Small business news - CNNMoney.com

Advanta circles the drain

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:18:01 EST

Small business credit card lender Advanta has filed for bankruptcy, five months after it cut off new lending on its 1 million customer accounts.

A sonic silver bullet for fighting crime

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:36:18 EST

Police surveillance cameras can make civil libertarians queasy. But what if cops could listen for dangerous crime instead of watching?

Freebies for the jobless

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:23:27 EST

From free dry cleaning to a no-cost vacation, these 5 businesses have come up with creative ways to help out unemployed residents in their communities.

Free cash for your business

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:30:34 EST

When hunting for cash, desperate small business owners may find themselves sucked into buying books and software packages promising "Billions in Free Grants!" from Web sites with names like NeverPayItBack.com, or hiring consultants who promise to find them gads of money. All they're likely to get, though, are empty promises.

Getting by with a skeleton staff

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:41:05 EST

Small business owners are still whittling away at their payroll, but the deluge of pink slips on Main Street is slowing down.

Fighting the five-finger discount

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:56:04 EST

Inventory losses are on the rise, thanks mostly to cashiers giving themselves and friends five-finger discounts. Employees stole an estimated $15 billion from retailers last year, according to University of Florida criminologist Richard Hollinger, who conducts an annual survey of the country's top stores. That's 25% more than stores lost to shoplifters.

CIT's long goodbye

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:27:17 EST

When CIT Group filed for bankruptcy Sunday, it wasn't much of a surprise. The once-dominant small business lender has been largely sidelined for more than a year.

Save $: Sign on the virtual line

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:22:02 EST

Looking for a business challenge? Try getting seven people in as many locations to sign a 45-page contract.

How Build-a-Bear invented a market

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:03:39 EST

Cute sells: Stuffed animals are a $1.5 billion industry in the U.S. Commanding nearly a third of that market is Build-a-Bear Workshop, a St. Louis-based retailer that lets customers personalize plush teddies, bunnies and other fuzzy friends. Founder Maxine Clark got the idea for the company in the mid-1990s while toy shopping with a 10-year-old girl who suggested that she and Clark could make their own stuffed animals.

Alone in an abandoned car plant

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:28:28 EST

Most people assume the Packard Plant in Detroit is vacant. It's an industrial ruin where the last car was manufactured 53 years ago.

K9 eden lures lucky dogs

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:54:29 EST

Dallas has gone to the dogs. Who's to blame? Try Kelly and Cody Acree. The couple raised $10 million to build Unleashed Indoor Dog Parks, a canine paradise with 25,000 square feet of air-conditioned romping space that opened in March.

China's $treet fashion

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:16:15 EDT

It's a hot august afternoon in Beijing, and student Li Yanan is shopping with a friend at the Joy City mall, in the city's Xicheng district. The mall offers plenty of Western brand-name stores -- Quiksilver, Levi's, French Connection -- all looking much as they do in other malls around the world. But Li, 20, is drawn to the only store displaying a large slogan printed in Chinese characters. YOUR OWN STYLE, it reads. Within seconds, Li is inside trying on a garish pink trucker's hat.

Jam session: Gear for rock gods

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:08:32 EST

So you wanna be a rock-and-roll star? This gear will get you jamming in style.

Small glove maker, giant MLB deal

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:08:52 EST

Wilson. Rawlings. Easton. Big brands like these dominate the $132 million baseball glove industry, paying star players big bucks to wear their gear.

No loans, but lots of credit cards

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:09:12 EST

Want a loan for your business? Hit the plastic. That's about all banks are going to offer -- and the terms are much less favorable than traditional lines of credit.

Rebooting your business model

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:13:50 EDT

When I moved to New York City from Calcutta, I wasn't planning a catering career. I had come to earn a master's degree in lighting design from Parsons the New School for Design. But as a foodie, I was dismayed by the city's Indian eateries: The good ones were pricey, while the more affordable restaurants served two-day-old curries.

The nightmare employee

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:23:38 EDT

A while ago I needed to hire an accounts payable person for my picture-framing business. We put an ad in the paper and received a good number of applications. One candidate jumped out from the pile: He had exactly the right background, and it didn't hurt that he asked for a slightly lower salary than we were planning on paying.

Even bad reviews boost sales

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:02:17 EDT

Like many retailers, Jim Hobart knows the value of a good testimonial.

What if you don't like your staff?

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:59:47 EDT

All companies have a corporate culture. Some cultures are good; others are bad. Some are productive, some destructive.

'How we got a loan'

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:41:43 EDT

As banks clamp down, small businesses are struggling to find the loans and credit lines they need. Here's how one company got the financing it needed.