Business Consultant's Digest April 10th, 2012 | arc mercury

by Derek Greer

As a business consulting firm we focus on small businesses, startups and the middle class entrepreneur.? Knowing the value of time, here we share news items that we believe have the deepest impact on small business.

Top stories being reported today in the Wall Street Journal:

• New Europe Woes Hit Global Markets-A wave of selling rolled through financial markets on both sides of the Atlantic Tuesday, shattering a calm that has pervaded global markets for the past few months, as concerns flared anew about Europe?s troubled economies.
• Tough Times for Franchising-Two closely watched disputes now playing out in the courts are shining a spotlight on tensions between franchise owners and management.
• AIG to Return to U.S. Property Investing-American International Group is planning to jump back into U.S. property investing, reversing years long efforts to downsize its real-estate business in the wake of its near-collapse and government bailout in 2008.
• Rethinking the Value of Business Majors-More than 20% of U.S. undergraduates are business majors, but now faculty members, school administrators and corporate recruiters are questioning the value of a business degree at the undergraduate level.

Is it good news to hear that AIG is returning to US property investing? ?It depends on how you interpret this, on one side the bailout did what it was supposed to do, bail them out and return them to normal. ?On the other side, it is disconcerting to hear that AIG may return to their old bad habits of over leveraging their Mortgage Backed Securities portfolio. ?Can we be confident that the SEC and the new legislation?enacted?after the 2008 meltdown will be capable of keeping these ?To Big To Fail? companies from experiencing another moral hazard? ?Only time will tell. ?In the mean time we business consultants will remain positive that the lesson was learned from companies like AIG. ?Ethics do matter and never rest on your laurels.

Wishing everyone a productive day from arc mercury business consulting!

by Derek Greer

As a business consulting firm we focus on small businesses, startups and the middle class entrepreneur.? Knowing the value of time, here we share news items that we believe have the deepest impact on small business.

Top stories being reported today in the Wall Street Journal:

• The Dow industrials fell?for a fourth consecutive trading session and the first since Friday?s disappointing jobs report. The blue chips dropped 130.55 points, or 1%, to 12929.59. Treasury prices rose, pushing the 10-year yield down to 2.035%
• Small-Business Owners Less Upbeat-?Small-business owners became slightly less confident in March, data released showed, as rising prices and slowing sales weighed down optimism about the economy.
• OECD Expects Growth Pick-Up-?The world?s developed economies appear set for stronger growth in the months ahead, while China?s economy is also likely to pick up, according to the OECD.

Wishing everyone a productive day from arc mercury business consulting!

by Derek Greer

As a business consulting firm we focus on small businesses, startups and the middle class entrepreneur.? Knowing the value of time, here we share news items that we believe have the deepest impact on small business.

Top stories being reported today in the Wall Street Journal:

• Make Social Networks Work for Your Start-Up: Social networks can be used for marketing or even as an alternative to a company website. But jump in only when your business is fully functioning since effectively managing profiles takes time and energy.
• Re-Sizing Small Businesses: Lawmakers, banks and the Small Business Administration are expanding definitions of small businesses to include more companies once considered midsize.
• U.S. Firms Emerge Stronger: Big U.S. companies have emerged from the deepest recession since World War II more productive, more profitable, flush with cash and less burdened by debt.
• Romney?s Path Is Getting Clearer: The fight for the GOP nomination appeared closer to an end as Gingrich all but conceded to Romney, and Santorum faced a money shortage in his home state.
• Share prices have defied skeptics this year, registering strong gains even as analysts have been reducing estimates for first-quarter earnings. That raises the prospect of a jolt to investors as the corporate reporting season begins.

As a business consultant in the 21st century it is?imperative?that we analyse the effectiveness of social network marketing. ?It is definitely the hot new thing, providing easy access to lots of consumers for a quarter of the price of traditional advertising. ?This may seem like a no-brainer to the startup community, however, the devil is in the details, which can be uncovered through asking these two specific questions.

> How much time and management actual goes into effectively administering a social network for marketing purposes?

> What is the actual return on investment- time / resources invested versus actual customers in return?

This is a metric often used for traditional advertising, yet for some reason it is often overlooked when it comes to social network marketing. ?This is something to keep in mind as the majority of us spend multiple hours a day facebooking, tweeting, linking-in, ect.

Wishing everyone a productive day from arc mercury business consulting!

by Derek Greer

As a business consulting firm we focus on small businesses, startups and the middle class entrepreneur.? Knowing the value of time, here we share news items that we believe have the deepest impact on small business.

Top stories being reported today in the Wall Street Journal:

• Job Slowdown Renews Doubt-?U.S. job creation slowed, as a labor market that recently has showed vigor appeared to lose momentum. The data have political implications and raise questions about Fed policy.
• Stocks mostly edged lower, capping the biggest weekly drop of the year, as the Dow industrials declined 14.61 points to 13060.14.
• The improving economy is providing a slight boost to U.S. malls and shopping centers, which registered their first declines in vacancies in years.
• Microsoft is courting app developers for its Windows Phone to try to dent the dominance of Apple and Google in the smartphone market.
• Venture Firms Offer More Than Cash-?Some of the biggest names in venture capital are starting to provide start-ups with more than just capital, offering marketing, design and other services that companies typically need help with in their early stages.
• Bid to Ease the Squeeze on Business-?San Francisco has for at least two decades been a difficult place to set up and operate a small business, but the city is trying to simplify the process, especially for restaurants.

The question of the day: is the U.S. economy recovering? ?Well according to the recent jobs report, no. ?New jobs created (nonfarm) for March were 120,000, coming in under 200,000 for the first time since November of last year according to the labor department. ?However, on a more positive note, US malls and shopping centers are registering their first decline in vacancies in years. ?A good indicator that the economy is returning it?s buying power. ?As for the entrepreneurs and start-ups out there, venture capital firms are beginning to come to the party with more than just cash. ?They are attempting to offer more hands on services that will help companies take off.

Wishing everyone a productive day from arc mercury business consulting!

by Derek Greer

As a business consulting firm we focus on small businesses, startups and the middle class entrepreneur.? Knowing the value of time, here we share news items that we believe have the deepest impact on small business.

Top stories being reported today in the Wall Street Journal:

• Fears that central banks may soon end efforts to support financial markets and fresh concerns about Europe drove down stock markets around the world.
• Private employers hired 209,000 workers last month, an ADP report said, stirring hopes for the government?s jobs report due on Friday.
• The New York Fed said it will explore sales of some of its remaining securities from the bailout of insurer AIG during the financial crisis.
• Regions Financial repaid the U.S. Treasury $3.5 billion, allowing it to emerge from the federal government?s bailout program.
• U.S. trade restrictions could hamper the ability of American businesses to reap the fruits of Russia?s entry into the WTO this summer.
• Last month, the SBA redefined small architectural firms as those with less than $7 million in revenue, from $4.5 million. The SBA has made similar upward revisions over the last year in 130 industries, adding at least 27,400 new companies to its definition of a small business.

Outside of the usual?rhythm,?stocks up then down, Fed in then out, something of interest for the ?small business? sector: the recent revision of what a small architectural firm is. ?As noted above from the WSJ, the SBA (US Small Business Administration) redefined small architectural firms to mean ?firms as those with less than $7 million in revenue, from $4.5 million.? ?What does this mean from a business consultant?s frame of mind? ?Well for starters this increases the number of companies within the architectural industry that are considered small business, therefore increasing competition. ?For architects, government contracts can be very lucrative, more importantly, very consistent. ?23% of government contracts must go to ?small businesses.? ?This now gives lager companies access to this allocation of business. ?This does not only apply to?architectural?firms, this increase of what is considered a small business is a trend that has been affecting many industries. ?Ultimately, this may also affect how small businesses within various industries are treated in regards to future legislation and tax.

Wishing everyone a productive day from arc mercury business consulting!

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