Business Professor Discusses Power on October 31 KAZI Book Review

The October 31 guest on KAZI Book Review is Jeffrey Pfeffer, author of Power: Why Some People Have It and Some People Don’t. Listen live online at kazifm.org at 12:30 p.m.

Pfeffer , a professor at Stanford University Graduate School of Business, says “Power represents my third and best effort to help people understand why power is important, how to understand and diagnose power dynamics, and most importantly, what they can do to act on this knowledge to make themselves more influential and effective. More info at http://www.kazibookreview.wordpress.com.

SBA Growth Capital Program Provides Record Amount of Financing in FY 2010

At a time when capital was scarce for small business, financing from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s growth capital program increased 23 percent in fiscal year 2010, providing a record $1.59 billion to help small businesses grow and create jobs, according to SBA Administrator Karen Mills.

The fiscal year 2010 volume is the highest single-year volume in the 50-year history of SBA’s Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) debenture program. Increased volume in the program is in part a result of changes made by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Those changes contributed to an increased number of new SBIC licenses, decreased license processing times, and initial capital to new funds rose dramatically.

“At a time when access to capital was tight, including from the traditional sources for growth capital, SBA helped fill some of that gap with a record amount of financing through our SBIC program,” Mills said. “Across the country, there are small business owners and entrepreneurs who are well-positioned to take that next step, grow their business and create good-paying jobs. Our efforts to strengthen our program efficiency and increase funding available through the SBIC program has provided another critical tool to help these small businesses get the capital they need and drive economic growth.”

Karen Mills

The SBIC program was created to stimulate the growth of America’s small businesses by supplementing the long-term debt and private-equity capital available to them. SBA’s SBIC fiscal year 2010 results included the following:

• Record High Financing to Small Businesses: Total financings to the SBA SBIC debenture program grew to a 50-year record high of $1.59 billion in fiscal year 2010 – a 23 percent increase over an average $1.29 billion in the four previous years. Debenture program obligations grew to $1.17 billion from an average $750.6 million, another 50-year record high.

• More Licensed SBICs and Faster Processing Times: Twenty-one (21) new SBIC licensees were issued in fiscal year 2010, a 130 percent increase over the four-year average of 10 per year. Additionally, SBIC license processing time improved to just 5.8 months in fiscal year 2010, a nearly 60 percent decrease from an average of 14.6 months in 2009.

• Record High Capital Commitment to Support Small Businesses: SBA capital commitments to new funds broke yet another 50-year record increasing to $1.23 billion in fiscal year 2010, a 135 percent jump from an average of $524.3 million in the four previous years. Equally important, the programs attracted record levels of private capital commitments, increasing to $615 million in 2010 from $262.1 million in previous years – another 135 percent increase. Combined total initial capital to new funds increased to $1.845 billion in FY 2010 from an average $786.4 million.

SBICs are privately-owned and managed investment firms that are licensed and regulated by SBA. SBICs use a combination of funds raised from private sources and money raised through the use of SBA guarantees to make equity and mezzanine capital investments in small businesses. There are more than 300 SBICs with more than $16 billion in capital under management.
Since the SBIC program’s formation in 1958 through April 2009, it has invested approximately $56 billion in more than 100,000 small businesses in the United States. For more information about the SBA’s Investment Division and SBIC program, go to www.sba.gov/INV or call 1-800-U ASK SBA.

Minority Business Development Agency Official’s Statement on Growth of Texas Hispanic Businesses

Statement by Alejandra Y. Castillo National Deputy Director
Minority Business Development Agency For the U.S.Census Bureau Press Event Releasing 2007 Survey of Business Owner Data
in Dallas, TX – September 21, 2010

I want to thank our hosts for inviting the Minority Business Development Agency, a sister bureau of the Census Bureau, to be a part of today’s important announcement.

Alejandra Castillo

The Minority Business Development Agency is thrilled that the Hispanic business community, and the minority business community as a whole, is showing a significant rate of growth compared to non-minority businesses.

The figures released today show that Texas is a major contributor to the surge in the creation and growth of Hispanic-owned firms nationwide.  You can be proud to be a leader in Hispanic entrepreneurship, job creation, and business prosperity.

However, the numbers also provide us with important insight.  We must be cautious not to let these newly released facts and figures make us complacent.  There is still much work ahead to be done if we are to ensure continued economic progress. .

For example, while there are over 447,000 Hispanic-owned businesses in Texas, less than 10% have paid employees.  Just imagine if the other 90% were to grow and employ just one additional person each, Texas would reap the benefit of an additional 406,000 new jobs.

Or consider this, of all the Texas Hispanic firms, only 8,161 (or less than 2%) have gross receipts of $1 million or more.  But, if there were more firms earning in excess of a million dollars, communities across the State of Texas would reap the benefits of a larger tax base which in turn can contribute to better schools, safer streets, and more economic activity for the State and the Nation.

As the Hispanic population continues to increase in the U.S., the success of the Hispanic business community becomes an integral component to the creation of new and sustainable jobs.

This is precisely MBDA’s goal– to create the right conditions for a new generation of more robust Hispanic, and minority-owned firms.

We understand that we must help minority business enterprises (MBEs), and Hispanic firms in particular, to leverage their cultural ties and business connections both domestically and internationally.

Our goal is to position MBEs to be successful exporters of goods and services to the global market.  For example, through our Global Construction Initiative, MBDA is helping MBEs tap into global infrastructure and real estate development projects underway in the Pacific Islands, the Middle East and in other emerging markets.

Similarly, MBDA is helping to broaden the business horizons of minority owned entrepreneurs and advocating their expansion into emerging industries like solar energy, green construction, medical technologies and IT.

We have to.  It’s critical to the overall health of the U.S. economy and our communities.

And, given the tenacity and competitiveness of Texans, I have no doubt that Hispanic firms and other minority owned firms in Texas will continue to lead the way.

Thank you and I welcome the opportunity to talk with you by phone today, tomorrow or in the near future.  Please contact Ms. Bridget Gonzales, here in the audience, with any questions or requests you may have.

Discover Money Saving Tips from Co-Author of Health Care Survival Guide

On the October 11 edition of Economic Perspectives I interviewed Martin Rosen, co-author of The Healthcare Survival Guide™ , a 72-page book that provides important information about affordable healthcare insurance and medical services, as well as other cost-saving tips.  Rosen is the cofounder of Health Advocate™, Inc., an independent healthcare advocacy and assistance company.

Some of the money saving tips discussed in his book, which was co-written by the co-founder of Health Advocates Inc. Abbie Leibowitz, M.D., include:

• Know the differences between insurance plans so you can choose the best for you and your family.

• Ask your doctor for a discount. A whopping 61 percent of patients, who did, got one!

• Look on pharmaceutical websites for free trial offers for medications.

• Check out a university dental clinic, staffed by dental interns, offering quality care for a great deal less.

• Ask about the cost for a medical procedure. Prices can range from several hundred to several thousand dollars in the same zip code!

To listen to my interview with Martin Rosen click here: Martin Rosen Interview.

Interviewing Author of Black Culture and The New Deal

I’m interviewing Lauren Rebecca Sklaroff, author of Black Culture and the New Deal, on KAZI Book Review on Sunday, October 24, 12:30 p.m. – 1p.m. on KAZI 88.7 FM. Listen live online at http://www.kazifm.org.  To read more about this book click here.

Book Review: Secrets of the Moneylab by Kay-Yut Chen & Marina Krakovsky

Check out Nikki Green’s review of the book, Secrets of the Moneylab, by Kay-Yut Chen and Marina Krakovsky. To quote Nikki, in this book, the authors ” present extensive research on human behavior that can help entrepreneurs improve their business.” Read more at http://www.kazibookreview.wordpress.com.

Increasing Business Profits and Surety Bond Assistance Program Focus of Oct 25 Economic Perspectives

Dr. Jonathan Byrnes, author of Islands of Profit in a Sea of Red Ink:Why 40 Percent of Your Business Is Unprofitable and How to Fix It, and Luke Luper, who leads the City of Austin’s Bonding Consulting Services for minority and women contractors, will be the guests for the two segments of Economic Perspectives on Monday, October 25, 5:30 p.m. – 6 p.m. on KAZI 88.7 FM in Austin, Texas.  Listen live online at kazifm.org.

In Islands of Profit in a Sea of Red Ink, Byrnes uses a systematic, field-tested approach to analyzing profitability, helping companies quickly determine which parts of the business are worth expanding and which parts drain resources. Then, using his concept of “profit levers,” he show them how to implement effective and sustainable change to improve the bottom line.

Byrnes, a Senior Lecturer at MIT, is an acknowledged authority on profitability management. His extensive experience spans virtually every industry, including healthcare, transportation, software, retail, financial services, distribution, and others.

At MIT, Dr. Byrnes has taught at the graduate level and in executive programs for nearly twenty years. He has authored over one hundred books, articles, cases, notes, and expert submissions. In addition, he wrote a monthly column on managing profitability for Harvard Business School’s Working Knowledge for four years.

Luke Luper

Through the City of Austin’s Bonding Consulting Services, Luper will meet on a one-on-one basis to provide confidential advice in the following areas:

• Evaluation of company’s bonding needs
• Assistance with bonding application
• Identify qualified surety bond agents

To be eligible for assistance firms must be certified as a minority, woman, or disadvantaged business enterprise by the City of Austin Small & Minority Business Resources department.  For more information email Luke Luper at luke.luper@ci.austin.tx.us.

Economic Development Expert Richard Florida & Negotiator George Lucas Featured on Economic Perspectives October 18

An interview with Richard Florida, author of The Great Reset: How New Ways of Living and Working Drive Post-Crash Prosperity, is featured on the first segment of October 18 edition of Economic Perspectives on KAZI 88.7 FM.  The second segment features an interview with George Lucas, co-author of the The One Minute Negotiator. Listen live online at kazifm.org.

Looking toward the future, Florida identifies the patterns that will drive the next Great Reset and transform virtually every aspect of our lives—from how and where we live, to how we work, to how we invest in individuals and infrastructure, to how we shape our cities and regions. Florida shows how these forces, when combined, will spur a fresh era of growth and prosperity, define a new geography of progress, and create surprising opportunities for all of us.

Florida is also the author of the global bestseller The Rise of the Creative Class and Who’s Your City?, a national and international bestseller and Amazon.com book of the month. He is a regular correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly and a regular columnist for The Globe and Mail. He has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The Economist, and The Harvard Business Review.

In The One Minute Manager, Lucas and his co-author Don Hutson say that the key to successful negotiation  is flexibility. Most books on negotiation preach one of two gospels: thou shalt collaborate or thou shalt compete. Either everybody works together toward a common goal or the process is basically adversarial. The problem is no two negotiations are alike — one strategy cannot fit all. The One Minute Negotiator teaches you four potential strategies and shows how to choose the one best suited to the situation, your own inclinations, and the strategy being used by the other side.

Lucas is a senior consultant and member of the board of directors for U.S. Learning.  He has conducted negotiation seminars on six continents and is the author or coauthor of several books, including The Contented Achiever and Marketing Strategy.

Clay Smith, Literary Director of the Texas Book Festival

Clay Smith, Literary Director of the Texas Book Festival, will be the October 10 guest, 12:30 p.m.-1 p.m., on KAZI Book Review on KAZI 88.7 FM. Clay will discuss the exciting line-up of authors appearing at the annual book festival which is being held October 16-17 at the State Capitol Building in Austin, Texas. Listen live online at kazifm.org. More information is available at http://www.kazibookreview.wordpress.com.

Eric Weiner Interview

Just finished recording great interview with Eric Weiner, author of the Shadow Market. It will broadcast today at 12:30 p.m.-1 p.m. on KAZI 88.7 FM. Listen online at http://www.kazifm.org. We spent a lot of the interview discussing the economic clout of China, and how its influencing U.S. policy. It’s scary to know that China owns nearly $1 trillion of U.S. Treasury and government agency bonds.