'Lone Eagle' (One Person) Businesses On The Rise

More Americans are taking matters into their own hands by going to work for themselves out of their homes. Much of the growth we are seeing is in "lone eagle" service-type businesses. It is a reversal of the trend seen from 1960-1980, when there were steady reductions in the number of people who worked at home.

Service Veterans Desire Business Ownership

According to BizBuySell's recent study, both older and younger veterans are emerging as major players in the buying of small companies. And, thus, are shaping the business-for-sale market.

For the complete story on young veterans showing strong interest in business ownership go to: blog.bizbuysell.com.

ITEX Announces Quarterly Cash Dividend

The ITEX Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $.05 per share on February 28. The dividend will be paid on March 20 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 10, 2014.

Prices Will Lower When Patients Start To Behave Like Consumers

We have a long way to go and there will have to be many changes, but here's a story about a beginning: With no health insurance, Vicki Burns, 62, of Mesilla Park (NM) needed a total hip replacement but balked at a local hospital's $45,000 quote for a two-day stay — which didn't include the surgeon's fee and other ancillary charges.

Then Burns found out about www.MediBid.com, an online service where doctors and facilities can bid for a patient?s business. Using the website, Burns accepted a bid of $13,400 from Jaron Anderson, M.D., of Glendale (CA) that included the surgery center, anesthesiologist, lab tests, X-rays — even house calls as she recuperated nearby.

(It should be noted that on its website MediBid encourages patients to do their homework and research doctors' credentials.)

Diners Are Tipping Less These Days

VoucherCloud.net's recent survey on spending habits shows that Americans' tipping on restaurant bills has declined compared with five years ago. The reason? They explained that they "couldn't afford to tip the customary 20% on top of the cost of a meal."

The survey revealed that only 23% of Americans tip their food servers 20% or more.

Small Talk Is An Extremely Important Skill

Nicholas Boothman, author of both How To Make People Like You In 90 Seconds Or Less and How To Connect In Business In 90 Seconds Or Less, says that small talk is an extremely and often undervalued and overlooked communicative skill.

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Develop Your Financial Common Sense

In his best-selling book, What Losing Taught Me About Winning, Fran Tarkenton noted, "I have yet to hear any entrepreneur complain about being up to his ears in cash with nowhere to spend it." Tarkenton, who has run twelve businesses with annual revenues ranging from under $1 million to $142 million, maintains that every business has a cash crunch at one time or another. That's why it's so vital to develop your financial common sense early on, so you do not have to rely on dollars to keep your business alive.

He doesn't think it does an entrepreneur any good, particularly in the early going, to be able to buy his or her way out of problems. In his book he says the way around borrowing, and buying your way out of problems, is to leverage your relationships.

"You cannot be parochial or narrowly focused, operating in a protective crouch," Tarkenton cautioned, "while all those businesses around you, both big and small, are reaching out and joining forces wherever possible. If you are going to succeed as an entrepreneur, you have to learn to think of your business not only as an income generating tool, but also as a leveraging tool — something that has value that can be traded to create greater value."