Did you know in 2007, women owned the majority of share of 7.7 million firms in the U.S? That they employed more than 7.1 million workers and generated more than $1.1 trillion in sales?

The Center for Women’s Business Research is forming a nationwide panel of women business owners. The research uncovered from the panel will help shape decisions made by the government, financial institutions and more. I encourage any woman business owner to participate. Log onto www.cfwbr.org to learn more.

Believe it or not, automakers are diving into extra-long auto loans in order to cut buyers’ payments. Toyota motor credit acknowledged it is making 84 month loans to cut payments and boost sales.

They are assuming the consumer shops with a monthly budget in their heads. And in today’s credit squeezed market, dealers have less access to cheap interest rates and are therefore cutting payments by offering longer term loans.

I think this is insane. Please, wise women out there, don’t so this! When you drive a car off the lot it immediately loses value!! Be aware and go for the shortest term car loan possible!

Americans who have money stored in individual retirement accounts tend to hang on to it for use in the later years of retirement, according to a study by The Investment Company Institute, a Washington, DC based trade association.

Savers who withdraw funds before age 59 ½ are subject to a 10% penalty; savers older than age 59 ½ but younger than 70 ½ may take withdrawals without penalty. But once you reach 70 ½, the law mandates “required minimum distributions” based on IRS tables.

The goal as you age should be to sock away as much as you are eligible in your individual retirement plan. Investing for wealth accumulation and growing your next egg should be a top concern. With an Entrust self-directed IRA, you have the ability to invest in what you know best! Contact your local Entrust specialist to learn more! www.theentrustgroup.com

Women are not getting their fair share of help from the SBA

Published April 14, 2008 at NuWire Investor
Written by Trista Winnie

Women today are generally accustomed to competing with men in many walks of life. But being presented with data showing that men are heavily favored can still often be daunting.

In the interest of encouraging fairness, along with the growth and development of women-owned small businesses, Congress declared in 1994 that at least 5 percent of U.S. procurement dollars should go toward women-owned small businesses.

“Six years passed before Congress ordered the SBA to study and implement a set-aside program for women—which it did only after the Women’s Chamber sued and a federal judge ordered action. Another six years—apparently a popular unit of delay at the SBA—passed before the agency launched a study with the Rand Corp. to identify industry sectors where qualified female bidders win a low proportion of contract awards,” according to Fortune Small Business. Rand found women to be awarded a disproportionately small number of contracts in 87 percent of 2,300 business categories, according to Fortune Small Business.

“Then Rand looked at the dollar value of contracts and found women underrepresented in only four categories (presumably because a few female-owned firms won big contracts in the others),” according to Fortune Small Business. “The SBA decided to emphasize the latter finding and offer set-asides only to women in those four niches.”

The result?

“The SBA issued a proposed regulation Dec. 27 [2007] that would allow federal agencies to set aside contracts for women-owned businesses in four industries: national security and international affairs; coating, engraving, heat treating and allied activities; household and institutional furniture and kitchen cabinet manufacturing; and other motor vehicle dealers. These are the industries where women have been under-represented in federal contracting, based on the dollar amounts of contracts awarded, according to the SBA’s analysis of a study conducted by the Rand Corp.,” according to the Denver Business Journal. “The regulation includes far fewer industries than Congress intended when it passed legislation in December 2000 that directed the SBA to establish the contracting program.”

In fact, “The Women Impacting Public Policy group calculated that only 1,247 of America’s 10.4 million female-owned businesses could benefit,” according to Fortune Small Business.

The federal government has not once met the goal of awarding 5 percent of procurement dollars to women-owned small businesses. Congress never tasked any agency with the responsibility of ensuring that the goal was met.

“In fiscal 2006, women-owned businesses received $11.6 billion in federal contracts, an increase of $1.4 billion over the previous year. That total, however, represented only 3.4 percent of all federal prime contracts,” according to the Denver Business Journal.

The SBA is taking the next month to review “scorching” public comments, according to Fortune Small Business. The U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce “sued the SBA in 2004 over the program’s delay. Two years ago, a federal judge ruled the agency had ’sabotaged’ the program and ordered the SBA to submit a timeline for implementing it,” according to the Denver Business Journal.

Women business owners will turn to Congress and the courts once again if the SBA does not expand the program.

“Failure to implement the Women’s Procurement Program has cost women business owners at least $6 billion in lost contracts,” Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., chair of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, said in a statement.

Women small business owners should keep themselves apprised of the situation for further developments.

Ever wonder what your competition is doing? Where they get their great information, keywords they use to help get ahead, and more?

Here are a few “secret sites” sites that will help you spy on your competition, though I guess this won’t be a secret anymore! Let me know if it makes a difference to your business! Lisa

www.keywordspy.com – keywords your competitors use.
www.archive.com – researching the competitor’s site through their changes.
www.linkpopularity.com – see who links to the competition. Get them to link to you. Links meaner higher placement on search engines.
www.polepositionweb.com – tells if competitors changed their web site.
www.google.com/alerts – alerts you to blog items.
www.google.com/news – get news alerts of competitors.
www.technocrat.com and www.topix.net – tells you what the public is interested in for opeds, blogs and e-zine copy.
www.compete.com – see how many hits a competitor’s site gets and profiles of competitors customers.

Earth Day is today, April 22nd but you can celebrate all year long by taking advantage of these three earth friendly ideas that will help you use resources wisely at home.

1. Do an energy audit. Zero in on your home’s problem areas and you may be able to cut utility costs and help the environment at the same time. Check out the U.S. Department Energy Audit at eere.energy.gov to help you get started.

2. Consider a solar water heater, especially if you plan on staying in your home for the long term.

3. Cut back on water usage. According to the American Water Works Association, 69.3 gallons of water are used daily per person in a single family home. Surely we could do something about this.

Let’s all do our part for the environment! Happy Earth Day. Lisa

With the subprime markets tightening their purse strings, where do buyers go who have low credit scores or lower than ideal income to qualify for a mortgage? Today it is harder than ever to get a good loan if your credit score is below 600. By doing your own due diligence, you can research for information to help you make an informed decision on mortgages no matter what your credit score, income or other factors, such as fees associated with the loan.

www.dontborrowtrouble.com
Freddie Mac provides good information on avoiding-high priced loans.

www.fanniemae.com
Helps you find products (mortgage loans) that help low-to-middle income families buy homes.

www.annualcreditreport.com
I cannot stress the importance of knowing not only your credit score but what exactly is on your credit report. You can check your report from each of the three major credit reporting companies free of charge.

Beware of adjustable rate mortgages. In my opinion, you would be better off to continue to rent until you feel you can afford the higher payment associated with a fixed rate mortgage.

With all of the responsibilities women have in today’s world, do you ever feel beat up because you try to do it all? Is it worth it?

I was recently interviewed for NuWire Magazine on what drives professional women and what the down sides are to being a women business owner. As I answered the questions, I realized that I still do not find the time for exercise or to even sit still, except for my meditation which I do right before I sleep. My mind races as I handle multiple projects at once, manage people and am constantly on the road. Does this sound like you?

If it does, read on because after today, I have finally realized those of us who are type A must slow down or die!

I was in a meeting with an attorney, going over some issues I have with a rental property in another state. I was interviewing the attorney to see if he would be a good match for my problem and what could he suggest to help me solve my problem. During our conversation, I learned his philosophy of business and life.

He interviews his clients to make sure he wants them as clients. He fires clients who do not do what they say they will do or are unresponsive when he tries to contact them. He works on a schedule where he leaves early enough in the day to have family time, and has his weekends free.

I asked him how he can have a successful law practice from just 9-5. He said, “We are responsible for our own choices in life. I choose not to be a workaholic. If I accomplish 80% of what I set out to do in a week then I have succeeded. Money is not everything, my family and my health are.”

I am sure all of you have met someone with this philosophy, yet just ignore what they are saying because after all, how would they understand the responsibilities on your shoulders? However, this attorney’s sincerity made me pause and think about the choices I make in regards to my personal well being.

Just six weeks ago, a business friend of mine retired to pursue travel and writing. She had sold her Florida home and moved to the mountains of North Carolina. Two weeks ago, she was not feeling well; she suffered a major heart attack and died.

Guess I keeping asking myself, “How many more reminders does one need to prioritize in life?” How about you? Let this be your wakeup call!

I recently was in the hospital for a surgical procedure which required I stay overnight to be monitored. The pre-op, operation and post-op experience were fine. The staff was efficient and friendly, the hospital clean, and I thought all was well and that I was in good hands.

Until the sun went down, or should I say, until the shift change. I was moved into a semi-private room and had a very nice roommate. All was well until about 10:00p.m. when the place turned into a morgue. It seemed no one was there from 10:00p.m. to 6:00a.m. which may have been fine if I had been doing well, but as my luck would have it, I experienced a few minor complications. I ended up living a nightmare.

It started with my IV. It needed to be moved as my vein collapsed. It took 3 nurses to find a vein. By the time that was finally accomplished, I was in a lot of pain and my medication being fed to me intravenously wore off. So they gave me more—much more.

At 2:00a.m., I pressed the call button as I was feeling nauseous. No one came, not for 15 minutes, not for 30. I kept pressing the call button. My roommate who could walk with her IV tube and stand tried to help me by getting a pail as she could tell that if someone did not come soon, I would lose it.

I did. Finally someone showed up at 3:00a.m. She changed my bedding and put me back to semi-comfort. She did all of this without saying a word or apologizing for taking over an hour to respond. At 6:00a.m., some guy came in to take my blood pressure. I asked him to come back. He refused to come back, again with the call button, again with no response.

When the shift changed again at sunrise, the magical 7:00a.m. time, it was back to a friendly, efficient and safe care. Nurses came in three times between 7:00a.m. and 9:00a.m.

My doctor came in at 9:00a.m. for rounds and discharge me. I told her about my experience. You know what she said? “I recommend to my patients if they ask to hire a private nurse for nights. They can get you what you need and you don’t sacrifice care.”

I was stunned. So, I pay a fortune for health insurance. I pay deductibles to doctors and hospitals. I even paid a deposit when I went into the hospital so they were covered, and now I need to pay for private nursing while I am a patient in the hospital? Does this make sense to anyone out there?

It really makes me wonder what happens to people who have long term hospital stays. What happens to those who cannot afford care? What happens as the nursing shortage continues to increase?

This is the Real State of our Health Care System. It is not just about insurance coverage for all. It is about getting the proper care one needs in order to get well. No matter how much money one has.

Guess if I have to go into the hospital again for any reason, I better think about getting my own nurse so I can be properly cared for. Hope this gives you some food for thought.

Lisa

Credit markets have tightened. Banks are getting stingy on making new loans, and you need money. Here are a four tips to get your FICO (credit) score up no matter what your financial situation is today so if you must borrow in the future you will have done all you can to make you look like a good credit risk. Remember, credit scores are the deal maker or breaker to a lender.

1. Buy your score so you know what it is. When you order a free credit report, you can order a FICO score from Equifax for $7.95. You could also order your score online from Fair Issac’s website at www.myfico.com for $15.95.

2. Pay your bills on time. Your score rises with timely payments. 35% of the formula that makes up your FICO score counts towards payment history.

3. Reduce your debt. Your credit score reflects the debt ratio for each of your credit cards, so the less debt you have the lower the ratio and the better the chances of being able to borrow.

4. Don’t open any new accounts or credit cards and don’t close any either. Believe it or not, closing an account will have a negative impact on your score.