Back to School Means Better Holiday Sales?

Back-to-school shopping is in full swing as kids get binders, jeans and everything else they need from stores and online outlets alike. As millions of dollars are spent each day, another number is rising--the projections for the holiday season shopping statistics.  Kathy Grannis, the senior director for media relations for the National Retail Federation recently told FoxBusiness the the back-to-school

Back to school means heavy shopping

season is a bellwether metric for retailers."Back-to-school season can help retailers gauge consumers’ intentions...Having a clear sense of what consumers are looking for, whether it’s more coupons, online shopping or promotions…retailers are going to adapt.” Whether a strong back-to-school season means more revenue for retailers right now is still unclear, but after last season's brutal winter--most small business owners will take any good news they can get.

While it is important to note that the weather made last holiday season seem hard and tough--revenues did actually climb for retailers year-over-year. According to retail industry tracker ShopperTrak, the number actually climbed nearly 3% to make it one of the best holiday shopping seasons in the last five years.

Even more interestingly is the trend of using the back-to-school season as a litmus test for certain products, roll-outs and executions. According to RetailMeNot senior editor Trae Bodge that means “Retailers are working hard to show shoppers what they can offer and hope that they return later in the year. It’s about whetting the appetite..This is something retailers rely on. We are seeing a lot of promotional behavior right now to get people in the mood to shop, to get them excited.” So as the kids go out for their pencils, paper and binders--know it could mean more for your restaurant, doctors office or more.

Report: As Restaurant Industry Grows; McDonald's Suffers

The news is looking better and better for the restaurant industry as the summer begins to wind down. Recent data from the latest NRN-MillerPulse report released Friday shows the industry grew 3 percent industrywide in July and is beginning to trend in the right direction. This is great news for the restaurant industry, a sector of the marketplace that can suffer when the economy does. On top of the good news is the anecdote that the numbers would have been even better had it not been for McDonald’s—which reported a 3.2-percent decline in same-store sales in the U.S. for July.

Small business owners who own restaurants in the “Quick Service” space should also be pleased as that particular restaurant segment grew with a 3.4-percent sales gain. This quick service space is certainly a growing category and some of the more dynamic stories in the food space fall into this category—think Noodles & Company and even Chipotle. Regardless of where each restaurant falls everyone recognizes that companies like Chipotle and other have capitalized on introducing new concepts to the fast -casual  experience. Finding your own “game-changer” isn’t easy—but it can be fun.

In addition to report from NRN-MillerPulse, the data on the decline of small business lending from banks means merchants and restaurants need new sources of capital to grow. The rise of small business lending experts through merchant cash advances has helped businesses like restaurants grow and get access to the growth capital they need.

How 2 Entrepreneurs Won With Ice Cream and Wine

Wine, Good.

Ice Cream, Good.

Together? For Mercer’s Dairy the answer is yes. Both in terms of taste and in terms of profits. For owners Ruth Mignerey and Roxaina Hurlburt and their 25 employees wine-infused ice cream has been their livelihood since 2005. The small company based in New York offers 6 flavors to over 14 countries. Their revenues exceed $4 million annually and they continue to grow. One of the more startling methods to their growth is foreign exports, which began in 2008 and now account for “about a quarter of annual sales of more than $1 million. Employment is up from 20 four years ago.” This export process also assists in offsetting the seasonal challenges with running an ice cream business.

Mignerey recently told Bloomberg, “We went from being a local institution with maybe a 100-mile radius of people knowing Mercer to building a global brand…There are so many people who say something can’t be done and it can. Just don’t take no for an answer.” The idea of foreign sales are about as old as commerce itself (just think Christopher Columbus). But recently, smaller businesses from all over the country have begun to see the power they could have internationally with the help of a few sales abroad. According to the Census Bureau, “shipments abroad by businesses with fewer than 500 employees accounted for 32.9 percent of the U.S. total in 2012, up from 29.2 percent in 2005.”

The key to all of the growth is certainly the vision. For Mignerey and Hurlburt they took the entrepreneurial leap of faith in starting the company—the key is clearly identifying the need and expanding from there. They saw the presence of international sales, but for other businesses it could be something more simple—like a new marketing play or a dynamic press release. Some companies have also looked to working capital solutions like a merchant cash advance. Regardless of your method—do what Mignerey said—‘Don’t Take No For an Answer!’

With College Back in Session, Restaurants Capitalize

From Columbia to College Park to Cambridge and College Station--college is back.

With colleges back in session, businesses can thrive

Keg parties, late nights at the library--whatever the memory, thousands of students are flocking back to campus ready to get back to school--and spend money. Estimates vary as to exactly how much money that means for local economies, but clearly the impact that the infusion of students can have on a local economy is limitless. Some towns are exclusively "college towns" and exist almost only on the revenue generated by the college (think State College, PA--the home of Penn State). Other cities are more substantial and co-exist with their huge college population (Austin, Texas--home of the University of Texas).

One college town that has been keeping a close eye on the impact of students coming back to school is Columbia, South Carolina. Columbia, S.C. That's because "The Hub" is opening a $40 million project with 21 stories of modern living in it. Local businesses are ready for the new crowd to hit the city center and help their profits. Chad Elsey, the owner of restaurant in Columbia recently told WACH, "We're just excited to have them down here and mix in with the bu
siness crowd...One of the reasons we decided to come here was because the Hub was opening and it's actually been way busier than we anticipated." From restaurateurs to
business owners understanding the impact that other projects can have on your own bottom line is essential. Small businesses are always susceptible to feeling the impact of other projects and must be ready to sustain the changes that come.

Some small businesses have recently looked to small business loans as a means to get ready for upcoming changes in business climates as well. These popular forms of merchant cash advance products can certainly assist all types of businesses dealing with upheaval and change.

How One Community College Turned Trucking into Cash

We’ve all seen the stories: the American Trucking Association estimated that there was a shortage of 30,000 qualified drivers earlier this year, a number on track to rise to 200,000 over the next decade. Trucking companies are turning down business for want of workers. So how did Surry Community College respond? They saw the need for a new Truck Driver Training Program that is now graduating 15-20 new truck drivers per session.

No industry seems hotter than trucking right now

According to a recent article in the Mt. Airy news, this new program is a revamp of a truck driving program that SCC used to have through a private company.  Dr. David Shockley, Surry Community College’s President said about the program, “There are currently job openings for truck drivers locally and nationally. We developed this program as a direct response to the requests from local truck driving representatives who need skilled applicants to fill job vacancies.” Moreover, the tuition for a local resident is under $2,000 and can help individuals get jobs that, according to the Department of Labor, can pay more than $38,000 for beginning drivers.

The decision to start this program reflected a great decision by Surry Community College. They saw a business opportunity and capitalized. Great businesses can come from great decisions, right? 

Are you working in one of the nation's fastest-growing industries?

Facebook Ads: Bang for Your Buck?

Business owners have seen a jump in prices for Facebook ads.

Whether the objective is direct advertising to boost sales or to build interest and improve your company’s SEO, social media advertising can be your best friend. Facebook especially is a prized advertising location. As the most popular social media site in the world with an estimated 900 million users per month, an advertisement on Facebook appears to be the best shot for a company to get their name out there. Unfortunately, many small businesses are seeing difficulty when attempting to advertise on the social media site. Since it is such a popular location, many business owners have seen their cost per click skyrocket. Prices have gotten to the point where 83 percent of surveyed small business owners have opted to cut Facebook out of their marketing budget.

You shouldn’t miss out on a good advertising opportunity just because of changes in the marketplace. Facebook remains a solid way to drive more clicks to your website and generate more sales and customers for your product. The rise in prices due to increased popularity shouldn’t turn you off from taking advantage of this opportunity. Luckily, there are small business loans available for companies who need to increase their marketing budget. Silver Rock Funding can get you a merchant cash advance of up to $500,000. Most loans can be approved in 72 hours, making sure you don’t miss out on a single opportunity for success.

Small Business Owners: More Work, More Happiness

Small business owners are often happier than the average employee.

We all know how much owning and operating a small business can consume your life. According to a Gallup poll, small business owners work an average of more than 52 hours a week – 18 hours more than the average private sector employee. In addition, 57 percent work six days a week and 20 percent work every single day.

Many small business owners – half, according to one poll – are so involved in their company that they didn’t even take a summer vacation. For those that did, almost half checked in on their business every single day either through email, phone call or text message. Owning and running your own small business is far more of a lifestyle than a mere occupation.

To the average person, these numbers seem daunting and even off-putting. No vacations? Working nights and weekends? Who in their right mind would want to do that? Yet, small business owners consistently report higher levels of happiness and satisfaction than their private sector employee counterparts. A full 77% of small business owners said that they were pleased with their choice in a recent poll, while over a third of the rest of the American workforce reported feeling disengaged, unhappy, and unproductive.

Why is it that more hours, less time off and more responsibility appears to make business owners happier? Well, for starters, many small business owners founded their company in a field that they felt particularly strongly needed to be improved. The old adage is true – “If you find a job you love, you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” Running a business that you love is more of a privilege than a chore, and that’s reflected in how owners feel about their companies.

In addition, there’s just something exhilarating about being independent. Taking risks, going for the gold, being fully responsible for your own successes and failures – all of these are positive aspects of operating a small business. If you have the passion for it, and the wherewithal to make it work, the benefits are truly limitless.

Lenders Approve Loans Faster Than Banks

The journey of a small business owner can experience a great deal of plateaus along the way. When the product, customer base and general activities of a company remain the same for a period of time, revenue can stagnate as well. An easy way to pump some life into a small business is to spend money to expand it, but many small businesses don’t have a tremendous amount of working capital on hand. Because of this, a useful source of capital for small businesses is a small business loan.

For years, the only place to get a small business loan was at the bank. Banks are still one of the most commonly used sources of small business loans. However, there are two major problems that small business owners report when they try to get a loan from the bank. The first is that the process can be intolerably slow. Banks often take weeks to review applications, and the applications themselves are particularly lengthy. The second major issue is that loan applications are often denied. The financial crisis of 2008 significantly reduced banks’ approval of loans, and that reduction was particularly severe for small businesses. More and more, small business owners are filling out lengthy, detailed applications and coming away with nothing to show for it.

Luckily for small business owners, there are small business lenders that help to almost eliminate both of these complaints. Companies like Silver Rock Funding can approve your request for a merchant cash advance of up to $500,000. These requests can often be approved within 72 hours, making sure you have the cash you need for your business as fast as possible.