The unemployment rate dropped, but what’s that mean for businesses…specifically, yours? Plus, it’s time to stop talking and start buckling down if you want to catch the crazy wave that is holiday sales. How do you prepare? All this and links and customer questions in this week’s round-up!
Small Business News of the Week
Last Friday we suddenly learned the unemployment rate had taken a big jump down. But if you’re like the rest of America, you probably looked around at your business and your local community and wondered exactly where all these new jobs were coming from. After all, you haven’t hired anybody in months and your closest competitor just fired a few people.
According to AP Business Writer Joyce Rosenberg, however, the job growth rate just depends where you look. For instance, she looks at the housing and construction markets and notices that there’s a boom there recently. She postulates that it depends on what area of business you look.
Hopefully, this will bring more success in other regions of business, including any you currently live in. Do you think this will be the case, or does one industry’s success have very little to do with another’s?
Around the Entrepreneur Web
Business Plans for Freelance Consultants – No good at drafting business plans? You’re not alone, but there are several ways of making it easier.
Why Most Consumers Ignore Video Ads and What You Can Do About It – Creating the best video ad in the world means nothing if people don’t see it! Here’s how to instantly make your ad more engaging.
New Malware Spreading Through Skype IM Could Come From People You Know – Many use Skype in everyday business transactions and conversations, so this new malware could be a huge problem. Here’s how to protect yourself and your clients!
9 Outsourcing Options You Should Not Ignore – “Outsourcing” isn’t just a bad word that gives American jobs to other countries. It’s also very useful if you’re just too swamped to do certain tasks. Here are 9 you should hand out immediately.
Outright Community Speaks
Our users surprise us every day with questions and concerns. Here are some of the best from this week!
This customer wants to know the latest time they can mark an Etsy direct payment shipped in order for it to appear in the current month and not the next. Be the first to answer!
Have more questions or concerns? Stop by our Outright Customer Care forum!
Outright Pro Tip: Buckling Down
All the talk about the holidays and the Christmas season and what not is starting to come to a head. It’s dangerously close to mid-October and soon holiday shoppers will be scouring the Internet for the best deals. If you’re not ready when they come calling, you’re going to miss out on quite a bit of money!
If you’re still unsure of where to start, consider looking back at recent sales figures and see which items have been flying off the shelves recently. If there’s nothing that stands out, scour the web and see if any “big” products match up with what you have…or stuff you can acquire!
Having the best products can be a great draw for your website. If you know you have something everybody wants already half the work is done for you. Now you just have to find a way to make sure people know you have the “hot ticket” for the season.
That’s it for this week’s Round-Up!
