The ASU Small Business Development Center has recently teamed up with Arkansas Capital Corporation Group, local Chambers of Commerce and banks to offer free workshops in Mountain Home, Batesville and Jonesboro called Growing Your Business in Difficult Economic Times - Is Your Business Recession Proof. The seminar will be held free of charge in Mountain Home on Thursday October 30th from 1-4 pm and again on the 30th from 6-9 p.m. at the Baxter County Regional Libary.

From the Hartford Courant:

"But because of the tendency to replace equipment instead of repairing it, the number of electronic service outfits nationwide has declined by about 10 percent each year for the past 15 years, according to Wayne Markman of the National Electronics Service Dealers Association.

The narrowing gap between the cost of repairs and new equipment particularly affects products in the middle range of price and quality, says Markman, an electronics service technician. "

Read the full article:
http://www.courant.com/features/hc-fixitguys.artjul19,0,6182459.story

"INNOVATION AVALANCHE: There’s more innovation happening than ever before. New brands, new niches, new concepts, new products, new services and new experiences are flooding an equally fast expanding number of markets. Just as important, there are more freely available sources to track these innovations than ever before. And all of this is coming to (if not at) you from every corner of the world. The GLOBAL BRAIN has been unleashed, and there’s nowhere to hide for those who aren't part of it."

Read the full article:
http://www.trendwatching.com/trends/innovationavalanche.htm

Fashion is a tough business that requires a lot of expertise and intuition. Just when you think you know what’s hot- It’s not! Markdowns on fashion are huge because something that is out of style doesn’t sell at any price. Fashion works best with small retailers who can get in and out of small quantities fast. Fashion is all about selection. Fashion is not driven by price. Fashion is about very fast turnaround from trend to manufacture to selling floor. In case you haven’t noticed I have not described Wal-Mart.

Read the full article:

Entrepreneurs in the USA launched more small businesses in 2007 than the year before in the West, the Midwest and the South — apparently not scared of the economic slowdown that began last year, according to a report released Thursday.

Regions and states with stronger economic and population growth last year saw an upsurge in entrepreneurs launching businesses, says Robert Fairlie, an economics professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and co-author of an annual report on entrepreneurs by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.