Small Business Banking Survival Guide
from Forbes
Yes, it's bad out there. Growth has slowed; customers can't pay on time; credit lines are getting yanked; and you might not even know who your banker is after the dust settles in the financial sector. How to survive the financial crisis that won't quit? Forbes asked Bob Seiwert, senior vice president of the American Bankers Association (ABA), along with a handful of small-business financial advisers for some confidence-boosting tips. More

Four Mistakes Leaders Make When Downsizing
from Businessweek
If you're in a market segment that won't be hit too hard, you're lucky. If not, though, recessionary pressure need not spell disaster. If your company has been prudent in its use of leverage, you might even pick up a few points of market share as your competitors batten down the hatches. Just be careful to avoid the following four common mistakes leaders make when scaling back. More

Eight Ways Twitter Will Change Your Life
from AllBusiness
It seems that everyone is atwitter about Twitter. Yes, other microblog services with insufferably cute names, such as Pownce, Jaiku, and Plurk, are around. But Twitter has quickly become the de facto choice for creating really, really short blogs. Twitter has grown by 600 percent in the past year, according to cofounder Biz Stone. Aside from telling the world what they're doing every blessed moment, people often use Twitter to drive traffic to Web sites or to promote products and services. But users have begun adapting it for a variety of other tasks--and before long, you too may be using it for the things in this list. (A list on the next page identifies obstacles that may trip up Twitter. But first, the eight positives.) More

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Your Web Site: Where Are Costs Lurking?
from Inc.
Yes, you can build a decent Web site for free but once your business reaches a certain level of maturity and visibility free probably won't cut it. Why? You'll want more control over updating the site, more tools and automation features, visual consistency with your other branding materials and customization for the way your business operates. When you reach this point, it's time to create a bigger budget for your Web site. This breakdown of cost factors that should help you in creating an RFP and gauging the estimates that you receive in response. What will affect the cost of your Web site? More

How to Avoid Becoming a Failure Statistic
from The New York Times
Joe Times are tough. And while there is no definitive checklist governing what entrepreneurs should guard against, there do seem to be some commonalities. Several are well known, like the risks of being undercapitalized, having poor financial controls, hiring badly and refusing to delegate. But other problems may have escaped your attention. More

Keeping Morale High When Business is Low
from Forbes
"What really motivates employees is not money or position," says Jon Katzenbach, author of half a dozen books on the topic and one of the founders of Katzenbach Partners, a management consulting firm. "What motivates employees is how they feel about the work itself." More

Building it Better: Small Business Site Architecture
from Search Engine Watch
The stability of everything starts with the foundation. Businesses built on a strong foundation grow and flourish. Pumpkins growing on strong vines grow large and round. Web sites with solid architecture can have stronger search results. If you're thinking about designing or redesigning your small business Web site, get organized before you start. There are a few steps to building a site wherein each page supports its theme, and each theme supports the goal -- more conversions. More