Are You Looking Forward to a Happy New Year?

Wells Fargo / Gallup survey shows a sharp uptick in owner optimism

Each quarter since August of 2003, Wells Fargo and Gallup have been surveying small business owners and then compiling these results into an overall index of business owner optimism.

The good news is that more owners see good news – and by a significant jump.  While the index is now at -4 (with zero being neutral, neither optimistic nor pessimistic), compared to the dog days of last summer (an all time low of -28 in July of 2010), there is certainly a major improvement in confidence.

Work in the Clouds This Holiday Season

No matter where you are planning on spending the holidays, you can still be productive simply using your smartphone and the right apps.  Here are some feature-packed cloud-computing apps to help you access your files and be productive while on the road this holiday season:

Congratulations to BAF Mentee Stacey Antine

Congratulations to BAF Mentee Stacey Antine, who has won the 2010 Make Mine a Million $ Business Competition in San Francisco. Stacey has worked with her BAF mentor, Skip Vichness, over the last three years to grow her revenues from a start-up to a highly successful enterprise.  Awardees go through a rigorous
screening process including an application, one on one interviews and evaluation by a team of financial and business experts. Winners receive a package of business growth tools to help them grow their business to a million dollars and beyond, including professional business coaching and access to financing through Count Me In, plus a host of business tools from the event sponsors, including American Express OPEN, Sam’s Club, Women Impacting Public Policy, and FedEx.

The 11 Harsh Realities Of Being An Entrepreneur

OnStartups.com discusses the 11 Harsh Realities of Being An Entrepreneur.

The 7th Annual Project Enterprise Awards Event

Peter Boritz and Doreen Berne were proud to represent BAF at the 7th Annual Project Enterprise Awards Event, honoring entrepreneurs who have shown exceptional business acumen, growth of their businesses, and a commitment to the Project Enterprise mission of supporting microfinance in underserved communities. As a BAF Affinity Partner, Project Enterprise has recommended their yearly award winners as new mentees to BAF over the past five years. Last year PE honored George Williams, owner of Ujamaa Communications, a computer consulting and technology firm. George is now working with BAF Mentor Arnold Miller to build his business clients and expand his market reach.