Solutions for Small Biz Guides

"There are two things that are important in politics," Mark Hanna, the great Republican kingmaker of the late 19th century, once said. "The first thing is money, and I can't remember what the second one is."

The Supreme Court has ruled that corporations have a free reign in campaign advertising.  (But bloggers have to tell whether they received a review copy of a book). 

The US Supreme Court threw out regulations that prohibited corporations from buying campaign commercials that explicitly advocate the election or defeat of candidates.

Democrats called the ruling a threat to democracy.

Republicans cheered it as a victory for free speech.

I call it the ultimate case for paid speech.  And I'm a journalist who gets paid for speaking out. Right?  Will multinational corporations take our local concerns into consideration...or their global scale interests?  Who will buy their votes?  Is there any transparency mandated in this corporate sponsorship of political advertising? Do they have to tell us who is influencing their messages?  And who will benefit from their advocacy?  Will the FTC monitor, and regulate their "speech"?    

It has always disturbed me that corporations have ALL the rights of an INDIVIDUAL except voting.  And dying a timely death.  Now we're breaking the barrier that lets them buy votes, so I guess we're close to giving corporate directors the corporate vote.

What I can't understand is how these employees put corporate interests so far ahead of their spouse, children, parents, friends, neighbors and employees' spouses, children, parents, friends, neighbors and small business service providers.  How do they lose their humanity when they sign those big checks?

There are a lot of questions we need to ask...but have you ever tried to ask a corporate director a question?  Did you get through...and get an answer?  

Oh yes, "The first thing that matters is money..."

Newswise -- An international report on new business development  includes the first global study of social entrepreneurship. In 2009, 49 national teams collected data on social entrepreneurial activity. It covered any activity with a social purpose, including social or community work, for profit or non-profit, and incorporated or non-incorporated.

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) includes a study of the prevalence of people engaged in entrepreneurial activities with a social goal, whether profit or non-profit, public or private.

Siri A. Terjesen, assistant professor of strategic management and international entrepreneurship and her co-authors found that the average rate of social entrepreneurship activity increases slightly with economic development.

"Individuals in richer countries, having satisfied their own basic needs, may be more likely to turn to the needs of others," they wrote in the report. "In other words, the opportunity cost of social entrepreneurship may be higher in developing countries.

"On the other hand, social and environmental problems are often more prevalent in developing countries," they added. "Another reason for this finding is that the definitions of a traditional enterprise and a social enterprise may overlap in developing countries, whereas they may be more distinct in developed counties."

For example, they found that social and business entrepreneurship overlap "quite significantly" in places such as Peru, Columbia, Venezuela and Jamaica.

More holistic definitions of entrepreneurship are needed

"A significant minority of social entrepreneurs, particularly in developing countries, appear to wish to have a profitable business that at the same time addresses social issues," the report said. "This demonstrates that for many people, the categories of 'social' and 'business' entrepreneur are artificial, and more holistic definitions of entrepreneurship are needed if we are to capture the true extent of this phenomenon."

• Countries with the highest prevalence of social entrepreneurs in the 2009 GEM sample included United Arab Emirates, the United States, Iceland and Argentina.
  
• Countries with few social entrepreneurs included Guatemala, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.

Sectors of Robust Social Entrepreneurship

The GEM report found that socially oriented entrepreneurs are found in a variety of areas --education, health, culture, economic development and the environment. Among them, specific issues differed across economic groups.

Factor-Driven Economies

For example, many social entrepreneurs in factor-driven economies - which are highly sensitive to world economic cycles, commodity price trends and exchange rate fluctuations - tend to focus on "more elementary issues and pressing needs" such as such as providing health care, access to sanitation and fresh water and agricultural activities in rural areas.

Innovation-Driven Economies

Many of those in innovation-driven countries focus on recycling, nature protection, providing services for disabled persons and even open-source activities such as online social networking.

Siri A. Terjesen, assistant professor of strategic management and international entrepreneurship, produced the social entrepreneurship component of the report with Rachida Justo of the Instituto de Empresa in Spain and Jan Lepoutre of Ghent University in Belgium.

Since 1998, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor has become the world's most comprehensive research consortium dedicated to understanding the relationship between entrepreneurship and national economic development. GEM provides the most comprehensive comparative data about attitudes toward entrepreneurs, start-up business activities, and plans for starting and building businesses, globally, by geographic region and by country.

The complete GEM report, which is based on interviews with at least 2,000 people in 54 countries, is available online at http://www.gemconsortium.org/ and provides further details about social entrepreneurship and many other global entrepreneurial findings.

Two  grant programs are available with ARRA funding to support the training and development of the skilled workforce required to support broad adoption and use of health information technology (health IT). 

National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P.,  announced the availability of
 
Information Technology Professionals in Health Care:

• Program of Assistance for University-Based Training Programs (University-Based Training Program)
• Competency Examination for Individuals (Competency Examination Program).

Authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the grants will strengthen and support the health IT workforce.

University Based Health IT Competency Training Program
The new grant programs will award $32 million to establish university-based certificate and advanced degree health IT training programs

University Based Health IT Competency Exam Program
$6 million dollars to develop a health IT competency examination program.

Community College Consortia Grants
These awards, together with the previous announced $80 million in workforce program grants (Community College Consortia on Nov. 24, 2009, and Curriculum Development Centers on Dec. 15, 2009), recognize the critical importance of developing a well-trained health IT workforce to support the adoption and meaningful use of health IT.

Applications are due by Jan. 25, 2010, with final awards expected in March 2010. 

Entrepreneurial Leaders

Studied over an extended period of time, publicly traded stocks of companies led by entrepreneurs consistently outperform non-entrepreneurs by a wide margin, according to research by Babson Associate Professor Joel M. Shulman, associate professor of entrepreneurship.

These entrepreneurial leadership results ring true even after comparing the entrepreneurial group against non-entrepreneur peers adjusted for industry sector, market size, geographic territory, and time period of study, according to Shulman.

Shulman suggests that because entrepreneurs try to keep costs low while vigorously growing the business, entrepreneurial companies are well positioned to perform better than ever in a sluggish, recovering economy.

Shulman's recent update on stocks for calendar 2009 show:

• Stocks of entrepreneur-led companies significantly outperform non entrepreneurs (YTD through 12/1/09, 650+ global entrepreneurs are up 93%);
  
• Stocks of "bureaucrat" companies underperform non-bureaucrats and entrepreneurs by a wide margin (these are stocks that individuals would sell or sell short);
• Stocks of entrepreneur-led companies continue to outperform non-entrepreneurs even after adjusting by market cap size, sector, geography, or time period.

Joel Shulman. "Investing in Troubled times: Entrepreneurs Are Your Safest Bet", The Investment Professional, Fall 2009 http://www.theinvestmentprofessional.com/vol_2_no_4/investing-in-troubled-times.html

Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., is recognized internationally as a leader in entrepreneurial management education. Babson grants BS degrees through its innovative undergraduate program, and grants MBA and custom MS and MBA degrees through the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. Babson Executive Education offers executive development programs to experienced managers worldwide. For information, visit www.babson.edu.

SOURCE: Newswise
Publishe  in the November 2009 issue of The Investment Professional.

The survey's preliminary findings suggest agritourism can indeed be a profitable supplement to a farm or ranch business. Agricultural tourism allows travelers a chance to visit working farms and ranches and can include experiences such as picking their own fruit, visiting a petting zoo, touring a vineyard, buying fresh produce or riding horses. Small farms made up more than two-thirds of the farms that reported offering agritourism.

"We are excited to find that agritourism really seems to work for a lot of small farms," said Penny Leff, statewide agritourism coordinator for the UC Small Farm Program. "Our results also show that agritourism is primarily local. More than 85 percent of reported visitors were from California."

Most agritourism operators who responded to the survey reported their agritourism businesses generated some profit. A majority said they are planning to expand or diversify their agritourism offerings over the next five years. In addition, 22 percent of agritourism operators reported more than $100,000 in agritourism receipts for 2008.

The survey was conducted by a group of researchers from University of California Cooperative Extension and the UC Small Farm Program, with funding from the California Communities Program. Researchers first mailed questionnaires in January to nearly 2,000 potential agritourism operators in every California county.

I grew up in a live/work home.  I've always had a productive home...because I'm self employed and have always either had a full time or part time business going.  And so has my husband.

"Over half of all businesses are run out of an owner's home. As the economic crisis deepens, live/work housing provides a viable and appealing solution for small entrepreneurs who want to work and live in the same place for economic reasons. It is also a promising market for Baby Boomers who are starting to retire - or soon will retire - and want to live in upscale housing in an urban area while conducting consulting and other service oriented businesses which can function in a live/work condo."  says Dick Lewis, President, Lewis & Associates

A Productive Home

Homes used to provide us with clothing, food, shelter, education, entertainment...and more.  But over the years we've exported most of those functions to businesses and public facilitie outside the home. 

And paid the price!  Both in "retail" prices...and in loss of a strong safety net.

Part of a green career is balancing what you build OUTSIDE the home in jobs and networks and investments -- and what you build INSIDE your home in hobbies and food preparation and car repair and gardening...etc. 

How's your personal career productivity going?  What would you like to balance between outside and inside?

ULE will soon test a number a range of products in line for environmental certification, including sunglasses, wind turbines, dishwashers and televisions

UL Environment, or U.L.E., new subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories that is launching global environmental-standards, has awarded its first product certification to EcoRock, a recycled drywall.

UL Environment gave Serious Materials in Sunnyvale, Calif., an environmental certification that will help the company sell EcoRock panels for building projects aiming for LEED certification from the USGBC. Kevin Surace, chief executive of Serious Materials, claims that EcoRock can contribute 8 of the 100 points necessary for the USGBC LEED rating.

U.L.E. verified the drywall's recycled materials content and tested for volatile organic compound emissions, mercury emissions and mold resistance.

The company will soon test a number of other products in line for environmental certification, including sunglasses, wind turbines, dishwashers and televisions, said the vice president and general manager of U.L.E., Marcello Manca.

RESOURCE: UL Environment

UL Environment's Database of Environmentally Sustainable Products
Manufacturers may submit their products for UL testing and environmental claims validation.

I read a line in a blog by Kwande Kefentse (CreativeClass.com) that stunned me... "cultural mapping and planning is one of the most important tools for creating prosperity out of space."

What does that really mean? That blog didn't have much further to say about "cultural mapping" so I went to the Internet.

Cultural mapping has been recognized by UNESCO as a crucial tool and technique in preserving the world's intangible and tangible cultural assets. ... www.unescobkk.org/culture/cltmapping

Cultural Mapping
In simple terms cultural mapping is a treasure hunt, or an asset audit, of a cultural entity, to find cultural capital. For more explanation. ...www.culturalmapping.com/

Cultural Mapping
Presentation delivered by Sam Coghlan, Chief Executive Officer, Stratford Public Library, Municipal Cultural Planning Pa. www.slideshare.net/erobson/cultural-mapping

The blog, www.culturalmapping.com/ seems to address this topic in the most depth.

"Your cultural capital is your strength - find it - use it - and prosper!"

In summary - cultural mapping is the process of identifying, recording, and investigating cultural assets, your strengths - that are either tangible or intangible and that make up the elements of that culture. These assets could be organisational, human, social, tribal, corporate, natural or built environments.

Cultural mapping is a participatory action method facilitated to identify your strengths, greatly enhanced through the use of our Cultural Mapping Software.

Cultural Mapping is an opportunity for organisations and individuals to collaborate, build relationships and map their history for sustainable success. To assist in creating tools to help understand each others value in working together, to create better [ valuable ] outcomes - With two way respect and understanding it is always a win/win situation. Creating less risk to the projects investment.

Founded by Jennifer Joi Field in 2006, Cultural Mapping was established in Australia as an independent socially responsible venture to provide clients with a way to identify and make the most of their strengths with a focus on: Creating joint value and Linking cultural development methodology with social entrepreneurship goals.

In the past Cultural Mapping has been used as a technique by some professionals in the 'Community Development' sector as a way of 'Mapping' community assets. How it was undertaken was largely dependent on who was doing it and why, most commonly it was used as a tool to identify the resources of communities and was referred to as 'Community Mapping'.

If one were to ask what is Cultural Mapping we would firstly have to say that it involves mapping the Culture of who or what you are, be it a tribe, organisation, community, group, school, association, business or an individual - to find your unique assets or strengths. Culture can in this case be defined as your intellectual property, your special way of being or doing, the purpose of your existence, the business you are in (or would like to be) or the special story that you alone have to tell.

Many small busiensses serve local needs...with local solutions.  But which solutions are most central to the heart of sustainable families and sustainable communities?  The Census Bureau has found that money isn't everything.  There are more tangible ways to measure standards of living and small businesses are in a great position to identify solutions that meet these basic human needs.

The living standards of U.S. households are traditionally measured by income.

This report takes a different approach.

Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)

It measures living standards in terms of extended measures of well-being of households tracked in the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to help deepen our knowledge about household conditions in ways not captured by money alone.

Some aspects of well-being, such as fear of crime or quality of local public services, may be only loosely connected with money. Other measures are more closely related to income but can also be effected by factors such as the cost of living, age, disability status, and sudden changes in circumstances.

Extended measures of well-being provide a more complete and detailed picture of household living conditions in the United States than income alone provides.

Well-being Metrics

The U.S. Census Bureau tracks extended measures of well-being in the SIPP.2.  The SIPP's "Extended Measures of Well-Being" topical module, on which this report is based, covers five broad domains:

(1) appliances and electronic goods, such as possession of refrigerators, landline and cellular telephones, and computers;

(2) housing conditions, including level of satisfaction with overall home repair, adequate living space, and sufficient privacy;

(3) neighborhood conditions and community services, such as: road conditions and the presence of abandoned buildings; satisfactory police, fire, and medical services; and attitudes towards local schools;

(4) meeting basic needs, including the ability to pay bills in full, to avoid eviction, and to have sufficient food; and

(5) the expectation of help, should need arise, from friends, family, and the community.

For this report, extended measures of well-being are used to describe living conditions in the United States for the time period 1992-2003.

SmallBizGuides.com is a co-op of publishers and consultants who have many years of experience working with small business entrepreneurs who are launching, growing, or revamping their retail, consulting or product companies.  These "Small Biz Guides" are e-books with a variety of practical tools attached:  spreadsheets, checklists, resource lists...and other tools that help you quickly improve your small business -- making it more efficient, more market-driven and more revenue-oriented.  And that is very helpful in these economic times!