A Weekly Round-Up of Small-Business News - NYTimes.com

What’s affecting me, my clients and other small-business owners this week.

IS THE SKY FALLING? Our economic problems continue to linger. Private sector hiring and consumer confidence slumped in May. Manufacturing growth is the slowest since 2009. Michael Laparie, political blogger, confirms that the economy “officially stinks.” He says, “I believe that high unemployment, which stems from the uncertainty that is currently undermining the confidence of small to mid-sized businesses, should be the No. 1 issue for Republicans in the 2012 elections.” Intuit’s Small Business Employment Index shows slow growth in May. The share of the population on food stamps grows in most states. Family income numbers make Greg Mankiw pessimistic. The Chicago Fed reports a cooling of business activity. Wall Street begins to panic. Snooki has a tough week. E.J. Dionne says we have an imagination deficit. Greece teeters on the brink (but if this guy isn’t concerned why should we be?).

ALMOST FORGOT And cellphones may cause cancer.

THE MISUNDERSTOOD DEFICIT Speaking of deficits, the House votes to not raise the debt ceiling. Stan Collender says “it’s not true” that the House’s vote demonstrates that there’s no support for increasing the government’s borrowing limit unless deficit reductions are attached. Christopher Bergin says the poor are to blame for the deficit. David A. Levy and Srinivas Thiruvadanthai say that the federal deficit is America’s misunderstood hero: “Without large deficits, corporate profits would plunge, leading to skyrocketing unemployment and another Great Depression.” Stephanie Kelton, an economist, also thinks the government should keep spending: “As Uncle Sam’s financial position turns negative, your financial position turns positive.”

WHY THE SKY ISN’T FALLING Need proof? In Joplin, Mo., where the sky actually did fall, small businesses are mostly optimistic. Labor demand has quietly risen to pre-recession levels. And so has executive pay. Housing prices continue to fall, but many think they are near the bottom. Bloomberg Businessweek’s Joshua Zumbrun says that rising rents are going to fuel inflation but renters in Miami are fueling a boom. Construction spending rises. A small-business owner wins the Small Business Administration’s Perseverance Award. Gas prices continue to fall. The Restaurant Performance Index is at a three-year high. And here’s definitive proof that Russia is no longer a threat to our national security.

THE TOOTSIE ROLL CONNECTION JPMorgan Chase has a new app for small businesses. An economist for polling giant Gallup told a Congressional committee on Wednesday that small businesses are struggling to get credit — but a report says that small-business borrowing surged in April. The S.B.A. chief discusses her Tootsie Roll connection.

THIS KID COULD RUN A SMALL BUSINESS A Gallup poll says that most workers expect to keep working after retirement age (but I’m not sure this guy will make it). The Telegraph explains the benefits of hiring a manager with military experience. A small-business owner succeeds using personality tests in the hiring process. Recent college grads hear some wisdom. Dick Winters, war hero, explains what makes selfless leaders. Example: “Anticipate problems and prepare to overcome obstacles. Don’t wait until you get to the top of the ridge and then make up your mind.” Do you think that today’s generation, like all the generations before it, is the laziest? I’m betting the manager at this Denny’s restaurant does. This kid could run a small business.

MEDIUM IS BEAUTIFUL Kevin Drum says the idea that small businesses are the engine of job creation in the United States is outdated: “Since the recession began in 2008, the biggest net generator of jobs has been neither small businesses nor large businesses. It’s been medium-sized businesses.” Bill Fournet says small businesses have many advantages over big companies, such as “a small business has the advantage of knowing what it stands for and ensuring that those values are shared with its customers and staff every day.”

I’D STILL RATHER BE IN FLORIDA The Hawaii market for buying and selling small businesses is back. An immigration reform bill in Georgia stresses growers. Optimism grows in New Hampshire as unemployment drops below 5 percent. Jellyfish attack Florida bathers. California passes an online sales tax bill and takes aim at high-income residents. The Texas Senate adopts legislation which says that a plaintiff must pay the winning party’s legal fees if a complaint is judged to be groundless. Door-to-door salespeople in Daytona Beach are facing regulation and suspicion. The New York Times’s Michael Cooper reports that states will need to raise taxes or face more cuts.

POTENTIAL WINNINGS SmallBizTrends lists a bunch of upcoming small-business awards. If you’ve started a business, completed your first sale or secured outside funding in the past six months, you could be eligible to win the Kauffman Foundation’s Startup Open competition. A cool invention expo happens in Pittsburgh next week.

TECH TIPS Apple officially steps into the cloud with its new storage service. A Google search will now show flight schedules. Mobile apps save small businesses $17 billion a year. Skype goes down for a while. Bill Mathews, gadget geek, talks about not letting needless obstacles stand in the way of adopting new technology that can benefit your business.

ISN’T LIVING IN NEW JERSEY RISKY ENOUGH? The Startup Genome Project examines the science of start-ups. Some think New York is the new center for start-ups. A Michigan clean-tech start-up seeks $8 million, gets $500,000. A New Jersey couple risks it all to start a business.

OUR GOVERNMENT AT WORK Sam Graves applauds passage of the Small Business Extension Bill which prevents the expiration of seven S.B.A. programs, including the S.B.I.R. and S.T.T.R. innovation programs. The Internal Revenue Service is demanding full access to small-business accounting systems, reports the Atlantic’s Megan McArdle. Robert Wood, a tax lawyer, warns employers about ways they can go to jail.

COME HERE OFTEN? WHAT’S YOUR D.N.A.? A new alarm clock helps oversleepers donate to charity. David Jackson lists 13 niche business ideas. Example: “A company that uses your D.N.A. to maximize the chances of finding compatible physical chemistry with your matches.”

WHAT TO READ Business Insider lists 21 books every entrepreneur should read. Andrew Warner learns a lot from New York’s real estate queen. The guys at Epic Meal Time make an 84-egg sandwich.

LESSONS FROM SOAP OPERAS Chris Brogan shares marketing’s biggest mistake: “We’re not always who we sell to, and even then, there are some differences when we’re the ones creating the thing we’re selling.” Many online shopping sites are now using algorithms to analyze personal taste. Marketer Susan Oakes gives us three marketing lessons from soap operas. Example: “Soaps move at their own pace and don’t jump from one story to the next … if you ever feel tempted to change marketing strategy, branding or communication, take a few moments to ask yourself what is the business reason for it.”

SUCCEEDING WITH SOCIAL MEDIA According to a survey, almost 70 percent of small businesses are using social media. Users say they’re more likely to buy if a business answers their questions on Twitter. Valentine Belonwu lists 200 of the most fearless women online and in social media. Lisa Barone explains how social media increases her consulting revenue. Pew reports that 13 percent of online adults use Twitter. Alexandra Samuel offers 11 social media tools that can help put us on the right strategic path. Heidi Cohen explains how to have a winning social media personality: “Give people a reason to pay attention. Being honest and open is refreshing; people can spot the difference.” Forty-six million Americans check social media sites multiple times a day.

THE WEEK AHEAD With not much data expected, we may get a break from bad news. Besides Thursday’s weekly unemployment claims, watch for a growing trade deficit and the latest budget balance numbers on Friday. More important, June 7 is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day.

WAYS TO ACHIEVE GOALS A.J. Perisho offers six  steps for achieving goals. The first three: “1. Identify the goal and the time frame for its achievement. 2. Identify where you are now in relation to your goal. 3. Break the goal into yearly chunks.”

(ONE MORE) REASON TO MOVE TO HAWAII A Hawaiian guy runs his law firm out of a storage unit. “I use my cellphone. I have my photocopier and desk, bookshelves with my Hawaii Revised Statutes and the Hawaii Digest, and some of my manuals. I’m looking to practice for, at the most, another 10 years. The price is right and so long as the cases keep on coming, I’ll stay here.”

WAYS TO LOOK LIKE AN AMATEUR Cameron Chapman suggests five social-media mistakes that make us look like an amateur and cost us sales. Example: “Too Much Self-Promotion. The problem comes in when all you ever do is post self-promotional updates. It’s the equivalent of e-mail spam, and adds little or no value for your followers and fans. In a lot of cases, you’ll alienate your current customers and they’ll unfollow you.”

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION What’s the most important social media lesson you’ve learned?

Gene Marks owns the Marks Group, a Bala Cynwyd, Pa., consulting firm that helps clients with customer relationship management. You can follow him on Twitter.