Here’s What Congress Means When They Talk About ‘Sequestration’

One of the most significant issues coming up is sequestration. If you’re unfamiliar with the word, you’re not alone. It is an obscure budgetary term used to explain a type of process to create spending cuts. Check out this video to learn what sequestration is all about.

Sequestration breakdown: What $1.2 Trillion Looks Like In Small Business Terms

Congress and the administration are down to their final week to strike a deal to avoid or delay the automatic budget cuts known as “sequestration,” and with both parties already pointing fingers rather than working on a compromise, the cutbacks appear inevitable. Should neither side budge, the federal government on March 1 must start making cuts that will slash spending over the next decade by $1.2 trillion.

Many Expect Budget Cuts to Hit Small Businesses Hard

Economists have been warning for months that if the $85 billion in indiscriminate budget cuts known as the sequester take effect, the consequences for the economy could be dire. But for small businesses, the prospects may be even worse.

Many interest groups, including small businesses, are following these developments very closely. Most do not want it to take effect, as it could lead the entire nation back into a recession. Others are actively calling for intervention and cooperation from Congress, The White House, and other leaders. So what are your thoughts? We’d love to hear what you think…from an Atlanta small business perspective.

Could Google’s Chromebook Pixel be a viable option for Atlanta businesses owners on the go?

Hands-on with Google’s Chromebook Pixel

Stephen Shankland goes hands-on with Google’s first touch-screen laptop, the Chromebook Pixel.

Google’s Chromebook Pixel Elevates Chrome OS Ambitions

The browser-based Chrome OS now has a high-end home: a refined $1299 laptop with a high-resolution touch screen. It paves the way for Chrome OS tablets, too. Read this article by Stephen Shankland on CNET News.

Hands On With Google’s Chromebook Pixel

For many, Google’s new Chromebook Pixel will be summed up in just four words: “A Chromebook. For $1,299.” If anything, I’m probably biased in favor of Google’s small constellation of Chrome devices: I’ve played with virtually all of them…

Here’s Who Needs a Chromebook Pixel

The tech pundit jury has apparently reached a solemn, sober verdict on the Chromebook Pixel laptop Google launched Thursday. And the verdict is … “Oh my God, look at the sticker price!” (Tech pundits faint with shock.)

So what do you think?  Are Atlanta business owners likely to purchase the Google Chromebook Pixel as their next laptop purchase?  What do you think of the features, the quality, the price?  We’d love to hear from you.

What Is Facebook Graph Search?

To help answer that question Facebook gave ABC’s Nightline got an exclusive “behind-the-scenes” look at the team that developed this new innovation and how Facebook aims to make the 1 Trillion connections that Facebook’s 1 Billion users make with each other…instantly searchable:

Facebook Announces ‘Graph Search’ Tool

‘Nightline’s’ exclusive look behind the scenes at the social network giant’s new feature.

Is Facebook Graph Search a “Google Crusher”?

Could this be a game-changer in the world of social media –  or a more personal, compelling, and powerful alternative to industry search giant, Google?  Well, that remains to be told as Facebook’s new “Graph Search” feature is only available in limited beta, so those who want to test it out for themselves must join Facebook’s special waiting list in order to participate.

Of course, the big question for Atlanta small business owners is – how will this new Facebook Graph Search impact my business?

My Small Business Atlanta will continue to cover this development over the coming weeks and months.  In the meantime, let’s us know what you think. Could Facebook Graph Search be huge for Atlanta start-up’s, Entrepreneurs, and small to mid-sized businesses?

CNN Money | Jose Pagliery The Supreme Court is due to release their decision regarding the constitutionality of the 2010 Affordable Care Act before the end of the month; possibly within the next few days.  How this impacts Atlanta small businesses is of no small concern. There are three main outcomes that the Court could make.  Health Care Reform could be:

1. Upheld Entirely
2. Struck Down Entirely
3. Partially Upheld or Stricken

Potential Impact on Atlanta Small Businesses

If the Court proceeds with Option #3 – the 906-page law could be be even more confusing and complicated for everyone involved.  CNN Money’s Jose Pagliery outlines some of the implications that could potentially impact Atlanta small businesses including:

• Fines: Starting in 2014, the law requires any company with at least 50 full-time employees to provide insurance or pay fines. The size of the penalty depends on a formula in the law.

If one or more workers turns to the government for help buying insurance, the company will be assessed a penalty of at least $40,000, depending on the size of its workforce.

• Individual Mandate: This is perhaps the most controversial part of the law before the court. It forces every person to purchase some sort of health insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty.

The mandate counter balances another provision, one that forces insurers to take on people with pre-existing conditions. The idea of the mandate is to force healthy people who otherwise might not get insurance to join the pool of the insured, thus diluting the cost of health care.

The Affordable Care Act is one of the most significant pieces of legislation in our nation’s history.  How do you feel about it?  What impact do you think it will have Atlanta small businesses.  We’d like to hear from you.

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A new nationwide survey by Citibank reports that 23% of small business owners went without pay for at least one year to keep their small business running – with the majority of respondants (54%) reported going without at least one paycheck.

“Business owners are wearing more hats, working more hours and taking less profit” to keep their businesses going, said Maria Veltre, Citi's managing director of small business. “They don’t sit idle, they’re asking, ‘What do I need to do to make my business grow?’ There is a level of sacrifice small business owners take for their businesses.”

Citibank also reports that of the 750 small businesses surveyed:

• 33% say their business is better than it was a year ago, up from 26% in January.
• 33% expect their business will grow by more than 10 percent in 2012.
• 78% have taken less profit
• 70% have worked more hours than usual
• 69% have used their own money to help the business survive

As any small business owner knows – running a successful business is a juggling act.  Theres hiring, firing, supervising, negotiating, creating, innovating, and last but not least, Marketing.  

Marketing Expert  and small business owner Anthony Pappas tells of his extensive experience with world-famous brands – and gives five branding mistakes that small business owners should never commit.  Here is the first one:

"#1 – Mimic the success of others: Consumers value individuality, and having a strong point of view will help start-ups elevate their brand. Consider Apple: While their competitors were defining themselves as tech companies, Apple positioned itself as a lifestyle. By building a brand centered around products with a focus on sleek design, simplicity and individuality, they built a following that valued their vision and brand essence."

Pappas provides four more crippling branding mistakes that should be always be avoided, so if you're an Atlanta small business owner we recommend that you review these and same some troubles and headaches down the road.

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Dell and Intel have teamed up to release new research that reveals a bright local outlook for Atlanta and Miami startups and small businesses despite the tough broader economic environment. The optimistic picture shows a favorable view of the local economy and local organizations supporting businesses as well as healthy expectations for growth.

“The confidence of entrepreneurs gives us good reason for optimism, even while everyone worries about the national economy,” said Jonathan Ortmans, senior fellow at Kauffman Foundation and president of Global Entrepreneurship Week. “We must look past doom-and-gloom headlines and remain focused on strengthening local entrepreneurial ecosystems to support startups and small businesses.”

The release of the Dell-Intel survey findings kicks off a nine-city Small Business Think Tank tour aimed at understanding the state of small business at the local level. Through listening and dialogue, the research and tour will examine the prospects, perceptions and priorities of startup and small business owners in Atlanta, Miami, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Austin over the coming months and help inform recommendations for the tools and resources they need to grow both at home, nationally and globally. The events are hosted in collaboration with local chambers of commerce and national partners including Global Entrepreneurship Week and Startup America Partnership. At the conclusion of the tour, Dell and Intel will publish a comprehensive report on the state of U.S. small business based on the quantitative and qualitative data gathered from the nine cities.

ATLANTA AND MIAMI SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Growth remains the focus in the face of the tough economy. Nearly all startups and small businesses plan to grow (97 percent, Miami; 91 percent, Atlanta) and say growth is important (96 percent, Miami; 91 percent, Atlanta). Despite reporting challenges of growing a small business in today’s economic environment and worries about sustaining the success of their businesses, more than half plan to grow in the near-term (53 percent, Miami; 52 percent, Atlanta).

• Views of the outlook and support for small business generate greater optimism in the local economy. Most respondents are optimistic about their companies’ financial situations; they expect a better year (63 percent, Miami; 60 percent, Atlanta), sales outlook (74 percent, Miami; 84 percent, Atlanta) and growth opportunities (66 percent, Miami; 67 percent, Atlanta) next year. Compared with a 14.6 percent aggregate national approval rating for Congressional job performance reported by RealClearPolitics, they rate local elected officials much higher (49 percent, Miami, 64 percent, Atlanta).

• Limited hiring shifts the focus to technology as a growth driver, but the priority placed on talent suggests hiring on the horizon. Nearly half of small businesses stayed the same size over the past three years (44 percent, Miami; 45 percent, Atlanta), most are neither hiring nor firing (73 percent, Miami; 71 percent, Atlanta), and in the face of limited hiring, more than half expect growth will come by investing in technology (50 percent, Miami; 57 percent, Atlanta).

Additional survey findings are available on Slideshare for Atlanta.

“We know small businesses are doing more with less and employing technology to be more productive, and this enables them to grow their businesses profitably,” said Mel Parker, vice president and general manager of Consumer, Small Office and Member Loyalty at Dell. “The growth technology fuels promises to improve future hiring, especially since technology-savvy small businesses create more jobs than their counterparts.”

Small Business Think Tank events kickoff today in Atlanta. To follow the discussion real time via the live stream and join the conversation on Twitter, use hashtags #smallbizATL.

Atlanta Ranked #5:  Powerful Indicator for Atlanta Small Business

The Kaufman Foundation and Thumbtack.com recently surveyed over 6,000 small business across the U.S. to determine a particular city or state’s appeal to businesses.   Georgia received a grade of "A" – placing it among the top states in the Southeast, and No. 6 among the other states in the survey. 

"Asking entrepreneurs to rank state friendliness to their businesses is a powerful resource for helping policymakers understand the needs of business owners and for helping aspiring founders understand the full dimensions of their business environment," said Dane Stangler, director of research at the Kauffman Foundation.

The survey asked questions about the friendliness of states towards small business and about small business finances in order to measure states and cities along 21 metrics – including ease of starting a business, regulations, training programs, and current economic health. 

"Six thousand small business owners have told an unusually nuanced story about what they value in their local government," said Sander Daniels, co-founder of Thumbtack.com.  Such a high ranking is encouraging to looking to start an Atlanta small business – as Georgia also received an "A" rating in "Ease of Starting a Business" – one of several factors to determine Georgia Small Business Friendliness.

The full study is available here.

What are your thoughts on Georgia's friendliness to small businesses?  As an Atlanta small business owner do the results from this study reflect your reality?  We'd love to hear what you think.

The Coca Cola Freestyle vending machines allow customers to choose from one of the 100+ flavor options Coca Cola offer and mix and match them to create their own unique beverage. You can see just how the machine works in this video from one of its’ creators:

Coca Cola Freestyle is far more complex than the video indicates and in fact it is something of a technological marvel. Its’ “PurePour” features were originally created and developed for the medical field so that extremely precise amounts of dialysis and cancer drugs could be created.

From a business marketing point of view even more impressive perhaps is the business data that each dispenser sends to Coca Cola’s Atlanta headquarters. These clever machines are able to provide the company with data about beverage consumption, peak times purchase times, details of beverage choices at each sale and how popular it is in its location compared to its compadres in other locations. In turn Coke executives and line managers can also” talk back” to the machine, letting it know if, for instance, a certain flavor had been discontinued or recalled and orders the machine to stop dispensing it immediately.

Have you tried one of these Coca Cola Freestyle machines? What would be your dream flavor combination if you could? Let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear from you.

And how does Google+ compare with social media leaders Facebook and Twitter?

TastyPlacement, a search engine marketing firm recently did a study called "Testing Social Signals in Search" to answer this question.  The results?  Google+ comes out the winner: with "+1" 's from Google+ followers doing more for your online social status that either Facebook or Twitter.

To see a colorful infographic explaining the results click here.

Those Atlanta small business owners unfamiliar with Google+ can view this short overview from Google:

Google+: There's more to explore

Are you incorporating Google+ into your social media marketing plans?

We'd love to hear from Atlanta small business owners and marketing executives for our follow-up story.