Managing a Business

Strong management skills are built over time through continued education and experience. To help you understand the basics about managing a business, SBA offers several free online courses. This self paced instruction includes many entrepreneurial topics, including taking your business global, using technology, preparing a business plan, entering into a franchise, planning for disasters, and preventing crime.

• Podcasts

  SBA podcasts offer expert insight and guidance about running your business. Managing a Business podcasts offer advice on topics ranging from marketing to sales, human resources, and the technology that you employ to keep your business ...

• Online Courses for Managing Your Business
  The success of your business is closely related to how well you manage it. Good management is the root source of business growth. We have provided some free online courses to help you hone your business management skills. About...
• Online Courses for Marketing Your Business
  Good marketing is critical to the success of your business. Marketing has many dimensions, including market research, customer service, advertising, targeting, packaging, pricing, e-marketing, and others. Investing in a good...
• America's Best: Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation
  Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation, Port Washington, Wis. Established in 1922, Allen Edmonds operates 32 retail stores in 17 states, and is among a small minority of companies continuing to produce the majority of their shoes...
• America's Best: Cerner Corporation
  Cerner Corporation, Kansas City, Mo. In 1979 the three founders, Neal Patterson, Cliff Illig and Paul Gorup, sat around a picnic table and decided to create a company. Today, Cerner Corporation is an industry leader in medical...
• America's Best: Columbia Sportswear Company
  Columbia Sportswear Company, Portland, Ore. Rescued from near bankruptcy, Gert Boyle took over operations of Columbia, started by her parents, and turned it into a $1 billion company. The business received an SBA-backed loan...
• America's Best: Gymboree Corporation
  The Gymboree Corporation, San Francisco, Calif. Joan Barnes created Gymboree in 1976 as a place where moms and their children could play and exercise. Since then, it has become a giant corporation that includes almost 600...
• America's Best: Radio One, Inc.
  Radio One, Inc., Lanham, Md. Among the largest African-American owned and operated media corporations in the United States, Radio One was started by Catherine L. Hughes in 1980. Radio One owns and/or operates 53 radio stations...
• America's Best: Ruiz Foods
  Ruiz Foods, Dinuba, Calif. Founded in 1964, Ruiz Foods is the top seller of frozen Mexican dishes in the United States.  Under the brand names of El Monterey and Tornados, it produces nearly 200 frozen Mexican foods....
• America's Best: Series Preview
  America's Best: Series Preview SBA and ADP® present America's Best: Their Stories, Their Ways. This trailer offers a glimpse into the inspiring personal experiences of successful entrepreneurs who are responsible...
• Strategies for Growth: Preparing for Growth
  You've proved you have the guts, passion and commitment to turn your dream into a reality. Next steps: evaluate how your customers react to your products and how money moves through your business. Are you ready to grow your...
• Strategies for Growth: Team Building
  Very few persons succeed or fail by themselves. One of the most powerful elements in creating success is a powerful team. The SBA/Dell Strategies for Growth series presents interviews with successful entrepreneurs and experts who...
• Strategies for Growth: Marketing
  These entrepreneurs listened to their customers and critics to learn how to better market their products and services. They use technology to reach new customers. Learn their secrets to increasing market share. The SBA/Dell...
• Strategies for Growth: Technology and Growth
  Are you taking advantage of the latest technology to save time and increase your company's efficiency? Improved communications technology for sharing information with employees and customers may be one of the things to consider...
• Strategies for Growth: Exporting Opportunities
  Does your product have potential in an overseas market? Small businesses can compete with larger companies in the global marketplace. Plan for the extra effort it takes to bring your product to foreign markets. The SBA/Dell...
• Strategies for Growth: Disaster Recovery
  SBA's disaster recovery program helped Mainstream Global, Inc., get back in business following a flood. Are you prepared? Do you have a preparedness plan to get your business up and running should disaster strike? The SBA/Dell...
• Strategies for Growth: Profiles of Success
  Do you know your company's vulnerabilities, and have you developed contingency plans to ensure growth? As a small business owner, are you using the distinct advantage of your personality and message to impact the local market?...
• SBA Delivering Success: Marketing 101
  The U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Postal Service bring you Delivering Success—video interviews with successful entrepreneurs who share the lessons they've learned about owning a small business. The...
• SBA Delivering Success: Promoting & Growing Your Business
  The U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Postal Service bring you Delivering Success—video interviews with successful entrepreneurs who share the lessons they've learned about owning a small business. The...
• SBA Delivering Success: Business Reality Check
  The U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Postal Service bring you Delivering Success—video interviews with successful entrepreneurs who share the lessons they've learned about owning a small business. The...
• Salon Red: Establish your Online Presence
  Salon Red provides a creative and compassionate salon environment in Decatur, GA. It excels in the services industry because it uses a website and local listings to help customers find its locations and book appointments.
• Make My Cake: Display Imagery on your Website
  Make My Cake is family owned and operated. It provides Harlem, NY, with great tasting baked goods in an intimate neighborhood setting. Its recent website redesign allows Make My Cake to display vivid imagery of its offerings and to...
• Lumus Construction: Engage Customers with a Website
  Lumus Construction designs, constructs, and renovates public facilities, and specializes in renewable energy and fire mist prevention. It uses its website and online maps to both research projects all over the United States and show...
• Fuego Mundo: Interact with your Community using Free Marketing
  Fuego Mundo creates a unique dining experience by bringing the flavors, spices, and culture of South America to Sandy Springs, GA. The restaurant uses social media to request feedback from its customers for improvement. Even its...
• Humphry Slocombe: Promote using Free Online Marketing
  Humphry Slocombe makes premium ice cream in the Mission District of San Francisco, CA. With flavors such as Secret Breakfast and Pistachio-Bacon, it creates a vibrant social media following around the world. It uses social media to...
• Skaters Landing: Educate your Customers using Free Marketing
  Skaters Landing is a national retailer and e-tailer of products and accessories for the skating industry. Although located in CT and MA, it uses free marketing online to teach customers from all over the world about its industry....
• Mandy Scott Flowers: Grow with Paid Online Advertising
  Mandy Scott Flowers creates beautiful floral arrangements in its San Francisco, CA, location. As a premium boutique flower shop, she competes with national brands using paid online advertising. By only showing ads to a very targeted...
• TCHO: Measure Results with Web Analytics
  TCHO's start-up mentality, combined with its unique location on Pier 17 in San Francisco, CA, merges technology with chocolate production. It uses web analytics to constantly improve its website's layout, ensuring consumers...
• Where Will Your Next Customer Come From?
  Small businesses looking to grow should look beyond the U.S. borders to find new customers. Learn about government resources to help you begin or expand exporting.  

Steps To Starting a Business

Steps to starting a business are so important to the future of the business. These steps can make or break your company they will be part of the reason for your success or failure. You are probably eager and excited about your business idea and want to rush right into running your business but learn from others mistakes and follow each of these steps to starting a business to improve your businesses chance of success.
The steps to starting a business

• Come up with the idea – this may seem obvious but first you need an idea and then you need to analyse how viable this idea is. How big is the market? Who will buy it? How much? Where? How much will it cost the business? Ask lots of people to get a good idea of the viability of the idea (2 people is not a lot).
• Plan finances – this is always good to get done at the start as you then have an idea of where your money will be going and where it will be coming from before you start.
• Risk analysis – you need to know that no business is risk free and you need to identify the risks now so that it will be easier to cope with them when the occur.
• Plan your marketing – how are you going to communicate your product or service with your target market?
• Plan operations and day to day management – Now you need to plan how you will handle daily management and operations.
• Get funding – however you plan on starting you will need money whether it is your own or another’s.
• Register your name – register your name as a limited company or another formation if you choose to use another
• Start your business – now you can get started with running your business.

There you go hopefully you will follow these steps to starting a business as they will prove invaluable in the future and you will be thankful that you did go through them. Browse the rest of the site for more useful business resources.

Debt ceiling impasse imperils states' credit ratings

 Moody's Investors Services placed five states on review for possible downgrade if the United States fails to resolve its debt ceiling impasse and has its own stellar credit rating downgraded.
The five states -- Maryland, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia -- could all lose their Triple A rating if the U.S. rating is downgraded, Moody's said Tuesday.
Moody's took several factors into account when reviewing the states. They include: The prevalence of federal contracts and federal employment in the state; the state's reliance on variable rate borrowing, and its sensitivity to national economic trends. Some states have several of these factors.
In the event of a downgrade, states would likely have to pay investors a higher interest rate, making borrowing more costly for states. It would affect a total of $24 billion in debt in the five states.
The outlook for the other 10 states with top credit ratings from Moody's was not changed. Other states have lower credit ratings.
Moody's and Standard & Poor's last week warned that they would either change the outlook or rating of the U.S. if policymakers don't address the debt ceiling before Aug. 2. The ratings agencies have said they are expecting policymakers to not only raise the debt ceiling, but to agree to meaningfully reduce the debt.

U.S. credit: Raising debt ceiling isn't enough

The creditworthiness of the United States, which has always had a top rating, is being called into question as President Obama and Republican lawmakers clash over how to resolve the nation's debt problem. They are facing an Aug. 2 deadline, after which the nation will not have enough money to pay all of its bills without being able to borrow more.

Mortgage & Savings Center

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Overnight Avg Rate	Latest	Change	Last Week
30 yr fixed	4.49%		4.50%
15 yr fixed	3.63%		3.64%
5/1 ARM	3.00%		3.06%
30 yr refi	4.57%		4.57%
15 yr refi	3.73%		3.74%

The Bachelorette' is Wasting the Days of Our Lives

"The Bachelorette": Honestly, do you care about who she picks? Look, I have watched just about every season of "The Bachelor" and "The Bachelorette," and I've NEVER been this bored. I just read in Entertainment Weekly that they've decided to keep "recycling" contestants for future seasons. They said that they love having characters and a story line, much like on soap operas. Somebody remind me what's happening to all the network soap operas? Right -- they are all being canceled. Bring in some new blood!

"Hell's Kitchen": By now, Gordon Ramsay is so out of tricks to pull on his contestants that tonight he just resorted to making them think they were about to cook for a huge crowd, only to reveal an empty theater when the curtain went up on them. Really, Gord? That all you got? Well you fooled me, too: I thought you were gonna fill all those empty seats with a fake crowd, thanks to Photoshop. That's a recipe for success!

"Giuliana & Bill": It's nice to see these two lovebirds back on screen together and enjoying happier times, after all the heavy stuff on their show last year. Although I gotta admit, part of me was secretly hoping they were gonna re-cast Giuliana with former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani. That would've been so awesome! Mostly because they only would've had to change one letter in the title.

Why choose Show Business Entertainment?

Your source for the very best local and national talent for your wedding, reception, or special event in Houston, TX.

Since 1982, Show Business Entertainment has been providing the best bands, exquisite ensembles, talented musicians, DJs, comedians, and variety acts for thousands of weddings, parties, and special events in Houston, TX. When it’s time to celebrate, let us help you locate the perfect ensemble, band, or DJ for your special event.

Why choose Show Business Entertainment?

• TRACK RECORD – Show Business Entertainment is a trusted and proven name to many corporate and private organizations for over 27 years. We know entertainment!
• SMART CHOICES – We specialize in presenting the right act for the right occasion at the most affordable price.
• PROFESSIONAL, EXPERIENCED STAFF – Taking care of all the necessary details (electrical, sound and lighting, stage size, set-up times, etc.) to make your event seamless and successful!
• GET IT RIGHT FROM THE START – Since you’re already here, why not give us your date and let us help you get creative, have fun picking the right entertainment, and get you into Show Business?

Original Stories

Lady Gaga dons a risqué leather look as she struts around the streets of New York

 

The singer donned a typically fashion forward combo of leather jacket, skirt, and bra, along with giant platform boots and ripped fishnet tights. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is the highest-grossing opening weekend ever
The series finale drew an estimated $168.55 million, dethroning The Dark Knight's $158.4 million. Transformers: Dark of the Moon claimed $21.25 million for the #2 spot, and Horrible Bosses earned $17.63 million for the #3 spot. Winnie the Pooh debuted at #6 with $8 million.

The Office’s Jenna Fischer confirms that baby No. 2 is on the way for Pam and Jim
The actress confirmed that her real-life pregnancy has been written into season eight of The Office. “Pam will be pregnant when the season starts,” she said.

Beyonce's special message to crew of Atlantis space shuttle with Run the World (Girls)
 

The four astronauts aboard the Atlantis space shuttle were greeted by none other than Beyonce, nine days after they blasted off for the craft's final mission.

Ashley Tisdale polishes up from gym gear to celebrate birthday in Las Vegas in cute mini dress
 

The High School Musical star went from drab to fab in a matter of hours as she prepped for her big birthday bash in Las Vegas. She was seen looking grungy in workout clothes in the morning but then had transformed herself by night-time.
www.dailymail.co.uk [Talkback] 

Justin Bieber crashes wedding
The couple were having a romantic dinner date at a restaurant on Malibu beach when they heard Justin's music playing at some nearby nuptials. So they ventured over, leaving the bride and groom and their guests stunned.
 

David Duchovny & Tea Leoni back together after split
 

The couple is back together just weeks after announcing their separation. The on-again-off-again pair was spotted driving together near their home in Malibu

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BD Wong confirms exit from Law &Order: SVU
The Law & Order: SVU co-star already landed a new regular job on NBC's midseason drama Awake, which put his future on the veteran crime drama in doubt. Wong confirmed on Twitter that he is done with SVU.

Emmanuelle Chriqui covers Hamptons magazine
On break from shooting, The Borgias and Entourage actress quickly establishes herself as an unrepentant sun worshipper. “I love the Hamptons,” says the French-Canadian actress.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: What's next for the movie's stars
 

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and other Hogwarts alums face new career challenges as the biggest movie franchise of all time comes to an end.

Curtis Holbrook, Michele Ragusa, Tony Yazbeck are Singin' in the Rain at the Muny
Singin' in the Rain, based on the MGM film of the same name, begins performances July 18 at the St. Louis Muny, the nation's oldest and largest outdoor theatre.

Adrianne Curry shares pics of topless tanning session
 

The first winner of America's Next Top Model has gone topless for a recent sunbathing session, and made use of her Twitter account to share two of the pictures taken during the session for many to see.