Since the beta launch of AdLeads, more than 300 businesses and agencies of all sizes have adopted the platform to run in-app mobile advertising campaigns and find new customers. These companies include Allurez, Sickweather, One Click Ventures, The DUMBO Improvement District, Paper Hat Press and Nita Nita, among many others.

Just as they would for a search advertising campaign, in minutes, businesses and agencies can create an account, specify geo-targeting, create ad groups, design creative and launch mobile signup advertising campaigns using the AdLeads platform. But instead of paying every time someone clicks on their ad, now businesses only pay when someone signs up and shares their contact information.

Given that a large number of clicks on mobile app advertisements are accidental (a 2010 Harris Interactive survey estimated that this number was 47 percent), businesses have struggled to get returns on mobile advertising. With AdLeads, businesses pay only for actual signups. They now have a simple advertising solution to get returns on every ad dollar they spend and make mobile advertising work for them.

“Pontiflex has methodically designed and scaled the AdLeads program to cater to the needs of any business by providing a simpleself-serve tool that is easy and affordable to use,” said Zephrin Lasker, CEO and Co-founder, Pontiflex. “AdLeads combines the cutting-edge technology of mobile phones and tablets with the efficiency of a performance-pricing model. This is a natural and powerful combination for businesses that want to find new customers.”

Mobile signup ads enable people to sign up to hear from the businesses they like without leaving the app they are using. They connect to their favorite businesses by sharing their name, email address, social networking handle or phone number. Through AdLeads, businesses are able to choose the information they want to collect from their potential customers, and all data is collected on a 100 percent opt-in basis. AdLeads also allows businesses to follow up with people who have signed up to hear from them with a thank you email that is sent in real time. They can keep consumers and prospects engaged with their business after the first interaction by remarketing to them by email, phone and social channels.

For example, One Click Ventures, a network of e-commerce brands in the discount fashion and travel spaces, is using AdLeads and seeing great success.

“We’ve already broken even with the amount of sales we have generated in two days,” said Alessandra Souers, Director of Email Marketing, One Click Ventures.

Social health startup Sickweather is using AdLeads to add new users, while children’s book publisher Paper Hat Press is using AdLeads to increase its number of Facebook fans.

“With AdLeads, Paper Hat Press was able to acquire over 13,000 new leads in less than three weeks,” said Manish Naik, CEO, Paper Hat Press. “There’s no better way that we’ve found to advertise on smartphones and tablets and get new customers than with AdLeads.”

Nita Nita, a popular restaurant in Brooklyn, New York, is another small business using AdLeads to connect with patrons. The company follows up with people who have opted in via AdLeads to receive messages from them with emails that drive traffic to their Facebook and Twitter pages. Nita Nita sends friends, followers and fans invitations and special announcements once they become part of its social community.

“Being able to reach people in the area while they’re out on the town or making plans for the night really helps promote specials and our events,” said Sam DiStefano, Owner, Nita Nita. “Now we also can invite them to be part of our social community through AdLeads.”

AdLeads offers the following features:

• Geo-targeting: reach people in their neighborhood, state, country or around the world
• Ad creation and preview tools: easily build and format ads for iPhones, iPads, Android phones and Android tablets
• Signup fields: specify the data to be collected, including: first name, last name, email address, social media handle and phone number, among others
• Web-based reporting: access online reporting tools that deliver real-time feedback on the performance of the campaign
• International capabilities: activate the native language of a mobile device and it will automatically display ads in that language; businesses around the world will be able to show ads to consumers in a way that is relevant and meaningful to them

Pontiflex’s global scale across mobile apps delivers massive reach to users around the world. Pontiflex powered apps currently display more than one billion impressions each month and Pontiflex’s overall app traffic continues to increase every month. Based on an extensively field-tested ad optimization algorithm and patent-pending technology, the AdLeads platform is designed to match the right ad to the right user on the right app. The AdLeads program provides affordable access to the exploding mobile ad market with cost per signups ranging anywhere from 50 cents to $15 per signup, depending on the geo-targeting selected and the number of fields chosen. Every day, over 150,000 people signup via the Pontiflex AdLeads platform.

AdLeads comes to market at a time when many small businesses are adopting mobile advertising in greater numbers. A recent survey conducted by Manta found that 69 percent of survey respondents said that it is important or very important that their small business be found on mobile devices. In addition, a survey by Borrell Associates found that four out of every five SMB owners plan to spend money on mobile marketing, and that on average these business owners plan to devote more than 20 percent of their budgets to mobile advertising.

“Small and medium-sized businesses know that their customers and prospects are increasingly on mobile devices, but they had no way to run effective mobile advertising campaigns until now,” said Zephrin Lasker, CEO and Co-founder, Pontiflex. “Today, with AdLeads, they can. We’re happy to help business owners of all sizes connect to people on their mobile devices, whether they’re in the same zip code or on the other side of the world.”

About Pontiflex

Pontiflex powers a new kind of mobile advertising platform: Signup Ads. Signup Ads are a simple and 100% opt-in way for people to hear more from brands they like. People can sign up without leaving the mobile app or website they’re on, and advertisers pay only for valid signups and app installations.

Whether it’s moms who join Kimberly-Clark’s HUGGIES loyalty program, pet lovers who want to help animals with the ASPCA, or people who want personalized books from small businesses like Paper Hat Press, millions of people use Signup Ads every day to connect with their favorite brands and organizations on iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

The post Pontiflex Launches Self-Serve Mobile Signup Ad Platform appeared first on Small Business Trends.

“We know how important small businesses are to our nation’s economy and how dedicated their owners are to their employees,” said Robb Hilson, Bank of America Small Business executive. “Offering a simplified 401(k) plan, designed to address the needs of small business owners and their employees, is yet another way we are showing our commitment to supporting small businesses.”

According to a recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report, only 14 percent of small business employers (those with up to 100 employees) offer a retirement plan to their employees. Based on interviews with small employers, the report cited plan complexity, administrative burdens and carrying out fiduciary responsibilities as among the key barriers to sponsoring retirement plans. The Merrill Edge Small Business 401(k) has easy-to-understand pricing that is generally lower than many traditional 401(k) plans. The offering provides convenient access to an online plan that is easy to maintain so that small business owners can stay focused on running their businesses and give themselves and their employees opportunities to pursue a successful retirement.

“In a recent Bank of America Merrill Lynch Workplace Benefits Report, more than half of small business owners cited retirement benefits as one of the top tools for retaining employees and attracting new talent,” said Rich Linton, head of Business Retirement Solutions for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “The generally lower costs than many traditional plans and accessibility of this solution enable business owners to provide employees with an important, tax-advantaged retirement savings tool, while also receiving potential tax benefits for their business.”

The Merrill Edge Small Business 401(k) is self-serviced and managed completely online, giving small business owners secure access when and where it is convenient for them. Additional features and benefits include:

•  An affordable, flexible 401(k) plan to help meet their unique needs.
•  Access to 401(k) specialists to help with online plan setup.
•  Web-based 401(k) recordkeeping administration services tailored for small businesses provided by Plan Administrators, Inc.
•  Transparent fees to help quickly assess the right plan for their business and control the bottom line.
•  A streamlined investment menu selected by Morningstar Associates, LLC, who assumes investment fiduciary responsibility and simplifies the fund selection process for clients, while helping take the guesswork out of fund selection for employees.

This solution also gives employees a platform through which they can easily manage their retirement investments. Features include:

• Online resources and education to help employees start their retirement investing and then stay on track, as well as phone-based support from 401(k) specialists to help them make informed investment decisions.

• Access to daily online statements and account performance details.

“Merrill Edge Small Business 401(k) gives small business owners and their employees access to benefits of the Merrill Edge services,” said Alok Prasad, head of Merrill Edge for Bank of America. “Merrill Edge’s simplified and transparent features enable customers to efficiently manage all their investment and retirement accounts, helping them prepare for the years ahead.”

In addition to the Merrill Edge Small Business 401(k), Merrill Edge offers small business owners a range of cost-effective retirement plan solutions to help meet their needs, including a Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) and Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plans. Additionally, Merrill Lynch provides access to a host of solutions through its Advisor Alliance program, which delivers affordable recordkeeping and retirement plan administration services from a diverse selection of providers.

Beyond retirement plans, Bank of America is helping small businesses through a variety of other programs and services. The company extended $6.4 billion in new loan originations to small businesses in 2011, which increased new credit to small businesses by 20 percent. Bank of America is also the leading bank supporting Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), providing more than $200 million to finance small businesses that can’t qualify for traditional loans. A CDFI grant program, created in 2010 to unlock low-cost capital for small businesses, has allowed CDFIs to access more than $93 million, serving more than 8,700 local businesses and helping create and retain more than 13,000 jobs.

Bank of America has also hired more than 700 small business bankers since late 2010 and plans to hire a total of approximately 1,000 across the U.S. by mid-2012. These bankers serve as a dedicated resource for small business owners, helping them assess their companies’ deposit, credit and cash management needs.

Merrill Edge

Merrill Edge provides mass affluent customers and small business clients with access to professional investment guidance through Merrill Edge Financial Solutions Advisors™ in the Merrill Edge Advisory Center™ or in-person at select banking centers. For customers who prefer to invest on their own, Merrill Edge provides an online self-directed investing platform, with robust tools and resources to help them make informed investment decisions.

Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world’s largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 57 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 5,700 retail banking offices and approximately 17,750 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 30 million active users. Bank of America is among the world’s leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 4 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The post Bank of America Announces Small Business 401(k) Through Merrill Edge appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Zoho is demonstrating Zoho Projects for iPhone, Zoho Docs for Android and Zoho CRM for Android at Zoholics 2012, the company’s user conference, today in San Francisco at the Hilton San Francisco Airport Bayfront. Zoho fans from seven countries and 19 states in the U.S. are attending Zoholics 2012.

“Mobile is going to be one of the most important focus areas for the company this year,” said Raju Vegesna, Zoho evangelist. “We launched mobile-optimized versions of many of our web apps last year and also launched iPhone and Blackberry versions of CRM. We are expanding this with the Android version of our CRM and Docs apps as well as an iPhone version of our Projects app. We are expanding our mobile offerings, and you will hear more mobile app announcements from us very soon.”

Zoho Ups Mobile App Ante

Zoho Projects for iPhone is a dedicated iPhone app that offers mobile access to project activities, to do, and time sheet information for projects in Zoho Projects, the company’s online project management software with comprehensive collaboration features. Highlights of Zoho Projects for iPhone include the ability to:

• Create, edit and close tasks on the go
• Start/stop timers for multiple tasks to record hours worked while on the go and later log those hours into the project time sheet for billing purposes
• Record text and voice notes for tasks to quickly capture events and status on the move

Zoho CRM for Android is a dedicated Android app that simplifies customer relationship management for mobile sales professionals and others using Zoho CRM, the company’s affordable on-demand customer relationship management software. Highlights of the Android version of Zoho CRM include the ability to:

• Access contacts, accounts, potentials, leads, tasks, events and call logs in Zoho CRM
• View, create, edit and delete records in all supported modules
• Access customer information while offline, outside network coverage area
• Add/modify customer information offline, with all additions and modifications auto-synced to the web once a network connection is available
• Perform powerful searches for required information in both client (offline mode) and server (online mode)
• Call contacts directly from within the app and log calls subsequently

Zoho Docs for Android is a dedicated Android app that provides access to your documents on the go. Highlights of the Android version of Zoho Docs include the ability to:

• Access your private and shared documents on your mobile device
• Upload images to Zoho Docs from your mobile device

Pricing and Availability

Zoho Projects for iPhone will be available soon, free of charge. Users must be existing Zoho Projects users to use Zoho Projects for iPhone and must subscribe to the Zoho Projects Mobile Edition for $3 per user, per month. Zoho CRM for Android is available immediately. Mobile apps for Zoho CRM are free of charge but require a subscription to the Zoho CRM Mobile Edition at $3 per user, per month. Zoho Docs for Android is available immediately.

For more information on Zoho, please visit www.zoho.com and watch “What is Zoho?” To get breaking Zoho news, visit and subscribe to the RSS feed at http://blogs.zoho.com, and follow the company on Twitter at @zoho and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/zoho.

About Zoho

Zoho is a comprehensive suite of award-winning online productivity, collaboration and business applications for businesses of all sizes. Over five million users rely on Zoho for their Business,Productivity & Collaboration needs and actively connect via Forums, Blogs, Facebook and Twitter. To date, Zoho has launched 27 different applications which include several online office applications such as Writer, Sheet, Show and Mail along with a host of business applications ranging from CRM to Projects, Invoice and Meeting. These applications are offered directly via Zoho.com or through hundreds of partners in the Zoho Alliance Partner Program. For more information about Zoho, please visit www.zoho.com.

Zoho is a division of Zoho Corp., a privately-held and profitable company, which also provides IT Management Software (ManageEngine with 50,000 customers) and a Network Management Suite (WebNMS with 25,000 Tier 1 carrier deployments). With headquarters in Pleasanton, CA and offices in Austin, New Jersey, Chennai, London, Tokyo and Beijing, Zoho Corp. serves the technology needs of millions of customers worldwide. For more information about Zoho Corp., please visit www.zohocorp.com.

The post Zoho Expands Mobile Apps For CRM, Projects and Docs appeared first on Small Business Trends.

“As evidenced by the impressive pool of applicants, Arizona is the place to be for entrepreneurs. It has long been a goal of the ACA to elevate Arizona to become the number state in the nation for start-ups. We are pleased that the 2012 Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity recognized Arizona as such,” said Don Cardon, president and CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority.

The challenge — which is the largest financial prize of its kind in the country — advances innovation and technology commercialization opportunities in Arizona by supporting early stage ventures in Arizona’s targeted industries of renewable energy and sustainability, bio and life sciences, electronics, information technologies, aerospace and defense and advanced manufacturing. The ACA doubled its commitment to the Arizona Innovation Challenge for 2012. Initially funded at $1.5 million, the ACA will commit $3 million to the program, creating two rounds of competition ($1.5 million in award money for each challenge).

Start-ups receiving awards will be required to commercialize their technology solution and generate revenue within one year of the award. All companies will receive significant feedback generated from the evaluation process and a seasoned panel of evaluators, be invited to partner with commercialization resources across Arizona, and will be evaluated for eligibility in other ACA incentive programs like the Angel Investment Program.

The 2012 Arizona Innovation Challenge semifinalists are:

• Acudora
• Agave Semiconductor
• BCR Diagnostics
• Cancer Prevention Pharmaceuticals
• Care H2 Energy Systems
• Cummings Engineering
• Desert Dog Marketing
• Discern Science
• Dmetrix
• Earth Knowledge
• ECOmplete
• HJ3 Composite Technologies
• IPO Solutions
• Kutta Radios
• MaxQ Technology
• MD24
• MedApps
• Pathogene
• Phocus
• PureTech Systems
• Securecomm
• Serious Integrated
• Solar Pool Technologies
• Sycara
• WholesaleFund

Arizona is a recognized leader in the nation for entrepreneurial activity. The 2012 Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity ranks Arizona #1 in the nation for entrepreneurial activity. Arizona also ranked fifth in the U.S. for start-ups, sixth in the U.S. for entrepreneurship and innovation and in the top ten in the U.S. for small business lending. Through a suite of programs, including the Arizona Innovation Challenge, the Arizona Innovation Accelerator Fund, the AZ Fast Grants, and the AZ State Trade and Export Promotion Program, Arizona is helping start-ups bring their ideas to life, expand, and serve as a catalyst for job creation and economic growth.

About the Arizona Commerce Authority

The Arizona Commerce Authority is dedicated to welcoming domestic and international businesses to Arizona and encouraging the expansion of existing businesses in the State. The agency maintains foreign trade offices in Canada, Asia, Europe and Mexico. The ACA will focus exclusively on business attraction, retention and expansion of Arizona’s strongest economic sectors including science/technology, aerospace/defense, renewable energies and small business/entrepreneurial expansion efforts. For more information contact: Arizona Commerce Authority at 602-845-1200 or www.azcommerce.com.

The post Arizona Commerce Authority Names 25 Semifinalists For The Arizona Innovation Challenge appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Since 2007, the Yuuguu team has built simple to use, reliable and cost effective screen sharing and online meeting software for SMEs, large enterprises and freelancers.

Ease of use and speed are at the heart of everything Yuuguu does – with only three clicks, a Yuuguu user can setup and run a screen sharing session for up to 30 participants.

The company has now added a range of useful features in the latest major update:

Faster, higher quality, easier to use

• Faster screen sharing – even on slow broadband connections, Yuuguu users see faster updates on their screens. This enhancement is a result of the Yuuguu software intelligently sending only the changed portion of the screen so reducing the load on the network, which enables more intelligent screen grabbing and is especially useful when the presenter is scrolling rapidly
• Higher quality screen sharing – Yuuguu now provides more colour depth and resolution, which is important when high quality screen sharing is necessary (e.g. for designers, architects drawings)
• Improved experience for large groups – with some larger group screen sharing systems, participants on slow connections can affect the quality experienced by other participants. Yuuguu’s updated software now manages connections so that participants with slower internet connections do not affect the entire group’s experience
• Enhanced presentation mode – Yuuguu meeting controls are now positioned off screen, giving users maximum real estate to share screens
• Simplified interface – new easier to use interface makes using Yuuguu a breeze for both host and attendee – the flow from the website to the client is now just two buttons – share/join and share now/schedule
• iPhone and iPad screen viewers – allow attendees to join meetings from their iOS mobile device quickly and easily

Yuuguu is available for screen sharing with up to 30 participants and requires no installation for online meeting attendees who can participate via web browser. Yuuguu can be used on Linux, Mac and PC.

The company has a growing client base including businesses that collaborate to manage projects or share ideas. Yuuguu is used across many industries and users chose the services because it offers a reliable, high-quality, user-friendly and affordable screen sharing service.

From £15 per month or £69 per year per user, Yuuguu’s pricing is highly competitive for the feature set. Yuuguu is free for viewers and not covered in adverts.

Anish Kapoor, CEO of Yuuguu: “Our customers want a better experience for the viewer, so we have focused on improving quality and speed and increasingly accessibility, which are all key factors whether using screen sharing software on an ad-hoc or regular basis. The clarity and resolution of Yuuguu shared screens is especially important in presentations where a product is sold on looks. As well as quality, we’ve worked to banish lag and provide the same level of clarity, detail and speed of presentation to viewers using a PC, Mac, Linux computer, iPad or iPhone.”

For a free trial, visit: https://www.yuuguu.com/

To buy Yuuguu, visit: http://www.yuuguu.com/pricing/web-conferencing.

About Yuuguu

Yuuguu, named after the Japanese word for fusion, was founded by entrepreneurs Anish Kapoor and Philip Hemsted in 2007 after they became frustrated by working together remotely and not being able to see and share each other’s computer screens in real time.

Yuuguu has been serving companies and individual users with its screen sharing and web conferencing software since 2007.

Yuuguu is simple to use, needs no download for participants, is multi-platform and is perfect for both scheduled and ad-hoc meetings.

The post Yuuguu Boosts Screen Sharing Quality And Performance appeared first on Small Business Trends.

National small business advocacy organization Small Business Majority released a virtual version of the Actual Factual brochure, which was developed and produced by Ascension Health, the largest nonprofit health system in the nation. Presented in an easy-to-use flipbook format that can be accessed from all mobile devices, it puts important information about the law at small business owners’ fingertips.

“The nation’s small businesses are critical to achieving 100 percent access to healthcare,” said Susan Nestor Levy, Chief Advocacy Officer, Ascension Health and Executive Vice President, Ascension Health Alliance.“To help spread the word about the provisions in the law that help small businesses provide health insurance to their employees, Ascension Health developed the Actual Factual brochure. By making it available in a virtual, easy to flip-through format, we hope even more small businesses will learn about the law and take advantage of the provisions aimed at helping them.”

The healthcare landscape is shifting as the market adjusts to provisions of the Affordable Care Act, signed into law on March 23, 2010. The Actual Factual brochure, which details provisions of healthcare reform pertinent to small businesses, walks small business owners through the ACA provisions such as healthcare tax credits, small business exchanges and various cost containment measures aimed at lowering costs throughout the system.

“As the Affordable Care Act continues bringing changes to the healthcare system, it’s essential to disseminate clear information about how this law impacts our job creators,” said Small Business Majority CEO John Arensmeyer. “This brochure allows them to have this information literally at their fingertips, so wherever they are—be it their business, a job site or meeting with clients—if they have questions about the law they can access a resource that will give them clear, easy-to-understand answers.”

Who is the Small Business Majority?

Small Business Majority is a national small business advocacy organization, founded and run by small business owners, to support America’s 28 million small businesses. We conduct extensive opinion and economic research and work with our rapidly growing network of small business owners across the country to ensure their voices are an integral part of the public policy debate. Learn more about us on Wikipedia and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

About Ascension Health

Ascension Health, a subsidiary of Ascension Health Alliance, is transforming healthcare by providing the highest quality care to all, with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. Ascension Health, which provided $1.2 billion in care of persons living in poverty and community benefit programs last year, is the nation’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health system. Its Mission-focused Health Ministries employ more than 121,000 associates serving in more than 1,400 locations in 21 states and the District of Columbia.

The post Virtual Brochure Walks Small Businesses Through Healthcare Reform Law appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Released today, Fellowes’ Workplace Data Security Report found that 81 percent of office employees have access to paper documents containing sensitive workplace information, yet only 62 percent cite their company as having a data security policy on which employees are trained. Some of those untrained employees may be leaving their companies vulnerable to a security breach, as the survey also reports that nearly a quarter of employees leave sensitive paper documents on top of their desks.

According to the study, office employees may unwittingly contribute to a digital or paper-based security breach by practicing other risky behaviors:

• Approximately one in four (26 percent) leave their computers unlocked when away from their desk
• Fifteen percent throw paper documents containing sensitive information in the trash
• Only 60 percent maintain a secure firewall
• Less than half of respondents (44 percent) ensure their mail is safe by sending it through a secure mailbox

“Whether electronic or in paper form, confidential information in the workplace is a hot item for theft and the methods employed by criminals to obtain this information are constantly evolving,” said John Sileo, national identity theft expert. “With smart prevention measures, you can help your company avoid a costly breach that can lead to personal consequences – like identity theft.”

Smart Practices for the Workplace

Having learned a great deal from suffering a security breach within his own business, Sileo travels the country educating businesses about ways to prevent the crime.

“Data protection can be simple as long as the proper procedures are in place and widely practiced,” continued Sileo. He offers five key pieces of advice when speaking with business employees:

1. Lock your office when you leave for the day to prevent anyone accessing it after hours
2. Ensure your computer is locked with a secure password containing a unique combination of letters and numbers
3. Ask your IT department to check that your firewall is secure and up-to-date
4. Don’t leave paper documents on your desk or in common printing areas and store important documents in a locked filing cabinet
5. Shred no-longer-needed documents with a Cross-Cut shredder, like Fellowes’ 79Ci

Sileo has been a longtime user of Fellowes shredders, both at home and in the office. “I always look to Fellowes’ Cross-Cut machines to ensure my documents are properly destroyed. Fellowes is also the only brand on the market that offers 100% Jam Proof technology, making my shredding jobs productive and hassle-free. No one has time to sit around and fix a paper jam.”

For more information about data breach prevention and Fellowes’ 79Ci, visit www.fellowes.com.

About Fellowes, Inc.

Fellowes, Inc. offers an extensive range of products to equip the workspace, including paper shredders, binders, laminators, desktop accessories and record storage solutions. Founded in 1917 by Harry Fellowes and headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, Fellowes, Inc. employs more than 1,200 people throughout the world and has operations in 15 countries. Fellowes products are now readily available in over 100 countries across the globe. For more information, visit www.fellowes.com.

About John Sileo

John Sileo is an award-winning author and international speaker on the dark art of deception (identity theft, data privacy, social media manipulation) and its polar opposite, the powerful use of trust, to achieve success. He is CEO of The Sileo Group, which advises teams on how to multiply performance by building a culture of deep trust. For more information, visit www.thinklikeaspy.com.

The post National Survey Uncovers Data Breach Vulnerabilities in the Workplace appeared first on Small Business Trends.

“For the past 30 years, the Office of Advocacy has produced a series of annual reports on American small businesses,” said Chief Counsel for Advocacy Winslow Sargeant. “This year for the first time we’re pleased to increase the accessibility and usability of the information by presenting the key data in a new format online.”

From 1982 to 2000, the Office of Advocacy produced an annual report titled The State of Small Business; from 2001 to the present, The Small Business Economy. This is a rich collection of information about small business contributions to the economy and trends over time. Highlights of tables in this year’s report include the following:

• Total lending for loans under $1 million was $606.9 billion in June 2011.

• Total initial public offerings increased from a value of $6.8 billion in 2009 to $18.0 billion in 2009 to $36.3 billion in 2010.

• The number of employer firms has fluctuated from just under 5 million to just over 6 million firms over the past 25 years, while the larger number of firms without employees has increased steadily, from about 14 million in 1992 to nearly 22 million in 2010.

• Many macroeconomic indicators, such as sales, which slowed from 2005 to 2009, are now picking up again.

• By demographic group of business owners, the most dramatic increase was in Hispanic business owners, up 86 percent over the 2000-2010 period.

The Small Business Economy 2012 is on the Advocacy website: http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/SBE_2011_2.pdf.

The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed and Senate confirmed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policymakers. Regional advocates and an office in Washington, D.C., support the Chief Counsel’s efforts. For more information, visit http://www.sba.gov/advocacy, or call (202) 205-6533.

The post Small Firms Continue to Outperform Large Firms in Job Creation appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Designed to provide more consistent and timely tracking of the growing role of franchise businesses in the U.S. economy, the index was developed by IHS Global Insight on behalf of the IFA. The FBI combines indicators of growth in the industries where franchising is most prevalent and measures of the general economic environment for franchising.

“The franchise industry is a unique business sector and a vitally important contributor to the U.S. economy spanning some 300 lines of business, supporting nearly 18 million jobs, 825,000 establishments and providing for over $2.1 trillion in economic output,” said IFA President & CEO Steve Caldeira. “Measuring the strength of the franchise industry through the Franchise Business Index provides another indicator of the health of the economy as a whole. While the index shows we are moving in the right direction, more certainty in the tax and regulatory environments would help franchise businesses grow faster, creating more jobs and economic output at the local, state and national levels.”

Following a period of flat to declining values in mid-2011, the FBI turned up in September and has shown increases of 0.3 percent in three of the last five months.

Increases among the components of the index tied to the labor market and small business optimism contributed most to the February gain in the FBI. An improvement in consumer demand, which had been flat at the end of last year, gave a small boost to the index. Credit conditions showed no change in February.

IFA also released an update to its 2012 economic outlook prepared by IHS Global Insight in December 2011. The updated forecast shows little change from the initial forecast.

“Since our December 2011 forecast report was prepared, there have been a number of positive economic releases,” said James Gillula, managing director at IHS Global Insight. “However, negative factors that could restrain an economic rebound remain.”

The revised forecast indicates that the number of franchise establishments in the United States will increase by 1.6 percent in 2012, down slightly from the original forecast of 1.9 percent. Employment and economic output growth forecasts are unchanged at 2.1 percent and 5 percent respectively.

IFA plans to update the Franchise Business Economic Outlook on a quarterly basis beginning in 2012 instead of just an annual outlook.

Index, Jan 2000 = 100

Source: IHS Global Insight, March 2012

About The IFA Franchise Business Index

The Franchise Business Index is a measure of the economic environment for franchise business activity constructed with timely economic indicators that provide a current reading of the industry’s health. It combines indicators of the growth or decline of industries where franchise activity has historically been concentrated with measures of the demand for franchise business services and the general business environment.

The components of the IFA Franchise Business Index for the U.S. include:

• Employment in Franchise-intensive Industries* (BLS)
• Number of Self Employed* (BLS)
• Unemployment Rate* (BLS)
• Consumer Demand in Franchise-Intensive Services* (BEA)
• Small Business Optimism Index* (NFIB)
• Small Business Credit Conditions Index* (NFIB)

Research for the IFA Franchise Business Index and the quarterly forecast reports is underwritten by a generous grant from Jani-King International to the IFA Educational Foundation.

About the International Franchise Association

The International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. Celebrating over 50 years of excellence, education and advocacy, IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising. Through its media awareness campaign highlighting the theme, Franchising: Building Local Businesses, One Opportunity at a Time, IFA promotes the economic impact of the more than 825,000 franchise establishments, which support nearly 18 million jobs and $2.1 trillion of economic output for the U.S. economy. IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law and business development.

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The report includes detailed analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, offering updated estimates of the number of women-owned firms nationally and in all 50 states plus the District of Columbia. It compares the growth rates of women-owned businesses over two different time periods: 1997 to 2002 and 2007 to 2012. New to the 2012 report is analysis of the top 25 metropolitan areas and major industry groups. Among the most notable findings:

Between 1997 and 2012, when the number of businesses in the United States increased by 37%, the number of women-owned firms increased by 54%, a rate 1.5 times the national average. The number of women-owned companies has risen by 200,000 within the past year, equivalent to just under 550 new women-owned firms per day;

Women-owned firms are just as likely as all firms to generate in excess of half a million dollars in revenues annually in two industries: construction, where 13% of women-owned firms and 11% of all construction firms are pulling in more than $500,000 per year; and in transportation and warehousing, where 6% of each are generating $500,000 or more in revenues;

Women-owned firms are exceeding overall sector growth rates in seven of the 13 most populous (largest by number of businesses) industries: wholesale trade; finance and insurance; other services; real estate; health care and social assistance; construction and arts/entertainment/recreation;

Looking at the growth in the number of women-owned firms, comparing the 1997-2002 and 2007-2012 time periods, reveals that one of the biggest challenges for any small business is growing beyond the $250,000 to $499,999 revenue mark and at the 5 to 9 employee size class. Statistics show this revenue mark to be a particularly difficult hurdle for women-owned enterprises and as a result they perform below national averages.

In that same analysis, women-owned firms in the 2007-2012 period show stronger relative growth than do women-owned firms in the earlier period at the very highest revenue category – $1,000,000 and above.

“Even as women-owned firms continue to grow in number at rates exceeding the national average, enterprises at the $250,000 to $499,999 revenue mark are at a turning point in their development,” said Susan Sobbott, president of American Express OPEN. “In order to further advance and grow these businesses, new management tools must be implemented.”

Geographic Trends

The states with the fastest growth in the number of women-owned firms during the past 15 years:

1. Georgia (95%)

2. Nevada (92%)

3. North Carolina (83%)

4. Mississippi (75%)

5. Texas (75%)

The states with the lowest growth in the number of women-owned firms between 1997 and 2012 are:

1. Alaska (11%)

2. Iowa (21%)

3. West Virginia (22%)

4. Kansas (25%)

5. Ohio (25%)

The metropolitan areas with the highest combined economic clout, taking into consideration the growth in number of firms, revenue and employment, are:

1. Washington, D.C.

2. San Antonio, TX

3. Houston, TX

4. Baltimore, MD; Riverside, CA and Sacramento, CA (tied for fourth)

The full State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by American Express OPEN, is available at: www.openforum.com/womensbusinessreport.

Study Methodology

The State of Women-Owned Business Report, commissioned by American Express OPEN, is based on data from the United States Census Bureau, specifically their quinquennial business census, the Survey of Business Owners (SBO), which is conducted every five years in years ending in 2 and 7. Data from the past three censuses – 1997, 2002, and 2007 – were collated, analyzed and extrapolated forward to 2012, factoring in relative changes in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) not only nationally but also at industry and state levels. State-level GDP changes over the period of analysis are applied to our estimates of change at the metropolitan level.

This report was prepared for American Express OPEN by Womenable, a research, program and policy development consultancy whose mission is to improve the environment for women-owned businesses worldwide. Womenable pursues this mission by working with the stewards of women’s entrepreneurship around the world – policy makers, multi-lateral organizations, corporate decision makers, entrepreneurial support organizations and the women’s business community – to evaluate, implement and improve policies and programs to support women’s enterprise development. Learn more at www.womenable.com.

For detailed information on the 2002 and 2007 economic censuses, visit: http://www.census.gov/econ/census07/www/get_data.html. (The 1997 economic census is no longer available electronically.) A preview of upcoming changes for the 2012 economic census may be found at: http://www.census.gov/econ/census12/.

About American Express OPEN

American Express OPEN is the leading payment card issuer for small businesses in the United States and supports business owners with products and services to help them run and grow their businesses. This includes business charge and credit cards that deliver purchasing power, flexibility, rewards, savings on business services from an expanded lineup of partners and online tools and services designed to help improve profitability. Learn more at www.OPEN.com and connect with us at openforum.com and twitter.com/openforum.

American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at www.americanexpress.com and connect with us on www.facebook.com/americanexpress, www.twitter.com/americanexpress and www.youtube.com/americanexpress.

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