Networking on the River June 12, 2009

New Business Minnesota’s annual Networking on the River event is June 17, boarding the Anson Northrop sternwheeler at Harriet Island in St. Paul. We are expecting close to 200 people to attend.
If you want to forget the recession blues, get on board. Few long faces are expected. These people are networking like crazy and building [...]

Networking is Hot, Hot, Hot March 16, 2009

There are some bright lights in the 2009 economic sky. The intensity of B2B networking is increasing at New Business Minnesota, easily outpacing 2009.
Every month we run a networking event for new businesses called a Startup Meetup. In 2008, we averaged 60 to 80 people who would gather at a bar and exchange business cards, talk about each others’ businesses, [...]

How Bad is the Recession? January 19, 2009

During the recession of 1981-82, I was the editor of the Shakopee Valley News, a weekly newspaper just outside the Twin Cities. I wrote many stories about the local jobs that were lost and the businesses that closed. I thought I had done a great job of documenting and opining about the horrible conditions.
One day [...]

A Startup Stimulus Plan? January 12, 2009

A recent letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal pointed out how proposed economic stimulus packages coming out of Washington fail to address the potential of stimulating the startup market.
The letter writer, Eugene Severens of Annapolis, Md., addressed comments made by Sen. Judd Gregg’s , who wrote in a column that most jobs in America [...]

Network Group Exploding January 11, 2009

A year ago, my business partner Scott Plum and I started a networking group at Meetup.com. We called it Startup Meetup. The goal was to introduce startup companies with the resources that can help make them successful.
So we promoted through the meetup.com family, our website at www.newbizminn.com and through the pages of our monthly newspaper, [...]

Everything is New Again January 6, 2009

When gas prices topped $4 a gallon this summer, all the old gas saving tips came roaring back from the 1970s. TV reporters graciously helped befuddled consumers with advice such as: properly inflated tires give the best fuel economy. Jack rabbit starts waste gas. Speeding wastes gas. You can reduce you gasoline expenses by carpooling [...]

Hanging with the Newbies! January 4, 2009

With all the doom and gloom about the economy — you know, the part with companies failing and the growing number of unemployed — I have the privilege of working with the newbies, as in new businesses that are being formed.
As the publisher of New Business Minnesota and New Business Denver, I was approached recently [...]

This Recession is Way Different than ‘81-’82 January 3, 2009

Last time we had a major recession was in the early 1980s. Here are a few of the many way that the world has changed. In 1981 there were:
No personal computers, no cellphones, no faxes, no Internet, no email, no cell phones, no free unlimited long distance phone calls, no ATMs. You get the idea. [...]

LLCs are taking over. December 16, 2008

The number of new corporation filings – Domestic Corporation is the official designation – with the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office are down 13 percent or 1,030 through the first 11 months of the year.

With all the dire economic news, it would be tempting to chalk up the sudden decline to the broader financial malaise.

What’s [...]

Predicting the Future Through a Rearview Mirror December 2, 2008

The science of economics has broken new ground. Einstein would approve. Time is not what us mortals think it to be. Alfred the great said time can warp and fold in on itself.
It now appears that economist have found the same to be true in their world. As a team of researchers approached light speed, time [...]