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Jan Norman on Small Business ~ News and practical tips for and by Orange County small business owners

Archive for the 'Meltdown' Category

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Survey: small-firm finances at 7-year low

February 5th, 2010, 3:50 pm by Jan Norman, small-business columnist

Small businesses are in the worst financial shape in almost seven years, according to the January survey by Wells Fargo Bank and Gallup.

Asked about six key measures  — cash flow, revenues, capital spending, hiring, credit availability and financial bad-economy-cartoonsituation — the “present situation” score dropped 5 points to -29, the lowest present situation score in the 27 quarters Gallup has done the Index.

Overall optimism was down one point from the previous survey in October at -16.

A score of zero indicates that small-business owners, as a group, are neutral, neither optimistic nor pessimistic, about their companies’ situations.

The Index is the sum of “present situation” and “future expectations” of small business owners. “Future expectations” increased four points to 13.

Of the six key measures, the following measures served as main drivers of the Index score during this survey:

  • 42% rated their cash flow as somewhat poor or very poor for the past 12 months, compared to 36% in October
  • 48% expect revenue increases over the next 12 months, compared to 42% in October
  • 24% expect spending to increase in the next 12 months, compared to 19% in October

The overall Small Business Index is computed from a formula that scores and sums the answers to 12 questions. The overall Index can range from -400 (the most negative score possible) to +400 (the most positive). The margin of error is 4 percentage points.

Other economy stories…

Posted in: Economy • Meltdown • Reports • Top posts • • | 2 Comments »

New-firm filings lowest in 6 years

February 5th, 2010, 5:00 am by Jan Norman, small-business columnist

Orange County businesses had 3,104 fictitious name filings with the county Clerk Recorder’s office in January, the fewest January filings since at least 2004. (Click on image for a larger view.)

Source: O.C. County Clerk Recorder

Source: O.C. County Clerk Recorder

Fictitious business names, also called DBAs for “doing business as”, are an indication of economic activity. They are filed by new businesses and those that sell or move or have another significant change.

The year-over-year monthly filings declined 3.9%. The 12-month running total (which evens out any seasonal highs or lows) was 36,393 filings, down 4.8% from the previous 12 months, according to the county.

However, the January filings were higher than in December, which typically is one of the slowest months of the year because of the Christmas holidays.

Other business stories…

Posted in: Economy • Meltdown • Reports • Top posts • • • | 3 Comments »

O.C. business sales up for first time in 19 months

February 1st, 2010, 12:00 pm by Jan Norman, small-business columnist

The sale of Orange County businesses increased 20% in January from a year earlier, according to BizBen, a web site that specializes in California businesses for sale.

Although the total number of transactions, 96, is puny compared to pre-recession months, it is the first year-over-year monthly uptick since July, 2008.

Source: BizBen

Source: BizBen

And O.C. isn’t alone in this glimmer of economic improvement. Surrounding counties and California all experienced more business sales in January than a year earlier.

“We’re hearing cries for help from baby boomers getting ready to retire and other business owners who want to sell,” said BizBen founder Peter Siegel.  “They’re discovering what a difficult challenge it is right now to get your price and come out with a clean deal.” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Economy • Meltdown • Mergers and Acquisitions • Reports • Top posts • | Post a Comment »

O.C. firm claims world’s biggest urn

January 30th, 2010, 6:00 am by Jan Norman, small-business columnist

The 8-ton ceramic urn recently installed at the Orange County Rescue Mission’s Village of Hope in Tustin has already won two awards.

Now Richard Cohen Landscape and Construction Inc., the Lake Forest landscape contractor that installed the water feature, is seeking one more honor. It has applied to the Guinness World Records to proclaim the water feature the world’s largest and heaviest urn.

Award-winning water feature at Village of Hope

Award-winning water feature at Village of Hope, photos by Carlos Zarraga of Richard Cohen Landscape & Construction, Inc.

The 16-foot-tall black and white ceramic urn was created by Denmark artist Peter Brandes.  Jesus’ 12 original disciples are depicted on the circumference. Bone-colored, engraved symbols protrude from the urn  and portray the story of each disciple from the Bible. Biblical passages are also engraved into the urn.

Village of Hope is a transitional facility for the homeless.

“Thanks to Richard Cohen and his company, the residents at the Village of Hope have a gorgeous symbol of peace and tranquility,” said Mission Vice President John Luker. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Awards • Local companies • Meltdown • Reports • Top posts • • • • | 2 Comments »

Are small-biz owners fed up with government?

January 29th, 2010, 5:00 pm by Jan Norman, small-business columnist

Chuck Blakeman at Small Biz Trends has a theory about why small business owners are fed up with government. Here’s a key section:

The top job provider in the U.S. economy is businesses under 10 employees and those with 11-19 employees is second.  Seventy-nine percent (79%) of all business in America have less than 10 employees.  But the politicians clearly don’t understand this.

In February while big businesses and big state governments were receiving $787 billion, the politicians threw a $255 million bone to small businesses in the form of the SBA ARC loan program, providing a potential $35,000 for a business that could get one.  That’s 2/100th of one percent of the $1.5 trillion dedicated to the single largest job growth sector in our economy.

Almost a year later less than 50% of this paltry sum has been loaned.

Click here to read his entire post. Be sure to scroll down and read some of the more than 100 comments.

However, my frequent conversations with small-business owners don’t have an “I’m not getting my place at the public trough” theme. They tend to be dismayed that the government isn’t living within its means the way they have to. And guess who provides the money that government spends.

What do you think?

Other business stories…

Posted in: Economy • Government rules • Meltdown • Top posts • • | Post a Comment »

More unemployed are starting businesses

January 28th, 2010, 6:00 am by Jan Norman, small-business columnist

Unemployed managers starting new businesses hit a four-year high in 2009, according to executive outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas.

Here are Challenger’s data on the percentage of job seekers who started businesses, dating back to 1999:

business-startup
The company attributes the uptick to hope that the economy was starting to improve and noted that new business development is considered critical to a sustainable recovery.

The Kauffman Foundation also noted the trend starting in 2008, when 510 out of 100,000 adults in the Santa Ana-Long Beach-Los Angeles region started a business , up from 430 in 2007.

BusinessWeek said Irvine was among the top U.S. cities of population under 200,000 in which to start a business in 2009. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Economy • Meltdown • Reports • Startup • Top posts • | 7 Comments »

‘Only’ 46% say economy is worse

January 27th, 2010, 6:00 am by Jan Norman, small-business columnist

Here’s what passes for optimism among small-business owners these days: 46% say the economy is getting worse vs. 31% say it’s getting better, according to the Discover Small Business Watch.

The Small Business Watch Index, based on responses to six questions about perceptions of the economy and plans in business, is now 85.5, compared to 77.0 in December and 71.4 a year ago.

But owners are still pretty gloomy: 45% plan to cut spending on business development over the next six months compared to 46% a year ago, while 25% plan to increase spending vs. 19% a year ago:

discover-spending-plans

“We measure small-business insights and expectations about the larger economy as well as on the local level, so it’s good to see confidence rise on Main Street,” said Ryan Scully, director of Discover’s business credit card. “January showed us the first month-to-month increase since August in the number of small-business owners who plan to increase spending on business development. Self-investment is a healthy sign in the small-business economy.”

A separate survey commissioned by the Kauffman Foundation also shows caution if not downright pessimism:

  • 71% do not expect to add jobs in 2010
  • 61% think the economy is on the wrong track
  • 36% have cut jobs in the past year

Entrepreneurs are struggling to create jobs in this economy, and “it’s not tenable for the United States to continue with the status quo,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke at the recent State of Entrepreneurship address by Kauffman Foundation CEO Carl Schramm in Washington D.C.

The Kansas City-based Kauffman Foundation advocates for entreprenership.

Schramm noted, “Entrepreneurs are still the primary engine of job creation in the United States. In the last 30 years, literally all net job creation in this country has taken place in firms less than five years old.”

The Discover Small Business Watch doesn’t ask specifically about job creation, but did find:

  • 43% say economic conditions for their businesses are getting worse vs. 29% who sa they’re getting better
  • 46% say the economy is getting worse vs. 31% who say it’s getting better
  • 58% rate the economy as poor vs. 8% who rate it good or excellent

Other economy stories…

Posted in: Economy • Meltdown • Reports • Top posts • • | Post a Comment »

O.C. bankruptcy filings soared 64% in ‘09

January 22nd, 2010, 4:50 am by Jan Norman, small-business columnist

In 2009, 14,741 Orange County individuals and businesses filed for protection in federal bankruptcy count, the highest number in at least a decade, according to the  U.S.  Bankruptcy Court Central District of California.

Source: U.S. Bankruptcy Court

Source: U.S. Bankruptcy Court

Filings for the year were 64.1% higher than a year earlier for Orange County and 64.9% for the entire Central District covering most of Southern California.

In December, 1,130 filings were made in Orange County, 52% higher than a year earlier but 3.1% below November. December numbers tend to be lower because people don’t like to file around Christmas. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Bankruptcy • Economy • Meltdown • Top posts • • | 23 Comments »

Poll: Who says California economy is bad?

January 21st, 2010, 5:00 am by Jan Norman, small-business columnist

The vast majority — 95% — of California’s registered voters say the state’s economy is bad while just 2% say it’s good, according to a new Field Poll.

Here are Field Poll results through the years of Californians who said the economy is bad (click on the image for a larger view):

Source: Field Poll

Source: Field Poll

This is as bleak as the state’s voters have been since the early ’90s, Field says.

Take our poll and then read what else Californians told the Field Poll.

California's economic conditions are:
View Results

Unemployment fears are weighing heavily on respondents. “Eight out of 10 describe unemployment in the state as a very serious problem similar to the previous record high proportion of 80% who said this in 1992 when the state was also in the midst of a severe recession,” Field says. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Economy • Meltdown • Poll • Reports • Top posts • | 24 Comments »

Small-firm loans down another $1 billion

January 20th, 2010, 6:00 am by Jan Norman, small-business columnist

For the seventh straight month, the nation’s largest banks cut their lending to small businesses, CNN Money sayss, citing a new Treasury Department report.

Source: CNNMoney

Source: CNNMoney

The lending balance in November was cut $1 billion to $256.8 billion. The banks cut the lending balance $1 billion in October and a total of $12.5 billion since April when the mandatory reports to Treasury began. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Banks • Economy • Meltdown • Top posts • Updates • | 1 Comment »

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