by Paul Mobley, MBA
From the category archives:
One of my targeted real estate brands is Homes Near Campus. As such I have been following the real estate market since 2003 near Biola University. Recently when reviewing the data I noticed a positive bounce in prices and a drop in inventory. Plus the days on market has stabilized. If this continues then my [...]
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I recently ordered some new business cards from OvernightPrints.com and was happy with the quality and price. A designer friend of mine recommended that I use them but only if I went with a matte finish and preset the Pantone/PMS colors in Illustrator (instead of expecting what was on the screen to match the printing). [...]
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Advanta has announced that they will be no longer offering small business credit cards. With only 3 days of warning they have indicated via e-mail and on their website they are no longer able to fund activity due to their own financing problems.
Small Business owners have appreciated the focus that Advanta has given them. Unfortenatly, [...]
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Small business has been told they’re going to be financing a portion of the most recent stimulus package. Any business that offers health care and is subject to federal COBRA or simular requirments under state law is required to pay 65 percent of the premium on behalf of the COBRA participants. To recover the subsidy [...]
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American Express has taken a step backwards in it’s small business focus.
In recent years, American Express OPEN has significantly expanded the range of card products that [they] provide to small business owners, and those products are at the core of how [they] meet the purchasing needs of [their] customers. As a result of our increasing [...]
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Do you know how much actual income is derived from your business? In real estate many investors have never sat down to see how much their property actually makes for them. To see how strong the business is you should first ignore financing, income taxes, and depreciation and find out the net operating income after [...]
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Doesn’t this so eloquently capture how we are all feeling about the current state of the financial markets? It would be even better if the Economist actually had published this cover. With these types of spoofs floating around the internet it’s clear that the market(s) have changed!! You’ll most likely have to make changes to [...]
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Some say that greed caused the markets to over price assets. Greed causes you to take on too much risk and ignore rational strategy and conservative business models.
Fear is actually stronger than both rational thought and greed. Fear leads to undervaluation and emotional transactions.
How will the current market madness imapact your business? Who knows? [...]
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We’re in an amazing time right now. Some have said that this is once in a lifetime economic event. It’s scary when Fortune 500 companies and governments (like the State of CA) are struggling to get financing and having major consequences as a result. What does that mean for small business owners who even in [...]
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The Fed failed to take action and liquidity concerns appear to have pushed up the mortgage rates today. Rates increased about 1/8% this afternoon after the announcement compared to what was available this morning. They’re trying to balance the need to stimulate the economy with the side-effects of higher inflation. With all the problems in [...]
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The Federal Reserve decided today to lower rates 0.25%.
Recent information indicates that economic activity remains weak. Household and business spending has been subdued and labor markets have softened further. Financial markets remain under considerable stress, and tight credit conditions and the deepening housing contraction are likely to weigh on economic growth over the next few [...]
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We’ll it’s official, we were not in a recession in the first quarter of 2008! GDP numbers released today show growth of 0.6%. That’s better than expected macro economic data. But what does it mean for you and you’re small business. First of all, microeconomics (i.e. your business) is much different than macroeconomics. I know [...]
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The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower its target for the federal funds rate 75 basis points to 2-1/4 percent.
Recent information indicates that the outlook for economic activity has weakened further. Growth in consumer spending has slowed and labor markets have softened. Financial markets remain under considerable stress, and the tightening of [...]
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The Fed made an unexpected move over the weekend by lowering rates 25 basis points. There is still a possibility that rates will drop lower after their meeting this week.
[UPDATE 03/17: The rate that the Fed changed over the weekend does not impact the prime rate (currently 6%). However, this change and the failure of [...]
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My bet is that the Fed drops rates by another 50 basis points this week. Which is great when you need to borrow for working capital needs … Bad if you’re looking for interest income.
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On Jim Cramer’s Mad Money there is a regular segment called “Am I Diversified?”. As a small business owner often the answer is a very clear NO! Most owners have a majority of their wealth invested in their business. While this strategy might be effective in the beginning of your career … it is [...]
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With the corporate filing deadline a few days away and personal taxes due in a little more than a month … you can’t deny that tax time is here. Bootstrapping teaches owners to try and keep expenses low. This is generally a good thing unless you’re planning on preparing your own taxes. As a small [...]
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There has been a lot of talk lately about the housing and credit. Most people know that their properties would appraise for less now than a year ago. But did you know that the softening market by itself changes the requirements for new loans? Wells Fargo is one of many lenders that has imposed a [...]
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For most small businesses the two companies that will have the greatest impact and issue “credit scores” are Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) and Experian. The D&B rating is compiled in their Paydex Score and Experian provides a business Credit Ranking Score.
In my experience, establishing a business line of credit for a corporation is based on [...]
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The secondary market for loans has dried except for “conforming” loans. This has made it hard for people to purchase or refinance real estate in an already difficult housing market. Here’s my summary of the good and bad of the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 that Bush will sign soon sign into law:
• The best [...]
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Before just jumping into advertising…you need to determine the type of experience that you want your users to have. Some businesses should never have advertising…for others it is a means of funding the operating costs of a service. TV is a good example, ABC doesn’t charge users a fee to watch their shows…but everyone knows [...]
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