Businesses eye St. Patrick’s Day gold

American retailers, including some aggressive small business owners, are banking on a boffo St. Patrick's Day to shake off the February blahs.

United States - Business - St Patricks Day - Small business - Holidays

Blunt the e-mail interruption assault
Constant e-mail interruptions make you less productive, less creative and — if you're e-mailing when you're doing something else — just plain dumb. Here's how to fight back.


Business - Mail - Email - Business Services - FAQs Help and Tutorials

Payroll tax hike hits small businesses
Some 35 states were set to boost unemployment taxes on businesses this year, with increases ranging from 2.5 to 600 percent.


Payroll tax - Small business - Business - Accounting - United States

Answering service thrives by embracing change

Against the odds, phone answering services like Answer 1 Communications have learned to thrive by embracing the same technology that once threatened to replace them.

Call centre - Business - Telecommunication - Technology - Call Centers

Advocates say minorities losing stimulus work

Hispanic and black businesses are receiving a disproportionately small number of federal stimulus contracts, creating a rising chorus of demands for the Obama administration to be more inclusive and more closely track who receives government-financed work.

Presidency of Barack Obama - Hispanic - United States - President - Business

Comic book startup cashes in on star power

A small comic book startup is using caricatures of President Barack Obama, Lady Gaga and other big names to drive up sales.

Barack Obama - President of the United States - President - Comic book - United States

Raises or rebuilding? It’s a tough call
Business is starting to creep upward at some small companies. But owners who need to rebuild their businesses may not yet be able to give raises to their hard-working employees.


Business - Small Business - Business and Economy - Magazines and E-zines - United States

U.S. may consider wages in awarding contracts
The White House is looking at a new policy that would give an advantage in bidding on government contracts to companies that offer a "living wage" and generous benefits.


United States - White House - Contracting with the United States Government - Business - Government

Small businesses like D.C. shift from health care

Amy Nichols, a small business owner, is tired of the healthcare debate and is relieved President Obama has turned his attention toward her biggest concern: access to credit.

Small business - Barack Obama - Business - Health care - Business and Economy

Obama urges more loans for small businesses

Seeking to create more jobs, President Barack Obama on Friday asked Congress to temporarily expand two lending programs for the owners of small businesses.

Barack Obama - Small business - President of the United States - Business - United States