One of the biggest problems that happens at small companies is that they spend too much much time processing data. Don’t get me wrong, you need to analyze data and have procedures to analyze data. But I have often seen start-ups, especially technical start-ups, that spend way too much time analyzing and too little time acting.

As companies mature and add headcount, processes and procedures are needed. Managing larger groups of people requires documented procedures and rules. Finding the balance between over-processing and being out of control is a delicate balance for an emerging company.

A great article to review on this topic can be found in our sister publication, The Entrepreneur’s Bible.

I am a romantic, hopeful for the perfect Valentine’s Day gift.  However, having received my share of poorly chosen gifts, e.g. a reflective running vest and coffee, I know that a charming gift can be elusive.

Many men take the position that as long as the gift sparkles, smells wonderful, or is blooming they are all set.  For some women that may be true, but I want a gift that is chosen thoughtfully.  Sure, a pair of diamond earrings is wonderful, but if you always have purchased jewelry for your girlfriends, how does that make me special?

So, what are you supposed to do?  Why not purchase a gift that will last forever, can be as generous as you want to spend, and can have sentimental value?  The gift that I am suggesting is stock. 

Sound crazy?  A former colleague of mine was given Kimberly-Clark stock as a wedding gift from her husband.  Because she had seasonal allergies, he knew they’d buy lots of tissues during their marriage.  She was touched by his unique gift.

So, what should you get for your valentine?  You should buy stock to a company that has personal meaning.  Be creative - think of what would mean the most to her.  If you’re not certain, why not try a romance-inspiring company, such as Tiffany & Company? 

Once you’ve purchased the stock, add a hand-written note declaring your love, and add a bow.  Your one-of-a-kind gift is ready for giving on Valentine’s Day.

Looking for easy ways to save your money? Looking for the right type of loan? Looking for insurance protection? Looking for a company that can help you answer any of these questions? Look no further–Nowgetloan.com is here to save you time and money.

If you are looking for the best lender for online Payday loans or home equity loans, this is the site for you. If you are looking for information or articles about different types of loans, the pros and cons of a Payday loan, used car loans, and more, this is the site for you. If you want a reputable company to help you find the best lender, well, as you probably can guess, this is the site for you!

Nowgetloan.com recommends companies, such as Payday Loan companies, that enable you to get fast cash, have low fees, have no credit check, and fast easy approval. They will pick lenders for you according to how popular they are among people applying for a payday loan, how reputable they are as a payday loan company, and more.

Use Nowgetloan.com’s help to get the lowest interest rate, save time, save money, and more.

Debt Consolidation is a site that is there to answer all of your financial questions. They focus on debt consolidation loans but incorporate many other great articles.

It’s easy to find helpful tips, hints, and information about debt consolidation, loans, and mortgages. If you know exactly what you need help with, their Search feature proves to be very handy. Newer articles include “Re-Mortgages - There’s Help For Bad Credit Ratings On The Way”, “How to Find the Best Debt Consolidation Loan”, and “Find the Consolidation Loan that you Need.” As you can see, these topics are very specific and offer to you the most important details in the business.

“How to Find the Best Debt Consolidation Loan” is a great article and has to do with debt consolidation secured loans. These loans should be taken into consideration by those who live their life often in debt. Are you in need of help? These articles are very instructive and revealing.

Let this site enlighten you on all that you need to know about debt consolidation and other great topics.

One of hottest areas in technology right now is Software-as-a-Service, or SaaS for short. SaaS is the B2B equivalent to the consumer Web, and just as the B2B sector is much larger than the B2C sector in general, SaaS promises to be far larger than the consumer Internet.

SaaS lets businesses rent applications on an on-demand basis (generally paying per user per month) rather than purchasing an up front “perpetual license” and paying an ongoing annual maintenance fee for upgrades and customer service (generally about 20% of the license cost).

This makes SaaS very attractive for its customers, who don’t need to shell out millions up front for software that might end up as shelfware. As a result, SaaS companies like Salesforce.com (CRM) have outperformed traditional software stocks like Oracle (ORCL).

But what happens now that the economy is slowing? Will SaaS high-fliers plunge back to Earth, or will they continue to outperform?

My belief is that the lower up-front investments required for SaaS, coupled with the continuing trend towards on-demand, will cause SaaS stocks to outperform during an economic downturn.

This belief was reinforced by a recent lunch I had with a friend who is a well-known hedge fund investor who specializes in technology stocks. We discussed this very subject, and he brought up a conversation he had with one of his CIO buddies.

He had asked this CIO if he planned to cut back on his SaaS investments if the economy slowed. The CIO pointed out that because he had signed a 2-year contract with Salesforce.com, committing to a higher volume to get a lower price, he would have to cut at least 50% of his seats just to come out ahead. As a result, he planned to maintain his planned spending, and possibly even increase it if he could use it to avoid hefty capital expenditures on traditional software.

So if the prospect of a recession leaves you wondering where to allocate your tech industry investments, consider upping your exposure to SaaS.

Stocks: CRM, RNOW, BBBB, OMTR

For most of the last 60 years, American dollars (”Greenbacks”) have always been the universally accepted currency. It didn’t matter what corner of the globe you were on, people would gladly take your dollars for their services and goods. But the incredible weakness of the dollar is slowly changing this. Of all places in the world to see this, New York City is the last place you would expect to find stores rejecting dollars. But that is exactly what is happening. A growing number of stores in NYC are accepting only EUROS.

According to Billy LeRoy, who owns an antique shop in the East Village: “I recently put up a sign saying ‘euros only’. It started as a tongue-in-cheek thing, but there’s a European for every five people here.”

He added, “And I really need to collect euros and pounds now. Five years ago, this would have been unheard of, but if you offer dollars in France now, they treat you like you’re from a Third World country.”

As of today, a Euro is worth 1.47 dollars. As the value of the dollar continues to fall, this trend of Euros becoming the new dollar could widen.

This will not come as a shocker to anyone- men and women think differently!

A recent survey by Discover Small Business Watch has shed some light on the way men and women entrepreneurs think about their business. According to the survey results that came from 1,000 entrepreneurs:

Among business women, more favor flexibility, 32 percent, to being independent, 17 percent; while men choose being their own boss, 27 percent, ahead of flexibility, 24 percent.

But interestingly enough, each group thinks the other sex has it easier as a small business owner and founder to bring in revenue:

30 percent of men think it is easier for women to attract new business and only 16 percent think it is easier for men. Among women, 39 percent think it is easier for men to attract new clients while only 19 percent think women have the edge.

For a detailed analysis of the complete study, visit the Discover Small Business Watch site:

http://www.discovercard.com/business/resources/watch.html