2015 Small Business Trends
In our work at First Street, the most frequently asked questions we get are the following: how strong is the local economy?, How optimistic are local business owners? Is it a good time to sell or buy a business? What percentage should we spend on marketing? The list goes on, but you get the idea. […]
Will On-Demand Sales Teams Be The Next Big Thing?
Yesterday I read an excellent article in the Wall Street Journal called Coming Next: The On-Demand Sales Force, by Christopher Mims. It highlights the opportunity of the “sharing economy” and how it can relate to offering sales teams for companies that are not able to afford them directly. I do believe there is a tremendous opportunity for a […]
Bill Stewart elected to Selectman of New Castle
We are pretty excited about Bill Stewart winning the New Castle election for Selectman on May 12, 2015. Bill received great support from members of the community. Below are a few of the endorsements that were published in the Portsmouth Herald prior to the election: “Support Bill Stewart for New Castle Select Board” May 5 — To […]
Budget Blinds Makes List for Top 10 Home-Based Franchises!
Entrepreneur Magazine recently published their top 100 Home-Based Franchises for 2014. Guess who made the top 10? Budget Blinds at #8! We know first hand that this is well-run franchise that provides franchisees plenty of flexibility, excellent training, solid marketing programs, attractive profit margins and the structure required to make the most of the […]
Entrepreneurship = Perseverance
I love a great story about perseverance … never giving up your dream regardless of what others think. There are so many entrepreneurs who have similar stories. They left the security of a regular paycheck, benefits and office friendships to explore the unknown, to go into debt, to wonder when the first sale will happen, […]
Landscape Architecture Market is valued at $2.3 Billion
I was struck by this headline from Huffington Post referencing just how large the Landscape Architecture Market is valued at. Wow! Who would of thought… $2.3 Billion? It’s one of those things that you often never think about but appreciate in a subtle way. The author, Jared Green, Editor of The Dirt, writes that “landscape architecture services account […]
New Single Family Home Construction Expected To Surge In 2015
Kimplinger.com reports that single family home construction and sales are expected to surge by 25% in 2015. New home construction starts should hit 800,000 and new home sales to be at 545,000 by year-end. National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun estimates new construction starts for single family homes to increase 32% to […]
Don’t overlook small businesses and their economic impact
The SBA really pumps out a lot of great information about small businesses and their footprint on America. Here is a quick run down: Right now, there are over 23 million small businesses accounting for 54% of all U.S. sales! These small businesses provide 55% of all jobs and 66% of all net new jobs […]
Interesting article about how businesses must meet customers needs “any time, any where”….
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/marketing_sales/digitizing_the_consumer_decision_journeyThe basics of SBA loans
There are many great sources for small business loans. We always recommend starting with the Small Business Association (SBA) They are a great source information and start-up capital. They force you to develop a business plan and really think about why you do it. Here is a great article explaining the basics of SBA loans. Article