Most of us associate the 4th of July with family and friends, sun, the beach, barbecues, and, of course, fireworks.  However, with the economy leaving many cities throughout the U.S. cash strapped, 4th of July fireworks unfortunately were not an option for some cities throughout the country.  Thankfully,  a number of cities were able to keep their tradition alive with the help of some very determined and influential people – small business owners!

Read these two uplifting stories below to see how small businesses helped in contributing over $75,000 for several Treasure Coast cities in Florida and $500,000 in Seattle!

The Government’s got $30 Billion for a small business loan plan. What Does It Mean to You? The news is finally out: Last week, the bill called the Small Business Lending Fund Act of 2010 (H.R. 5297) was passed by the House.

This passed bill allows community banks to apply for capital that they would then use to offer more loans to small businesses.

Last year, 45% of small business loans were denied. But today, times are changing. If you need access to a loan to expand your small business you might be…

You often spend more time with your co-workers than you do at home, especially if you are an entrepreneur or a small business owner. Having a good relationship with those people is key to not only a productive professional life but to your happiness personally. One way to maintain strong relationships with your co-workers is through social team building events like playing in a local intramural sports league (like Yodle does with our softball and basketball teams) or volunteer in your local community like hosting a blood drive or going to a foodbank. Sometimes you…

Photo Courtesy of The Joy of Tech Comics

Maybe you have a Facebook account for your business.  Maybe you’ve created a fan page.  Or maybe you’ve just decided that social networking can’t really help you grow your business.  Either way, you’ve probably been hearing a lot on the news about Facebook privacy issues.  How real are those concerns?  What can you do to address them?  This post aims to answer both of these questions.

How real are privacy concerns? The fact is that the internet has made a lot of information available to a…

For this week’s Yodle Tipster from Local Online Advertising for Dummies, we’re going to be turning to pages 44 & 45 in Chapter 3 (entitled Planning Your Local Online Advertising Campaign) to talk about a topic that transcends online advertising, and is really something every business owner – local or national, big or small – should think about.  That is your business’s USP or unique selling proposition.

First off, what is a USP?  In the book the term is described as “the factor or consideration presented by a seller as the reason that one…