Occupy Wall Street: Hurting Small Business? Your Business and Your Life

Occupy Wall Street: Hurting Small Business?

Small business owners seem to be getting sick of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Though it claims to represent the 99 percent of Americans not in millionaire status, small business owners only see the trouble that has been caused for them in communities where the protests occur. See the report on small businesss concerns with the movement and hear what the Chairman of the Fed has to say about the importance of small businesses to economic recovery. Its all coming up with plenty of small business tips thrown in for good measure in todays roundup.

News

How Occupy Wall Street may be hurting small businesses. Its been talked about before, but there is tangible evidence that from New York to Oakland protest encampments may be hurting small businesses even though protesters claim these folks as part of the 99 percent and certainly not the elite. Has your small business been hurt?

Bernanke: were important to the recovery. Regardless of articles circulating in the mainstream press recently, it would seem the Chairman of the Federal Reserve still realizes the vital role our small business community plays in any long term economic recovery. Read what he has to say.

Finance & Education

When seeking investors, dont do these things. Investment isnt the only way to start or expand your small business, but if you decide that seeking investors is the route you wish to take, be sure to avoid these pitfalls in the process. Seeking investors the right way will save you many frustrations and headaches down the road.

. Entrepreneurs need to keep learning, from updating new skills to more information about their companies and business in general. Today, the Internet offers many options and more are on the way.

Marketing Basics

How listings, maps and reviews in Google Places make all the difference. If you want to get business from your listing in Google Places, youd better be able to maximize that listing with SEO, reviews and other Google Places optimization to be sure your company gets the attention it deserves.

Youre on social media, but are you listening? Fred Caballero recently decided to test whether three major gaming companies would reach out to him while he considered which of their gaming consoles to buy. Guess what! These brands may have huge Facebook followings, but theyre not listening. Are you?

Resources

Exploring Google Plus business pages. Youve heard the long awaited Google Plus business pages are here. We now look at some of the features these pages have to offer for the small business community. Have you created a page for your company?

How to grow your small business crop. Dr. Shannon Reese shares these ideas for small business owners about how to grow your business starting with the seeds of peak performance. Youll want to check out her detailed planting instructions to see that you reap a bountiful small business harvest.

Branding

Always have fun with your small business. Whatever you do, it doesnt need to be boring. Here David Siteman Garland shows that even an invoice can be fun and can show off your creativity. Your small business is a reflection of your own personality. Make sure you use that personality to brand your business in a way customers cant ignore.

Innovative ways to market your brand. Along with shaking things up in other departments, marketing should never be boring. One option, says Torrey McGraw, is to use the exciting format of video to take your small business marketing to a whole new level. See Torreys list of tips for enhancing your video efforts.

Your Business and Your Life