US President Barack Obama speaks before signing an executive order to head off drug shortages and to prevent price gouging at the White House in Washington, DC, October 31, 2011.JIM WATSON
The latest news and information for entrepreneurs from across the web universe, brought to you by the Report on Small Business team. Follow us on Twitter @GlobeSmallBiz
Small Businesses for Sensible Regulations, a project of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), released an open letter to President Obama urging adoption of five steps to improve the federal regulatory process for small businesses. These five principles include:
- Small businesses deserve a greater voice in the federal regulatory process
- Providing assistance to small businesses before assessing penalties
- Subjecting every major regulation to a rigorous benefit-cost analysis
- Regulations should be based on objective data and hard science
- The regulatory process should require more transparency and accountability
Former Senator Blanche Lincoln made the announcement today with more than 50 small businesses from battleground states at a One Year Countdown election preview event hosted in partnership with POLITICO.
"Small business growth is the key to economic recovery, and until we reform the regulatory process, small businesses will continue to struggle to gain traction," said Senator Lincoln in a speech.
Dropbox offers upgrade for business owners
Dropbox, the San Francisco start-up that was recently infused with $250-million in venture capital, announced a package for small and medium-sized businesses, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The upgrade is called Dropbox for Teams – priced at $795 a year for five users – and it includes centralized billing and administrative tools to its main service of providing users with an easy way to upload and share files on the Internet.
Why is this important for small business owners? With the increasing amount of data shared on an increasing number of platforms, the program lets you share docs, slides and large files with colleagues and clients; work on the go, offline or online; and manage and migrate accounts online, according to the company's website.
There are of course other options on the Cloud - including Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple with its new service. A number of start-ups have also been using Box.net, which has taken a more business-focused from the start.
How to haggle for everything
Nearly everything is negotiable, argues the writer of this Forbes.com post. In the fixed-priced culture we live, discover how to take advantage of the myriad opportunities to save significant sums of money; an especially useful exercise for cash-strapped entrepreneurs.
EVENTS AND KEY DATES
Young women of influence and leadership
Designed specifically for emerging women in business, this event is dedicated to connecting like-minded professionals for advancement. The first event will be held in Toronto on November 2, 2011 at 6pm at the Fifth. Click here to find out more.
Naming and branding your startup
On November 3, at the RBC Conference Centre, the TiE Institute is holding a session that will focus on the naming and branding strategies for new startups. It will feature Salima Virani (MyBindi.com), Brad Limpert (Cameron MacKendrick) and Peter Widdis (George Brown College). For more info on the event, click here.
EDITOR'S PICKS FROM REPORT ON SMALL BUSINESS
An elegant office with a good sense of humour
In this month's edition of the Amazing Space, tour the vibrant Vancouver office of Beehive Holdings, an investment firm focused on empowering female entrepreneurs
FROM THE ROSB ARCHIVES
An unsung marketing tool: business barter
If you can't haggle, why not try bartering? One of the oldest and most underutilized tools in the entrepreneur's tool belt can be a very effective way to help many small businesses grow
Got a tip on news, events or other timely information related to the small-business community? E-mail us at yourbusiness@globeandmail.com
Join The Globe's Small Business LinkedIn group to network with other entrepreneurs and to discuss topical issues: http://linkd.in/jWWdzT
Our free weekly newsletter is now available. Every Friday a team of editors selects the top picks from our blog posts, features, multimedia and columnists, and delivers them to your inbox. If you have registered for The Globe's website, you can sign up here. Click on the Small Business Briefing checkbox and hit 'save changes.' If you need to register for the site, click here.