Small Business Boomers

Miranda Marquit over at Yielding Wealth got me to thinking, with her article about pulling her money out of Citibank.  Have you looked at your business credit card lately?  I did, and received a rude surprise.  When did my interest rate get up to 28.9% ?
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Just in time for Thanksgiving, I’m going “cold turkey.” I’m cutting off my business credit cards.  No more credit for me.  I have a couple of online expenses I pay by credit card, and I’m making sure to pay the full balance off each month.  And I’m going to pay off …read more

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I’m beginning to think we have wasted our time and money on this election whoo-ha, over the past two years.  I don’t think it will really matter for those of us in small businesses, over the next four years.  Here is why:
1.  The Economy. With the current economic situation, and the $10 TRILLION  budget deficit, what president is going to be so foolhardy as to put us further in debt with spending programs.  We need cutbacks, across the board.  As Thomas Jefferson said, we need a “government that governs least,” not one that governs more.  So what does that leave …read more

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I read today about a small business owner in Texas who had been a good customer at a bank, and who wanted a loan to expand his business. Yet the bank wanted him to have $1 million in the bank in order to borrow an additional $1/2 million (doesn’t make sense, does it?). These kinds of stories worry me, because they affect not only the business owner but the entire U.S. economy for the future as well.
Small businesses are the key to economic growth. Look at this one example:

The businesman was going to hire 45 more …read more

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Well, it looks like the stock market rallied today (up over 500 points as I write this) and gas prices are falling – a friend here in Iowa reported gas prices under $3.
But for Baby Boomers, and particularly those of us in business, times may continue to be “tight” and we remain worried. So what are you doing to cope? Have you changed anything?
My husband and I have made some changes and plan to make others:

We cancelled a planned 10-day trip to do some family history research.
We paid off our high-interest charge card and …read more

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I don’t know about you, but I have been on an emotional roller coaster since all the “credit crunch” stuff and the financial crisis.  I can’t sleep, and I can’t concentrate at work.  I made the mistake of looking at my portfolio last weekend – bad idea.  And the roller coaster continues.  What a ride! Here is what I have been feeling:

I am terrified that my husband and I will lose all the savings we worked so hard to build up over the years.
I am mad as hell at all the companies that decided they didn’t …read more

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Baby Boomers in business:  I’m curious.
Has the credit crunch affected your business?  For example:

Have you found that business is slower?
Have you had trouble collecting money from customers?
Has your bank pulled bank your credit line or denied you additional funding?

Comment or use my latest poll to let me know.

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Many business owners have said they are being affected by the credit crunch in two ways:
1.  They are unable to borrow money to pay their bills.
2.  Their customers are taking longer to pay.
The availability of credit is a serious problem for any small business.  It’s about survival.  Believe me, I’ve been there.  The problem may start out as a small amount that you need, “just to make payroll,” and it grows.  Pretty soon, you’re using your credit cards to put money into your company to pay your business bills and pay employees.  And it gets worse. If your business has …read more

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Despite the threats of tight credit, and concerns about the effect of the failure of the ‘bailout’ on “Main Street,” not everyone is worried.  I spoke with two people today who received startup loans.  One got a loan for a professional practice with 10 percent down and no co-signer.  The second got an SBA loan (I thought the SBA money was not available); the second person is a woman, if that makes any difference.
On the other hand, a friend who works for a large national bank said they are pulling in lines of credit (cutting them off, in other words) …read more

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Like all business owners, baby boomers are dealing with the current financial mess in different ways.  Here are some suggestions for you, depending on your degree of optimism and your risk tolerance:
1.  Restrict your cash flow and focus on essentials.  Decide what is essential for your business and what is nice to have but not essential.  For example, this is not the time to remodel the reception area.  As they say, “stick to your knitting.”
2.  Find small savings.  Those little things can add up.  For example, do you really need those fancier new pens or will an older one do?
3.  Cut employees.  …read more

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