New Year’s Resolutions

I plan to start the new year off right with a number of new year’s resolutions … which I actually plan to keep.  (Ask me in February.)  Here they are:

1. I want to find ways to spend more time with my girlfriend.  (She likes that one; hence it’s inclusion at #1.)
2. I was doing a great job of getting in shape in 2008 until mid-October.  Since then, my schedule got so hectic that I could count the number of times that I worked out on one hand.  I plan to restart with my old schedule of working out three times a week at the gym and doing my daily crunches and push-ups.
3. I plan to read through the Bible in 365 days and already have a schedule for doing so.  Laura did this a few years ago, and I should have joined her when she did it.  I cannot remember the last time that I read the Bible all of the way through.  This should also help me as I will become a church deacon in January.
4. I will try to spend more time with Charlotte doing “fun” things and rely a lot less on “crutches” such as DVDs and TV shows to waste away our evenings.
5. I have started writing a book of short stories.  I would like to finish writing this by the end of the year.  We will see.  In the meantime, I will spend much of the beginning of 2009 promoting my memoir, which came out in November.  In my professional capacity, I want to finish the paper that I am currently writing at work and perhaps start another one.

What are your new year’s resolutions?  Maybe I will expand my list….

Stupid Cancer Blog

As someone in her 30s battling breast cancer, my late wife Laura sought as much information as she could on battling her breast cancer.  One of the websites that she visited regularly was from the I’m Too You For This! Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting young cancer survivors and their families.  I have looked at their website from time to time, as well, including their blog, The Stupid Cancer Blog.  Today, their blog posted a piece on my memoir, and while not finalized, it is possible that I will be on The Stupid Cancer Show on Internet radio hosted by Matthew Zachary sometime in the spring.  Stay tuned.  Thanks for the plug on the book. 

I’m Too Young For This! also has local chapters if you would like to get involved.  I, for one, am going to check out the local DC metropolitan chapter.

Merry Christmas!

Charlotte and I hope that everyone has a fantastic Christmas and a wonderful 2009!

Small Business Owners Appear Cautiously Optimistic Going Into 2009

For much of 2008, small business owners have been pessimistic about the economy, much like their consumer counterparts.  The National Federation of Independent Business, for instance, shows little optimism in its most recent survey, with small business owners reporting little desire to expand their business, hire new workers, or invest in new capital equipment.  The NFIB survey also states that “poor sales” is the top concern, which is not surprising given the recession and its impacts.

Going into 2009, there is still reason for concern.  Yet, many of the respondents to my most recent Linked In question remain cautiously optimistic.  Many of the responses were similar to this one: “I am optimistic, but I am trying to serve a narrow niche and keep very low overhead.”  Indeed, several small business owners cited the fact that costs were coming down as a reason for optimism.  A serial entrepreneur, for instance, said, “Having a low cost base means cost effectiveness and offering my products to clients at a lower cost than my larger sized competitors. This means that distributors and retailers earn more margin from my products that others, thus they would ideally do more business with me to keep their bottom line in check.”  Other factors mentioned as reasons for optimism include: nimbleness of smaller firms to take advantage of opportunities, lower cost of capital, emerging technologies that improve productivity and provide new markets, and one-on-one customer service.

With that said, some of the small businesses that responded to this question were hopeful because, they said, it was better to have such an attitude than not.  One CEO stated, “It never helped to be pessimistic. Usually we get what we epect, hence, I am utterly optimistic.”  Such an attitude is healthy, and it never hurts to acknowledge that better times are coming (even if we do not know when those are).  Even though one manager said that his sales right now are flat, his spirits were high down the road.  “ We have to keep moving up the market and as long as we do, I’m optimistic in the long run.”

No More Spain

When I started this blog, I needed to have a cropped picture for the banner.  I quickly chose one of my favorite pictures from our trip to Spain in 2006, of a bridge over a large gorge in Ronda.  The picture stuck and did receive some interesting feedback, such as, “Where was the picture taken?”  Of course, it also got such comments as: “Why do you have a picture of Italy on your blog?”  If nothing else, it became a conversation piece.

From this point on, I will use a more personal blog banner with pictures of Charlotte and me.  These will rotate from time to time with new pictures.  The banner above features two photos from our November 1st photoshoot with Sally Brewer.  By now, these pictures are probably well-known, as I have used them numerous times, including on our Christmas card.  In conjunction with the change in the banner, I have also switched to a different theme, which I hope that you like.  It seems a little cleaner and crisper to me than the previous one.

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

My sister-in-law Ali Maxey plans to do the two-day Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in DC on May 2 & 3, 2009.  As part of this, she will walk 26.2 miles on Saturday and another 13.1 miles on Sunday (or 39.3 miles total).  Proceeds of this event benefit the Avon Foundation which supports breast cancer research and mammograms for low-income women.  It is a truly worthy cause.  Ali is doing this walk in memory of my late wife Laura, who passed away from breast cancer in November 2007. 

Ali has already registered and will need to raise donations.  If you are interested in helping her out, please let me know, and I can direct you to her.

Congratulations, Karen Mills

President-Elect Obama is expected to name Karen Mills, the founding partner of Solera Capital and the president of the MMP Group, to be the next SBA Administrator sometime today, according to press reports.  Karen has been part of SBA’s transition team, and she is the chairwoman of the Council on Competitiveness and the Economy, which was set up by Maine Governor John Baldacci.  I first met Karen a month ago.  She and Acting SBA Administrator Sandy Baruah have put together a series of focus groups with stakeholders to brainstorm future directions for the SBA, given the current credit crisis and challenges for small business owners around the country.  She seemed very knowledgeable about the SBA, our programs, and – most important from my perspective – the Office of Advocacy and our research.  Congrats, Karen.  We look forward to working with you.

Profile in NABE News

The National Association for Business Economists has published a profile of me in the December issue of NABE News, their newsletter to members.  It does a good job of summarizing my role in the SBA Office of Advocacy.  It also discusses my new role as president of the National Economists Club, which is  the local NABE chapter, and my involvement in NABE’s Get Connected iniatitive.  This past year, I was the NABE liaison on the NEC Board of Governors, and I chaired the Chapters Committee for Get Connected.  I will remain on this committee (but not as chair) in 2009, and I plan to implement many of the ideas that we brainstormed in the committee once I become the NEC president in January.  Thanks to Pam Ginsbach for drafting a nice piece.

Blog Book Tour Schedule

A couple weeks ago, I announced that I would be doing a Blog Book Tour for my memoir, My Life with Laura: A Love Story.  I approached a number of blogs about participating, and the response was tremendous.  I originally planned to do this for just one week, but the tour will now last two weeks, from Monday, January 12, to Friday, January 23.  As part of the tour, I will be a “guest” each day on various blogs, which will highlight the book in some fashion.  At the same time, I will discuss them on my blog that day.  Here is the schedule:

• Monday, January 12, 2009: Stacy Martello at Fight Pink, kicking off the blog book tour
• Tuesday, January 13: Shannon Sherwood at Fighting My Cancer
• Wednesday, January 14: Jacki Donaldson at my Breast Cancer blog (cancerspot.org)
• Thursday, January 15: Gena Womack at Make Some Lemonade
• Friday, January 16: Christina Olachia at The Uniboob Club
• Monday: January 19: Erik Hom at Route 53
• Tuesday, January 20: Angi Navarro at Cancer is NOT a DEATH Sentence (also writes for The Breast Cancer Network and Trusera)
• Wednesday, January 21: Tina Koral at Cancer Book Review
• Thursday, January 22: Jennifer Starr-Reivett at Clergy Girl (also writes for Mothers with Cancer)
• Friday, January 23: Traci McLaughlin at The Serendipity Factory; and Stacy Martello of Fight Pink, summarizing the blog book tour

I am excited about the blog book tour, and hopefully, each of you will join me each day as I visit the other blogs.  Some of these bloggers have already started to post “teasers,” including Cancer is NOT a DEATH Sentence, The Uniboob Club and The Serendipity Factory.

Fight Pink Press Release

In the next couple days, I will post the schedule for the My Life with Laura: A Love Story Blog Book Tour, which I announced on December 3.  I approached a number of bloggers to see if they were interested, and I received an overwhelmingly positive response.  The tour will now take place over two weeks from Monday, January 12, to Friday, January 23, 2009.  Today, Fight Pink, an organization that combines boxing with fundraising and awareness for breast cancer causes, announced in a press release that they will participate in my blog book tour.  In fact, Stacy Martello of Fight Pink has been extremely supportive of this effort, helping to recruit several of the other blogs.  Fight Pink will lead off the tour by highlighting my book on January 12.