Money, money, money . . .

Spring is on the way and businesses all around me are showing new determination for growth, expansion and optimism. A lot of them are looking for money; many are not sure where to start.

My advice, for new start-ups in the Atlanta area, is to first of all go to the March 16 “Stepping Up To Business” event at Cobb Galleria. I am certain there will be important information disseminated, and the networking will be excellent as well. Who knows – one might even find a partner, affiliate or new client there!

A few years ago, I attended an event about investing and entrepreneurship at which Eugene O’Malley, Managing Partner of Cobblestone Advisers, was the keynote speaker. Wisely, to help people remember, he has come up with an approach he calls BE SMART, an acronym in which each letter represents a specific task or process the business owner must carry out when in pursuit of capital. The other day, looking at his hand-out again, I focused on the “S” – Spoke & Wheel: get to know the top 50 influences in your community. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

I also like O’Malley’s “M” – Management Team, and will write about that some other time.

Atlanta Women in Business – Loans, Inc., meanwhile, continues to move ever closer to opening its doors for loan applications. Be patient a little longer, please.

Americans Have Discovered Saving

We are not exactly turning from a Consumer Society into a Savings Society, but there may be a trend developing.

“Saving” has, of course, for decades been an ubiquity in our vocabulary. If we could buy a pair of shoes for $50, we were encouraged to buy two pair for $75 and “save” $25. It worked! Splendidly! So well, in fact, that we have “saved” ourselves almost to the brink of disaster. But, the trend is turning (if “trend” is the right word – it could just be an anomaly); James C. Cooper reports in the June 29 issue of BusinessWeek that we “socked away 5.7% of [our] earnings [In April of this year], the most in 14 years.” So, Americans are spending less. Not just individuals, but businesses also. Mine is one of them. I go to fewer luncheons, seminars and conferences, I have not upgraded my computer in almost two years, and I do not go driving all over town to meet a prospect for coffee unless we have had at least one serious, qualifying telephone conversation. I was a bit more liberal in this when gas was under $2 a gallon.

Have your spending habits changed this year? Are you saving more? Comments are welcome!