Draw On Your Backup Plan

The U.S. recently broke a single-day record, with more than 160,000 new coronavirus cases. California became the second state with more than one million confirmed cases, joining Texas. And perilously, more Americans are now being hospitalized for Covid-19 than at any other point during the pandemic.

What's in store for small businesses?  A lot of uncertainty continues in the weeks and months ahead.  Draw on your backup plan:  new product or service launch, different strategy, more competitive pricing.  Whatever it takes to finish strong, do it.

News of Interest: Measures To Unlock Credit For Small Businesses

Are you feeling the credit crunch? Most certainly you are yet it's the small business owners, like us, who are the real drivers of economic recovery and job creation. The latest evidence announced by the White House indicates that there will be a series of measures to help address the credit crunch facing many small firms.

The White House and Small Business Administration (SBA) hope to address these problems with three new policy directions.

Learn about them here.

We plan to discuss these measures at an upcoming WPO Chicago chapter meeting April 21 with the help of two experts: a bank and tax executive. Our goal is to learn everything we can about how to access funds for our businesses when they become available and at the same time, minimize taxes.

Sound Advice: 1,000 Tips To A Brighter Future

Chad Moutray, Chief Economist & Director of Economic Research at the U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy poses the following question through Linked In:

What measures should small businesses take to weather this economic downturn?

The responses -- more than 1,000! -- are worth reading here.

News of Interest: President of WPO Receives Signature Award

Marsha Firestone, Ph.D., president and founder of the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO), has received the 2007 Social Entrepreneur Award by the National Association of Women Business Owners New York City Chapter. The Social Entrepreneur Award recognizes the innovation, resourcefulness and the successful impact made by women in the nonprofit sector who use business methods to find practical solutions to social problems or needs related to their nonprofit organization. Firestone was honored for her dedication and support of the small business community.

Read more here.

Speech of Interest: Women on the World Symposium

Today, women are uniquely positioned to benefit from the strength of our country's economy, which is the envy of the world.

We are contributing to our nation's economy in so many ways. Women-owned businesses are growing at twice the rate of businesses owned by men. And small businesses are very important to workers and to the U.S. economy. Two-thirds of the new jobs created in this country in the last decade have been created by small businesses.

And women are playing an increasingly important role in public life. Over the past six years, President George W. Bush has appointed a record number of women to high level positions in his Administration, including five women to his current Cabinet. Today, the U.S. Senate has 16 women and the U.S. House of Representatives has 71 women. And to date, women have been elected statewide to executive offices in 49 out of our nation's 50 states. And there are 1,734 women state legislators.

This Administration supports many initiatives to help women succeed and balance work and family life. All of us have something in common, regardless of which position we hold. In any survey of working women, one of the most sought-after benefits is time: time to care for a child, or a loved one, or other important family matters.

Read more of this speech given by Secretary Elaine L. Chao, here.