BOA steps up gingerly for small biz. Thank you. So when are Obama, Geithner & Congress going to do something more than empty rhetoric? 5 bil in direct loans by BOA is $5 bil more than Obama, Geithner and the do-nothing Congress are doing for small biz.
In 2008 Candidate Obama promised to help small business.
“MAIN STREET NEEDS RELIEF AND YOU NEED IT NOW.”- Candidate Obama, October 10, 2008
As I said in a recent WSJ article, small businesses need help this month and they needed help last month. The response from the Administration and Congress has been pathetic. Congress and the Administration have actually managed to reduce loan value dramatically in the face of the worst recession this nation has seen since the 1930’s.
The SBA has guaranteed a paltry 50,000 loans to the nation’s 29 million small businesses – that’s .0017; loan volume is down 36% than under the Bush Administration.
In the summer, the White House promised new progress “in the fall”. Fall has passed and now the President and Congress are promising new programs next year. If they wait two or three more years when the recession is over, they can claim victory. If they wait any longer hundreds of thousands of small businesses will cease operations.
SO WHERE’S THE BEEF?
Be sure to check out my guest blog post on CNBC’s Bullish on Books blog.
You should wear the badge of “control freak” with pride. Micromanage, micromanage some more, then circle back to make sure the task is getting done, and done right. You may have to put in more a lot time at the office. You’ll have to give up a few evenings and most weekends. But you’ll ensure your business is making maximum profits. Decide now: longer hours and more focus, or much less money to put into your bank account? I know which option I’d pick.
Getting rid of incompetent workers is probably one of the hardest things bosses have to do. When they sit across the desk from you with their big sad eyes, telling them about the mortgage they’re behind on, or the college tuition they have to pay for their kids, it can be gut wrenching. But you have to let the axe fall on deadwood. If you don’t, the performers in your business will resent it, and you’ll be losing money on payroll for someone who doesn’t contribute to the bottom line.
You can’t afford to keep them. You don’t have those kinds of margins for failure. Don’t buy the excuses and don’t get soft. For the sake of the business, and the hard workers who rely on the business for a living, you should rid yourself of mediocre performers. It’s profits in your pocket and lets everyone know you mean business.