemployer businesses remain in the dog house as far as almost everybody in the small business sphere is concerned.

The sign says “Beware of CHICKEN” and, yes, that really is a chicken. Welcome to upstate New York, home of nonemployer microbusiness Silver Top Graphics and its owners Dan Flanagan and Lisa Tait.

The House Small Business Committee was busy just before the August recess, holding hearings on issues such as access to health insurance and the need for additional economic stimulus measures for small businesses. Another item that came under review during a subcommittee hearing late last month was the perpetual issue of regulatory burdens imposed on [...]

A whopping 94% of microbusiness owners delivered a resounding “Yes!” in answer to the seemingly silly question “Are increased energy costs, such as gasoline prices, affecting your business?” No surprises there. According to the results of a member survey released by The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) last week, 87% of respondents said that [...]