One of the things that's helped sink the U.S. economy into its current funk is our trade deficit, which stood at $36.4 billion in November. Translation: we imported $36.4 billion less than we sold abroad.  read more...

In the year 2000, HTML4 was christened the official language for Web page development. A decade later, an eternity on the Web, we are just beginning to hear about the next generation of HTML - HTML5.

Someday soon, HTML5 will dominate the Web and completely change the way you develop your website and Web-based applications. The more you know about HTML5, the better prepared you'll be to direct your company to take full advantage of this future Web standard.

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If you've been looking for a catalyst--something to make you really ratchet up the volume on your business success, or start a brand-new business--maybe a contest could provide that spark. Here's three going on right now that offer not just recognition but money and services that could help your business grow.

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It was a long, lonely year for the initial public offering market in 2009. Week after week went by with no new issues pricing...or only weird holding companies or major corporations based in China hitting the American public markets. Just 177 issues priced worldwide last year, compared with 554 IPOs in 2007.

But at last, the IPO doldrums seem to be ending. Data from Renaissance Capital's IPOHome shows seven IPOs priced in January, up from a big none in January 2009. There have been 13 new IPO filings this first month, up from two in the same period last year.

Why should you care? The IPO upswing is good news for lots of small businesses that are looking for money--and not just the ones thinking IPO. read more...

Home-based businesses have been steadily earning more respect from the business world for the powerhouse businesses many are building from their back bedrooms. In the past week, CityMax.com announced winners of its Homepreneur of the Year contest. These are home-based e-commerce business owners who've seen rapid growth straight through the downturn. If you need a little inspiration, here are their stories: read more...

Piggybacking off my February 2010 Entrepreneur magazine column ("Video SEO for Your Website"), a reader in New York City wants to know exactly how to optimize the video on his company's website. From Bob Bello, Founder and President of CiscoKits.com:

"I would like to improve and make sure the videos I am putting on my site are done properly from an SEO perspective. Can you provide a list of steps I should perform or tool to use to distribute them in a way that will provide SEO benefits? My website address is: www.CiscoKits.com and the videos are located at www.ciscokits.com/ccna-videos."

As I wrote in my February column, search engines need help in identifying and properly indexing video content. With that in mind, here's what CiscoKits--and anyone else in the same situation--can do to boost the visibility of their Web-based videos: read more...

As sales dropped, many small businesses piled up debt over the past two years. Many businesses were kept on life support using charge cards--creditcards.com reports they're now the most common form of business debt, with 44 percent of owners using them in the past year--up from 16 percent in 1993.

I spoke recently with business-tax expert Linda Keith about concrete steps small businesses can take in 2010 to reduce their debt. Her advice: read more...

By Feb. 1, half of all New Year's resolutions are already over. So Staples is trying to help business owners stick with their resolutions by declaring it Motivation Monday -- a day for owners to review and renew their commitment to their business goals for 2010.

How are you doing with your business resolutions? Did you perhaps vow to rev up your marketing, do more in-person networking, have a company retreat, make a key hire? If your priorities for improving your business have slipped onto the back burner, now's the time to rev them up again. read more...

Small-business owners had to be happy to see President Barack Obama devote much of the front half of his State of the Union Address last night to jobs and the concerns of entrepreneurs. But will it translate into action? And are the proposals enough?

The International Franchise Association fired off a press release about it this morning that may sum up much of the reaction from small-business owners: It was titled "President's Job Proposals are a Good Start, But More is Needed." IFA applauded Obama's request to Congress for new, targeted tax relief for small businesses, especially incentives for hiring new workers or giving existing employees raises. Thumbs-up also to the proposal to make investment in small-business tax-free.

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President Obama's State of the Union speech last night garnered mixed reactions from the small business community. He stressed that creating jobs must be Congress's No. 1 focus this year and said, "Businesses are the engine of job creation."

So what's his plan for the little guy? Obama's proposing that Congress take $30 billion from the Wall Street bailout to help community banks make loans to small businesses.

Last night he also proposed a small business tax credit that would help a million small businesses, as well as eliminating capital gains taxes on small business investments.

Our Facebook fan page was blowing up last night, following the president's speech. What did you think about Obama's State of the Union address in relation to small business?

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