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As July ends, so does  Independent Retailer Month , - celebrate the successful family-owned, mom-and-pop, independent stores out there by using some resources on BusinessUSA to help you  Grow your Business , including: Forecasting for Growth Check out the competition in your area with our  SizeUp Tool Developing a Marketing Plan Using Technology to Stay Competitive Financing Growth Building your own Franchise

They say the eyes tell all. Now thanks to eye-tracking technology we can tell what they're saying. Tracking eye movements can reveal a few things about human tendencies. Read more from Business Insider .

The first set of detailed statistics from the Industry Series for the following sectors has been released on the Census Bureau's American FactFinder web site: Sector 22: Utilities Data for these sectors will be released on a flow basis. Click here to view a release schedule, see what has been released, or take a sneak peak at what’s projected to be released in the next 30 days. For more information about the Industry Series, click here .

The SBA Administrator recently announced a transformative new plan to automate SBA lending and streamline and simplify the agency’s underwriting process to attract more lending partners and open up new markets for small business owners who need capital to expand and grow. Days after this announcement, which will ease the burdens on lenders approving small-dollar loans to entrepreneurs, she appeared at a Clinton Global Initiative conference in Denver to help announce an exciting commitment called the Century Club. Eight Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) each pledged to make at least 100 small business loans a year for the next 10 years, which will inject $1 billion of additional capital into America’s small business ecosystem. More HERE .

From Real Business : A new study has revealed that 59 per cent of Britons would not use a company that had obvious grammatical or spelling mistakes on its website or marketing material, and 82 per cent would not use a company that had not correctly translated its material into English. The research, conducted by Global Lingo, polled 1,029 UK adults on their online purchasing and browsing habits. *** Wonder how Americans would react?

If you’re about to start a business, you’ve probably read several how-to books looking for advice on how to be successful. While researching is a great first step, there are some lessons that you won’t find in a book. You need to hear from business owners who have been in your position, who started a business with a great idea, a lot of enthusiasm, and a shoestring budget. To give you a few business tips, we asked several entrepreneurs, including Kelly Costello, who was featured on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” to tell us what they wish they’d known before they started their businesses. Read more in Bplans.com >

Carmen Sognonvi writes : I know too many business owners who are going broke paying for expensive mastermind programs, business coaches, and info products. They think they're "investing" in themselves. They want their businesses to succeed, and they keep searching for the magic pill that will help make it happen. Unfortunately in the process, they're being financially irresponsible and spending far more than they can afford. I know, because I used to be one of them. Watch my latest video, because in it I come clean about the mistakes I've personally made when it comes to professional development.

From bplans.com : Whether you’re a startup or an up-and-running business, you should know what your total potential market opportunity is for your products or services. Caroline Cummings has coached many companies over the years, as well as judged several business plan competitions, and she's always surprised by how most business owners can’t confidently tell you their total market potential. They tell her things like, “My market is everyone who eats dessert,” or, “Everyone in my community who drives a car,” or, “Anyone in the world who uses social networks.” You may think these are your markets, but you need to drill-down and get more realistic and specific about the true size of your market, or lenders and investors will question your credibility.

From the Wall Street Journal : By   ERIC R. DANTON ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic premieres ‘Mission Statement’ video on WSJ   Robert Trachtenberg “Weird Al” Yankovic  wraps up his eight-day string of video releases with  “Mission Statement,”  which premieres today on Speakeasy. The song, from Yankovic’s new album “ Mandatory Fun ,”  is in the style of “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes”  by  Crosby, Stills & Nash . The song features Yankovic harmonizing with himself on lyrics constructed of corporate jargon, like “operationalize our strategies” and “leverage our core competencies,” while the animated whiteboard video depicts a live-action hand that is drawing illustrations to go with the words.

Did you know that 95% of consumers live outside the United States? And a whopping two thirds of the world’s purchasing power is in foreign countries! Exporting can mean big things for your small business, and SBA is here with resources and information to help you succeed!

What nightspots trend on Twitter? Heineken helps young people find out. You’ll also learn what people really share on social networks, how to write like a spy, why word crimes are way worse than blurred lines, and why joining Instagram may be the smartest thing the TSA ever did. Skim for your share of state secrets. Weird Al - YES! Read more at MarketingProfs .

Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and others rave about Business Adventures, by the late John Brooks. It was written in 1971, and consists of 12 stories from The New Yorker. The print edition has been out of print for a while, but it is now available as an e-book. It sounds great! Details from BoingBoing .

From Vox.com : The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is probably the most widely used personality test in the world. An  estimated  2 million people   take it annually, at the bequest of corporate HR departments, colleges, and even government agencies.  The company  that makes and markets the test makes somewhere  around $20 million  each year. The only problem? The test is completely meaningless. "There's just no evidence behind it," says Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania who's  written about the shortcomings of the Myers-Briggs  previously. " The characteristics measured by the test  have almost no predictive power  on how happy you'll be in a situation, how you'll perform at your job, or how happy you'll be in your marriage."

As the lean startup method quickly gains popularity among the high-tech startups of Silicon Valley, many entrepreneurs may question the necessity of a business plan. But statistics prove that businesses are overwhelmingly better off when they set goals and implement a plan for how to achieve those goals. The report, based on a survey of almost 400 small businesses conducted in January 2014 by Palo Alto Software, found that small business owners who regularly plan and track their business’s financial metrics expect more growth in 2014 than business that don’t plan. According to the survey, 79 percent of companies with a business plan say they are better off financially compared to a year ago, while only a third of small businesses without a business plan can say the same thing. Additionally, nearly 75 percent of established companies that have a business plan in place expect to grow more than 10 percent in 2014, compared to only 17 percent of companies that don’t have a business plan...

The premier funder database, Foundation Directory Online , now includes a free search tool that has replaced Foundation Finder, providing public access to essential information about nearly 90,000 foundations and over 250,000 IRS Forms 990-PF . Funder profiles include: Address and contact information Fields of interest Program areas Fiscal information

Chart 1. Private sector gross job gains and gross job losses, seasonally adjusted Chart 2. Components of private sector gross job gains and gross job losses, seasonally adjusted Chart 3. Private sector gross job gains and gross job losses as a percent of total employment, seasonally adjusted Chart 4. Employment from private sector births and deaths, seasonally adjusted Chart 5. Percent of employment from private sector births and deaths, seasonally adjusted Chart 6. Employment from private sector openings, closings, births and deaths, seasonally adjusted Table 1. Private sector gross job gains and job losses, seasonally adjusted Table 2. Private sector gross job gains and job losses, not seasonally adjusted Table 3. Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment, seasonally adjusted Table 4. Private sector gross job gains and losses as a percent of total employment, not seasonally adjusted Table 5. Number of private sector establishments by direct...

After almost five years of gradual economic recovery, we are seeing increasingly positive signs from small businesses. The establishment birth rate (the share of the average of the previous and current total number of establishments) has been showing slow, relatively steady increases. And the number of employers is on the rise, which is apparent in the increasing gap between establishment birth and death rates. Above all, prosperity is most evident in the upward trend of proprietors’ income, which has increased more than a third in recent years after a lackluster performance earlier in the decade. More from The Office of Advocacy's Small Business Quarterly Bulletin for First Quarter 2014 .

The Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) program is part of the  Center for Economic Studies  at the  U.S. Census Bureau . The  LEHD program  produces new, cost effective, public-use information combining federal, state and Census Bureau data on employers and employees under the  Local Employment Dynamics (LED) Partnership . State and local authorities increasingly need detailed local information about their economies to make informed decisions. The LED Partnership works to fill critical data gaps and provide indicators needed by state and local authorities. Under the LED Partnership, states agree to share Unemployment Insurance earnings data and the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data with the Census Bureau. The LEHD program combines these administrative data, additional administrative data and data from censuses and surveys. From these data, the program creates statistics on employment, earnings, and job flows at detailed le...

SBA's YouTube channel has a variety of playlists and how-to webinars. Here are a few recent webinars that you may have missed, but can watch any time on demand: Making and Receiving Online Payments - Online and Mobile Making Your Small Business Workplace LGBT-Inclusive Social Media Marketing Made Simple

Use the Entrepreneurship.org Resource Center to find information about all aspects of starting and growing a business. Designed with entrepreneurs, policy makers, investors, mentors and academics in mind, our resource center allows you to rate and comment on the materials posted by the community. The Kauffman entrepreneurship team bloggers brings to light various policies and initiatives to advance innovation and drive economic growth.

For more than fifty years, the SBA has helped entrepreneurs start, grow and succeed in their business ventures. For all kinds of business owners across the country – including in traditionally underserved communities – SBA provides resources and access to capital they need to flourish. Here's how SBA helps entrepreneurs and business owners who are:   Minorities : Interested in government contracting? The  8(a) Business Development Program  helps small, disadvantaged businesses compete in the marketplace. Women : From registering your business to hiring your first employee, SBA is here to help you launch your small business.  Native Americans : SBA has opportunities and programs designed to help Native American entrepreneurs start and manage their businesses. Veterans : From the military world to the business world, SBA has customized resources to help our veterans succeed. 50+ Entrepreneurs : Are you nearing retirement and exploring new opportunities? S...

VAMBOA is a non-profit veteran business trade association that promotes and assists Veteran Business Owners, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses (SDVOB) and Military Business Owners. "We know that you possess special skills including leadership abilities and a work ethic second to none. Veteran Business Owners, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses (SDVOB) and Military Business Owners are highly qualified to build successful businesses. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and responsible for job generation." Membership in VAMBOA is free and provides a multitude of resources. Here is the blog .

In 2006, a report published in Inc.com concluded — ridiculously — that productivity losses cost U.S. employers more than half a trillion dollars — $544,000,000,000, to be a little more precise. The report found that in an eight-hour day, employers spent an average of 1.86 hours “on something other than their jobs, not including lunch and scheduled breaks.” And of those surveyed, 52% “admitted that their biggest distraction during work hours [was] surfing the Internet for personal use.” The data is garbage, of course; the idea that employees should be always-on and that anything less than that is going to result in productivity losses isn't based in science or reality. But every once in a while, there’s an example of an employee who goes to the extreme, not doing much work and perhaps none at all. Take, for example, the story of a former software developer identified by the press only as Bob. More from Now I Know .

Have you ever wondered which company rules in your state? Well, now you don't have to—thanks to a new revenue map covering all of America's 50 states. The graphic, designed by telecommunications firm Broadview Networks, reveals the largest companies in each state based on income. It shows that Verizon Communications is the biggest company in New York, while the retailer Costco has trumped Microsoft Corporation in Washington. ... The graphic,  unveiled in a blog by Broadview , is based on financial information from a Hoover's database of company profiles. More from Nation of Change .

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