Keep your team, your boss and yourself happy with these communication tips.

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[Source: Entrepreneur.com: Growing Your Business]

If you're thinking about buying a franchise business, then look out for these small business franchise financing pitfalls

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[Source: Small Business Finance Tips latest articles and information]

For more than 35 years, Jerry Wyatt was a loyal customer of Bobby Archer, a Houston-area Chrysler dealer. Mr. Wyatt bought 30 vehicles from the dealer, and neither rebates nor new models ever lured him to shop elsewhere.But now Mr. Archer's three dealerships have closed as part of the consolidation of Chrysler Group LLC's retail network, and Mr. Wyatt says he is so upset he may switch to a different car maker."I just don't believe that Chrysler showed any sensitivity to the customers," says Mr. Wyatt, a 62-year-old city councilman in Missouri City, Texas.Across the country, hundreds of car dealers have closed their doors amid slumping sales, and hundreds more will wind down this year because of the bankruptcy reorganizations of Chrysler and General Motors Corp. The upheaval means that many car owners are seen as up for grabs -- six million of them, according to R.L. Polk & Co., an auto-industry market researcher.In an industry that's on track to sell 10 million new cars and light trucks this year, winning over even a small number could have an impact on dealers and auto makers.As a result, surviving dealers are scrambling to win over as many as they can. Mr. Wyatt has already received a postcard from Finnegan Dodge offering oil changes for $9.99 on Fridays.In Woodside, N.Y., Brian Benstock, owner of Paragon Honda, has sent postcards to thousands of area GM owners seeking their business, using a customer list from a nearby Pontiac dealer that closed."We're sending them an orphan letter that says we'd like to adopt them as customers, telling them that as a used-car dealer we service all makes and models," Mr. Benstock says. "Eventually, they might buy a Honda."For dealers, attracting orphaned car owners could start a relationship that will eventually produce auto sales. But the potential service and repair business from those customers is also important. Service and parts generate $4 million in annual revenue for the average dealer, and they produce wider margins than sales of new vehicles.According to industry estimates, at least 3,000 of the 20,000-plus dealers in the U.S. will have closed between 2008 and 2010. Chrysler dropped 789 stores from its network on June 9 as part of its restructuring, leaving the company with about 2,400. GM plans to shed about 2,400 to lower its dealer count to less than 4,000.Dealers aren't the only ones trying to attract orphaned customers. Chrysler has also tried to reach out. In early June, it started sending letters offering $1,000 loyalty discounts on Chrysler vehicles at surviving dealerships.But not everyone is buying. Mike Hinson, who purchased vehicles from Stearns Jeep in Graham, N.C., for about 15 years, says Chrysler's corporate pitch was impersonal and ineffective. Now that Stearns Jeep is out of business, he says he isn't sure where he'll go when it comes time to replace his black 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Ted Teegarden, a retired advertising executive who lives in Birmingham, Mich., has also become an automotive free agent. He has long had deep ties to GM. In the 1970s, he worked on the company's iconic Pontiac advertising campaigns, and for the past 13 years he has bought Cadillacs from Dalgleish Cadillac in Detroit, which is closing."I'll probably find a good dealer, but I won't find someone like Doug Dalgleish," Mr. Teegarden says.
Scott Gruwell, the owner of Courtesy Chevrolet in Phoenix, expanded his orphan-adoption program last year when two competitors -- Power Chevrolet and Bill Heard Chevrolet -- went out of business. Mr. Gruwell was able to buy lists of customers who purchased from those dealers."When Bill Heard went out of business in the fall, we had meetings almost daily to figure out how we were going to earn customers' respect," Mr. Gruwell says.He sent out letters and emails offering free oil changes, car washes and lunches to people who could show proof they had been customers of Heard or Power.Mr. Gruwell says that buying lists from closed dealers or other sources is cheaper than other advertising techniques, such as radio and television.So far, Courtesy says its share of the Phoenix market has climbed two percentage points, and sales at its service business are up about 15%."What I am noticing every day when I go into the service drive are Bill Heard and Power Chevrolet nameplates on people's vehicles," Mr. Gruwell says. "That feels good."
Write to John D. Stoll at john.stoll@wsj.com and Andrew Grossman at andrew.grossman@wsj.com

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[Source: WSJ.com: Small Business]

(See Corrections & Amplifications item below.)In its latest effort to help cash-strapped entrepreneurs, the Small Business Administration on Wednesday permanently changed a key loan program so that businesses can refinance if they plan to expand or buy equipment.Previously, business owners could only take advantage of the SBA's 504 program when they sought new loans to buy real estate, upgrade machinery and make improvements. Now, borrowers can refinance any existing fixed-asset loan as long as the amount is 50% or less than the total cost of expansion.The change is designed to help business owners restructure debt under better terms and "improve their cash flow and enhance their viability so that they can grow and create jobs," said Hayley Matz, an SBA spokeswoman.For instance, a business owner who wants a $1 million loan to expand could refinance $500,000-worth of existing equipment debt, for a $1.5 million total 504 loan package at a better interest rate, Ms. Matz said. The small-business borrower must also create or retain a job for every $65,000 guaranteed by the SBA, a change from $50,000.Some industry experts, however, doubt that this will help struggling small businesses that need to pay a 504 loan coming due soon. Many aren't in an expansion mode and so aren't poised to take advantage of the debt refinance provision."Most are struggling and working overtime to figure out how to be able to survive this economy," says Bob Coleman, publisher of the Coleman Report, a newsletter for SBA lenders.As of last week, the SBA has approved 3,900 loans under the 504 program since its fiscal year began in October, down 41.5% from the 6,671 loans in the same period a year earlier. Total dollar amount of those loans has dropped 42.5% to $2.28 billion, from $3.97 billion a year ago.This change is the latest initiative that the SBA has rolled out in the past few months as part of President Obama's stimulus package. Since mid-February, the agency has reduced fees for its loans and raised the guarantee on most of its 7(a) loans, the SBA's flagship program, to as much as 90% from 75% to 85%. Last week, it rolled out an emergency-loan program for established businesses that are cash-strapped. Next week, the SBA plans to launch a loan program that would make it easier for car dealers to buy inventory."This is one more piece of the Recovery Act that is going to have a direct impact and put more money in the hands of small business owners just when they need it most," SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills said in a statement. "Lower interest rates mean lower payments and less money going out the door each month in debt repayments."
Write to Raymund Flandez at raymund.flandez@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
Borrowers can refinance any existing fixed-asset loan to expand or buy equipment, not just an SBA-backed loan, as a previous version of this article implied. In addition, a business owner who wants to get a $1 million loan to expand can refinance $500,000 worth of existing equipment debt, for a $1.5 million total 504 loan package. An example of how a business can use the program in a previous version didn't accurately represent the scope of the program.

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[Source: WSJ.com: Small Business]

Efforts to send IT work anywhere but Bangalore are taking on added urgency as costs of doing work in India rise and the dollar sinks

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[Source: BusinessWeek.com -- CEO Guide to Technology]