However, sales from January through July are still down almost 20% from the same period in 2007.

Here are BizBen numbers for July sales of Orange County businesses:

Statewide, July business sales declined almost 13% from a year earlier but managed an 8.6% increase from June. 

As for counties adjacent to Orange County, here’s their July performance:

• Los Angeles, down 37.7% from 2007, up 17.3% from June
• Riverside, down 50.4% from 2007, up 40.5% from June
• San Bernardino, down 26.4% from 2007, down 6.9% from June
• San Diego, up 47.9 percent from 2007, down 20.1% from June.

Generally, it’s a tight market in which to sell a business. Many would-be buyers cannot pull equity from their homes to buy a business, a common source of capital for the past several years. And lenders generally have tightened their requirements, making it tougher to get business loans of all types.

However, it is possible the market is showing signs of firming up in some markets if the uptick from June continues.

OTHER STORIES:

• O.C. businesses much more affordable than homes
• Sale of O.C. businesses fell 22.6% in first half of  ’08
• O.C. business bankruptcies soar 153% in April
• Small-business optimism hits 38-year low
• 50% of business sales fall through
• How many businesses sold in your city in 2007?
• O.C. business sales lead Southern California
• Local small-business loans plunge

Eventually the membership site that launched Aug. 2 will match job seekers with the most compatible workplaces, but right now, founder Petti Van Rekom (right) needs your experiences with real work environments at local companies.

There are a number of Web sites where people rant about or rate jobs. I wrote here about one created by a Chapman University student (check out ones mentioned in the comments.)

The Workplace Review rates the work environment, not the job. The concept is that the specific tasks you do at a job are less important to your happiness than the culture, practices and people in the workplace.

“How do we find better workplaces? By asking the people who actually work there,” says Van Rekom, a San Clemente resident and long-time employee trainer and career coach.

Here’s a sample scorecard generated from answers workers give on the survey:

The Workplace Review’s survey that is used to produce the scorecard has 58 questions and takes about 10 minutes to complete, Van Rekom says.

She would love to have surveys for every one of the million-plus companies in the region but her initial goal is 1,000 companies in 100 days.

Van Rekom got the idea for the site when she coached her own son, Kurtis, about finding a job he loved not just one that paid a lot of money. She should know what she’s talking about because she got her doctorate at USC in human performance at work.

After helping him identify the best school for his chosen career and helping him get what seemed like a great job, Kurtis hated the place.

“That’s when I realized it’s all about the work environment,” she says. “Most people are flexible about the work they do; it’s the place that makes the difference.”

Trust between managers and employees is the most important factor in identifying a great workplace, she says, based on 20 years of research by the Great Place to Work Institute that produces Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For in America.

The Workplace Review is free now, but eventually members will pay $10 a month or $30 a year, Van Rekom says.

OTHER STORIES:

• Best places to work include O.C. companies
• 20 ‘Great Workplaces’ worldwide: O.C. has one
• Best workplaces align values with benefits
• Private eye shares ‘Best O.C. Businesses’ list
• Reduce stress at work
• A gas-inspired pay raise
• What every manager needs to know
• Poll: Do Casual Fridays help or hurt workers?

While office politics are commonly regarded quite negatively as a culture rife with back stabbing, gossiping, and brown nosing, it also has a very strong upside.  The key to successfully navigating your way through the propaganda is making the system “for” you rather than “against” you.

The very nature of office politics is strategy, which differs from office gossip in that people participating in office politics do so with the objective of gaining advantage, whereas gossip can be a purely social activity.

Accordingly, creating an office politics action plan detailing specific, proactive strategies to circumvent political landmines is a worthy exercise.

Here are seven methods to help anyone become more successful at climbing the corporate ladder amid a highly charged political climate:
 
1. Over-Communicate.  Keep others apprised of what you are planning or currently working on.  In many companies this can mean taking meetings with people you may not like or respect, but chalk that up to life in the fast lane. 
 
2. Cultivate Mentors Mentors who are company insiders can give you a fast understanding of the company’s culture.  But a mentor need not be within the organization, as outside mentors can provide a new, fresh and completely unbiased perspective on both your personal style and how your company’s politics are working in general.
 
3. Ask Open-ended Questions Ask a lot of questions to different people in different sides of the company. And then shut up. 

When you hear the perspectives of people in departments or operations other than yours, it helps you to see the world as they see it and understand what they deem important. 
 
4. Review Constantly Seek constant feedback from others.  Talk about what just took place in  that meeting you just attended, what the last message from the corporate office “really” said, how you did in a recent presentation, what is driving decisions and directives.

Many great managers fail because they believe that what’s right is what is going to succeed, which all too often is not the case.
 
5. Get “Buy In” It’s important to ensure that everyone who may be influenced by your programs or initiatives is aware of what’s going to happen and feels like they’ve been involved.

At the very least it may reduce friction that could derail your ultimate, longer-term success. 
 
6. Give — and Take — Due Credit.  OK, it’s true: guys are credit hogs, which gets old and can come back to bite them over time. And gals can go too far the other way, giving the rest of the team so much credit that they don’t get the respect from upper management they deserve for their ideas, work and contributions. 

Credit those on your team who deserve it, but don’t miss an opportunity to take credit for your work as well.
 
7. Style Still Counts  How you present yourself to others — your external façade — can make a big difference in how you are perceived.

While this is seemingly common sense advice, all too often we mistakenly think our presentation — our outward appearance, our use of PowerPoint, our buzzwords and jargon — will be universally accepted. 

Sometimes those in other departments or companies have preconceived opinions about you or “your kind,” however stereotypical or politically incorrect. 

Also, in every situation make an effort in advance get to know the audience you are dealing with, and present yourself in l a light that will better ensure acceptance and, accordingly, a better the chance of success.

Click here for McGee’s Web site.

If you have a tip, strategy or resource to help small businesses, click here to send it to me. If I use it, I’ll give you credit and link to your Web site.

No, not Mercedes Benz or Rolls Royce. 

Orange County Sandcar LLC  is the only local manufacturer of dune buggies that are legal to drive on public streets.

Dune buggies, which used to be inexpensive toys, retail for as much as $150,000. Orange County Sandcar’s models sell in the $30,000 to $60,000 range, said owner Sean Smith.

Here is the company’s Dual Sport Manx that sells for $48,000 as shown.

These sancars get about 25 miles per gallon, Smith said.

While the industry that depends on discretionary spending struggles with high gas prices and consumer belt tightening, Orange County Sandcar is booming, said Smith who is buying three companies and combining operations in Rancho Santa Margarita.

Here’s a YouTube video of Smith and his sandcars in action:

Smith started making off-road vehicles in his garage 20 years ago. He worked for Toyota in Torrance for 10 years, which he credits for teaching him quality manufacturing techniques.

When the dune buggy industry moved upscale, Smith’s hobby became a full-time business.

Now Smith has doubled his company’s revenues, buying RMS Automotive, a vehicle repair shop,  and Classic Wrench, a classic car restoration service, in Rancho Santa Margarita. Smith is also in the process of buying SandCar Repair Ltd, to repair dune buggies for customers in Mexico.

The consolidated company is Orange County Sandcar Group.

Smith has moved fabrication from Vista and Carona, motor building from Anaheim and assembly from San Clemente into the Rancho Santa Margarita shop

The combined company will host a grand opening on Sunday, Aug. 10 at the shop at  at 23071 Antonio Pkwy, suite F.

“It grew much bigger than I anticipated,” said Smith, 40, who was born and raised in Orange County. “I raced motocross for about 12 years as an amateur. My true love is really modifying cars and trucks.”

The combined company has annual revenues of $800,000 — a far cry from General Motors’ $181 billion — but Smith doesn’t have GM’s labor and profit problems. He projects Orange County Sandcar Group’s sales will grow to $1.5 million next year and $3 million in three years.

OTHER STORIES:

• 13 O.C. firms make Hispanic Business 500
• Tori Spelling chooses glam hospital gown by O.C. firm
• Bi-coastal court fight erupts over ‘entrepreneur’ trademarks
• CelLynx completes reverse merger
• Private eye shares ‘best O.C. businesses’ list
• Microsoft buys Aliso Viejo-based DATAllegro
• These towels look good enough to eat

When investigating workers compensation fraud, many employers let the adjuster take charge. But the employer should stay involved.

Here are a few considerations:

1. Make sure the investigator is licensed, bonded and insured, especially if you hire them directly, as is the case with self-administered companies.
 
2. Investigate over a few days or months rather than a shorter time period.

I had one investigation that took one year, and we observed the employee in 3 states, until we finally found that his passion was car racing — which he only did in one location. That investigation cost $10,000 but we settled the claim for $6,000 instead of $100,000. And, it was a huge deterrent to future fraudulent claims.
 
3. Ask the investigator to break up five days of surveillance over several weeks, catching a work day, early in the mornign, late at night and the weekend.
 
4. Find out if the investigator has substitute vehicles or multiple investigators, so that the subject doen’t know when he’s being watched.

5. Tell the investigator when the claimant’s next doctor’s appointment and weekly meetings are. These are good points for the investigator to pick up the claimant.
 
6. Make sure the investigator has a photo and accurate description of the claimant so they are watching the right individual.

7. Make sure investigators know the alleged injury and medical restrictions, so they can watch for activity that uses those body parts and actions.

8. Tell the investigator immediately anything that is “new” like a new hairdo, new car or new person living in the residence.

Click here to read all of Shafer’s tips for dealing with workers compensation insurance.

If you have a strategy, resource or tip to help small businesses, click here to send it to me. If I use it, I’ll give you credit and link to your Web site.

That amounts to 20.5% of $282 billion in unpaid federal taxes, which agencies and politicians call the “tax gap.”

The IRS said that it does collect 99.8% of all payroll taxes assessed.

Most of unpaid payroll taxes are uncollectable for two reasons:

• the IRS has categorized 51% of the debt as uncollectable, primarily because the owing business is defunct or insolvent following bankruptcy.
• 61% have been unpaid for more than six years. Only $2 billion of the unpaid payroll taxes are from 2007.  Here’s the breakdown:

The GAO said the IRS is too lienient in collecting payroll taxes. Specifically, the  office recommends that the IRS:

• not rely so much on voluntary compliance by payroll tax debtors
• file more quickly liens against business or owners’ property
• be more aggressive in holding “responsible parties personally liable for unpaid payroll taxes.”

The federal general fund is on the hook for the Social Security and Medicare taxes that are part of that debt, the GAO says. The IRS estimates that $44 billion has been transferred from the general fund to these two trust funds.

Businesses withhold 6.2% of wages and pay an equal amount themselves for these two retirement funds. These taxes, unlike income tax, must be paid whether the business makes a profit or not.

It’s a felony not to pay them, and financial penalties and interest mount up fast. More than half the amount owed — $32 billion or 54% — are penalties and interest, the GAO said.

While 1.6 million businesses owed back payroll taxes as of Sept. 30, some companies make a habit of dodging payment. The IRS says 1,500 owners have not paid payroll taxes for three or more businesses and 18 had not paid payroll taxes for more than 12 different businesses each.

The number of businesses owing back payroll taxes has declined more than 11% from 1998. But the cumulative amount owed has increased 18%.

The statute of limitation for pursuing and prosecuting tax delinquents is 10 years.

The IRS agreed with the GAO’s report and said it is working on corrective steps including monitoring taxpayers with multiple payroll tax liabilities, streamlining its process for getting court injunctions against nonpaying business tax debtors and trying to file liens more quickly.

Click here to read the full GAO report. (Acrobat Reader required).

OTHER STORIES:

•  Bankrupt small businesses burdened by tax debt
• ‘Dirty Dozen’ tax scams
• Federal regulations most needing reforms
• Business taxes require professional help
• California has highest state income tax rate
• California Internet tax is reintroduced
• Outstanding O.C. businesswomen ‘08 named
• No new jobs at California small businesses
• Tori Spelling chooses glam hospital gown by O.C. firm
• Bi-coastal court fight erupts over ‘entrepreneur’ trademarks

Nearly 83% of the students responding to NACE’s 2008 Graduating Student Survey have a profile on a social networking site, and 51% say they expect employers to take a look at that profile.

These students seem to be aware of recent news reports of employers who include the Internet in their background checks of specific people they’re about to hire.  Those checks sometimes turned up embarrassing MySpace or Facebook photos and comments.

However,  just 17% of employers responding to a separate NACE survey say they use social networking sites as part of their recruiting efforts, and just 7.2% of graduating students report being contacted by an employer through a social networking site.   

Although two-thirds of employers said their social networking efforts are focused on advertising on those sites, not viewing profiles, NACE says that money may be wasted.

Less than 15% of students in the NACE survey said they click on employer ads on social networking sites.   

If you have a strategy, resource or tip for small businesses, click here to send it to me. If I use it, I’ll give you credit and link to your Web site.

OTHER STORIES:

• Flexible work schedule to save gas may be no no
• Almost half of small businesses are cutting payrolls
• California online job ads drops 28%
• Small-business jobs growth shows weakness
• Paid sick leave would boost public health, supporters say
• Jobless can save big bucks buying own health insurance
• Does your company follow the law on work breaks?

This pattern is opposite the experience in the rest of the nation, where small businesses were hiring, but paying less, according to the company’s monthly analysis of data from 18,000 clients nationwide.

“The bad news is that small business salaries have dropped once again. As a small business employee, you’ve got less money in your pocket from payroll while your gas, grocery and other living expenses are on the rise,” said SurePayroll President Michael Alter.

Here’s the hiring and pay increases  in selected states as of July 31:

“The bottomline for today’s workers? In this economy, getting a job is relatively easy. Getting a job that pays well is very difficult,” he added.

This finding isn’t that different from an earlier report from ADP that found that businesses with fewer than 50 employees added 50,000 nationwide, bearly offsetting a loss of 41,000 jobs at larger companies.

The SurePayroll results reflect the impact of housing and credit market declines on the confidence of small-business owners. In SurePayroll’s survey, 63% said they are optimistic about the economy. That’s a nudge up from 62% in June, but near the all-time low point for SurePayroll’s survey.

A separate survey by Discover Card found a slight rise in owner optimism in July after hitting an all-time low in June.

Other key findings in the Discover Small Business Watch include:

• 28% of owners said economic conditions for their businesses are getting better, up from 23% in June
• 17% think the U.S. economy is getting better up from 9% in June
• 33% said they have experienced cash flow problems in the past 90 days, down from 42% who said in June they had problems.

OTHER STORIES:

• Small-business jobs growth shows weakness
• California small businesses pay more but aren’t hiring
• Jobless can save big bucks buying own health insurance
• Does your company follow the law on work breaks?
• Tip of the Day: How to handle a termination
• Employers cut 79,000 jobs in June
• Small businesses add 61,000 jobs in May
• I-9 forms pose costly dangers for employers
• Laid-off managers shy away from starting businesses

In fact, 44% said they shouldn’t have to shoulder any cost for their health care. And even fewer, 40%, would participate in a wellness program if they had to pay for it.

The survey comes from The Vitality Group, a healthy living education and services sibsidiary of Discovery Holdings Limited, an international  insurance services company.

The finding helps explain the problems employers, insurance companies and politicians have in the search for viable solutions to health care in the United States.

People’s behavior significantly affects their health. Consider:

• 70% of U.S. healthcare costs are attributable to preventable risks and unhealthy choices, according to the Wellness Councils of America and The Center for Health Care Economics,
• 75% of the U.S. $2.3 trillion medical care costs go to treat chronic diseases, many of which are traced to lifestyle choices such as smoking and lack of physical activity reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• 66% of U.S. adults are overweight or obease. Obesity costs an estimated $13 billion a  year, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Americans seem willing for the guy with bad health habits to pay extra, but not themselves. Some 63% in the Vitality survey said that people with conditions that increase their use of healthcare should pay more for that care.

However, when asked, “Who do you think should pay for your health care,” here’s the response breakdown from 1,013 U.S. adults (more than one answer allowed):

• Your employer, 59%
• The government, 46%
• Yourself, 56%

“These results highlight the root cause of the healthcare crisis our nation is currently grappling with, says Vitality CEO Art Carlos (right). “We Americans, or rather our lifestyles, lie at the heart of rising medical costs and the problem will not be solved until we are required to take personal accountability for the way we choose to live.”

“The only way to stem these escalating healthcare costs is to help people take action to get healthier or insist they pay for their lifestyle choices that adversely affect the pocketbooks of others,” Carlos said.

Obviously, The Vitality Group has an interest in health and wellness programs. It partners with fitness and lifestyle companies to help its 1.5 million members have healthier lives.

Employers and Americans generally are all for healthy living. Half of U.S. employers polled by Hewitt Associates, a human resources consulting firm, are offering or preparing to offer, incentives to employees if they participate in a wellness program. That’s up from 38% last year.

And 95% of respondents to the Vitality survey said they would participate in an employer-sponsored wellness program if they got something out of it, such as lower health insurance co-payments or employer subsity.

However, that willingness dropped to 40% if the individual had to pay for the wellness/fitness program.

“Despite the fact that people recognize their behavior can impact their healthcare costs, that knowledge obviously isn’t enough to motivate them to action,” said Stuart Slutzky, chief marketing officer of The Vitality Group.

What do you say?

OTHER STORIES:

• Micro-businesses cut health coverage dramatically
• California could lose 370,000 jobs if mandated paid sick leave passes
• Paid sick leave would boost public health, supporters say
• Big companies pick up health insurance for many small-business workers
• Health reform requires choices, education
• Jobless can save big bucks buying own health insurance
• Does your company follow the law on work breaks?
• Health insurance cost rises faster than wages

Whether you are running your own business, interviewing for a new job or meeting people at a charity function practicing good manners is imperative  It is important to feel confident about your business etiquette, so you can focus on the business at hand.  Follow these five tips and you will be able to sit back and enjoy more success:

1. Business Etiquette is Gender Blind and Courtesy Focused.  Men and women are treated as equals in the business world, and women do not receive preferential treatment.  For instance, if a man and woman are approaching a closed door, whoever gets to the door first should open it.

2. Shake Hands Correctly.  In our society, we shake hands to greet people.  It is always imperative to stand when you are shaking hands. If you are seated when anyone enters the room and you are going to shake hands, stand up. Shake hands with a firm handshake and make eye contact. 

3. Make Introductions Properly. When talking with a business peer and a senior executive joins you from your firm, you should introduce the peer to the executive (i.e. “Mr. Sr. Executive, I would like to introduce, Mr. Jr. Executive”). 

Say the name of the most important person first, this will ensure a proper introduction. Avoid saying, “I want to introduce you to,” because it changes the order of importance. 

If you cannot remember someone’s name, simply be honest and say  “please refresh my memory, I cannot recall your name.”  

4. Gracefully Enter and Exit Conversations.  We have all been at networking events and felt awkward about trying to break into a group that is deep in conversation. The best advice is to approach groups of three or more. 

Position yourself close to the group and make eye contact.  Give only facial feedback to comments being made, until you are given verbal acknowledgement or eye contact.  If someone does not introduce you, introduce yourself. 

Remember, you are at the event to meet people. Ten minutes is the maximum time you should spend talking with one person at a one-hour reception.

5. Exchange Business Cards With Dignity.  Exchanging business cards is a very important part of doing business.  First, ask for the person’s business card vs. handing your card out first.

Second, take time to look at the person’s business card; don’t just quickly put it in your pocket.  Third, acknowledge their company, and comment about their position or role.  Finally, it is best to not write on the person’s card in front of them.

If you have a tip, resource or strategy to help small businesses, click here to send it to me. If I use it, I’ll give you credit and link to your Web site.

EAT IT! Snacks & Sweets Trivia Game is an entrepreneurial venture of husband and wife Eric and Monica Ash (pictured below), not the creation of Mattel or Parker Bros. It’s rare that such a small company would get its product into major retailers nationwide.

But the game’s questions about jingles, ingredients and origins of snack foods obviously struck the hearts - and taste buds - of retail buyers.

Test your own snack smarts on these sample questions (answers are below - don’t cheat):

1. What kind of animal is Chester, the mascot for Cheetos?
2. How many stripes are there on a Keebler Fudge Shoppe Fudge Stripes Cookie: 3,5,6,7?
3. What fruity, chewy candy was originally called the Dancing Bear?
4. Complete this jingle: “Gimme a break! Gimme a break! Break me off a piece of that ___?

Initial sales of the game were very slow, said Eric Ash, who handles sales and marketing for C-ME LLC in Parkland, Fla. Monica, a CPA, handles the finances.

Then Eric started calling on snack and candy companies to get permission to put their logos on the game box. Companies who agreed include Sara Lee, Tootsie Roll and Mrs. Fields.

“EAT IT! sales really took off with the endorsements of recognizable brands on the game box,” he says.

Target will sell the game $24.99 (it’s $30.99 on C-ME’s Web site.)

The newest edition of the game have another great marketing plus: coupons worth $6.50 for such products as Jelly Belly jelly beans and Jolly Time Pop Corn.

“True, it has been very challenging to persuade retailers to take a chance on EAT IT! I had worked more than 10 years in sales departments, mostly for software companies, so the skill set I earned in the work force has been very helpful,” Eric says.

“In 2009 we plan on introducing custom game pawns in the shape of our (food) partners’ products.”

Answers: 1. cheetah, 2. 5, 3. Gumi Bear, 4. Kit Kat Bar.

Now’s your chance. Take our poll:

OTHER STORIES:

• Private eye shares ‘best O.C. businesses’ list
• Microsoft buys Aliso Viejo-based DATAllegro
• 13 O.C. firms make Hispanic Business 500
• These towels look good enough to eat
• O.C. businesses much more affordable than homes
• Golf for toddlers opens in Orange County
• O.C. swimwear maker introduces high-fashion line
• O.C. handbag maker vies for national prize

The event is in partnership with the state Employment Development Department, One Stop Center and Rotary Club. It will be from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Lakeview Senior Center, 20 Lake Road in Irvine.

Click here for more information or to reserve exhibit space or call 949-724-6808.

If you have a tip, strategy or resource to help small businesses, click here to send it to me. If I use it, I’ll give you credit and link to your Web site.

OTHER STORIES:

• Small-business jobs growth shows weakness
• Paid sick leave would boost public health, supporters say
• Jobless can save big bucks buying own health insurance
• Does your company follow the law on work breaks?
• Tip of the Day: How to handle a termination

The business, B.Y.O.G. (that’s Bring Your Own Gown), makes a line of hospital gowns for pregnant women who wouldn’t be caught dead in those hospital-issued, back-gaping pastel jobs during and after delivery.

Tori Spelling gives birth to her second  child on the  “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood” show on Oxygen network. The show airs 10 p.m. PDT Tuesday, Aug. 5.

And during the blessed event she wears one of the B.Y.O.G. gowns — Havana Rose (pictured on a model below), says co-founder Andrea Santini.

“A used hospital gown would never be an option for the true fashionista,” Santini says. “New moms should be able to remain glamorous even in the face of hours of sweaty labor.”

Click here to check out some of the fabric designs.

The gowns sell for $95 each. They’re sold at Nine Months Later in Anaheim Hills and Honey in Laguna Beach plus other stores outside Orange County.

Unlike a lot of fashion clothing, the B.Y.O.G. gowns do have practical features: a snap back for “full coverage” and snap sleeves for breastfeeding.

B.Y.O.G. recommends buying two, one for the actual event; one for receiving visitors afterward. That’s a bit of clever marketing to boost sales.

B.Y.O.G. founders Santini and Cindi Fullerton met in jurnior high school and are now stay-at-home Orange County moms.

They were looking for a creative outlet they could do together and dreamed up “delivery gowns for hot mamas.”

Did they give Spelling a gown to wear on the show? Santini says no; the actress bought it at a Hollywood boutique.

OTHER STORIES:

• O.C. college student creates job-rating Web site
• 20 ‘Great Workplaces’ worldwide: O.C. has one
• O.C. company a finalist for $25,000 prize
• Carpet recycling wins Chapman business plan competition
• O.C. handbag designer vies for national prize
• Well-known local entrepreneur celebrates 40 years in family business
• O.C. designer eyewear sold
• Why women (heart) their shoes
• Can ‘fashion statement’ baskets replace plastic grocery bags?
• O.C. eco-friendly mover wins $25,000
• These towels look good enough to eat

The current economic slump could trigger another round of ‘de-perking,’ says Peter Cappelli, management professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

However, he says companies should think twice before eliminate perks that are important in recruiting and retaining people.

Inexpensive, or no-cost, perks — such as casual-dress days, free coffee and food discounts — may not add much to employee morale or productivity, but they don’t hurt the bottom line much either, Cappelli says. And companies should be careful about how they go about reducing or eliminating them.

“If you are taking anything away from employees, it’s important to explain the need for doing it,” he says. “It helps a lot if the need is something driven by factors outside the firm. The need to improve share price isn’t going to satisfy a lot of people.”

Click here to read the entire article.

If you have a tip, strategy or resource to help small  businesses, click here to send it to me. If I use it, I’ll give you credit and link to your Web site.

OTHER STORIES:

• Jobless can save big bucks buying their own insurance
• Insurance information for small businesses
• Big companies pick up health insurance for small firms
• Does your company follow the law on work breaks?
• O.C. firm gives economic stimulus check of its own
• Can ‘fashion statement’ baskets replace plastic grocery bags?
• O.C. eco-friendly mover wins $25,000

Ernst & Young owns the trademark for Entrepreneur of the Year, which it has used for more than 20 years for local, national and global business award programs. Entrepreneur Media’s Entrepreneur magazine is currently running a contest with the UPS Store for 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year.

Ernst & Young sent Entrepreneur the typical cease and desist letter in May to stop using the trademarked phrase. In June, Entrepreneur Media filed suit in California federal court not only for the right to use the phrase but to invalidate Ernst & Young’s trademark.

This week, Ernst & Young filed suit in New York federal court to permanently block Entrepreneur Media’s use of the phrase and to cancel the media company’s various trademarks for the word “entrepreneur.” The accounting firm is also seeking triple actual damages and punitive damages.

The issue has come up between the two companies before. In 1994, Entrepreneur magazine launched an Entrepreneur of the Year contest. Ernst & Young sent a letter about the trademark infringement, and the magazine dropped the contest for unrelated reasons according to a letter from the magazine’s attorney that in included in the newest lawsuit.

This time, the media company has chosen to fight.

Entrepreneur Media has been aggressive in protecting its own 10 or more trademarks for the term “entrepreneur” as used for all sorts of media, trade shows, advertising and business services. It has pursued everyone from college newsletters to the Wall Street Journal.

Yet in its suit against Ernst & Young, the media company claims that the “Entrepreneur of the Year trademark is invalid and unenforceable because the phrase is generic.”

That’s an argument that others have used unsuccessfully against Entrepreneur Media’s “entrepreneur” trademarks.

“In our mind there isn’t a conflict,” said Entrepreneur Media owner Peter Shea. “They call theirs Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, we call ours Entrepreneur Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year. There are dozens of entrepreneur of the year contests around the country.”

Ernst & Young’s attorney Susan Upton Douglass said in an e-mail to Entrepreneur Media’s attorney that Entrepreneur’s contest could easily be called Exceptional Entrepreneur Award, Emerging Business Award or Excellence in Entrepreneurship.

“There’s no reason for your client to use our client’s exact trademark except to take advantage of the goodwill created by our client in the Entrepreneur of the Year program and merely taking on its own house mark does not remedy the situation,” she added.

OTHER STORIES:

• Entrepreneur Media sale falls through
• CelLynx completes reverse merger
• Free help available for struggling O.C. businesses
• Jobless can save big bucks buying own health insurance
• Does your company follow the law on work breaks?
• Is Entrepreneur Media for sale?
• Entrepreneur Media executive resigns
• Rumors of Entrepreneur Media sale not true, owner says
• Regional Entrepreneur of the Year winners named
• O.C. man wins national Entrepreneur of the Year honors

Intuit Inc., the Mountain View software company best known for Quicken, QuickBooks and TurboTax, is offering free three-month trials of its Online Payroll software and free video tutorial how to use it.

Click here to access the free offer. After the free trial, Online Payroll costs $29.95 a month.

“Let’s face it, payroll can be a daunting task especially if you’re paying your first employee,” said Cameron Schmidt of Intuit’s Payroll Division. “What businesses want is a simple and easy experience that gives them the confidence that payroll is done right…We’re proud to provide products and educational resourced to help small busiesses work efficiently…”

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PaidContent a media Web site, had reported in June that Austin Ventures in Texas and an unnamed Boston private equity firm were buying Entrepreneur for less than the $200 million asking price and the deal would close in July.

The parties had agreed on a price, Shea acknowledged, but the buyers couldn’t borrow the money at a reasonable interest rate and price.

“Mainly, the debt market for these funds is difficult right now,” Shea said. “A year and a half ago they could have borrowed eight times (earnings before taxes, depreciation and amortization - a measure of cash flow); today they’re lucky to get four times.”

He told the company’s 100 employees in a memo Thursday that he wouldn’t sell the company.

He said in a phone interview later that the company will remain in Irvine.

“We’re not in trouble. We have had no debt for five years,” he said. ‘We’re nicely profitable in a very difficult market. We will continue to move along with our new editor in chief.”

The company recently hired Amy Cosper as vice president and editor in chief to replace long-time editorial director Rieva Lesonsky.

Cosper has worked for Satellite Broadband magazine, Intertec Publishing and Argus Integrated Media.

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That’s the snapshot result for July according to the ADP National Employment Report.

“This is a weak report,” said Joel Prakken (right), chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, which compiles the monthly report from Automatic Data Processing’s database of about 400,000 companies.

ADP’s report is sometimes at variance with the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly jobs report because ADP’s report is drawn from actual company databases while the BLS gives employers two months to respond and depends on human resources directors who may or may not check their company records.

The Small Business Report, part of the larger look at private-sector jobs, “highlights small business gains and is higher than Wall Street expected,” Prakken said, “but it’s another month of sizable contraction in construction and manufacturing.”

It’s the 20th straight month of job losses in the construction industry nationwide. The only glimmer of hope is the fact that it is the smallest decline — 16,000 jobs — in recent months.  Total job loss since the August 2006 peak is 350,000 jobs.

The financial sector, which has also struggled during this period because of the housing slowdown and subprime lending crisis, added 4,000 jobs in July, another glimmer of hope.

Here are the monthly employment changes in construction (in red)  and finance (in blue) industries from January 2003 through July 2008:

“A strong case can be made that we are going to have months of weakness, maybe even job declines through early 2009,” Prakken said. “The whole economy is challenged at this point. It’s going to be a trying second half of 2008. ”

In July, hiring by companies with fewer than 50 employees lifted overall job numbers, “but that growth is a lot slower than it was a year and a half ago,” Prakken said. “Small businesses tend to be concentrated in services, but that’s not where the job problem is right now.”

The ADP report found that the U.S. lost 65,000 goods producing jobs and gained 74,000 service jobs. Manufacturing — part of goods producing — lost 49,000 jobs.

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The study’s release is timed to the next hearing of the paid sick leave mandate, AB 2716 by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco. The bill is scheduled to come before the Senate Appropriations Committee next week. It has passed the Assembly and one Senate committee.

If passed and signed into law, it would be the first paid sick leave mandate in the nation.

The report, A Health Impact Assessment of the California Healthy Families, Healthy Workplaces Act of 2008, focuses on the health benefits of workers staying home when sick, not the financial aspects.

It notes that 5.4 million California workers, about 39%, don’t have paid sick leave. Those who do have paid sick leave are more likely to take time off from work and go to the doctor, said Rajiv Bhatia (left)  of the San Francisco Department of Public Health and consultant to Human Impact Partners.

San Francisco had mandated paid sick leave for a year, but Bhatia said it’s too early to assess the impact that law has had on businesses or jobs.

According to the new study:

• Parents who had paid sick leave were five times more likely to take time off work to care for sick children than those who didn’t have paid leave.
• 42% of workers who didn’t have paid sick leave didn’t take time off work when sick.
• 28% of workers who did have paid sick leave didn’t take time off work when sick.

California already has a law prohibiting restaurant employees from working when sick, but Bhatia implied that it is largely ignored in an industry in which 70% of workers don’t have paid sick leave.

“Lack of paid sick days is a disincentive to taking time off,” he said.

Jody Heymann (right), founding director of the Institute for Health and Social Policy at McGill University, said that California businesses can remain competitive even if they pay for sick leave because 145 foreign countries have paid sick leave and nine of the 10 countries ranked most competitive have guaranteed paid sick leave.

“In countries with fewer sick days, the employers pay for them. In countries that give more days, a month or more, the cost is covered by a social insurance system,” she said.

Opponents have said mandatory paid sick leave would eliminate 370,000 jobs and cost $4.6 billion in direct expenses and $59.3 billion in lost sales.

Heymann called those projections “theoretical.”

Human Impact Partners was founded in 2006 and receives funding from various groups that promote social change.

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E-mail is no longer a “stand alone” program for marketing. Most businesses weren’t using e-mail to market and when they did, it stood out and was typically read.

Now that everyone has caught on to the ease and cost effectiveness of using e-mail marketing, it has become a monster; not only for the spammers, but those of us who want to legitimately use permission-based email for marketing.

Email has now gotten a bad name and if a business wants to continue using email to market, it needs to rethink its approach to using this tool.

Here are some tips and techniques:

1. Don’t make the e-mail message broad; make it specific to the audience you are trying to reach.

2. Reach audiences where they are. If consumers use social networks to learn about products, but purchase after a reminder e-mail, structure campaigns accordingly.

3. Consider combining your e-mail with another marketing technique such as direct
mail. A 2007 Jupiter Research study found “e-mail campaigns improved 74% for marketers who integrated off-line direct marketing.

4. A simple way to integrate direct mail with e-mail is to create a postcard campaign to drive traffic to a Web site.

5. On your Web site, make it easy for visitors to give you their e-mail address by giving them some type of promotion, special report or gift in exchange for their information.

Click here to read Howe’s entire article.

If you have a strategy, resource or tip to help small businesses, click here to send it to me. If I use it, I’ll give you credit and link to your Web site.

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