Author:M. Azim Ulfati

                                                                     Growth of Small business

• Compare and contrast three different types of entrepreneurs and state which you are most likely to emulate should you begin a small business.
• Assess the impact of globalization and information technology on the creation of small businesses. Determine if and how these two trends have helped or hindered the growth of small business in the U.S.

Entrepreneur is a person who puts money in the stake and takes risk for the purpose of gaining and seeking profit and doing business in a private enterprise system.

There are three types of entrepreneurs that each one has it’s own qualifications.

These three types of entrepreneur’s are classic entrepreneur, serial entrepreneur and social entrepreneur.

I would like to talk and compare each one so that you get familiar and understand their differences.

First of all classic entrepreneur, it is a business opportunity which is identified and known by a person or a businessman and that which available resources are allocated for taping that market.

A friend of mine Abdul Samad is an Afghan classic entrepreneur. When president Hamid Karzai took power in Afghanistan with the help of coalition forces and international community, he researched and recognized that Afghanistan people are bored of war and fighting they want peace and security in the country and they also need special attention for education. Males and females want to learn English, Dari, Pashto languages, computer, internet and many other subjects and all these people look forward to go to schools, courses, universities, institutes and work.

He knew that there are millions of jobs available with the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, foreign organizations, US Army, coalition forces, NATO, ISAF and so on for those who are educated and know Dari, Pashto, English languages, Computer and Internet and the people are also willing to spend a lot of time and money to learn these languages and skills. Therefore he founded his Course for the people in Kabul Afghanistan, I think during recent years of 2003. He made certain to hire the best teachers and employees and have the best customer service and use great curriculum to provide English, Pashto, Dari lessons and also computer and Internet classes to the customers (Students). It was a great way making profit of the people.

Serial Entrepreneurs, A business which is started by a person, it is run and then it is started and additional businesses are run in succession is called serial entrepreneurs.

For instance, Bill Sidique is an Afghan serial entrepreneur having founded blue and gold taxi business and bolani business in northern California.

He graduated from San Jose state university as a chemical engineer about eight years ago. He could not find a job as a chemical engineer because he was over qualified then he started blue and gold taxi company. He had two taxi cars. He started running his business with his son and then he came with an idea that the food industry in California is really good. He and his wife came up with the idea of bolani business. They both opened bolani business, which they make sauce on the side, cilantro chakny, garlic mint, sweet and sour chakny and the bolani its self. The bolani is a kind of Afghan food, which looks like cascades. There are five varieties of bolani, which starts from potato bolani, spinach bolani, pumpkin bolani, and lentil and leek bolani.

He started renting a kitchen and then took the product in a farmer market. He started from two former markets. He started and run them and then started additional farmer markets and then they expanded or grew to 27 farmer markets in all-northern California and southern California.

If I was to start a business, I will choose serial entrepreneur. I will start a business, runt it and start additional ones within Virginia and later on all over the United States because not only I can make profit but I will also bring some difference in the society.

Social entrepreneurs are that which societal problems are recognized and a person uses business principles to develop innovation solutions. For instance the inventor or pioneer of Facebook who was a college student came up with an idea with the help of one of his classmates for the benefit of them selves and humanity.

He recognized the societal problems that most people need to be connected with friends, family, high school and college classmates, associates, they need to be a ware of each other needs, career advise, one reliably good tips, network some one you have not met, find some one you have in common, make introductions, contribute to community, posting interesting information about your area of professional expertise, helping the community and building relationships, post news as public. Now Facebook is the leading social networking website not only in the United States of America but also all over the world and has become public for its shares in the stock market.

Business globalization has created numerous opportunities and jobs for entrepreneurs and people all over the world through marketing their goods and products in the world market. This business globalization is developing and improving through great customer service, quantity, quality, and relations of countries, competition and mostly technology.

Business globalization connects people with different cultures and gives them the chance to know and exchange cultures among them.

Further more, technology makes information available to decision makers, helping to improve the quality and speed of decision-making. Technology also makes it easier for people to collaborate so they can execute joint business decisions and create small businesses. Organizations use communication technology to update employees on business decisions and ensure the right people implement those decisions.

Individuals or groups who make business decisions need rapid access to information to formulate and justify their decisions. Information can include historical corporate data, customer records, market trends, financial data and competitor profiles. This information may reside in varying databases within an organization, however, making it difficult for decision makers to get a complete picture. (Ian Linton, eHow Contributor)

Both information technology and small businesses make tremendous contributions to the United States economy and improves the quality of products. The use of information technology and creation of small businesses around the world with a brand known name provides not only job opportunities but also the chance for people to find and have their favorite food and place.

This globalization of small businesses and information technology make very important contributions to job creations and productivity growth for people who are looking for jobs or have difficulty finding jobs. It also helps them to innovate, manage and use their skills and capabilities to survive.

                               Author:M. Azim Ulfati          

   Funding a Business

To analyze funding opportunities for small businesses, including the role of the Small Business Administration (SBA) and to evaluate the effectiveness of these funding opportunities in light of the current economy.

In this time of economic challenges, to suggest two ways that the SBA might be of assistance to your small business. To explain how you would request this assistance.

I believe that all small businesses are the leaders to innovate, enhance, improve and drive the economy forward or backward. All small businesses are patent holders and create two thirds of all private sector employment opportunities and employing hall of all working Americans.

The small business administration and government agencies are the administrations that provide funding opportunities to the franchisees and the ones who starts business from the scratch. The loans are made through private lenders as micro loans. When SBA lends loan to the business owners, it also presents training to the employees of business and also provides information about the resources for improvement of business toward success. There is also the United States of America federal government as the largest buyer of the universe that spends more than $500 billion each year. And the Federal government contracts with small businesses and small businesses get revenue they require for creation of jobs and driving economy forward.

All these small businesses creates new jobs every year and make tremendous contribution to the United States economy, it gives the business people the chance for developing new ideas, improving goods and services.

There are two ways that SBA might be of assistance to your small business. First direct loans and second micro loans by private lenders and sectors like banks, certain private leaders like credit unions and small business investment companies. These assistance are requested in some special circumstances like, natural disasters recovery, development programs, humanitarian programs and energy conservation, In the mentioned cases, SBA largest direct loan program and also SBA program is in charge to provide affordable, timely and accessible financial assistance for landlords, home owners and tenants.

Author:M. Azim Ulfati

Competing in the World Markets

Determine what action steps a manufacturing business would take to decide whether to trade with a foreign country. If this were a service business, determine what action steps might be similar or different. Prioritize three key factors for participating in the information economy on a global basis and provide your rationale.

I believe that business is a crucial and profit seeking activity for growth through providing goods and services for the economy of a nation. It is the exchange of product between buyer and seller.

In order to decide and make stable action steps toward business, participate and trade with a foreign country, extend the potential business of a company on a global basis, you need to incur additional costs and watch for action steps and key factors for participating in the economy on a global basis as the following.

Methods of doing business with foreign country like, ways of entering a foreign market, direct and indirect exporting and importing, licensing, joint ventures and off shoring production.

International business plans and decisions like importing and exporting strategies, markets and legal requirements.

Analyzing industry and business capabilities like preview of your current industry status today and prediction of your company for the next few years in domestic and foreign market, assessment of your business for it’s weaknesses and strength, your competition in domestic and foreign market, the needs that would need to be filled by your products in a foreign market, restrictions of your products in a foreign country and so on.

When you decided to seriously participate in foreign information economy business then you need to find out and prioritize the following factors for your trades and businesses with any foreign country.

Geographic and demographic factors like per capita GDP, population size, and infrastructures, human and natural resources.

Political factors like security and stability in the country, the relations and political differences of countries, trade obstacles or restrictions tariffs and administrative barriers and compacts.

Economical factors for example, currency exchange rate, stability, capital incomes, legal regulations and laws and inflation rate.

Cultural and social factors for instance, language, customs, traditions barriers, and education or literacy rate, background, religious and attitude values.

Market factors like trade barriers, limitations such as documentations, infrastructures, skills, country law, policies and regulations, high tariffs level.

Distribution and production factors like local labor laws and policies, manufacturing conditions, infrastructures and so on.

Any way at the end I want to say that it is very important for any business person to first determine about the expansion of market in which they want to do business and also which market to enter and find out the barriers or obstacles to foreign or international trade, key factors like tariffs, non tariffs, taxes, imports, key decisions and all the other above discussed steps and factors for a good and successful business on a global basis.

Author:M. Azim Ulfati

Unemployment Rates in the United States of America and two States with the lowest unemployment

The United States of America unemployment status rate has not changed very much from 8.2 percent according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics on June 2012 but it has gradually risen in the past 8 years, the number of unemployed people are (12.7 million).

Based on the argues in media, the United States of America may face greater unemployment if more jobs are not added by the USA industries, factories and all other private enterprise sectors who have economical influences within the United States and overseas.

I believe that there is relatively not enough research about unemployment within the United States of America. It seems that changes in the flow of laborers have caused by a cyclical shock and as well as the unemployment rate affected by the mutual interaction of movements unique to each demographic property. Following is a chart of data extracted on July 2012 by the labor force statistics from the current population survey. There are many factors that contribute to unemployment of Virginia state for instance, recession, inflation, rapid changes in technology, lack of employment. All the above factors can be categorized to cyclical unemployment and structural unemployment.

Series Id: LNS14000000 Seasonally Adjusted Series title: (Seas) Unemployment Rate Labor force status:  Unemployment rate Type of data: Percent or rate Age:16 years and over
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
2002	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.9	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.7	5.7	5.7	5.9	6.0
2003	5.8	5.9	5.9	6.0	6.1	6.3	6.2	6.1	6.1	6.0	5.8	5.7
2004	5.7	5.6	5.8	5.6	5.6	5.6	5.5	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.4	5.4
2005	5.3	5.4	5.2	5.2	5.1	5.0	5.0	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.0	4.9
2006	4.7	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.5	4.4	4.5	4.4
2007	4.6	4.5	4.4	4.5	4.4	4.6	4.7	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.7	5.0
2008	5.0	4.9	5.1	5.0	5.4	5.6	5.8	6.1	6.1	6.5	6.8	7.3
2009	7.8	8.3	8.7	8.9	9.4	9.5	9.5	9.6	9.8	10.0	9.9	9.9
2010	9.7	9.8	9.8	9.9	9.6	9.4	9.5	9.6	9.5	9.5	9.8	9.4
2011	9.1	9.0	8.9	9.0	9.0	9.1	9.1	9.1	9.0	8.9	8.7	8.5
2012	8.3	8.3	8.2	8.1	8.2

("Economic news releases," )

HOUSEHOLD DATA Table A-12. Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment [Numbers in thousands]
Duration	Not seasonally adjusted			Seasonally adjusted
	June 2011	May 2012	June 2012	June 2011	Feb. 2012	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012	May 2012	June 2012
NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED
Less than 5 weeks	3,808	2,572	3,627	3,068	2,541	2,572	2,543	2,580	2,810
5 to 14 weeks	2,698	2,442	2,546	2,976	2,807	2,754	2,814	3,002	2,826
15 weeks and over	7,903	7,257	7,010	8,137	7,397	7,175	6,984	7,073	7,182
15 to 26 weeks	1,845	1,852	1,793	1,874	1,971	1,867	1,884	1,662	1,811
27 weeks and over	6,058	5,405	5,217	6,263	5,426	5,308	5,101	5,411	5,370
Average (mean) duration, in weeks(1)	38.0	41.4	38.2	39.8	40.0	39.4	39.1	39.7	39.9
Median duration, in weeks	19.3	22.0	17.4	22.1	20.3	19.9	19.4	20.1	19.8
PERCENT DISTRIBUTION
Less than 5 weeks	26.4	21.0	27.5	21.6	19.9	20.6	20.6	20.4	21.9
5 to 14 weeks	18.7	19.9	19.3	21.0	22.0	22.0	22.8	23.7	22.0
15 weeks and over	54.8	59.1	53.2	57.4	58.0	57.4	56.6	55.9	56.0
15 to 26 weeks	12.8	15.1	13.6	13.2	15.5	14.9	15.3	13.1	14.1
27 weeks and over	42.0	44.0	39.6	44.2	42.6	42.5	41.3	42.8	41.9
Footnotes (1) Beginning in January 2011, this series reflects a change to the collection of data on unemployment duration. For more information, see www.bls.gov/cps/duration.htm.("Economic news releases," )
NOTE: Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.("Economic news releases," )

("Economic news releases," )

Virginia Unemployment

According to the BLS current population survey (CPS), the unemployment rate for Virginia fell 0.0 percentage points in May 2012 to 5.6%. The state unemployment rate was 2.6 percentage points lower than the national rate for the month. The unemployment rate in Virginia peaked in January 2010 at 7.3% and is now 1.7 percentage points lower. From a post peak low of 5.6% in March 2012, the unemployment rate has now grown by 0.0 percentage points. You can also see Virginia unemployment compared to other states. ("Economic news releases," )

Unemployment Rate	May 2012	Month/Month	Year/Year
National	8.2%	+0.1	-0.8
Virginia	5.6%	0.0	-0.6

Unemployment Rate: Virginia, National

Virginia Unemployed

The number of people unemployed in Virginia peaked in February 2010 at 307,130. There are now 65,268 fewer people unemployed in the state. From a recent trough of 241,571 in April 2012, the number of unemployed has now grown by 291. Virginia job growth data is also available. ("Economic news releases," )

Unemployed Persons	May 2012	Month/Month	Year/Year
Virginia	241,862	+291	-24,353

Number of Unemployed Persons

Virginia Unemployment History

Date	National s Unemployment Rate	Virginia s Unemployment Rate	Virginia s Unemployed
May 2012	8.2%	5.6%	241,862
April 2012	8.1%	5.6%	241,571
March 2012	8.2%	5.6%	244,799
February 2012	8.3%	5.7%	249,620
January 2012	8.3%	5.8%	253,548
December 2011	8.5%	6.1%	263,722
November 2011	8.7%	6.2%	267,090
October 2011	8.9%	6.2%	270,318
September 2011	9.0%	6.3%	273,073
August 2011	9.1%	6.4%	274,390
July 2011	9.1%	6.4%	273,286
June 2011	9.1%	6.3%	270,017
May 2011	9.0%	6.2%	266,215

("e u.s. bureau," 2012)

Nebraska -- 3.9% Unemployment

The rate of unemployment has fallen just six-tenths of a percentage point since May 2011. But with today's 3.9 percent unemployment -- less than half the national average unemployment rate -- few in the Nebraska Cornhusker State are likely to complain about it.The unemployment in this state is due to the agricultural strength and we can say that it is the second state that has the lowest unemployment rate.

The factors of unemployment in this state is also due to minimum wage set by federal law.

 No state statute protecting former employers who provide references

Relatively high workers’l compensation benefits.

 North Dakota -- 3.0% Unemployment

I think that North Dakota's unemployment may not have fallen all that much since May of last year, but no matter. From an already stellar 3.5% to today's 3.0%, no other state manages to get closer to perfection. On the other hand I can say that it has the lowest foreclosure and credit card default rate too.

This state produces 50% of the entire nation's spring wheat crop, more than the next largest wheat producers --  Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota -- combined. 

In conclusion we can find out that the factors of unemployment in this state is due to shortage of labor and certainly oil.

References

Christian, J. (2012). 10 states where the unemployment rate keeps shrinking. Retrieved 

 from http://www.investinganswers.com/personal-finance/career-job-hunting/10- 

 states-where-unemployment-rate-keeps-shrinking-4348

(2012). e u.s. bureau of labor statistics. THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION —JUNE 2012 , Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/

(n.d.). Economic news releases. HOUSEHOLD DATA Table A-12. Unemployed persons by duration of unemployment , Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/bls/newsrels.htm