January 10, 2007 by Proven Home Business.

By Aldene Fredenburg

The dramatic shift in employment patterns in the past decade, and particularly in the past five years, has dealt a blow to the American workforce. The development of the Internet, particularly high-speed Internet, World Trade Organization treaties, and the explosion of container shipping are only three of the many factors which have resulted in millions of jobs, including highly paid, skilled jobs, being exported to countries from Mexico to India and China. As American workers have seen their jobs disappear to outsourcing, many have responded by going back to college, either for individual professional development courses or for degrees in a new field.

Even as computer-related positions disappear to foreign programmers and graphic designers, many U.S. workers are finding they can fight back. Programmers, website developers, and graphic artists have discovered that, with up-to-date knowledge of software and hardware and a little business sense, they can contract their skills to a number of companies more than willing to hire a local worker in exchange for the chance to forgo business expenses involved in keeping a worker on the payroll: income and social security taxes, unemployment compensation, holiday and vacation pay, health insurance benefits. This silver lining in the outsourcing cloud has kept computer and business classes filled at community colleges and vocational schools, many of whom are seeing a sharp spike in enrollment among older students in their continuing education programs.

Other workers are changing careers entirely, opting for fields that can’t be outsourced. Jobs that require a warm body and a pair of hands onsite, like broadcast communications, nursing, and medical technician positions, make sense to an increasing number of students; and both health-related industries and communications are growing while other industry sectors are shrinking in their need for local employees.

Even workers whose jobs are safe for the moment are exploring continuing education in increasing numbers. Employees who have survived one or more company downsizings, for instance, often find themselves taking on more responsibilities, and need to update their professional skills in order to survive. Others recognize that today’s work environment demands much more flexibility, and decide to be proactive in developing skills that may protect their jobs in the future.

Perhaps the only certainty in an uncertain world is that things will continue to change. That includes the demands of the workplace, and employees will have to be able to adapt quickly and skillfully to these changes. It’s a good bet that continuing professional education is going to be an ongoing part of American workers’ defense in protecting their livelihoods.

Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern New Hampshire. She has written numerous articles for local and regional newspapers and for a number of Internet websites, including Tips and Topics. She expresses her opinions periodically on her blog, http://beyondagendas.blogspot.com She may be reached at amfredenburg@yahoo.com

Posted in Uncategorized | Print | No Comments »

January 7, 2007 by Proven Home Business.

By Steven Pollack

Retailing is very diverse and sometimes the edges start to blur with other type of business. The word retail comes from the Old French retaille “to

cut off”. So a wholesaler or manufacturer sells bulk lots while the retailer is willing to sell off smaller or individual pieces. Of course this definition only takes us so far because many wholesalers also sell retail and many retailers also sell wholesale in larger lots.

Further, the common usage of retail is based more on whether the business deals directly with the public. Retail banking, retail service stations, and local coffee shops are all retailers although they do not necessarily sell any goods in the sense of a clothing store.

A local physical location is not even necessary for the definition of retail anymore now that e-tailing and Ebay selling can be retail businesses unto themselves. The best definition of retail might be any business whose product or service is made for, and targeted to, the consuming public.

WHAT DO YOU BRING TO THE TABLE?

So you have a skill or cash, (but hopefully both) and you want to enter retail. This is where it all branches out. Do you know what you want to do or don’t you? If you do it is probably because you have the skill from working for others. You know exactly the kind of business you want to run. Probably just like your bosses business but better. Your first decision is whether to start a new operation or try to buy into an ongoing concern.

If you don’t know what kind of retail you want to enter, however, it is probably because you have money but are leaving a different industry. You will probably benefit the most from either looking into franchising or else looking for a successful model that you want to emulate or improve.

When you think about it, there are not really that many types of retail operations. Bulk food, prepared food, furniture, clothing, jewelry, automotive, electronics, financial, personal care services, and specialty stores that carry anything from knick knacks for the home to a store that only sells products from a certain country, there just are not that many types of retail establishments to consider. Consider what you do during the day, you get out of bed, get dressed, put on your watch, eat, and drive to work. Retail tracks what people do so you will be well served to pick something that fulfills a need.

Of course within each one of these broad categories there are many niches available. Take clothing for example. There are work clothes, casual, children’s, formal, and sportswear. And there are even sub-specialties within the niche such as upscale children’s clothing, everyday basic wear, or infant clothing. [

MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION IS CRITICAL

Finally, there is a very severe over-supply of retail outlets now. Strip malls keep getting built, regional malls are expanding, and e-tail sellers are popping up everywhere. It is a very hard time to become a retailer and succeed. Business failure by small retailers is very common.

One trend in local shopping districts is the loss of goods sellers and the emergence of service businesses to take their place. I always get a laugh when local governments create moratoriums on new banks because they want to have more diversity (read this as tax revenue) in the downtown shopping district. The fact is that people don’t really need that many different stores selling things. People do, however, need a place to put their checking accounts. If people did not need more banks then the market would fix any oversupply through mergers or closings.

So in addition to the over supply of retail stores, it is fair to say that the wrong types of businesses are being chosen by startup entrepreneurs. While it may easier to look at what you want to open, it is also necessary to research what the market actually needs.

The decision facing the startup entrepreneur is therefore two-fold. First, you must decide on the type of retail business you will create. Second, you need to decide if your skills and resources are better suited for a startup or if you are better served by purchasing an existing business or entering into a franchise.

Author Steven Pollack has over 20 years experience starting up and operating retail businesses. His retail consulting firm can be found on the internet at http://www.RetailGems.com

© Copyright 2006 Steven Pollack

Posted in Home Business Articles | Print | No Comments »