Women Inventorz Network

Have a great product you don’t know what to do with? May is National Inventors Month, and the Women Inventorz Network (W.I.N.) wants to help women inventors make their ideas a reality by providing the practical steps and know-how to do it. W.I.N., which is the only independent organization for women inventors in the U.S. and Canada, evaluates submitted products based on 10 criteria such as retail readiness, marketing, logo design, website effectiveness, etc., and provides guidance in making necessary improvements. Founders and inventing experts Dhana Cohen and Melinda Knight wants W.I.N. to be a launch pad for women inventors to get their products found.

By Rieva Lesonsky

If you own a restaurant, specialty food business or even a grocery store, you’ll want to know about some of the food trends spotted at the Fancy Food Show earlier this year. PizzaMarketplace recently reported on some trends that small business owners can make their own:

Gluten-free foods: Gluten-free product offerings were plentiful at the show, and today’s gluten-free products taste better than those of years past. One reason gluten-free is a growth industry is that people with Celiac disease (an allergy to wheat-based products) have a lifelong reason to commit to a gluten-free diet, so this is a trend with staying power. Of course, plenty of other consumers are going gluten-free either to show support for family members who need to, or because they believe it helps with weight loss, bloating or other health and beauty issues.

Coconut: Coconut is a hot ingredient in all types of food (including on pizza!). Think of how you can use coconut milk in alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages, in sauces and in desserts. Of course, traditional coconut also has a role in menu items.

Vegetable and fruit oils: Gourmet and flavored olive oils have shown their staying power and have even inspired olive-oil-only stores. Now, the passion for oils is expanding to include fruit and vegetable oils such as walnut oil, truffle oil, pumpkin seed, chili oil, cherry pit oil or tomato seed oil.

Beer as an ingredient: Craft beers are here to stay, and the latest iteration is using microbrews as ingredients in recipes. Beer Flats Crackers (in porter and pilsner flavors), beer candy and even beer jelly were spotted at the Fancy Food Show. In addition to prepared, packaged foods, restaurant owners can also feature meats cooked in beer, breads made with beer or beer-infused sauces. Of course, don’t forget to offer suggestions for pairing beers with foods on your menu or providing a beer tasting menu.

Salty and sweet combinations: Sea salt caramels, chocolate with bacon—salty-sweet combinations continue to be popular. Think about new ways you could mix salty and sweet flavors to break customers out of their familiar flavor combinations.

Image by Flickr user Sing Chan (Creative Commons)

Business.com

Check out the relaunch of an oldie, but goodie: Business.com. Since 1999, when the site first appeared on the scene, it has gone through many changes and owners. The makeover of the marketplace site is a reflection of the new developers, digital marketing experts, designers and a Ph.D. in human-computer interaction researching how active buyers use the Web to make purchasing decisions. Business.com still helps its visitors discover, compare and purchase the products and services they need. Start by selecting a category, from 401(k) plans to Web design services, and then answer a few questions to help the site narrow down your choices. Also, check out the helpful guides and articles to offer you advice with your decision.

By Maria Valdez Haubrich

How are small businesses across the country feeling about their financial futures? According to the latest Capital One Small Business Barometer, not too positive. The study asked small business owners about their opinion of the current economy and their financial and business projections for the next six months.

In the most recent survey, conducted at the end of 2012, small businesses’ concerns about the future had risen, with more than one-fourth (26 percent) of small businesses polled saying they believe economic conditions will decline over the next six months. That’s a 12-point increase from Q3 2012. In addition, more than one-fourth (27 percent) of small business owners said their company’s financial position was worse than a year ago, up 11 points from the same time in 2011 and up 4 points from Q3 2012.

Given these concerns, it’s not surprising that just one-fourth of small businesses say they plan to hire in the next six months. “Among the small businesses we’ve surveyed, we are still seeing significant caution about prospects for growth, as well as hesitancy about making investments,” said Jon Witter, President of Direct, Consumer and Small Business Banking at Capital One, in announcing the survey. “Looking ahead, confidence in the economic environment will be key.”

As to the overall economy, the outlook isn’t great. While 44 percent of the small businesses surveyed believe economic conditions are holding steady, that’s a drop of 7 points from the same time in 2011. Fewer than one- third (28 percent) expect economic conditions to improve in the next six months, and the same percentage expect conditions to get worse.

The national Small Business Outlook index, which ranks business prospects for the next six months on a scale of significantly worse (1) to significantly better (10), continued its downward trend throughout 2012, hitting 5.6 in the most recent survey. What factors matter most to small business owners’ outlooks? Price margins and profitability topped the list, followed by cash flow and fuel prices.

Small business owners are keeping a firm grip on their budgets, with just 13 percent planning to increase spending in the next six months—down from 20 percent who planned to increase spending at the end of 2011. In addition, the number planning to cut spending hit 25 percent—the highest it’s been in two years, and up 8 points from the Q3 2012 survey.

With limited plans to increase spending, it’s not surprising that more than two-thirds (68 percent) of entrepreneurs polled don’t plan to hire in the next six months, either.

How do these opinions relate to your own outlook, both for your business and for the economy as a whole?  

Image by Flickr user Michael David Pedersen (Creative Commons)

Anoto Live

Is the scanner going the way of the fax machine? If so, how will you get your handwritten forms into digital format? Anoto Live gives you the tools to turn your handwriting into digital text all by just handing you a pen—a special pen, of course. Anoto helps companies stay competitive by making it easier to receive and send data quickly. The new digital writing solution requires minimal user training and transforms any piece of paper into a live document that enables information to be sent instantly to any back-office system. Additionally, a complete image of the form is available if needed.

By Rieva Lesonsky

Big corporations are beginning to hire again, data from a variety of sources show. What does this trend mean to your small business? Bloomberg Businessweek recently reported that hiring seems to be on a steady upswing. After adding 236,000 workers in February, payrolls may add 216,000 new jobs in March, one expert cited predicts.

While job growth averaged 167,000 jobs per month in the second half of 2012, so far this year it’s reached about 200,000 per month. Another economist Bloomberg cites projects the U.S. will add 2.5 million jobs in 2013, up from 2.2 million last year.

Some other encouraging signs:

• While the overall U.S. unemployment rate is currently 7.7, it’s steadily decreasing.
• The number of unemployment claims is dropping, reaching 339,700 a week in the month ended March 16, for the lowest it’s been since February 2008.
• Temporary-help-services payrolls hit 2.58 million in February, the highest they’ve been since August 2007 and an increase from 1.75 million when the recession officially ended in June 2009.
• The housing market is finally strengthening, even in areas that were struggling long after the recession officially ended.

There are a range of reasons why companies are hiring, including:

• Stronger demand for products and services
• Need to replace employees who were laid off during the recession
• Easier access to credit and business loans stimulating growth

Meanwhile, a couple factors could hinder the newfound growth:

The government budget cuts brought on by the sequester could lead to federal government layoffs and a drop in payrolls caused by loss of government jobs. Ultimately, cuts could trickle down to reduced demand for services and products from private businesses, hurting those jobs, too.

Businesses could be reluctant to hire if the Affordable Care Act turns out to raise health insurance costs prohibitively.

What does job growth mean for your business?

• With large and midsized companies starting to ramp up, if you want to compete for qualified employees, now is the time to start thinking about hiring needs.
• Consider hiring temporary employees if you’re leery of taking on full-time, permanent workers until the ACA’s effect on your business shakes out.
• While companies of all sizes are having difficulty finding skilled, experienced workers, bigger companies are becoming more open to taking on less-skilled workers and providing on-the-job training. You may need to do the same.

Image by Flickr user bgottsab (Creative Commons)

Mogreet Express

Mogreet Express is a self-service text messaging platform that gives small- and midsized businesses the power to initiate text message marketing campaigns and send multimedia messages (MMS)—all at their fingertips. MMS messages step up your mobile marketing game by creating visual customer interactions including video, pictures and audio. Text message marketing gives small businesses the highest open rate of all types of mobile marketing (98 percent), and Mogreet Express makes your messages more intriguing and therefore more memorable. Business owners are able to build a mobile customer database and drive sales with branded promotional offers.

Eileen Fisher Business Grant Program

Designer Eileen Fisher started her business with just $350 in her savings account. Now she wants to help other women by inviting women-owned businesses to apply for her ninth annual Business Grant Program for Women Entrepreneurs. The program celebrates top women founders of innovative companies that foster environmental and economic health in their communities. Up to five grants of $12,500 each will be awarded to prospective applicants. Recipients will also attend a two-day conference in New York City, meeting with past beneficiaries and Eileen Fisher teams, in early 2014. Only for-profit businesses or for-profit/nonprofit hybrids (social enterprises) will be considered for this grant. The deadline is May 31, 2013.

By Rieva Lesonsky

Spurred by the rapid adoption of mobile devices like tablets and smartphones, as well as by major retailers’ investment in their websites, ecommerce sales in the U.S. are projected to rise from $231 billion last year to $262 billion this year—an increase of 13 percent–according to the latest forecasts from market research firm Forrester. Three product categories account for one-third of that total: apparel and accessories, consumer electronics and computer hardware.

Ecommerce currently accounts for some 8 percent of overall U.S. retail sales (or 11 percent, if grocery sales are excluded). Growth in online retail sales is projected to outpace the growth of traditional retail sales in the next five years. By 2017, total ecommerce sales in the U.S. should hit $370 billion.

Forrester says the increased use of smartphones and tablets is a major factor powering ecommerce growth. With over 50 percent of U.S. online users owning smartphones, many smartphone owners use any spare moment to go online. As a result, people are spending more time overall online than they would if they had to go to their PC or laptop to shop—and that means more browsing, shopping and purchasing.

Another driver behind ecommerce growth is that major retailers are rapidly making investments in their ecommerce divisions in order to better integrate their in-store and online shopping experiences. Even customers who head to a brick-and-mortar store now often end up buying merchandise online within the store, or using smartphones to find the same products elsewhere and order them online.

Surprisingly, new shoppers coming online for the first time are not a major factor in the growth of ecommerce. Just 4 million people are projected to buy online for the first time this year. Instead, growth is coming because people who are already comfortable with online shopping are now spending more money online, ordering more often, and buying a wider range of products from a variety of sites. Forrester says online shoppers typically become comfortable with ecommerce by purchasing low-risk items such as downloadable music or movies. Only then do they move up to more expensive purchases such as appliances or home furnishings.

Forrester’s report has some more good news, not just for ecommerce vendors but also for the economy as a whole: Ecommerce companies are powering employment growth. Currently, Forrester says, U.S. ecommerce businesses employ over 400,000 people, and that figure is expected to hit 500,000 by 2017.

Image by Flickr user Mosman Council (Creative Commons)

Taptu

If you’re grieving over the loss of Google Reader, you can be happy to know there are plenty of other options to help you organize and get your RSS subscriptions. With Taptu you get a visual dashboard to browse your feeds and you can also add your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter feeds so everything is in one place. Available for desktop, tablets and smartphones, Taptu also lets you customize the look of your feeds so you can see what’s important to you on the top of your page and push what you’ll “get to at some point” towards the bottom. You can build your own stream or enter a keyword and see what options pop up.