Lakeside Appliance coming back under new name (Times-Dispatch)
A month after watching the company founded by his father 55 years ago abruptly shut down, Jeff Francisco is resurrecting the Lakeside Appliance chain under the name Appliance Solutions.
Big squawk over big-box drugstore (Virginia Gazette)
“You should be ashamed of yourselves,” one man told attorney Vernon Geddy III, whose law office incidentally is on Jamestown Road. He continued to push, and when Geddy reminded the crowd that he was merely a lawyer representing the developer, the man countered, “I forgot. You’re an attorney. Forget it.” The crowd cheered and laughed.
Va. Tech students craft online biz guide (Roanoke Times)
Groups of business-minded Virginia Tech students have created a window into the changing world of online commerce. It’s called The Online Business Guidebook, and it’s aimed at entrepreneurs who want to launch an Internet business.
The Case for Working With Your Hands (NY Times)
Matthew B. Crawford, owner of Shockoe Moto wrote a fascinating article for the New York Times Magazine about the nature of working with your hands. The trades suffer from low prestige, and I believe this is based on a simple mistake. Because the work is dirty, many people assume it is also stupid. This is not my experience. I have a small business as a motorcycle mechanic in Richmond, Va., which I started in 2002. I work on Japanese and European motorcycles, mostly older bikes with some “vintage” cachet that makes people willing to spend money on them. I have found the satisfactions of the work to be very much bound up with the intellectual challenges it presents. And yet my decision to go into this line of work is a choice that seems to perplex many people.
Downturn Creates Drag on Traffic at Region’s Airports (Washington Post)
All three major D.C. hubs have reported drops in the number of passengers and fewer flights departing their runways this year as the global economic downturn leaves some business travelers and pleasure hoppers sitting at home. The result for these local economic engines has been tight budgets, staff cuts, furloughs and the delay of certain construction projects. Dulles and National have both instituted hiring freezes while BWI has had layoffs.
More Small Firms Drop Health Care (WSJ)
Accelerating health-care premiums and sharp revenue shortfalls due to the recession are forcing some small companies to choose between dropping health insurance or laying off workers — or staying in business at all.
So You Want to Get Funded? (BusinessWeek)
BusinessWeek asked YouNoodle to compile statistics of VC investment from mid-March to mid-April 2009. The idea was to gauge what types of innovation and invention might attract dollars in a downturn. The data could help innovators in various industries assess their odds of obtaining funding at this time.
Credit card reform leaves out small entrepreneurs (LA Times)
Congress is reining in the penalties that banks can levy on their riskiest borrowers. Card issuers stand to lose billions in revenue. They may seek to make it up from other plastic-wielding customers by raising interest rates, scaling back rewards and imposing annual fees. Small-business cardholders could be prime target
6 Ways to Be a Better CEO (Inc.)
A great slideshow featuring some top business people.
Lakeside Appliance coming back under new name (Times-Dispatch)
A month after watching the company founded by his father 55 years ago abruptly shut down, Jeff Francisco is resurrecting the Lakeside Appliance chain under the name Appliance Solutions.
Big squawk over big-box drugstore (Virginia Gazette)
“You should be ashamed of yourselves,” one man told attorney Vernon Geddy III, whose law office incidentally is on Jamestown Road. He continued to push, and when Geddy reminded the crowd that he was merely a lawyer representing the developer, the man countered, “I forgot. You’re an attorney. Forget it.” The crowd cheered and laughed.
Va. Tech students craft online biz guide (Roanoke Times)
Groups of business-minded Virginia Tech students have created a window into the changing world of online commerce. It’s called The Online Business Guidebook, and it’s aimed at entrepreneurs who want to launch an Internet business.
The Case for Working With Your Hands (NY Times)
Matthew B. Crawford, owner of Shockoe Moto wrote a fascinating article for the New York Times Magazine about the nature of working with your hands. The trades suffer from low prestige, and I believe this is based on a simple mistake. Because the work is dirty, many people assume it is also stupid. This is not my experience. I have a small business as a motorcycle mechanic in Richmond, Va., which I started in 2002. I work on Japanese and European motorcycles, mostly older bikes with some “vintage” cachet that makes people willing to spend money on them. I have found the satisfactions of the work to be very much bound up with the intellectual challenges it presents. And yet my decision to go into this line of work is a choice that seems to perplex many people.
Downturn Creates Drag on Traffic at Region’s Airports (Washington Post)
All three major D.C. hubs have reported drops in the number of passengers and fewer flights departing their runways this year as the global economic downturn leaves some business travelers and pleasure hoppers sitting at home. The result for these local economic engines has been tight budgets, staff cuts, furloughs and the delay of certain construction projects. Dulles and National have both instituted hiring freezes while BWI has had layoffs.
More Small Firms Drop Health Care (WSJ)
Accelerating health-care premiums and sharp revenue shortfalls due to the recession are forcing some small companies to choose between dropping health insurance or laying off workers — or staying in business at all.
So You Want to Get Funded? (BusinessWeek)
BusinessWeek asked YouNoodle to compile statistics of VC investment from mid-March to mid-April 2009. The idea was to gauge what types of innovation and invention might attract dollars in a downturn. The data could help innovators in various industries assess their odds of obtaining funding at this time.
Credit card reform leaves out small entrepreneurs (LA Times)
Congress is reining in the penalties that banks can levy on their riskiest borrowers. Card issuers stand to lose billions in revenue. They may seek to make it up from other plastic-wielding customers by raising interest rates, scaling back rewards and imposing annual fees. Small-business cardholders could be prime target
6 Ways to Be a Better CEO (Inc.)
A great slideshow featuring some top business people.