It has been a year of drastic change—in government, the economy and the competitive landscape. When we unveiled our 2008 study last July, the price of oil had just hit a record $147 a barrel, and the depths of the economic meltdown were still a couple months away.

Today, oil costs less than half of what it did, and the nation is mired in the worst recession in 60 years. A new administration in Washington is sending massive amounts of stimulus dollars to the states, while state governments struggle with massive budget shortfalls. And all of this change has led to big changes in our rankings this year.

Virginia reclaimed the title from Texas, which won last year. Texas is still considered a powerhouse but Virginia managed to regain the title it won back in 2007.

Source and full article: CNBC’s Top States For Business 2009

Helping Virginia Small Businesses Survive the Economic Downturn

This workshop will provide information to Virginia small businesses about:

• Less expensive and more accessible small business loans.
• Recent changes to tax rules affecting small businesses.
• Counseling and Training resources through SBA resource partners
• Recession-proofing your credit

When: April 29, 2009
Time: 10:00 a.m. to Noon
4201 Dominion Boulevard
Richmond, VA

To Register, call Ford Scott at (804) 771-2400, Ext. 153 or email: ford.scott@sba.gov

The U.S. Small Business Administration and its nationwide network of partners help millions of potential and current small business owners start, grow and succeed. Resources and programs targeting small businesses provide an advantage necessary to help small businesses effectively compete in the marketplace and strengthen the overall U.S. economy. SBA offers help in the following areas:

• Starting a Business
• Financing a Business
• Growing a Business
• Opportunities in Contracting
• Recovering From Disaster
• A Voice for Small Business in Government

Additional information as well as business news and training for entrepreneurs is available online at www.sba.gov or visit the Richmond, VA District office at:
400 N. 8th Street, Suite 1150, Richmond, VA 23219,
Phone: (804) 771-2400, Website: www.sba.gov/localresources/district/va 

Also, SCORE offers free advice to small business owners and entrepreneurs.
For marketing articles posted by Greg Magnus, visit SCORE’s Ask an Expert Blog or the national SCORE website

1. What we think of as a website has changed. Long gone are “static” brochure like websites with infrequently updated content; replaced by dynamic, automated marketing machines.
   • Read more at Aliza Sherman’s blog, Are Web Sites Obsolete Yet?
   • Static verses Dynamic websites: Website Essentials for Small Business Owners
   • Here’s an article we wrote in March 2006; Are blogs replacing websites?
2. Simple Search Engine Optimization (SEO), visit SCORE’s new “Ask an Expert Blog” that covers a variety of topics of interest to entrepreneurs and business owners. Five volunteer business professionals, including yours truly, publish content on the site. We cover interactive marketing topics and our content is posted every Friday.
3. Business.com: Guide to finding time to blog, when it’s not your day job
4. Social Media Marketing graph by our friends, MarketingSherpa

Metro Richmond – Local Briefing

1. Virginia’s unemployment rate reached 5.2 percent (Dec. 2008) – better than the national average, which is 7.1 percent: see Virginia Business story here.
3. Richmond group hopes to buy a franchise that belongs to the Class AA Eastern League, the Connecticut Defenders, and move it to Richmond: AA Team – Richmond Times Dispatch