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SBA an Important Advocate for Small Business Owners

Some people seem to have an almost Pavlovian reaction to my columns and blogs (on other sites) when I mention the Small Business Administration (SBA). They’ll rant and rave in the comments sections about how the SBA isn’t really serving “true” small businesses; or wonder why, in a capitalist system, the government is helping small businesses in the first place; or bemoan SBA programs aimed at helping women, minorities, and other “disadvantaged” business owners. A select few go so far as to declare that the agency consists of a bunch of government bureaucrats who know nothing about business in general, and small business in particular.

And then there are the countless existing and aspiring U.S. politicians, who while running for office last summer constantly droned on about how this policy or that program was “bad for America’s small business owners.” Depending on which candidate was talking, we learned that things like the “death tax and health care reform were likely to destroy the small business infrastructure in the United States.

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Tags: Business, Small Business

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Walgreens’ Q2 profits up 10%

Walgreen Co. reported a profit of $739 million, or 80 cents per diluted share, on revenues of $18.5 billion for its fiscal 2011 second quarter, which ended Feb. 28. That compares to a profit of $669 million, or 68 cents per diluted share, on revenues of $16.9 billion for the same quarter last year.

Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) operated 8,161 stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam as of Feb. 28; there are 10 Walgreens stores in Hawaii, according to PBN research.

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MSU projection: Michigan tourism outlook brightens

Michigan tourism spending is poised to rise an estimated 4 percent this year, creating a second consecutive growth year for the industry, according to a forecast released Monday.

In addition, tourism volume and prices will rise 3 percent, according to Michigan State University’s annual projection at the Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism 2011 in Kalamazoo.

The modest, two-year recovery follows three years of downturns. Spending fell 13 percent to $15.1 billion in 2009, the last year for which information is available. Early indicators, however, point to growth last year.

Gasoline prices of $3.50 a gallon or higher are a concern — especially with instability and continued fighting in the Middle East — but the rising costs could boost regional travel for people who don’t want to drive far or fork out for costly airfare, said Dan McCole, an assistant professor of commercial recreation and tourism at Michigan State University.

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Tags: Michigan Tourism, Tourism

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So What’s With the Bank Dividends?

Oh, so “some” banks ?

Overall, both the quantity and quality of capital at many large bank holding companies have improved since the financial crisis, the Fed said. The return of capital to shareholders under appropriate conditions is a step in the process of improvement in the financial sector and will help to promote banks long-term access to capital.

Really? Is there actual coverage of bank “assets” by actual capital? How about second lines on homes, for instance?

There are a few people who I converse with on the forum and elsewhere who have been looking through some offerings of these loans, and also tracking their performance. I’ve long argued that one of the big scams with bank balance sheets is that these loans are, as second lines, worthless if there is a mortgage default and the home is worth less than the first.

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Tags: Bank, Bank Dividends

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The Many Faces of a Successful Entrepreneur

How many faces do you have? Are you two-faced? Or do you, like Eve in that old movie, have three faces? Perhaps you’re like Sybil and have nearly two dozen. This question is not as odd as it may appear (and I’m not probing to see if you have a personality disorder).

I long ago discovered that I needed an arsenal of faces I could draw from that were appropriate to the situation I was in at the moment. Many years ago I was visiting New York and feeling a bit heady after an appearance on “Good Morning America.” My aunt asked my niece, who was six at the time (she’s now all grown up and, followed my footsteps into the world of publishing), “Wasn’t that exciting to see Aunt Rieva on TV?” My niece’s response: “What’s the big deal? It’s only Aunt Rieva.” Or as my brother likes to say, “People actually pay to hear you speak?”

While it may seem like my family thinks their job is to make sure I don’t get a swollen head, in reality they just don’t see me as a public figure.

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Tags: Faces, Faces Successful

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