Best Small Business Magazines I Know

With a full-spectrum of small business magazines to choose from, it’s often difficult to determine which has “meat” and delivers the goods for your money, and which doesn’t measure up.  My interest lies with the ones that will offer benefit those engaged in the ownership and operation of a small business.  Mine will always be a small business, regardless of its size, number of employees, or annual revenues.  The small business vision is what keeps it personal, keeps it responsive, and keeps it profitable.

Many small business publications are actually fronts for franchising organizations, or attempt to push technology where a note pad, telephone, and adding machine will suffice just fine, thank you.  Several approach content from the perspective that a “small business” is one with at least $10 million in annual revenues and have a complicated organizational structure.  Their articles read like a Fortune 500 business plan, and the people they write about are business celebrities.  In short, these are either too boringly technical, or read like a “People Magazine: Millionaire’s Edition!”

There are three publications, however, that are highly recommended for inclusion in everyone’s business subscription list:

Forbes (www.forbes.com).  While this is reputed to be a periodical for the very wealthy, it is full of just plain ‘ol business common sense, facts and comments for those engaged in business of all sizes and at any level.  Content is written in a highly personal style by experts.  When read over coffee or tea, one feels that they are sitting across from the author and “talking business.”  I have been a Forbes reader since the days of Malcolm Forbes and regard each issue as yet another course of study in my life-long business education.

Inc. (www.inc.com).  My introduction to Inc magazine was on an airline flight between Houston and Dallas, when I read it’s very first issue, which had been left in the seat pocket by another passenger.  The issue contained one of those annoying subscription cards, but I was impressed enough to mail in the card and was a loyal subscriber for the duration.  This had to be at least for the past thirty years or so! 

Inc offered sort of a ”hands-on” guidebook for business by chronicling ongoing case studies of innovative people, their business start-ups, their successes and — in some cases — their failures.  Readers were able to follow, in real-time, the lives of so many from their first garage shop, kiosk, or storefront to wherever their business destiny turned out to be.  Some still continue to be covered to this day and some, such as Norm Brodsky, are now regular contributors and continue to share their experiences as mentors-in-print.

In all fairness, I must disclose that I recently allowed my Inc subscription to expire and am deliberating whether or not I want to renew it.  There is nothing wrong with the magazine and I cannot praise it enough.  The problem is that it has remained youthful and energetic while I, at age 63, have become old.  I find that I no longer identify with the new generation of entrepreneurs (I hate that word…it’s so pretentious sounding) or their product/service offerings.  Also, there is the sting of recognition that I have become too old to duplicate their accomplishments!  To do so would take a youthful energy and vision that, sadly, I no longer possess. 

Still, if you are under the age of 55, Inc magazine remains a must-read for every business person.

Finally, there is Entrepreneur (www.entrepreneur.com).  This magazine is a relative newcomer to my reading list.  How long it has been published is unknown to me.  I spotted my first issue on a newstand in 2006, bought it, and a few weeks later began my subscription.  Although many of its articles deal with youthful entrepreneurs, this magazine is sort of “Inc with a wider age-appeal spectrum.”  In reading it, I feel as though I am being coached and encouraged, rather than being left behind by all the young whippersnappers chronicled in today’s more youthful Inc. 

There you have three recommendations.  You would be best served by subscriptions to all three, but at a minimum you should read at least two of the three.  As you read, you will find yourself in the company of good, old and trusted friends for a lifetime.

Imperial Congress: Socialist Agenda Supercedes Will Of “We The People”

The first three words of the Constitution clearly identifies who is in charge:  “We the people…”.   The Constitution is the underlying authority for the existence of all three branches of the federal government and spells out what they can — and cannot — do.

It appears now that a new congressional /executive branch ”Axis of Evil” is attempting to compromise the constitutional checks-and-balances of our established system of government to promote their own socialistic agenda.   For years congressional liberals have attempted to find a way to get around the restrictions of that pesky old document without having to answer to the American people at election time.  Now it seems they don’t really care.   In their twisted little minds “We the people” has been replaced by “We the Congress.”

In spite of overwhelming opposition to the Democratic Party’s health care “overhaul” by the American people, arm-twisting by the president and speaker Pelosi resulted in the passage of  the measure last night under the cover of darkness by a party line vote of 220 votes “for” and 215 votes “against.”  This in spite of intense lobbying in the House office building most of the week by ordinary concerned citizens.

Citizens who are both politically active and — more importantly — who vote!

With the exception of Barney Frank, one can only guess what incriminating evidence against the bulk of Democrats this Axis of Evil has locked away in it’s vault that is powerful enough to cause them to turn their backs on the will of we the people and commit what will certainly be political suicide next November.  But maybe the Democratic party loyalists are being given too much credit.  Maybe they just don’t give a damn about the will of the American people if it goes against their socialist agenda.  Maybe they expect two-party elections to be a “thing of the past” by next November!

Having passed the House, now the matter now goes to the Senate for its approval.   Senators, with their six-year terms of office, generally have balls, and are more independent than their colleagues in the House of Representatives.  Each state has two senators.  Be sure to write to yours (by U.S. Mail…not email…because real mail has mass, occupies visible space, and cannot be invalidated by a simple “delete” command) and let them know how what you think and feel about this issue.

Former soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev, appearing on national television tonight from Berlin, cautioned the US to learn from the mistakes and experiences of his government.  In referencing last night’s House vote, he pointed out that America is now undergoing it’s own Perestroika.   The ideology of Perestroika (or “change“) is generally credited with the collapse of the Soviet Union, leaving their enemy — in this case the United States – to win the cold war by default. 

The same ideology that the Democrats in congress are now trying to force upon each of us may very well be the Perestroika that brings about the similar collapse of this country.  If that happens, the winner by default will not be the US, but will be China, Korea, or possibly the Russian Federation!

If we don’t learn from the events of history, we are doomed to repeat them.

Texas Has New Amendments In It!

In many ways, last Tuesday’s Texas constitutional election was more important than any for elected offices.  Office holders — good and bad — come and go, but an amendment to the Texas Constitution is pretty much chiseled in stone: immune to the whims of future legislative sessions alone.

On Tuesday, eleven very important amendments were offered to the voters.  All proposed amendments were approved. 

Two were designed to expand the fortunes of universities and the Texas General Land Office, but nine of the eleven were critical to the security of Texan’s property rights and the way those properties are valued and taxed: 

The first authorized the purchase of property for the establishment of “buffer zones” around military bases.  Not only will this enhance base security, but will diminish the less-than-desireable businesses, fueled by testosterone and machismo, which tend to locate next to military installations.

The second requires that residential homestead appraisal be based solely on the homestead’s value as a residence.  No longer will a taxing authority inflate the appraised value of a home by saying it would be worth more as commercial property.

The third amendment will require uniform appraisal standards and procedures applicable to all properties.  Prior to the passage of this amendment, taxing authorities could boast about keeping the tax rates low, while increasing tax revenues by arbitrarily increasing propery appraisals.  This should end that particular “shell game.”

The fifth will allow the voluntary consolidation of appraisal boards in under-populated areas.  This will allow the cost of appraisal in sparsely-populated counties to be spread across many counties, rather than each having to bear the cost of a separate board for each county. 

The seventh amendment will permit state employees and office holders to also serve in the Texas State Guard or other military force.  This will open up opportunities for experience and qualified military reservists to run for state-wide public office.

The ninth will constitutionally establish and protect the public’s right to use and access public beaches.  The coastal beach line will now be open to all people, eliminating private beaches.

The tenth amendment addresses a potential for graft and corruption by restricting members of the governing board of emergency service districts to terms not to exceed four years.

The eleventh, and most important amendment from a constitutional point-of-view, defines just what constitutes taking property for public purposes through Eminent Domain.  This constitutional amendment prohibits the taking, damaging, or destroying of private property for public use unless the action is for the ownership, use, and enjoyment of the property by the State, a political subdivision of the State, the public at large, or entities granted the power of eminent domain under law or for the elimination of urban blight on a particular parcel of property, but not for certain economic development or enhancement of tax revenue purposes, and to limit the legislature’s authority to grant the power of eminent domain to an entity.  This will eliminate the “taking” of personal property for the purpose of commercial development in order to increase the tax value of the property.

In a time when government’s at all levels have developed the opinion that their divine purpose is to separate citizens from their money, and to control the details of our private lives, it is good to see the people take advantage of an opportunity to again seize control, even if in this small way.

It Is Time To Clean House (and 1/3 of the Senate)

In 54 weeks we will again have Congressional elections.  All 435 members of the House of Representatives and 33 members of the Senate will be on the ballot in hopes that voters will reward their collectively shoddy performance with yet another term in office.  The sad thing is that voters have become so dumbed-down that they may do just that!  I hear “man-on-the-street” interviews on the radio and am appalled by the collective ignorance of the majority of those interviewed…especially those under 50, who have never been told “No!” by their parents, and have been given everything, whether or not they ever worked for it!

We now have 1 year in which to pursuade the general population to get rid of each and every sitting member of Congress who is up for election!  If the Democrat challenger to every sitting Republican and the Republican challenger to every sitting Democrat were elected instead of the incumbent, the resulting reversal of political power would do wonders in getting this nation back on the right path and preserving this great nation.

While in college, a professor explained the sequence of collapse of a free society to our class:  Regulation, then Regimentation, then Tyranny!  We are now living at the threshold of an era of tyrannical government, with a full-blown tyrant at the helm of State.  If we don’t clean House and Senate one year from now, I fear that it will be the end of the United States and a firm beginning of Amerika!