For those of you using Google today, you may notice that the logo has been blacked out. When you hover over the logo, a message appears: “Tell Congress: Don’t censor the web!”  If you head over to Wikipedia.com the page comes up as usual, but enter a search term and you’ll get a message from Wiki, “Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge. For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia.” You can click the link that Wikipedia offers to learn more about why the site has been blacked out... 

Tonight at 7pm, President Obama will address a joint session of Congress to lay out a jobs package estimated to be worth more than $300 billion dollars.  Obama will present tax cuts for middle-class families and businesses; these cuts are the cornerstone of his plan and will push for new spending to repair roads, bridges and other deteriorating infrastructure to help create jobs and improve our country’s worsening substructure...

I just read an article on msnbc.com about how Americans view home ownership.  Despite an excruciatingly hard few years for the housing market, an unsurprising amount of Americans still believe that owning their own home is the best long term investment they can make.

We’re all familiar with the housing boom of the 90’s and early 2000’s, after which the mortgage crisis pulled home prices down almost 30% nationwide, with hundreds of thousands of owners losing their homes. However, according to the survey results generated by the Pew Research Center's Social and Demographic Trends project, 81 percent of adults believe "buying a home is the best long-term investment a person can make."  The results were typical of the US housing market; nearly half of all homeowners stated that their home is worse less now than before the recession, with the overwhelming majority saying it will take at least three years for values to regain enough ground to make back their losses, while nearly half say it will take at least six years to recover....

Overworked?  It may be time to recharge your batteries.

One of the biggest and most common mistakes that small business owners make is failing to delegate.   They carry the responsibility of the entire company on their shoulders, attempting to be involved in every decision at every level whether it’s customer service, marketing, sales, accounts payable while email piles up in their inbox… the list goes on.  It’s easy to get snagged up in the little stuff on a daily basis, leaving less time to concentrate on actually running the company.  Especially in these economic times, business owners are overcompensating, trying to do more with less resources.  The result of burning the candles at both ends?  Burning out.

We’ve seen it in Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and now the National Football League. Professional athletes and franchise owners going to battle off the field over dollar signs. The most recent NFL lockout could cost the league billions, but what some aren’t thinking about is the impact the lockout is going to have on small business owners across the country.

It’s the vendors, parking lot attendants, security guards, bar owners, and thousands of others who will be tremendously set back by the lockout if the 2011-2012 NFL season does not take place...

How often do you receive advice about your business that you don’t take literally? Many of us discuss our business plans with consultants, business coaches, other local business owners, and family but it takes a special type of person to take the advice and essentially apply it to their business. At Basso on Business, we would like to highlight particular individuals who not only listened to the recommendations we presented them but took action! Our "Actions in Action” blog will quote our past featured business owners of 2010 and prove that when you act on advice and forge forward, positive change will flourish.

Credit Reporting: Do You Know What Your Rights Are?

Our information is everywhere.  We shop online, save it for e-billing, lose our checking account statements, credit cards and more.  That’s why it’s so important to keep tabs on your credit score to ensure your private information is correct and protected.  I know dozens of colleagues and business owners who have fallen prey to erroneously reported charges from collection agencies among other fraudulent charges or mis-reporting from banks or credit card companies.

The best way to combat this is to stay informed.  Per the Federal Trade Commission, "the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months."

As a small business owner, there’s a lot to keep track of. Federal and NYS depository rules, sales tax requirements, labor related issues and health care reform are only a few. I’ve always wanted a cheat sheet that to keep in my back pocket, so to speak, for quick reference. What’s the number for IRS assistance for a corporation? It’s on there. The phone number for NYC business customer assistance? On there. Gift tax exclusion? Got it. Limits on pension plans? That’s on there too. Do you wish you had one of these as well? Wish granted; Armao, Costa & Ricciardi, CPAs puts together such a list each year and this year they were nice enough to share their list with Basso On Business and our online community.

Just click the link below and hit the print button for your must have phone numbers and important updates. Enjoy!

http://acrcpa.com/pdf/Quick%20Reference%20Guide%202011.pdf

I typically begin my day by browsing some of the newest headlines to stay informed with the latest business news. I came across an article on Forbes.com that showcased 11 movies that entrepreneurs should watch because of the long lasting lessons for those who aspire to be wealthy. I thought I would share with you the movies they listed and ask what outside forces or business related experiences you have been through that have taught you valuable lessons of aspiring wealth that have impacted your business strategy....

Recently I had the opportunity to go on Fox news and talk about the potential results of the new small business legislation that was just passed by both houses of Congress. This new legislation includes $30 billion in aid to community banks, a capital gains increase, deductible health care for those who are self employed as well as much more. Click the link below to hear my thoughts on how this legislation is really going to help small businesses.

http://www.bassoonbusiness.com/TheBassoNewsroom.aspx