China

It's all about China these days, isn't it? Recently, the US House of Representatives have signed off on a bill that will allow president Obama to impose import tariffs on goods from China since China seems to be "manipulating its currency."

China is the biggest exporter in the world. It also has one of the largest populations in the world, if not the largest. So one thing a business will not lack is potential customers. But it seems there are many barriers to doing business in China. Language is one of them. If you don't speak Chinese, you are already at a disadvantage, although, many Chinese speak fairly good English. The other thing is raising enough capital to compete in China. Even well established companies like McDonalds are only now beginning to do business in China. Right now, there are only about 800 McDonalds restaurants in China. A very modest sum when you consider the billions of people who live in the country. But McDonalds has the financial infrastructure to accomplish what a small business cannot in a country like China.

More than food and beverage type businesses, it arguably would be more profitable to get into China's export business than any other sector. For one thing, labor is dirt cheap. But identifying them, and getting good consultants and manufacturers, etc, is very challenging. (There are supposedly a lot of unscrupulous charlatans in this market who take full and total advantage of foreign investors and most of the rip offs happen online.)

It's very very challenging, and for most small business people who are not Chinese, this may be a market better left untapped. But for others, a great opportunity.

Google

Can a small business be successful without Google? Not according to Maria Bartiromo. Google has become the blood supply for not only small businesses, but all businesses. And this is a global phenomenon. There is no country in the world where Google is not a factor. The main way that small businesses can benefit from Google is by purchasing Google Adsense advertising. Apparently, AdSense can transform a mom and pop small business from obscurity on the fringe back roads of Arizona, to a global brand barely able to keep up with the demand.

Google's smartphone, the Android along with its various apps are also fast becoming a must-have for serious entrepreneurs not just in terms of the phone element, but the computing features as well. Google Earth, Google TV, Google Images and Google Searches are all invaluable tools that provide incalcable benefits for small businesses and entrepreneurs.

Do you Google?

POLITICS

What's politics got to do with it?

U.S. politics right now is very partisan driven. It is easy to wonder where is the integrity and which side has the most of it. Politics can kill ideas. It can kill dreams. It can kill recovery. It can kill livelihoods - especialy that of the small business. Right now, if you ask many of the small business owners around the country, they will probably tell you that they wish the Washington politicians would get over their partisanship and get onboard to lead the recovery, which means, signing off on a bill that will help small businesses reignite their engines. Isn't it unbelievable that both parties can't see that the key to the recovery is small business? Everyone laments the 10% unemployment - the jobless recovery, if you may (The Dow hit 11,000 recently!) but nobody can put aside politics long enough to do the right thing by small business, which in turn will fix the economy. Politics is literally shoving not only small business, but the entire American economy off a cliff.