It’s a summer Friday so what better time to look at some sobering financial data?

According to a report from financial information company Sageworks, sales have declined nearly 6.5 percent so far this year among privately held businesses with annual revenue of $10 million and less. That follows a 5.3 percent drop in 2009.

The good news is that these businesses have been able to stretch their net profit margin following three years of declines. For the first half of 2010, the net profit margin reached 6.2 percent at these businesses, more than a full percentage point better than 2009 and the highest level in the five-year period examined.

But is that good news? Not if you look at how those improved margins were achieved. Sageworks CFO Drew White said they were the result of "draconian measures."

Digging deeper into the data, White found that cash as a percentage of assets at these businesses remained almost the same from 2009 to 2010 -- which was not a random occurrence.…

As the economy is starting to show green spots, people are starting to change jobs. How happy are your employees? And, how can you be sure? These are two questions that all business owners should be asking, particularly now.

Since many businesses over the past couple of years have imposed wage freezes, salary cuts, and expected employees to shoulder more responsibility, it’s not surprising that some employees are feeling dissatisfied.

One way to find out what’s on employees’ minds is to conduct an anonymous survey. We do it every year at Insight Performance, and it helps us keep in touch with employee concerns. Also, I try to make sure to speak with all team members on an ongoing basis to find out not only how they feel about their jobs, but also where they want to go, what challenges they want to undertake, and how the management team can help them achieve these goals.

While small businesses operating under…

As the economy is starting to show green spots, people are starting to change jobs. How happy are your employees? And, how can you be sure? These are two questions that all business owners should be asking, particularly now.

Since many businesses over the past couple of years have imposed wage freezes, salary cuts, and expected employees to shoulder more responsibility, it’s not surprising that some employees are feeling dissatisfied.

One way to find out what’s on employees’ minds is to conduct an anonymous survey. We do it every year at Insight Performance, and it helps us keep in touch with employee concerns. Also, I try to make sure to speak with all team members on an ongoing basis to find out not only how they feel about their jobs, but also where they want to go, what challenges they want to undertake, and how the management team can help them achieve these goals.

While small businesses operating under…

What entrepreneurs really need from the government. While some additional funding would certainly be nice, the biggest gift that Washington D.C. could give to small-business owners is a system that is more in-tune to entrepreneurs and the way they do business. So says entrepreneur and venture capitalist Jim Watson, a managing partner at CMEA Capital Managing. Writing in Forbes, Watson says that a lack of entrepreneurial thinking is what makes getting an SBA loan such a long, drawn-out process. "If Washington D.C. really wants to understand and help start-ups and small businesses grow, it has to realize that time is the enemy," he says. He suggests that D.C. adopt inexpensive, readily-available technology to streamline their application process. "Make it easy, fast and mobile. Develop an iPhone app and see how simple this could really be for the entrepreneur." If you've got the urge to help inject some…

The Book: Zilch: The Power of Zero in Business by Nancy Lublin, Portfolio, $25.95, June 2010.

On the surface, Nancy Lublin's book seems to be about non-profits, but as you get a few pages in, it becomes apparent that Lublin uses her experience as a non-profit CEO to inspire for-profits to think about business differently. Non-profits have no budgets and small staffs made up primarily of volunteers, yet they often attain high productivity and impact. Corporations have budgets and large, well-paid staffs, yet often find themselves in gridlock. What can the two learn from each other?

Lublin encourages both to tap the power of zero in business. Doing more with less is becoming a business mantra these days, and Zilch is a guidebook on some of the best practices. From developing quality in products and people, to building a better brand, to finding purpose, to collaborating externally, Lublin explains the myriad ways companies can accomplish big things without spending.

Small business lending may get a boost thanks to a controversial $30 billion fund for community banks.

The Senate voted late Thursday 60-37 to include the proposed program -- which would direct up to $30 billion in taxpayer money via regional banks -- in a package of aid for small businesses. Two Republicans joined with Democrats to support the amendment. President Barack Obama also supports the measure.

Community banks should be able to use the fund to leverage up to $300 billion in loans to small businesses, Democrats in Congress said. Republicans denounced it as another bank bailout, with Senator Bob Corker, the Tennessee Republican, calling it…

Thank you, Mary Jo Foley, for this helpful paradigm shift in how I now see computing devices.

We all tend to divide them into their more obvious categories: PCs, handhelds or mobile devices, gaming devices, eReaders and now tablets (iPad).

There's also the either/or way of looking at them:

- Wireless or not.

- Windows Vs. Apple

- Open Source or not.

Mary Jo is an institution in tech reporting. She's been covering Microsoft for Ziff Davis since Bill Gates was in short pants. I admire her work greatly.

In a recent posting, she "confessed" that she bought an iPad and loves it. It's her first Apple product EVER (not even an iPod, Mary Jo?).

Anyway, I was struck by her breakdown of tech devices; those she uses to create and those to consume. She's enjoying the iPad for consuming information, while sticking to her Windows world where creation is more…

Leo (July 23-August 22)
Summer is usually a time when things slow down at the office, but not so for Lions this year. Leos are going to experience a jolt in the coming week when a valued worker takes a sudden leave. It will take all hands on deck to power through the month. Time to start motivating the troops.

Virgo (August 23-September 22)
"SHOW ME THE MONEY" is not a phrase you're prone to shout, but this might just be the month you're tempted. In the coming weeks, you're going to realize that you're unhappy with the fine print of a previous negotiation or financial arrangement. Saturn's position in your house is bringing out your tight-fisted temper. Keep this in mind before you stomp around the office:

Finding a contract manufacturer in China can be daunting. To set up the production of his needlepoint belt and accessories line, entrepreneur Taylor Llewellyn hopped on a plane to Beijing and knocked on doors there and in Hong Kong until he found the right partner. Here's his advice on how to manufacture in China. Photo portfolio by Stephen Wilkes

Demand 100-percent perfect prototyping. If a factory says they can do something, make them prove it multiple times before entering in to an agreement. An assurance that something can be done should not stand as proof.

Some busy manufacturers in China seem to think that speed and volume are reasonable substitutes for quality. They are not, and you should be extremely clear that quality is what you value above all else.

Just because your last shipment was great doesn't mean you can…