PayPal has been an integral part of the eBay experience for years. But this week, the companies announced that they are officially separating to grow more quickly in their respective markets. In addition, the Small Business Administration added advanced manufacturing to its priority list of SBA backed investments this week.
Those are just a few of the headlines making an impact on the small business world this week. Read on for a full list of business and technology headlines in this week’s Small Business Trends news and information roundup.
Finance
What Will the PayPal Spinoff From eBay Mean to Businesses?
You may have heard about the planned PayPal spinoff from eBay. ebay recently announced the plan to split the companies into separate publicly-traded companies next year. But what exactly does this mean for the millions of businesses that rely upon eBay or PayPal or both to operate their businesses? Well, theoretically, the change should be a benefit, especially for PayPal users.
SBA Fund Adds Manufacturing, Lifts $200 Million Limit
The Small Business Administration has just added advanced manufacturing to a national priority list for SBA backed investment. It has also raised a $200 million annual limit on the amount of funding to support investment in these sectors. The SBA’s Impact Investment Fund was initially launched in 2011 to support the growth and development of America’s impact investment industry.
Legal
Law Will Prevent Punishment for Bad Reviews
The state of California has passed a law that appears to prevent businesses from trying to punish customers financially for a poor review online. The law is apparently a response to several high profile cases in which businesses, upset by the new weight placed on customer feedback online, tried to fight back.
Employment
Is Hidden Gender Discrimination Hurting Your Business?
Do women employees at your company feel like they’re at a disadvantage compared to men? Even if you believe you’re a very equal-opportunity employer, and even if you’re a woman yourself, your female employees may not feel the same.
The Employee Benefit That Costs Little But Delivers Big
Some high-flying Silicon Valley companies are famous for the perks they provide to their employees. One of those perks at the top of the list consists of free food and beverages. Not only do many of those companies provide coffee, soft drinks and snacks, but quite a few actually have full restaurants on site serving hot meals each day.
Green Business
You Could Soon Buy Furniture That Was Built by Bacteria
When you buy a piece of furniture, you can be reasonably sure that it was designed and built by people. But in the future, that might not be the case. In fact, you might be able to purchase furniture and similar structures that are literally grown from bacteria. Yes, bacteria – the microorganisms that are found in most habitats throughout the world.
Management
When to Give Business Gifts and Who to Give Them to
You don’t have to wait for the holidays to send out business gifts. There are several different groups of people that might warrant gift giving. But if you’re wondering when to give business gifts and who to give them to, a general rule of thumb is to send gifts to the people who help make your company great. In general, this includes clients, employees, and certain service providers.
Business Gift Giving Etiquette and Mistakes to Avoid
Giving gifts to clients or business associates can be an awkward experience if you don’t know the etiquette behind it. If you purchase a gift that is too expensive or not aligned with the recipient’s interests, your good intentions may be overshadowed by the gaffe.
Marketing Tools
Name Any Color Imaginable With This Color Thesaurus
Have you ever had trouble correctly labeling certain colors? Well, you won’t have that problem again, thanks to writer and children’s book illustrator Ingrid Sundberg, who cleverly created a color thesaurus to help you name any color imaginable.
Track Customer Loyalty Without a Punch Card Using FiveStars App
For years, businesses have been using punch cards to track customer loyalty and offer rewards. But now there’s another, more technically advanced, option for businesses. The FiveStars app, created by FiveStars, a San Francisco-based startup that sells marketing software, is aimed at helping small to medium sized businesses retain customers.
Using Awesome Video to Debut and Display Your Products
If you didn’t happen to catch the video stream of the recent Apple event it was kicked-off by an amazing video that set the tone for the event and reminded people, in spectacular fashion, what Apple stands for. Stunning video was used again to debut the iPhone 6 and the long-awaited Apple Watch. Never has a watch looked so cool, so sexy, and so desirable.
Small Biz Spotlight
Spotlight on Wheeldo: Every Site Should Have A “Sticky” Quiz
All the “cool kids” — the experts — advise you to have a content marketing strategy. But the more content everyone creates, the harder it becomes for YOUR content to stand out. A startup called Wheeldo thinks the answer to that is gamification. That’s a big word that simply means creating content that is fun or competitive.
Social Media
Facebook Atlas Tailors Ads for Multiple Devices and Sites
A new advertising offering from Facebook will allow businesses to reach consumers in a new way no matter what device they’re using. It also helps track whether someone sees an ad and decides to make purchases offline. Facebook will re-introduce Atlas this week as one of the highlights of Advertising Week. Atlas is a company that Facebook purchased from Microsoft.
Does the Shelving of Mandatory Gmail Integration in Google+ Mean the End is Near?
Google has gone to valiant lengths to convince us that rumors of Google+’s demise have been greatly exaggerated, but Google is no longer forcing new Gmail users to connect their account to a Google+ profile – yet another move that could signal the end for Google’s troubled social network. Rumors of the decoupling of Google+ and Gmail first surfaced in the spring.
Did You Know You Can Blog On Facebook?
Did you know that Facebook offers another option for sharing with your friends and fans? It is a longer form communication much more like LinkedIn’s professional publishing platform. And it may be worth a look if your brand has a bit more to share than a recent photo or a link to your latest blog post.
Technology Trends
Motorola’s Shamu Will Offer a Whale of a Smartphone Screen
You may need a bigger boat for what Motorola is dubbing Shamu, a nearly 6-inch phablet device that’s expected later this year. The new Motorola Shamu device may actually be called Nexus X by the time it’s released.
Microsoft Unveils Windows 10, But What Happened to Windows 9?
Microsoft has unveiled its new Microsoft Windows 10 operating system. Of course, if you’re scoring at home, you’re thinking there was Windows 7 and then Windows 8. Now, Microsoft is introducing Windows 10. So, what happened to Windows 9? In fact, in an official release on Windows 10 in the Microsoft News Center, there is no mention of Windows 9 at all.
Samsung Throws a Curve with a Giant Display on the Gear S Smartwatch
The display on the new Samsung Gear S smartwatch may not be the first in the company’s line of wearables to feature a curved face. But with a 2-inch OLED display, it is certainly the largest. And with 3G connectivity, the Gear S is one of the few smartwatches allowing you to get online even if you are nowhere near your smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy Alpha Features Compact Metal Construction
Samsung is about to release its latest smartphone on the market. The Galaxy Alpha will be available this week. At first, AT&T is the exclusive carrier of the new device. Samsung says that the Galaxy Alpha smartphone is the first example of its new design approach.
Shellshock Bug: See if Your Business Is at Risk
Just a few months ago, the Web was buzzing about the Heartbleed vulnerability. Now there’s a new security vulnerability in town — and its name is Shellshock. “Bash Shell Shock,” as it is also known, was discovered and reported by French security researcher Stephane Chazelas earlier this month.
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The one I find the most interesting of the lot is the furniture made by bacteria. Fascinating on the one hand – really fascinating – but not something I think I’d want to sit on.