A P is reporting that larger banks are thriving; while small ones are struggling. All of the 118 banks that have failed this year have been smaller or regional banks. Last year 140 banks shuttered, most of them small institutions.

Most of the biggest banks have recovered with help from federal bailout money, record-low borrowing rates from the Federal Reserve and the ability to earn big profits from fees on banking services and investment fees

FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said banks' lending standards are beginning to ease for some types of credit. But lending will not pick up until businesses and consumers gain the confidence they need to hire and spend," Bair said.

Bair said the economic recovery is starting to be reflected in banks' higher earnings and the improved quality of loans, with fewer defaults and delinquencies.

Last year, 140 federally insured institutions failed and were shut down by regulators. It was the highest annual number since 1992, when the savings and loan crisis hit its peak. Last year's failures extended a string of collapses that began in 2008, triggered by loan defaults in the financial crisis.

The L A Times is reporting that small businesses won contracts worth more money from the federal government in 2009 than the year before.

According to the Times, the U.S. government paid small businesses $96.8 billion last year to do a wide variety of jobs including defense work, scientific research, technological support and even janitorial services, up from $93.2 billion in 2008.

That amounted to 21.89% of all federal spending on contracts and up from 21.5% the year before. By law, the United States government must track its efforts to offer contracts to small businesses owned by women, minorities and disabled veterans.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-smallbiz-contracts-20100830,0,4922226.story

Self-service kiosks (DVD rental, photo finishing, product promotion, banking, health information, check-outs) often increase purchase options, boost impulse sales, lower per transaction costs and dispense marketing information. Additionally, they extend service beyond standard business hours and expand product offerings to locations where it does not make economic sense to staff retail outlets. In a time of thin margins and increased competition, kiosks can boost the bottom line.

“Self service devices can be excellent tools for small businesses, particularly those in the retail, healthcare and financial industries," explained Bevan Hayes, director of new business and strategic marketing for Esprida. "They offer consumers an easy way to conduct transactions, learn more about a product or receive promotions. However, employing staff with the skill set to monitor and service these devices can be prohibitively expensive for small businesses."

Esprida’s technology platform is designed to deploy and manage self-service programs affordably. The platform enables clients to better serve their customers by remotely managing device updates, while eliminating IT infrastructure and data center capital costs. Additionally, firms are able to obtain data and analytics on device usage and consumer behavior, enabling them to better tailor promotions and merchandise to meet consumer needs.
www.esprida.com

For those of a certain age, Asbury Park is a town in New Jersey that Bruce Springsteen sings about. Indeed, a top-selling album of The Boss was titled, "Greetings From Asbury Park"; back in the 1973. But by that time, very few were sending greetings.

The town, once a Jersey Shore mecca, had endured a crippling riot and the loss of both residents and businesses to nearby suburbia. LIke Miami Beach, Atlantic City and Coney Island, the "glory days' were behind it.

Flash forward to the present and folks once again are sending 'greetings' from Asbury Park. "The past five years have seen businesses return to the city," explained Tom Gilmour, director of commerce and economic development. "In the past three years, businesses on the Boardwalk have grown from three to 31. And we have a vibrant music scene and have become a regional dining destination."

An attraction to businesses thinking of setting of shop is an influx of New York City area residents who either have second homes or primary residences in the city. Regularly scheduled train service from Penn Station makes the commute viable. The housing stock ranges from new condos to older homes needing renovations.

Lodging options for visitors include the locally-owned boutique Tides and Empress hotels; and the iconic Berkeley Hotel (formerly the Berkeley Carteret) overlooking the Boardwalk. Restaurants such McCloone's (formerly a Howard Johnson's); the Langosta Lounge (both on the Boardwalk) and the eclectic Adriatic make for a varied dining scene.

The main business district is Cookman Avenue. Businesses are local; Starbucks is nowhere to be found. And nearby access to the beach and boardwalk are the main attractions for visitors. There is also the Silverball pinball museum (1000 Ocean Ave) and The Stone Pony; where it all began for Bruce.

For more information: http://www.cityofasburypark.com

We can't all be like Mad Men and write compelling ad copy. But no need to cop-out.

"PaperG makes it simple for small and medium-sized businesses to grow through local online advertising, even if they can’t afford an ad agency," said Victor Wong, co-founder and CEO. "PaperG's technology lets business owners automatically create a high quality display ad customized for their business, just by typing in their business name and address." (www.paperg.com)

Wong explained that process guides the individual through the placement of the ad and monitors its performance across local websites; all in one easy-to-use interface.

The company's first ad platform, Flyerboard (www.flyerboard.com), took the cork bulletin board that one sees in coffee shops and re-purposed it for the Web. Today, Flyerboard has been deployed on scores of leading local websites across the country, including those of Hearst, The Boston Globe, and Newsday. The ads have enhanced functions that include interactive maps and are shareable across social media channels.

PaperG's second technology PlaceLocal (www.placelocal.com) platform makes it easy for small businesses to create, purchase and monitor custom display advertising. With just a business' name and address, PlaceLocal's technology fans out across the Web to find everything about the business that exists. It then builds, in less than one minute, a custom rich-media display advertisement for that business.

As the fifth anniversary of Katrina approaches, New Orleans took another step forward.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu announced appointments to the NOLA Business Alliance board and launched the city’s first-ever public-private partnership for economic development, a structure that will coordinate economic development across the city.

“This is a landmark step for our city,” said Mayor Landrieu. “For the first time, both the public and private sector will partner in a single coordinated effort to deliver new jobs and economic opportunities for this city. And we will facilitate economic growth by linking government, the private sector and the nonprofit sector while leveraging our resources. It’s another step in our goal to restructure and transform city government by implementing best practices that improve our quality of life.”

The City of New Orleans will contribute $1.5 million annually from the Economic Development Fund, while the NOLA Business Alliance will raise a minimum of $500,000 annually from the private sector. The NOLA Business Alliance board will soon commence its search for a Chief Executive Officer.

The NOLA Business Alliance will handle business retention and expansion, prospect engagement and negotiation, marketing, small business services, entrepreneurship initiatives, international business development and strategic planning.

For more info:
http://www.cityofno.com/pg-36-1-economic-development.aspx

Small businesses report losing an estimated $2 trillion in lost profits and asset valuation since the recession started in December 2007, according to a new study released by Barlow Research. That works out to an average loss of $253,000 for each of the eight million U.S. businesses with sales between $100,000 and $10 million. Larger companies have been less affected and are recovering more quickly according to the survey, which was fielded in July 2010.

After showing guarded optimism in the first half of the year, pessimism has returned for an increasing number of small business owners. Only 35% indicated their financial condition was improving, down from 46% in the second quarter.

When asked to estimate the chances that their company will survive the next year, 14% are less than 50% confident they will still be in business by August 2011. “One in seven small business owners are estimating their chance of survival by the flip of a coin,” said Bernie Kuechler, the Barlow Research Analyst who authored the study.

The study reveals that few small businesses believe the recession has ended. Fifty-six percent of small businesses expect the recession to last beyond 2011. Less than one in ten businesses believe the recession is over.

“We should not expect significant job creation in the near term from this segment,” according to Kuechler. More small businesses are reporting intentions to decrease than those planning to increase full-time employees, with the most planning to stay the course. The study does forecast job creation from companies with sales greater than $10 million, where optimism and growth in sales is improving.

Recent events have emphasized the importance of good communications as never before. Firms such as Goldman Sachs; Massey Energy; B P; Toyota and even Facebook have had to backtrack and explain their actions to a skeptical public.

Murray’s Chicken ( www.murrayschicken.com) also had a potential p r problem and moved swiftly. A customer (me) contacted the firm in upstate New York about a problem with the new eco-friendly packaging. The easy-to-use pull-apart seal wasn’t working. A day after a call and e-mail, the response came back: Sorry for your problem; we’re working on it and please tell us the cost of your purchase so we can reimburse you. Remember, the chicken itself was fine. Within a few days, a check for $10 plus 3 $1 off coupons arrived with a letter of apology from Vice President of Operations, Dean Koplik

“We try to deal with the customer issue as soon as possible,” explains Steve Gold, Vice President Sales & Marketing.

Here are some Gold-en rules:

Use social media: “In the old days, it was a phone call,” says Gold. “Now, it can be a phone call or e-mail. And we are also on Facebook and Twitter. If a company doesn’t respond to a consumer, word of that company can instantly be known to the general public via social media. It only takes an hour or so to see what your customers are thinking.”

Have a website and update it: “We have a functioning website but we also update it. We will be adding an “FAQ” section to the site. People have questions and concerns about health issues on occasion and we want them to have confidence in our product.”

Be hands on: “We are a family firm. We have 325 employees; Purdue has hundreds of thousands. If someone calls our plant directly, they may get Murray himself. We have an outside p r firm but we like to handle things in-house; if at all possible.”

Jim Koch knew what his future had on tap. "My dad was brewmaster for many midwest regional breweries in the 1940's," he explained. "He always told me that all beer is good; some beers are better than others."
"I had what I turned out to be a good idea for a small business," said Koch. "And it was tough getting money. Getting a loan was out of the question. Banks weren't interested. And we didn't meet the requirements of the SBA."
But Koch was lucky. "I was able to tap friends and family and get Sam Adams started. "There is a funding gap and many businesses can do a great deal with a $5,000-$10,000 loan. But it's hard to get that kind of money unless you have cash in the bank as collateral; and if you have the cash, you don't need the loan."
In June of 2008, The Boston Beer Company launched a program called Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream® to provide low and moderate income food & beverage small business owners (typically employing between 1-5 people) "This came about from my experience starting Boston Beer Company 26 years ago," said Koch.
Earlier this years, the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) presented its Founder’s Award to The Boston Beer Company. The company also supports The Leary Firefighters Foundation; founded by actor Denis Leary.
Koch believes it's harder today than it was five years ago to start a company. "And 25 years ago is ancient history," said Koch. "Entrepreneurship hadn't achieved the cult status of today. I guess you can say Sam Adams and a handful of other breweries began the revolution in American beer. And one day, the U S will have a beer culture that is the envy of the world. European brewmasters, more than American beer drinkers, realize the best brewers in the world are small ones like Sam Adams. In fact, we have a partnership with the oldest brewery in the world, Weihenstephan. That is a coming of age for American brewing."
Koch said the difference between Sam Adams beer and the mass domestic beers is taste. "Ours has more taste and we use more expensive ingredients and in greater quantities," he explained. "Those are the facts. Whether a person likes our taste is clearly subjective. I've had people tell me they've tried to like our beer but had to go back to their brand; Coors Light or another. I say fine. Coors is a well-made beer and that person saved a lot of money in doing so."
Koch has been been approached numerous by major breweries that want to buy the firm. "And I've turned them down numerous times," he laughed. "I have the best job in the world. If I sold the company, I would have to work for someone else. I don't want to do that."
www.samueladams.com
www.bostonbeer.com

A report by real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield points to signs of an economic recovery underway.

http://www.cushwake.com/cwmbs2q10/pdf/ind_usnational_2q10.pdf

Its midyear report for the U.S. industrial market shows leasing activity has increased 25.8 percent year-over-year, while the overall vacancy rate has declined for the first time in 11 quarters.

Overall leasing activity for industrial product in the U.S. totaled 126.6 million square feet at midyear 2010, up 25.8 million square feet from 100.8 million square feet at midyear 2009. Of 33 industrial markets tracked by Cushman & Wakefield, 21 charted a year-over-year increase in leasing activity, with Greater Los Angeles (6.7 million square foot increase), Atlanta (2.1 million square foot increase) and the Inland Empire (2 million square foot increase) reporting the largest increases in activity.

The overall vacancy rate for the U.S. industrial market totaled 10.6 percent at midyear 2010, down from its recent peak of 10.8 recorded at the end of the first quarter of 2010. It was the first time the industrial vacancy rate had declined in 11 quarters, when overall vacancy measured 7.1 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2007. While some markets – including Boston (1.2 percentage point quarterly increase) and Northern Virginia (0.4 percentage point quarterly increase) – recorded higher vacancy rates than the previous quarter, 18 of the 34 markets tracked by Cushman & Wakefield saw quarterly declines in their vacancy rates, while three of the markets remained unchanged from last quarter.

“Fundamentals in the U.S. industrial market have undoubtedly improved,” said Maria Sicola, executive managing director and head of Americas Research for Cushman & Wakefield. “This quarter’s decrease in vacancy – the first in nearly three years – is a telling sign that the U.S. industrial market is on its way to a modest recovery.”

The year-to-date absorption rate, a measure which indicates the net change in occupied space, also began to improve during the first half of 2010. Year-to-date absorption was negative 12.9 million square feet, an 86.9 percent improvement in absorption from the negative 80.2 million square feet recorded at midyear 2009.