Barack Obama | Page 5

Entrepreneurial veterans get a boost from a new federal initiative that includes a focus on helping veterans seeking to start or grow a business.

What do entrepreneurs think would help America out-innovate other nations? President Barack Obama is slated to get an earful of opinions on that topic today from Cleveland-area entrepreneurs. Following up on his State of the Union speech, which focused on the need to reignite American innovation, Obama is convening a Winning the Future Forum on […]

The U.S. leaders who have done the most -- and least -- for entrepreneurs

The federal government has decided that the small-business cash crunch is over. In his proposed 2012 budget introduced Monday, President Barack Obama proposes to cut the Small Business Administration budget by a whopping 45 percent, based on the total the agency received in 2010. In terms of core budget allotment, the SBA actually gets more […]

On the heels of President Barack Obama’s big State of the Union address last week, during which he talked up the vital role of entrepreneurs in the recovery of the U.S. economy, the White House announced today the launch of an initiative designed to give small business an important jolt. Called Startup America Partnership, the […]

Recently, I wrote about the emergence of several entrepreneurs’ movements around the country. One was an initiative to gain federal recognition of Nov. 19 as National Entrepreneurs’ Day. Update: They did it. Thanks in part to a robust Twitter campaign spearheaded by marketing and technology firm the Grasshopper Group, President Barack Obama has signed off […]

“Slurpee Summit.” Offer freebies. The chain has offered to cater a Slurpee Summit and deliver both red and blue Slurpees — or to possibly create a new purple one to symbolize coming together. Such a summit would, of course, only create massive amounts of additional free publicity for Slurpee. Advertise. 7-Eleven is whipping together a […]

$30 billion in funding President Barack Obama’s desk make its way to small businesses Was this even the best way to help small businesses? better spent handed over to early-stage venture capitalists major engine of job creation more than 1,200 of them solid track record

personal, half-hour chat with President Barack Obama Grand Central Bakery Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria Inn at Discovery Coast talking up his stalled small-business lending proposal $30 billion in new federal funds Main Street Alliance

Small business owners may not think the White House has acted quickly or decisively enough to contain the Gulf of Mexico oil spill or to call oil giant BP to account for the disaster. But a large group of them are applauding President Barack Obama’s request for rapid Congressional action on new clean-energy initiatives that […]

I’ve been following the story of President Barack Obama’s Export Initiative with interest. The initiative‘s goal is to double U.S. exports in five years, in an effort to bring our trade deficit back into balance. The initiative brings new funding and staffing to federal agencies that help businesses sell overseas, with some of the effort […]

This week, the president unveils his plan for creating peace between the U.S. and Islamic nations. Primary weapon? Entrepreneurship. Economic opportunity means less unrest, poverty, and less of a jihadi breeding ground overseas, the theory goes. While some U.S. entrepreneurs might wish the president was holding a summit to address domestic barriers to entrepreneurial business […]

We all know our nation has spent a bundle trying to stimulate the economy again. It’s been suggested that there’s only one way out of this debt mess now — the value added tax. Better known as the VAT, the value-added tax is charged on retail goods and services. It’s essentially a national sales tax […]

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 […]

We all know that banks aren’t lending like they used to, and the outlook for 2010 doesn’t seem to offer much hope. One southern business journal recently called the small-business lending climate “dire.” While SBA-backed loan volume accelerated in the third quarter last year, so did default rates. The Wall Street Journal called the outlook […]

Yesterday, President Barack Obama held a small-business financing forum to discuss what more should be done to help break the lending logjam small business owners have experienced the past two years. Before it even began, Obama was being criticized for keeping the guest list under wraps. Interested parties such as the American Small Business League […]

When President Obama declared a National Day of Service on September 11th, the folks from DoodyCalls had already gotten a head start. Franchisees, employees and even the president of the pet waste removal franchise spent September 10th giving the National Mall a much-needed makeover by doing what they do best–scooping poop. DoodyCalls President Jacob D’Aniello […]

A recent study by the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration asserts that using federal stimulus money to fund business incubator programs instead of using it to expand federal infrastructure projects is a better use of taxpayer dough when it comes to creating jobs and firing up the nation’s economy. The study (PDF), touted […]

Barack Obama, sworn in today as the 44th president of the United States of America, praised the nation’s heritage of entrepreneurship, labor and charity, and reminded his countrymen that they have a history of not backing down in the face of economic adversity. “It has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things–some celebrated, […]

Despite being attacked during the election for his perceived lack of consideration for America’s business owners (see Joe “The Plumber,” et. al.), Barack Obama as president-elect has shown an almost wonkish savvy when it comes to the machinations of entrepreneurship in the United States. His recent proposal to fund a national network of business incubators […]