Exactly who is getting stimulated by Obama's Stimulus Plan?

Not exactly entrepreneurs and small businesses. Small businesses make up 98% of all businesses in the world. A small business is considered any business with 100 employees or less. They employ half the population of working Americans.

Obama plans to sign into law his $787 BILLION stimulus package to revive the economy will billions going to health care, education and tax cuts for individuals.

He has also recently released the Small Business Emergency Rescue Plan to help out small businesses by making it easier to get loans.

Only time will tell what's going to happen. The idea of this stimulus plan is to have Americans pump more money into the economy, but as business owners become more savvy, this is going to be tough.

Only time can tell.

Contrary to what people may believe..

Retail has actually gone up 1% in January than it did Holiday Season.

Can you believe that? I can. I've noticed so many stores with unbelievable sales, but being from a working class family with a single mother and on top of that being a job-less college student (this has to change..), I couldn't even take advantage of most of these sales.

Personally I think the prices went rock bottom so people wouldn't be motivated to steal, but that's just me!

If you're looking to see the exact percentages of how high retail sales may have gotten in different industries, check it out here

The Art of Cutting Costs

You can find out more about entrepreneurs cutting costs by checking out this article but here are some obvious ways of saving money as the price of EVERYTHING, pretty much, goes up.

Chris Mazzili of the Gotham Comedy Club in NYC has switched to green products. (i.e. toilet paper, napkins, & paper towels) The key is to not have the customers notice. Since green products have developed past the tree-barky feeling of toilet paper and has now saved Chris Mazzili 10%-15% on paper supplies.

Craig Heurung, as sales manager of Speedee deliver has simply communicating to his truck drivers on how to conserve more gas. Easy things like not pressing on the breaks as often, turning off the engine whenever possible has saved him, and driving slowly to conserve more gas.

Now you know why those 18-wheelers drive so slow! Not because they're a clumsy vehicle, but also because it saves gas.

Have you learned your lesson?

The biggest lesson in entrepreneurship is to never give up, under any circumstance. This is probably the biggest lesson in life as well, or it should be. Well in an article from www.entrepreneuship.com has summarized all the lessons that we can learn with unexpected examples of who have taught them to us.

Here are my favorite ones:


Lebron James
Lesson: No matter how successful you are, keep growing and never become complacent.

Besides being compared to Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson with his basketball skills and helping the U.S. win gold inthe BeiJing Olympics in basketball, Lebron has steered towards the business and entrepreneurial side of things by dropping his marketing company to start his own LRMR Marketing. He has been learning Mandarin for the past 2 years for more business opportunities. Lebron is only 24.

Sky's the Limit!


Jon Stewart
Lesson: You'll be more successful if you earn customers' trust.

I know I'm not the only one that thinks Jon Stewart is uproariously funny. In fact, most of America does. That's why people have almost considered "The Daily Show" as the real news! It's all through trust. And when his "history textbook" came out, poking fun at American History over the years, it sold well.

Since when did being bad feel so good?

The answer is almost always! That's why up and coming entrepreneurs have thought about the cleverest ways to market to the all those who've committed one, or two, or all, of the 7 deadly sins.

Here's an overall look at the 3 of the 7 deadly sins, and how some smart cookies have successfully used it to market their goods/services.


Pride
Charisma-Coach-for-Hire. Alot of people suffer from lack of confidence and you can't have that as the head of any business! Alot of higher ranking business people have used the services of Olivia Foxe-Cabbane...half a million a year to be exact, just to be taught to have pride and confidence in themselves.


Lust
Secretly, everyone's favorite sin, right? Ever mixed lust with delicious food? Well that was Amy Reilly's idea. Just when you had enough of those stupid Asian-French or American-Carribean fusion restaurants that think their idea of delicious is to absolutely shake and stir the beauty of culture onto a plate, Amy's idea is golden. No idea what I'm talking about? Check out her website www.eatmesomethingsexy.com

Sex Sells!

Gluttony
Wine is an indulgence. Something that you sit back and enjoy. That's why Saurabh Abrol created his website www.winechateu.com as an online wine seller marketing to anyone 21+.



If you want to know something more about the 4 other sin, check it out here

Just when you thought you could breathe out...

gas prices on the rise again! And obviously it affects every aspect of a small business owner. But even in this dowdy economic condition, some people still have the luxury of going about their everyday lives without adjusting their budget. Hopefully things will look way up in 8-10 years when I decide to open my store.

I read this article via www.watchmefranchise.com and got the 10 ways rising fuel costs can affect small businesses. Some of them are obviously valid, some of them, I can debate.

1. Direct Cost Increase
Well, presuming that I actually start driving myself around when I get older and as I get up on my own feet after opening my store, I won't have a chauffeur. So the trips to Fed-Ex or picking up shipment, etc., multiple times a week would probably drill a couple holes in my wallet.

2. Increased Shipping Costs
Vendors will charge more to ship.

3. More Reliance on E-mail and Fax
Not like it's not like that now. But imagine relying solely on this technology.

4. Less Employee Candidates
I don't think this will be a problem if a person truly desires a job. You can hire friends or acquaintances.

5. Higher Wages for Employees
It's funny how the economy has faltered but yet the minimum wage in MASS has risen from $7.50 to $8. Thank you Mr. Patrick!

6. Less Face to Face Meetings
I don't think this one's too valid. I don't plan on having too many employees working for me when I start off anyways. And plus, they better drive out to see me if I'm their boss!

7. Higher Prices for Prime Locations
Definitely! For downtown locations or locations close to train stops. I don't plan on opening my store in the boonies, so.

8. Less Drive by Traffic
No problem if you get a prime location, right?

9. Consumers with Less Disposable Income
This one's a biggie! I can actually relate this to myself. I used to shop, but now it's a luxury to just buy something small. People are also more motivated to steal.

10. Less Profit per Sale
PROFIT=SUCCESS.

here's the link to the article

Creativity+Recession=Entrepreneur's Best Chance

I read over some articles on Entrepreneur.com. I want to open my own store one day but I also wanted develop a strong background in Fashion Merchandising in my college career because what I believe is that entrepreneurship and the most successful entrepreneurs are not neccesarily college graduates. All you need is the hunger and the drive and the determination. Already being in debt to the government (College, College, College..tsk, tsk), without money and only taking chances, some entrepreneurs have soared to unseen heights of success. Being an entrepreneur is truly the American dream for me, not working under a boss my whole life.

The article is titled "Recession = More Creativity + Higher Rates of Entrepreneurship" by Jennifer Wang

People's creativy have continually increased during our times of recession. The recent loss of millions of jobs has had some Americans totally down in the dumps, and moping, but with other Americans, it has only made them more determined. Welcome to the real world where people get fired and have to get back on their feet. Not trying to be cliche, but there is always opportunity in adversity.

When things are good, people are savoring the financial comfort. But this recession has provided the neccesary shock for the people to get up and get something and to think for themselves. There are some reputable companies that started during a recession: Burger King, MTV. Stephen Fuller, chair of the public policy department of George Mason Univ. jokes, "Some of the unemployed are out there starting the future AOLs and Apples. If I knew who they were, I'd invest in them". And who doesn't want to be invested in? Whether it's investing trust or the stock market.

XOXO
Amy

Oh, here's the link to the article in case you're just itching to find out more.