FastUpFront Small Business Blog

As the year winds down and the dust begins to settle it’s getting pretty clear which businesses came out winning and which businesses won’t even be walking away with a consolation prize this holiday season.   Front and center in the headlines: Amazon.com’s continuing dominance in online sales fueled by a series of incredibly strategic [...]

As the U.S. stock market continues to yo-yo about like a row-boat on choppy waters and reports rippling from across the ocean suggest that the Euro-zone is just barely keeping its head above water, there have been some pockets of relative calm and even prosperity. So just who is benefiting from all the economic turmoil [...]

When it comes to the U.S. economy, sometimes it seems that everyone loves a good scapegoat- especially when the “everyone” is desperately trying to turn a blind eye to some ugly, fundamental problems…   As economic analysts try to make sense out of Wall Street’s recent nose dive, there are so far several suspects in [...]

Irregardless of which side of the political camp you place yourself, chances are the recent “agreement” to raise the debt ceiling probably brings little comfort, and with good reason. Analysis of the deal reveals that the proposed $2.4 trillion in deficit reduction over ten years is a mere drop in the bucket compared to the [...]

Need another reason to hate those “Big Bad Banks”? Well, here’s 10 of them. These are 10 of the most common, yet blatantly outrageous fees charged by the well-known mega banks, such as Bank of America, Capital One, PNC, and TD Bank (and many smaller, regional banks have them as well).     1. Research [...]

American poet Nathaniel Parker Willis once opined that June is a “month of leaves and roses, when pleasant sights salute the eyes and pleasant scents the noses.” But those who have been following the recent economic reports that have come out this month, or who are experiencing them first hand, may not be feeling so [...]

A seemingly contradictory line up of recent economic indicators has been drawing a lot of attention as of late, leaving in its wake a population of economists and economic analysts who have suddenly been struck dumbfounded. They are, after all, dealing with an economy that just refuses to stick to their models and predictions.   [...]

Even as the stock market continues its heady rally and some economic indicators suggest that the economy is improving (albeit slowly), the surge in commodity prices, many of them unavoidable staples, has wreaked havoc on small business profit margins. But, the pain is certainly not being felt equally by all. Some industries have been hit [...]

We’re not out of the woods yet… The National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) recently reported that its quarterly Index of Small Business Optimism fell 0.6 points in December to 92.6, closing off the 36th consecutive month of a recessionary reading.   Of the small businesses surveyed, sluggish sales continue to be a primary concern, [...]

As 2011 begins, small business owners and entrepreneurs have been expressing their hopes and concerns for the new year. The results of several widely distributed surveys show an optimistic leaning and most sources indicate that the economic heaviness of the past few years is beginning to lift. Nevertheless, many entrepreneurs and small business owners, seem [...]