This Week in Small Business: Dish Mobs - NYTimes.com

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A weekly roundup of small-business developments.

What?s affecting me, my clients and other small-business owners this week.

The State of the Union: ?Incredibly Ambitious?

The president delivers an ?incredibly ambitious? State of the Union address. Republicans respond by taking an awkward water break and saying the speech dims hopes for a deficit-reduction deal. Here?s a summary in graphs. Kent Hoover thinks President Obama gave little attention to small businesses, and John Tozzi explains what happened to his big plans. Preschoolers just find him boring. Here are 17 brilliant faces Joe Biden made during the speech. Professional employer organizations applaud the president?s commitment to lifting burdens on small businesses. As mentioned in the speech, Apple will make Macs in the United States (but create only 200 jobs). The president and business groups differ on minimum wage, and a business coach explains why folksiness works in speeches.

The Budget: Big Cuts

The United States posts a $3 billion surplus for January and the slower growth of health costs is easing the deficit. Tax revenues are expected to double by 2023. Richard Kogan shows just how big the pending automatic sequestration cuts will be, and Catherine Clifford explains how the cuts could affect small businesses.

The Economy: A Gulf in Optimism

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that job openings were little changed from the previous month. Gas prices hit a historic high. Small-business confidence is still low, and Catherine Rampell reports on the gulf in optimism between small and large businesses. Affluent Americans are downbeat on the economy, and even though there?s some consumer optimism, Americans are struggling to save. Export price deflation continues, and Brian Lane investigates what?s behind the declining number of factories. But machine-tool orders rose in December, and farmers enjoyed their strongest net income in 40 years. Retail sales increased for the third straight month.

Marketing: Dish Mobs

American Express introduces a purchase-by-tweet service, and Emily Guy Birken explains how retailers manipulate their customers into spending. This is the best Final Jeopardy answer ever. G.B. Oliver has advice for getting blogs to mention your products. Here are three marketing tips for lawyers, and here are seven magical marketing lessons from Disney World. Prowling ?dish mobs? aim to benefit local restaurants. Bobbi Klein says that your best friend may hold the keys to your next big client. And make sure you are not making these five sales mistakes.

Your People: Plotting an Exit?

And speaking of mistakes, here are four not to make when managing older employees. Bacardi Bottling faces penalties for alleged safety violations after a temporary worker?s death. Warm weather makes it harder to think straight. A start-up reinvents the workplace with reclaimed pallets. Rob Toledo offers ways to collaborate with coworkers remotely. E-mail, surfing the Internet and watching TV are among the worst office-productivity killers. In a sign of economic recovery, more people are quitting their jobs, and Brian O?Connell warns that your best employees may be plotting an exit. A Canadian university?s ?puppy room? offers stress relief during exams.

Men Versus Women: Socially Savvy

Female-owned small and mid-size businesses are more upbeat and socially savvy than those owned by males. These are the jobs with the biggest (and smallest) pay gaps between men and women. Female entrepreneurs say search engine optimization and social media are the future of? marketing. Anne Marie Slaughter, a former director of policy planning for the State Department, explains how companies can make life better for both women and men. Angel investors are looking to finance companies led by women in Ohio (and beyond). A leading mobile and online advertising company does a ?data dive? and finds that men and women behave differently on the phone. A high school girl makes a shot that must be seen to be believed.

Management: Five Hot Franchises

Justin Timberlake joins the ?dumb creative director? hiring boom. Carnival customers experience another cruise-ship nightmare, and Will Ferrell handles security at a Lakers game. Rhonda Campbell says it?s time to automate your business processes to save time and money. The owner of an auto-detail business explains the importance of details like calling people back on the same day. These are five hot franchises you may want to consider, and here?s how doing a store makeover can take your business to the next level.

Online: Social Media in 20 Minutes a Day

Here are five W?s that are instrumental to your Web site?s success. Debbie Hemley lists 26 ways to market your business with Tumblr. Michael Boland explains what Google?s enhanced campaigns mean for small- and mid-sized businesses: ?Google is using the stick instead of the carrot.? Google Plus is gaining ground with brand marketers. Chris Silver Smith says there are thousands of things small businesses can do to improve their ranking and appearance in search engine results, but the top S.E.O. tactic right now is to incorporate the author markup. Saman Kouretchian says there are four reasons your small business needs to be on YouTube. Amanda Jacobs has tips for managing your social media in 20 minutes a day. This guy puts an end to Harlem Shake videos.

Red Tape: Most-Taxed Cities

Virginia cuts its state employees? hours to avoid providing health care coverage. The Obama administration introduces a Smart Disclosure Data community to ?empower Americans with the data and tools they need to make more informed choices in the marketplace.? Here?s why you should take advantage of government contracting opportunities. These are the 10 most taxed cities in the United States, and this is not a good way to watch an archery competition.

S.B.A.: Karen Mills Steps Down

The economic environment is turning around for America?s small businesses, according to a new report released by the Small Business Administration. The S.B.A. recognizes Doreen Wade as the Massachusetts Small Business Person of the Year. It also announces one webinar series promoting entrepreneurship education and small-business growth and another about retirement savings plans for small-business owners and their employees. The S.B.A. also announces a program to train entrepreneurs in underserved communities. The National Small Business Innovation Research Conference is scheduled for May 14-16 in Washington. And Karen Mills steps down as head of the agency.

Finance: Managing Receivables

This is everything you need to know about offering trade credit. A Main Street lender raises $42 million. Meredith Wood says that ?only accepting checks? is one of six ineffective ways to manage receivables. Matthew Toren outlines seven steps to ensure a successful online fundraising campaign. A panel discusses the secrets for start-ups looking to work with big corporations. Jeff Thomson says that there are signs that indicate when a small business needs a chief financial officer.

Around the Country: Your Favorite Small Business

A Russian company opens a location in northern Kentucky, and zombies attack Montana. Joe Brancatelli believes that the the US Airways-American merger will ?stink for business travelers, at least for a while.? An unofficial spokesman for the Heart Attack Grill dies of a heart attack. Banana Joe wins big at the Westminster Dog Show. North Carolina approves steep benefit cuts for the jobless. A subcontracting school is introduced in Washington, D.C. A contest lets you nominate your favorite small business to win a $5,000 giveaway.

Around the World: It?s Raining Spiders

Economist Mark J. Perry predicts an acceleration in global economic growth, the 30 most powerful bankers explain how to fix the world economy (hint: let the bond market do it), and Paul Krugman says Sweden has the answers to America?s tax problems. The International Energy Agency trims its outlook on global oil demand. The European Union and United States are negotiating a potentially game-changing free trade deal. Industrial production in Europe increases more than expected but Germany?s economy shrinks and Anthony Harrington wonders if Britain is going bust. But the London Stock Exchange is changing its rules to try to lure the next Google. Spiders rain down on Brazil. India?s industrial output shrinks again, and its car sales are the worst in a decade. China tops the United States in global trade, while Japan?s economy sinks deeper. Egypt bans YouTube for a month. Here?s how long it takes to become a millionaire in various countries.

Technology: Apple?s New Products

A privately held Dell may be a boon for entrepreneurs. Microsoft plans to introduce interactive TV shows before the end of the year. Bill Gates says he likes to ?tour interesting things with my kids, like power plants, garbage dumps, the Large Hadron Collider, Antarctica, missile Silos.? QuickBooks Online gets an iPad app to help small businesses do their books on the go. A tech analyst expects the small and medium-size business cloud market to grow. Apple has 100 people working on a wristwatch ? and a bunch of other interesting products reportedly in development. Here?s everything you need to know about 3D printing, and here?s what happens to those kids who win the Google Science Fair.

Tweet of the Week

@neiltyson ? Times have changed: Kennedy: ?Let?s go to the moon.? Obama: ?Lets repair our infrastructure.?

The Week?s Best

Brad Farris says that giving honest, immediate feedback is a leader?s first job: ?Good feedback is future-oriented, giving people something to move toward, not something to move away from. When you tell someone, ?I never want you to say that again,? that says what not to do, but isn?t very helpful about what he could or should be doing. Try offering your feedback in the form of ?I wish ?? or ?I?d like to see ?? or ?How could we ?? These phrases offer a direction for the person to pursue.?

This Week?s Question: Has your company made a Harlem Shake video? (Will you promise not to?)

Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. You can follow him on Twitter.

Source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/this-week-in-small-business-dish-mobs/

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