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We all know that small businesses need money to keep running. In a slow economy it can be really easy to want to borrow money when your cash flow dries up. We’ve all done it, and now we are starting to see some of the repercussions of so much borrowing.

Several studies have come out lately that basically say that we’re a nation of debtors. This will come as no surprise to anyone who has watched a single newscast in the last couple of decades. With the economic downturn, and the subsequent government bailouts, and thus, borrowing from other nations, we have all heard our fill of recrimination and foreboding. But what does it all really mean? Does it mean you shouldn’t take out a small business loan? Does it mane that our country will eventually end up like Greece?

We’re all looking for someone who will lead us in the right direction. Some of us can depend on our own business sense, some will look for advice from accountants, and some will decide that their business will fail without some influx of cash, and go for the loan.

I obviously can’t say what is right for your business or situation, I know that most small businesses must rely on loans from time to time. Determining when it is in your best interest is the hard part.
I’m sure you’ve all heard of Dave Ramsey. He’s being quoted several places this week on this topic, and I think he is on the right track. His theory is mostly coming from a place of personal finance, but includes discussion on using debt as a tool for growth.

Using debt as a tool for growth is, at least in this country, a necessity a lot of the time. What is your opinion on debt for small business? Is it an essential, or, like a family, do you think it’s possible to grow your business without incurring debt?

I tend to be a risk taker. I like to shoot for things, and have confidence that if they are well thought out, (or at least seem like a fantastic idea), they will work out. I do worry that we have artificially boosted our economy, and that perhaps we will be in a position much like Greece in the not too distant future. Debt, overall, seems to be a very bad thing. Americans have grown very, very accustomed to having everything right now, instead of saving up and paying for what they want with cash. Do you think this applies to small business, or do you believe that as a whole most small business owners are judicious in decision to incur debt, so as not to overwhelm their budgets?

I’d truly love to hear from some of the small business owners out there. Is all the talk of debt making you rethink some of your borrowing choices? Do you see the government as so totally a different entity that the same rules do not apply? What say you?

I follow several blogs, you’ve probably noticed in my citing of many different sources. One of these is called SEO Pittfalls – and as the name suggests, the author Steven Pitts (clever, huh) writes about some of the pitfalls many site owners tend to fall into when optimizing (or not) their site.

A little while ago the site featured a nice little series on Link Building. Link building is one of the most essential parts of a successful optimization. Inbound links help your site gain authority in the search engines. The more good inbound links you have, the more weight is given to your site, and this can influence your rankings. Link building is tricky and time consuming, but not rocket science. If you want to learn the ins and outs of Holistic Link Building, as Pitts calls it, check out his blog. I think you’ll find the series very useful. The language is a little tech-y, but I’m sure you’ll get the gist. He does touch on a very important element in link building – thus the “holistic” part of the title. Pitts discusses how important it is to make sure your link building goes hand in hand with your other optimization efforts, “Emphasizing the importance of the whole website and the interdependence of its parts”. I think this is very intelligent, and sometimes overlooked.

If you’d like to take a look: http://www.seopittfall.com/holistic-link-building-101

If you pay any attention to the news, you’ll have heard of Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, and maybe if you really pay attention, you might have heard of Overstock SEO Patrick Byrne making news lately. I find it interesting that some of the biggest website businesses are turning out some real movers and shakers in the political realm. These companies, eBay and Overstock are two of the biggest online businesses. Online companies are carrying a lot of clout these days, they are an integral part of the economy, and will only become more so in the years to come.

Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay is currently running for governor of California. She is described as a conservative Republican. John McCain thinks she could be the next Ronald Reagan.

When Whitman joined eBay in March 1998, it had 30 employees and revenues of approximately $4 million. She was able to grow the company to approximately 15,000 employees and $8 billion in annual revenue by 2008 – pretty impressive!

Good business sense often translates well to good political sense. If you have run a business, then you know how to manage people and a budget – at least if you’ve run a successful business. I am really interested to see what Whitman does in the coming years. It would be great to have some really solid candidates – people who worked in the real world, as opposed to jumping into politics without gaining experience and business sense first.

Another interesting figure born out of the web based business world is Patrick Byrne. He is currently the CEO of Overstock.com, a very popular online retailer. He joined Overstock when it was known as D2-Discounts Direct. He was asked to invest in this company and thought that online closeouts might really do well, so he sunk 7 million bucks into it and changed the name to Overstock. Overstock now generates over $800 million a year. Byrne has been named to BusinessWeek’s list of the 25 most influential people in e-Business in the past and is now known for his efforts in combating naked short selling, a practice which Byrne says has often been used in violation of securities law to hurt the price of his as well as other companies’ stock.

Byrne has also recently become a Fox News contributor on Fox’s Business programming. Below is a video clip of him detailing what is happening in Greece’s financial melt down, and how it could happen to us if we don’t stop all this spending.

I love finding these great success stories – web based business have become big, they are part and parcel of our nation’s economy. They are producing some of the movers and shakers, not only in business, but politics too.

Funny, I get caught up in so much of the dev, search and business side of the web, that I am often surprised at how weird the web can be. It seems that while the Google cars are out capturing images for the street views used in Google Maps, once in a while they capture a surprising image.

The latest image that has folks wondering is a guy with some kind of horse face. He appears to be wearing a mask of some sort, just hangin’ out. This guy, now often referred to has Horse Boy, is just one of several strange images found on Google’s Street Views. After a quick browsing I saw an elephant family in Africa, a couple of guys dueling it out with swords in some back alley in Pittsburgh, dressed in full Robin Hood outfits… or something like that.

If you’d like to join in the fun you can always just browse all over the world and see if something pops up, or you can go to http://www.streetviewfun.com/ and have a look at what these guys find everyday. Either way, some of it can be pretty funny, and a lot if it is pretty weird!

Hey, if you have found a funny one, please pass it on…

There’s a study out that says something like a third of all online adults have quit using some facet of social media because of other people’s rude comments or behavior on a blog or other social media outlet. About half say they have blocked or defriended someone because of rude behavior. Great article about it over at WebProNews.

This goes back to a topic I’ve discussed on here a time or two in the past. Being respectful online, not bashing others, not making illegitimate claims against a company just because you have a voice on the web. You might think this does not apply to a business blog, but I assure you, some very interesting discussions go down on blogs of every variety. There was a lot of heated discussion on the Chrysler blog when the car manufacturer took government funds to keep it’s doors open. Manufacturers of every type get comments and discussions on their company blogs, especially when there has been a recall or other failure.

If you are using social media to discuss some hot button topics, or simply need to reply to a less than flattering comment on your blog, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind, so you don’t end up driving away readers.

1. When posting about a controversial topic, whether it be politics or what have you, it’s a good idea to ask that any follow discussion be kept respectful. It just reminds folks to remember that the other people reading the discussion are people, not anonymous drones without feeling.
2. Always be respectful yourself. No problem with disagreement, we have to have the ability to openly discuss, just keep it clean, keep it kind. No need to be hurtful or use profanity.
3. When commenting, it’s great to leave your name and url, especially if you have a dissenting argument. It lends credibility. It also leaves a trackback, in most cases, to your own blog or website.
4. Know that whatever you say, you can’t please everyone, so stay true to your company’s mission statement, and do your best to remedy any complaint with a product or service. Knowing what folks are saying about you can go a long way toward maintaining your online reputation and allows you the opportunity to make things right, if possible. Some people are just going to be negative – just do your best to keep the discussion on topic.
5. Deleting comments can be tricky. I don’t recommend you do it unless the comment contains profanity, or is intentionally and personally hurtful (to you or another commenter). Try to keep the discussion open, and if things get dicey, try introducing some levity.
6. When commenting on a blog, or replying, try to react as you would if the person were standing right in front of you. Undoubtedly, this will lead you to be a bit kinder, a bit more reasonable, than you would be with total anonymity.

I recently had a couple of commenters take issue with a post I wrote about the oil leak in the Gulf. Both were very respectful, and I really appreciated the ability to dialogue in a rational manner. This is what is so great about the web. The ability to instantly share ideas makes the web what it is. Unfortunately, this experience is not always the case.