Thanks, everyone!

Guys and gals, I have been getting incredible feedback with all sorts of exciting stories to share here. To everyone who contributed (you know who you are), I’d like to send out a giant THANK YOU! I can’t wait to post all of your lovely experiences. Make sure to stay tuned, because this blog is shortly going to be home to tons of personally inspiring small business reading.

Now that I’ve got that important announcement out of the way (you’re on the edge of your seat, I know) I’d like to leave you with a quotation to get you through the weekend:

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.” -Walter Elliott

I was going to write a little something about why I find that so profound, but then again, the beauty of a good quotation is that it requires no further explanation.

Health and happiness,

Abbey

Want to be featured here?

Drop me a line at smallbizstories@gmail.com with a story about your small business, or one in your community that you think is particularly special or unique.

Be as creative as you’d like with your input. I will include a link to your website, twitter or blog with the entry. Don’t worry about length - a couple sentences is just fine!

Health and happiness,

Abbey

Making Lemonade

Saw a great article in the New York Times today called "Making Lemonade: Small Businesses Get Innovative".

This got me wondering… What’s the most innovative small business in your community? Is your small business innovative? What makes a business unique? Your customers, employees, service? Spill!

Health and happiness,

Abbey

Inspiring Quotation for Today

On rainy days like today, I like to get a little extra inspiration from the many fantastic quotations that are so readily archived online.

This one especially struck me:

“The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.” -Vincent Lombardi

What’s your experience with surrender? We’ve all seen businesses going under in this economy, and it’s quite a difficult decision to make. Were you ever faced with this kind of heart-wrenching decision? What did you do? How did you get through it?

Health and happiness,

Abbey

I need your stories!

Hey everyone,

I’m still looking for stories to post here. If you have anything to add, please email smallbizstories@gmail.com.

Your tale can be funny, sad, inspiring, unique, short, long, silly, dramatic… anything you want! The more creative, the better. And I know all you small business owners are the most creative people around!

Send over an email if you would like to participate. I will post a link to your website, Twitter, blog or Facebook with the entry.

Health and happiness,

Abbey

Women Rock as Small Business Owners

An excerpt from a recent Fox Business Center's article entitled "Study: Women Rock as Small Business Owners":

"Women are proving themselves to be a powerful small-business force to be reckoned with.

Not only are women-owned firms contributing $3 million annually to the U.S. economy and accounting for 16% of all jobs, but new research shows women entrepreneurs will create 5 to 5.5 million new jobs across the U.S. by 2018 – more than half of the total new small-business jobs expected to be created during that time, and about one-third of the total new jobs anticipated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That research, recently released by The Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute, also shows that characteristics such as being more customer-focused, more likely to incorporate community into their business plans, and more adept at creating opportunities for others are helping women excel in 1) running a business 2) keeping employees driven and productive and 3) building a loyal customer base."

Hey there, all you marvelous SBO's!

Hey everyone!

I want to know about your small business. Got any good stories? Horror stories? Inspiring stories? Why did you decide to launch a business? What’s your industry? Send your replies to smallbizstories@gmail.com and I will post them here. Feel free to include a link to your website, blog or twitter with your entry.

This blog is going be about you; a place where you can read about other people’s experiences, get advice, and stay current on the latest events. I’ll be sharing current events and news stories here as well.

Can’t wait to hear from all you marvelous SBO’s of Blogger land!

Health and happiness,

Abbey