If you are thinking of getting a bank loan to finance your business, you may want to check with Small Business Administration’s “Banking Studies: Small Business Lending in the U.S.” The study lists the best banks in each state in terms of their small business lending activities. The data also includes the microloans offered by these banks. While the latest study is 2004, the study is still very relevant and helpful to anyone looking to get a bank loan Read about the best small business banks in America

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I am looking forward to the launching of Zopa http://www.zopa.com/ZopaWeb/ in the US, the UK site that matches up borrowers and lenders in a peer-to-peer online lending service. Zopa is changing the way people are borrowing money across the pond — allowing people who can never get a bank loan a chance to find lenders willing to provide them with money. Based on credit profiles and creditworthiness, the service matches consumers who need money with consumers who want to lend it. A person can join the site as a lender or as a borrower. To minimize the risks for lenders,

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Wedding is big business. According to the Association of Wedding Professionals http://www.afwpi.com/wedstats.html 2,226,000 weddings occurred in the US from June 2004 to June 2005 (CDC) spending approximately $85 Billion. Amidst the wedding preparations from reserving a church or place of ceremony to buying flowers to hiring a caterer, a big concern of brides all over the world is: “Will I look good on my wedding day?” All brides want to look their most beautiful self on their wedding day. They want to be able to look at their wedding day picture five years from now and say that they indeed

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I have previously written about the success of Starbucks and what small entrepreneurs can learn from the world’s largest coffee chain in the article “Learning from Starbucks: 10 Lessons for Small Businesses.” Business 2.0 has a brief article on how smaller companies thrive under this giant’s shadow. No, none of these companies come close to Starbucks right now. But they demonstrate that small companies can carve out profitable niches for themselves even if a giant dominates the market — a lesson that small business entrepreneurs need to remember when a giant business moves in on their turf. Here are the

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One of our most popular pages is the article Starting a Clothing Line or Apparel Manufacturing Business. I guess many people dream of becoming the next Donatella Versace or Tommy Hilfiger. Aside from our article, here are resources on how to start a clothing line Associations:Professional Apparel Association http://www.proapparel.comAmerican Apparel Producer’s Network http://www.usawear.org/Worldwide Responsible Apparel Manufacture http://www.wrapapparel.org/American Apparel and Footwear Association http://www.americanapparel.org/National Association of Fashion and Accessory Designers http://www.nafad.com/SEAMS The National Association for the Sewn Products Industry http://www.seams.org/ Manufacturer SearchThomasNet http://www.thomasnet.comNational Association of Manufacturers http://www.nam.org/s_nam/index.aspDavison’s Textile Blue Book http://www.textilebluebook.net Other resourcesFashion Group International http://www.fgi.orgApparel News http://www.apparelnews.net/ Blogs:Kathleen Fasanella’s blog at

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I have stumbled across the PowerPoint presentation of a New York University professor named Dr. Jeffrey Robinson entitled “Breaking Out or Breaking Through: Wealth Building through Entrepreneurship.” The presentation has loads of information, but I liked best how he presented data and facts to shatter the common myths of entrepreneurship, as follows: Myth 1: “I need lots of money” Looking at the Inc. 500 companies (a list of the fastest growing private companies in the US), he found that many of the companies started with so little in terms of startup capital. The Inc. 500 data shows that: 13% of

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If you are running an online business, whether selling products or producing information, it is useful to do some sort of market research for your business. An easy way to do this is through online surveys. While maybe not as scientific with sampling protocols properly observed, online surveys can help you Gauge the interests of your website visitors Determine the demographic profile of your site visitors Get feedback on the design, usefulness of your website and company Give you information on what your audience considers important Know the features that your target audience feels is important in your product/service Provide

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Persistence and patience are important attributes entrepreneurs must have in order to keep the business going, even if the going gets tough. But how do you know when to throw in the towel? How do you know it is time to end the business? When I was running a video store in the 80s, I knew it was time to close the business when I felt I needed to change the direction of my life. I love the business as movies are my passion and income was good. I did not just rely on walk in customers (Internet was just

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Everyone knows that Amazon.com is the #1 online retailer today. But in terms of various product categories, here are the category leaders according to the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide: Apparel/Accessories – L.L. Bean Books/CDs/DVDs – Netflix Computer Products – Dell Flowers/Gifts – 1-800-Flowers Food/Drug – Drugstore.com Hardware &Home Improvement – The Home Depot Health/Beauty – Quixtar Housewares & Home Furnishings – Williams-Sonoma Jewelry – Blue Nile Office Supplies – Office Depot & Staples (Tied) Specialty (Non-Apparel) – Oriental Trading Sporting Goods – Cabela’s Toys/Hobbies – Toys “R” Us I would love to do an analysis of these firms and

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