On March 30th, Google unveiled their new social media tool called the "+1 button."  The +1 button allows Google users to express approval (or recommend) of a particular search result. The +1 service is slowly being rolled out to people with Google Profiles, but it can be turned on manually at Google Labs. According to Google, the +1 button is shorthand for "this is pretty cool" or "you should check this out."

Click +1 to publicly give something your stamp of approval. Your +1's can help friends, contacts, and others on the web find your recommendations on businesses, products, and services.In order to "+1" things, you first need a public Google profile. This helps people see who recommended that new restaurant or useful website. All "+1’s" are stored in a new tab on your Google profile. You can show your +1’s tab to the world or choose to keep them private and just use them to personally manage the ever-expanding record of things you love around the web.

However, the online buzz has expressed doubts that "+1' will gain user acceptance as it is currently structured. In other words, Facebook "fans" will probably not 'like' Google's most recent foray into the social media world.  Interestingly enough, one of the more positive assessments came from "Inside Facebook," who feels that it may be an attractive alternative to the Like button.

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Seems as though there is no evidence that lowering taxes on big business (or the wealthiest) helps main street businesses and the economy overall. Sometimes, the tax benefits are eaten up by a rise in prices, like the rise in oil prices recently due to uncertainty around the world. Other times, the benefits don't extend to all social classes or the benefits disappear after a short time. The bottom line?  All tax cuts should be thoroughly researched and supported before we as a democracy allow one person or one party to act to the detriment of small business.

See http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#41999505.

The current theory of most Republican talking heads states that taxing those business owners making over $250,000 will stop job creation and further depress the economy.   Pretty ridiculous right?  

Are you a small business owner making less than $250K (after all your write-offs)?  Do personal income taxes have anything to do with hiring additional employees?   Or is it good old Economics 101? More business equals more employees!

Small business owners (us) do not turn away business to keep from hiring employees.  Small businesses simply hire more workers when there is more work or more sales to be made.  Nothing less...nothing more.  If our personal tax rates are increased on the money we make without any increases in sales then we just make less money.  Small businesses just don't close up shop or refuse sales to avoid paying taxes.  

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The Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan has opened the Accelerate Michigan Student Idea Competition to entries.

Open to any undergraduate or graduate student attending a Michigan college or university in the fall of 2010, the competiton will award $50,000 to the top business ideas and concepts submitted by Michigan students.

All participants are required to submit a one-page business idea. Semifinalists will submit a three minute video pitch and formulate a fifteen minute in-person pitch. The deadline for initial applications is midnight, eastern time on Friday, Oct. 22.

The competition culminates with a gala awards brunch in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Dec. 11. The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition concludes with the University of Michigan vs. Michigan State University “Big Chill” hockey game at Michigan Stadium.

For more information about the Accelerate Michigan Student Idea Competition including complete rules and eligibility criteria, visit www.acceleratemichigan.org, or connect with the competition via Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin. 

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We are finally allocating some of our resources here at Entrepreneur Fuel to updating and maintaining our own website! 

There are a lot of ups-and-downs to  being an  entrepreneur--especially in this economy. So if you are having a difficult time running your business or  just not getting to the level you expected then take a deep breathe and read  some famous (and not so famous) quotes for entrepreneurial inspiration:

Don’t aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally. – David Frost

Failure is success if we learn from it. – Malcolm Forbes

The man who has done his level best…is a success, even though the world may write him down a failure. – B. C. Forbes

Success demands singleness of purpose. – Vince Lombardi

Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom. – George S. Patton

I couldn’t wait for success, so I went ahead without it. – Jonathan Winters

Success is that old ABC – ability, breaks, and courage. – Charles Luckman

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. – Booker T. Washington

Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go. – William Feather

The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity. – Ayn Rand

In order to succeed you must fail, so that you know what not to do the next time. – Anthony J. D’Angelo

Action is the foundational key to all successs. – Tony Robbins

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