Latest Business News

Franchises are poised to benefit from increases in small business lending, according to the Entrepreneurs Source business coaching company.

Pointing to recent Greenwich Associates and Capital One surveys, the Source said demand for small business loans is up, and credit is becoming easier to access. Greenwich Associates found 59 percent of small business respondents to its survey had applied for a loan within the last year, with a 57 percent success rate. Capitol One found 85 percent of respondents had been able to obtain necessary loans, up 15 percent from a year ago.

Brian Miller, president and COO of the Entrepreneurs Source, and Jeremy Ames, CEO and co-founder of Guidant Financial, said franchises are well-positioned to be approved for loans.

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Tags: Business, Small Business

The blue-chip index may have closed last night at its lowest level for nearly three months, but Tui Travel was sunning itself at the top of the leaderboard following renewed speculation the tour operator could be in line for an approach.

Its parent company Tui AG has long been believed to be interested in acquiring the 44.9 per cent of Tui Travel it does not own, and yesterday vague rumours returned that the German group was mulling a potential bid.

With the chatter suggesting it may offer up to 4 a pop for the remaining shares, the catalyst – said market gossips – was the fact that Tui Travel has lost more than a fifth of its share price since January. Yes

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Tags: Sun, Tui Travel

I’m often contacted by small business owners hoping to learn more about search engine optimization. They want to know the best practices, the 10 things they absolutely must do, or what Google’s new algorithm tweak means to their business. (Lately they also want to know why everyone is suddenly talking about pandas.) As a small business owner with a business to worry about, trying to add SEO knowledge to the mix can be a little daunting. OK, it can be downright terrifying if you’re not sure where to start or who to turn to for advice.

Below are some free (or nearly-free) SEO resources I’d encourage you to check out when you’re looking for help picking up that SEO education in your spare time.

SEO Blogs

There’s good news and bad news when it comes to blogs around the topic of SEO. The good ne

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Tags: Business Owner, Owner, Small Business, Small Business Owner

PRINCETON, Ind. — Toyota’s Princeton, Ind., plant plans to add permanent employees by hiring on 30 people who have been part of the plant’s variable workforce staff.

The Princeton plant has about 4,100 Toyota employees. The plant also uses what it refers to as a variable workforce made up of people who work for staffing company Aerotek. About 600 variable-workforce employees work at the plant.

Toyota announced Friday that it plans to hire on 30 variable-workforce Aerotek employees. The tentative date for this hiring is next month, Toyota said.

This is the second time this year that the Princeton plant has added permanent employees. Earlier this year, it added 75 jobs. This

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Tags: Ind Plant, Plant

The SBA is one of the most vibrant sources of funds and tools for small business owners. Their lending programs, especially the 504 program, make it possible for all types of small businesses to secure needed funds to continue to grow their business. It takes many people to successfully secure and close an SBA loan. Knowing who they are and how they work together empowers both lenders and borrowers by helping them identify key partners and opportunities.

Player One: The Lender

The first player on the SBA field is the lender. The lender is the one to whom you typically go to when you want a loan. Banks, credit unions, and micro-lenders all fall under this umbrella.

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Tags: Lending, Lending Process