Small Firms See Growth as Jobless Rate Rises
While the unemployment rate soared in August and employers slashed jobs, the nation's smallest businesses continue to soldier on. ADP, a national payroll firm, released its national employment report this week showing that firms with 50 or more employees lost 53,000 jobs in August while firms with fewer than 50 staffers gained 20,000 workers. "Once again, we see that America's small businesses are leading the way in creating new jobs," said Todd Stottlemyer, president and CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business. "Despite difficult times -- rising health care and energy costs causing inflation to spiral upward -- small business owners are still adding much-needed jobs." However, NFIB recently polled 812 of its members, which have an average of nine or fewer employees, and found that job creation over the last few months has been stagnant. The full poll results will be released on Tuesday. Eleven percent of the

Minority Entrepreneurs Celebrate Small Businesses
It's 7:30 in the morning and having already eaten breakfast an hour earlier, I'm staring at a plate of bacon and eggs in the grand ballroom of the Omni Shoreham in Woodley Park. I've been chatting with my table mates who are in town from California to network about women-owned minority businesses and federal contracts. We all snap to attention when we hear a booming voice yell: "Is the grits good?" It's Ronald Langston, the national director of the Commerce Department's Minority Business Development Agency since 2001. "Amen," replies someone in the crowd. Earth, Wind and Fire's "September" blasts through the conference hall and everyone smiles, pushes back their chairs, jumps up and begins clapping and dancing. It's time to get today's party started. It's the third and final day of the Minority Enterprise Development conference, one of the largest federally sponsored events targeting minorities. This year's agenda focuses on

Billionaire Offers Entrepreneurial Help Online
Self-made billionaire Bill Bartmann has released an online curriculum for aspiring entrepreneurs. Bartmann, once a homeless teenager, gang member and a high school drop-out, pulled himself together to finish school, put himself through college and obtain a law degree. He and Kathy -- his wife and business partner -- have since graced the covers of various business magazines. Inc. magazine called him the "billionaire nobody knows." Bartmann built his wealth and business acumen primarily through a debt collection startup that grew to nearly 4,000 employees with revenues of more than $1 billion. He charges $100 a year for the new course and accompanying videos and advice that can be accessed through his Web site, www.billionaireu.com. "I have lived a very eventful life, both personally and professionally. Having been a millionaire three times, bankrupt twice and a billionaire once, I have not only witnessed, but also experienced, the devastation and ramifications

Small Firms Speak Out at GOP Convention
A handful of entrepreneurs will be speaking at the Republican National Convention this evening in St. Paul, Minn., to discuss the state of small businesses in America. Anne Beiler, the founder of Auntie Anne's Pretzels of Lancaster, Pa., is scheduled to talk about the "prosperity of the spirit, not just the pocketbook" at 6:18 p.m. Central. Renee Amoore is slated to speak shortly after Beiler. She started the Amoore Group, an organization committed to healthcare reform. Ruth Novodor, CEO of Beverly Oncology and Imaging Medical Group in Montebello, Calif., plans to speak on small firms as the future for new jobs at 7:07 p.m. Central. She will be followed by Christy Swanson, the co-owner of CKB Swanson of Quinton, Va., a cooking oil filtration firm. Swanson is slated to talk at 7:13 p.m. Central about small businesses and their place as the cornerstone of the future. Meg Whitman, the former

Women Business Owners Set Sights on Capitol Hill
Women business owners have been amassing in force throughout the summer to prepare their policy plans and strategies to outline to lawmakers this fall. Women Impacting Public Policy, a business advocacy group, released a draft economic blueprint at the Democratic National Convention in Denver last month and hosted a similar event with the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council at the Republican National Convention this week. The document -- which touts access to capital, energy, health care, procurement, taxes and technology as top issues for the nation's 10.1 million privately-held women-owned businesses -- was created as a call to action for Congress and the next administration. A final version is scheduled to be presented to Republican and Democratic leaders as a part of a WIPP conference in Washington on Sept. 9. Meanwhile, the National Women's Business Council is hosting a reception on Sept. 10 at the U.S. Capitol replete with lawmakers