http://www.createacorporationonline.com Start a company online Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:00:18 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Readers, we are no longer updating this blog starting today. You can find the “Independent Street” blog in the “Archive” section of our blog pages. For expanded coverage of small-business issues and trends, explore our main page at WSJ.com/SmallBusiness. Many thanks to all. http://www.createacorporationonline.com/2009/09/01/%e2%80%9cindependent-street%e2%80%9d-blog-is-now-archived/ - Main Street businesses still aren’t hiring. Last month, small businesses shed more than four times as many employees as larger businesses did, according to payroll processor ADP. [CNNMoney.com] - As small-business owners try to cut travel costs, they’re increasingly looking to Web conferencing. Fuze, Zoho Meeting and GoToMeeting are ... http://www.createacorporationonline.com/2009/06/06/friday-memos-29/ - More small business owners are opting to take a less expensive vacation and are feeling less guilty about taking time off compared to last year, according to this week’s release of results from an American Express survey of business owners. But four out of 10 business owners don’t plan ... http://www.createacorporationonline.com/2009/06/06/friday-memos-28/ - America’s Recovery Capital, the new emergency loan program of up to $35,000 for small businesses, was introduced this week by the Small Business Administration. The so-called ARC loans are specifically for companies that in the past were profitable but are struggling or have been making loan payments but are ... http://www.createacorporationonline.com/2009/05/23/friday-memos-27/ It’s finally happening. Efforts to get money to capital-strapped small businesses are beginning to work, as banks have returned to making loans backed by the federal government, says Karen Gordon Mills, the new Small Business Administration head. More than 10,000 Recovery Act loans have been approved, which represents about $3 ... http://www.createacorporationonline.com/2009/05/18/sba-loan-programs-getting-back-on-track-mills-says/ Congress is gearing up for the big battle for health-care coverage, expected to come to the fore this summer. In the meantime, ideas for small businesses are beginning to surface. The newest proposal comes from Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.). More than half of the ... http://www.createacorporationonline.com/2009/05/18/senators-propose-plan-to-help-small-businesses-pay-for-health-coverage/ - Answering calls from struggling auto dealers, the Small Business Administration announced today it will temporarily offer alternate size standards to qualify for its popular 7(a) loan program. Businesses with under $8.5 million in net worth and less than $3 million in net income the preceding two ... http://www.createacorporationonline.com/2009/05/03/friday-memos-26/ There’s an assumption that the strength (or weakness) of the U.S. dollar has direct impact on the vitality of small U.S. retailers, especially now that the global economy has become so interconnected. But a new study finds that the dollar’s strength compared with foreign currencies has little effect on the ... http://www.createacorporationonline.com/2009/05/03/dollar%e2%80%99s-strength-has-little-effect-on-small-retailers-big-effect-on-wholesalers/ Just as you recover from tax day, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council offers its analysis of the best and worst states when it comes to taxes. The “Business Tax Index 2009: Best to Worst State Tax Systems for Entrepreneurship and Small Business,” ranks the 50 states and District of ... http://www.createacorporationonline.com/2009/04/17/best-and-worst-states-for-small-business-taxation/ Thinking about leasing office space for your small business or start-up? Now might be a good time to shop around. Corporate downsizing and business closures are leading to much higher commercial vacancies in many U.S. metropolitan areas. Rising vacancies means many landlords are eager to woo new tenants to their space ... http://www.createacorporationonline.com/2009/04/17/commercial-landlords-lower-rents-offer-incentives-to-small-firms/