Women- and minority-owned businesses push for greater share of state contracts

Sen. Donald A. McEachin, shown here is a Feb. 14 floor session, wrote the bill to require more robust programs for women- and minority-owned businesses.

Women- and minority-owned companies receive a tiny percentage of state contracts. Now women’s business groups and the NAACP are pushing a bill that would force state agencies to implement stronger programs for small-business and minority contracts.

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Richmond's latest business licenses

Work It, Richmond
A modeling agency and a new art-design company lead Richmond's latest business licenses. Check out the full list.

2012 will be 'landmark year' for commercial real estate market in RVA

Glaziers Travis Evans, L, and James York move plate glass into position while Mark Tatum waits inside Reynolds III, a medical office building under construction on West Broad Street. The men work for Jeffco Glass. From the Richmond Times-Dispatch
After a tough 2010 and a slightly better 2011, commercial real estate brokers at the GRACRE breakfast are predicting a better year for the region in 2012. While several large, prominent properties were sold or leased in 2011, a wide inventory of small office suites is still available.

The rise of temporary workers

The Washington Post
As business picks up, many local companies are taking on extra help. But time and again small businesses have said they're reluctant to add full-time staff, worrying that benefit costs will prove crushing or that the tenuous flow of new work will wither. That's meant more temporary jobs and a fundamental shift in the U.S. economy.

What Star Wars and the Galactic Empire can teach us about leadership

From Forbes
We present this with tongue firmly in cheek. But there are some good points. The Empire built its organization around certain people, (like Darth Vader) not institutions. And it didn't give front-line employees any chances to offer input or take ownership.

Cash mobs reach Richmond

From Richmond BizSense
For the past few months, small retailers have been abuzz over the "cash mob" phenomenon, where a group of people head to a local store on a given day, driving up sales. It's not an entirely new idea -- the RMA's small-business Saturday at the holidays or Carytown's Black Saturday are essentially different versions of the trend. But there's now a cash mob active in Richmond.

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Genius is the ability to reduce the complicated to the simple.

Ask Doug and Polly: When should you move a business out of a home office?

If potential customers often visit your office before making a purchase, moving into outside space could immediately improve customer perception and drive sales higher.

Ask Doug and Polly: What metrics should a business monitor to ensure success?

Doug and Polly You know that metrics are important, but you can't figure out which ones are the most important. Doug and Polly have some answers to help you out. Learn what factors you should consider when working to determine the proper metrics.

Joyce Davis

After 30 years in the marketing and creative world, she says you need to avoid a "bunker mentality" during tough times and instead focus on innovation and opportunities.

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