Small businesses have historically contributed a stable 50% of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), which is the sum total of goods and services provided by U.S. companies from domestic locations. These statistics are tracked and analyzed over the years by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). “Small” is defined as a company with 500 employees or less, and the data cover 16 industries in non-farm sectors.
Relationship financing
Posted in Strategy and the Big Picture
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The First Law of the Body
The stately-looking gentleman in the impeccable gray suit paused for effect, then said to the table of business leaders, “We need to recognize that only a handful of people in an enterprise actually add value. This is usually the CEO and his or her direct reports. The rest of the workforce is essentially fungible.”
The definition of the word “fungible” is: “being of such nature or kind as to be freely exchangeable or replaceable, in whole or in part, for another of like nature or kind”. Hmm. “Freely…replaceable”.
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Posted in The People
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The oil depletion protocol
The energy system of any given society is also the basis of the economic system. It’s the same with all life. Inside each living cell is an energy system, powered by adenosine triphosphate. Without that basic fuel, no life. Without oil, no economy…unless we can engineer substitutes at a transition rate that matches net depletion rates.
Posted in Politics and Business
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The disadvantage of good times
“Dear Stan,
I’m CEO of a specialty adventure touring company which I and two others founded in 2006. While I had about a dozen years of experience in the industry prior to founding this new business, I had never led an organization that had outside investors. Myself, friends, family and other people we invited put several million dollars into the company to get it going. We had great plans for multiple locations in major markets and a good return for our shareholders. With the economic challenges we are facing now, there is little chance that our expectations will be met for several more years.
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Posted in The People
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