SCORE Honors Six NY Small Business Successes

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On Tuesday July 25th, the New York chapter of SCORE, Counselors to America’s Small Business, presented awards to the founders of six successful small businesses: Lisa and Felix Hendrickson of Hendrickson Custom Cabinetry, Peggy Levee of Rain or Shine (tent rental), Caylin Sanders of EscapeMaker.com, the founder of The Pink Slip, Carl Broady of Urban Biker Magazine and David Rudofsky of Rudofsky Associates. For a full list of previous SCORE successes, go to: http://www.score.org/success_story_archive.html

My SCORE counselor was the one who suggested the name Rudofsky Associates, and also gave me great advice on how to network with other independent consultants and grow my consulting practice. Interestingly, most of the other awardees needed assistance from SCORE in the areas of business planning and financing, as opposed to marketing. SCORE has a strong affiliation with the Small Business Administration, which gives them deep insights into how new business owners should apply for SBA-backed loans. -dr

Prosper Marketplace Inc. Boosting Peer-to-Peer Lending

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Since its start-up in February, 2006, San Francisco-based Prosper Marketplace Inc. has brokered more than 1,800 loans between individuals, totaling about $7.7 million, the “Wall Street Journal” reported in its 7/24/2006 issue. The company says the proportion of lenders to borrowers has exceed their initial expectations. Lenders are being attracted by interest rates as high as 29%, while for some borrowers with bad credit, Prosper Marketplace helps them get a loan that was not available through more convention channels.

Prosper’s revenue model is to earn 1.5% in fees for each loan, 1% from the borrower, and 0.5% from the lender. So the total revenue earned by Prosper on the initial $7.7 million loaned is just a shade over $100,000. The company has raised $20 million so far from venture-capital funds, so it will be interesting to see how they can use that capital to grow their business. -dr

Wharton Panel Debates India vs. China

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A panel of Wharton faculty and experts in emerging markets private equity recently debated the relative advantage of private equity investment in India vs. China. India has solid underpinnings for economic growth, including a democratic government, a strong education system, widespread knowledge of English and a deep pool of expatriates experienced in Western businesses, according to the panelilsts. Wharton Professor Jeremy Siegel suggested that India’s “soft” attributes, such as a democratic government and a free press that is rooting out corruption, outweigh China’s more impressive investments in “hard” infrastructure such ports, plants, and transportation systems. Siegel is also concerned about China’s system of “guanxi” in which business is conducted more through elaborate networks of relationships than on merit.

How to Raise Your Firm’s Financial IQ

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In this excerpt from the new book “Financial Intelligence,” the authors tell HBS Working Knowledge that “it is not enough to give a one-time training course or hand out an instruction book and expect everyone to be enlightened.” Repetition and engagement are both critical if financial literacy is going to become part of a company’s culture.

Dashboard Software More Affordable for Small Business Owners

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The 2/13/06 issue of “BusinessWeek” describes how NetSuite and other products that run $1,000 to $2,000 per user have made dashboards more affordable than in the past for small business owners. Those thinking about implementing a dashboard for their business for the first time should: 1) start slowly, 2) pick the right information, 3) have your business people drive the project, 4) avoid data overkill, 5) keep a personal touch – remember to still walk around and talk to your workers even after the Dashboard is up an running!