Archive for the ‘ Business Development ’ Category

With the news displaying negative results for most retailers over the dismal holiday season, one wonders how the little local retailer is doing. December forecasts were dire: Gap was down 14%; Neiman Marcus down 28% and even Wal-Mart which appeared to be drawing in more and more price conscious shoppers was only up 1.7%. 

So what about your local retailer – the ones that know you and give you that extra customer service? Yes it comes at a premium but it feels so special – so community, so village. Losing that personal touch would be such a shame.

We have lost much of our quirkiness in Main Street USA – the mom-and-pop stores have all but disappeared. Now every main street sort of feels the same – we have the chain retailers such as Macy’s, Banana Republic, Pottery Barn and so on. These are great stores but they lack the personality of our local retailers.

There is no reason not to support your local stores in addition to being a savvy, cost conscious shopper. We can all combine our purchases – big items at the Targets and Wal-Marts and the smaller, more frequent purchases at the local retailers. Retailers can learn how to address the competition from these larger stores by attending seminars local, along the lines of how to compete with Wal-Mart. The large stores bring much to our lives in terms of choice, price and convenience, however there are many items a local store owner can expand into that provides the shopper with a local flavor and uniqueness not found at the larger chain stores.

I find these local stores are a treasure trove when looking for those special gifts for friends and family: these purchases convey a higher level of thought has been put into selecting that special gift.

So don’t forget your local retailer – we’d hate to lose those small merchants in these difficult times.

Hello and good morning to all our readers. Welcome to another edition of the Prosper Roundup. We have lots in store for you today, including a large section for our small business entrepreneurs and for those looking to create their own start-up during this economic situation. Drop us a line when you’re through to tell us what worked for you!

Peer-to-Peer Lending:
• Business Network blogs tips peer to peer lending to have a bigger impact on financial services than file sharing has had on the music industry.

Stock Market and Banking Industry:
• What a tumultuous year – Market Watch says don’t panic and batten down the hatches.
• Wall Street Journal writes Wachovia talks snag over assets.
• Forbes focuses on some of the fastest-growing industries.
• Would split of Wachovia really work, asks the American Banker? (subscription)

Auto, Home, College:
• Tire Track blogs how to finance a car.
• CNN Money proclaims pending home sales rise.
• Students face steep lending curve announces Smart Money.

Small Business:
• Economy stalling your small business? Shift gears with these 4 tips from NYT.
• Kiplinger presents the Small Business Survival Guide.
• Business Week writes Starting a Business in a Downturn.
• Start your own ‘hot’ business says Hattiesburg American.
• Calgary Sun declares business success bolstered by planning.
• Check out the good and bad of unsecured business loans by Global Finance.
• There are three things you must have to have a chance at building a successful business says California Construction Loans.
• Los Angeles Times presents looking for loans in new places.

Prosper Gets Mentioned:
• CNN Money Special Report: America’s Money Crisis - Cash crunch: small businesses get creative
• Prosper.com in New York Times Small Biz Special Section - Likes Taking Risks, Profitable Returns
• New Age Borrowing: Peer to Peer Loans
• Prosper on US News & World Report Blog - Credit Crunch? Your Move, Peer Lending

Photo Credit: 1

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RateLadder is a Prosper lender and has been since July, 2006. He has a passion for p2p lending. He owns RateLadder — My Prosper.com Journey and other P2P Lending Adventures, P2P No Bank the P2P Blog Aggregate, and ProProsper — Professional Tools for Prosper Lenders featuring SQL access to Prosper data.

Prosper roundup gets switched around! Easy to read categories are going to be our new way of organizing the roundup.

Categories may change from week to week, but overall the feel of the roundup will be the same.

Business Loans:
• SFGate posts an article this last Sunday on how right now it’s a hard time to get new credit. Article discusses housing loans in depth and briefly touches business and personal.
• Commercial Loans Source lists types of commercial loans and provides a succinct overview for beginners.

Mortgage Loans:
• Business Week says subprime mortgages–good luck getting one!
• The Consumerist blogs 12 confessions of a home mortgage collector is an article containing insider knowledge of the system and could help you out.

Student Loans:
• TheState.com writes this article, student loan availability squeezed, which explains how the nationwide credit crunch is affecting higher education.
• Continuing this point of view is Guampdn.com in student loan options shrinking and offers some excellent advice for those worried about paying this semester’s tuition.
• Check out 25 tips, ideas, resources for paying back student loans at Broke College Grad is a consolidated collection of blog articles for paying student loans in a variety of ways.

Small Business Entrepreneur:
• Tips for small business startup by Wealth, Success, and Women is a nice little starter post. What tips would you add?
• These 7 lies that prevent Your Great Idea from becoming a Real Business by Internet Redux might sound like commonsense, but in reality more people than you know believe in them and never try.

P2P Lending:
• Money Crashers writes a scathing review in Richard Branson Makes It Easier To Borrow Money From Your Family. What are your thoughts on loaning money to friends and family?

Prosper Gets Mentioned:
• The Wall Street Journal Small Business Site lists Prosper in Four Sources of Alternative Funds
• At the Active Rain real estate blog Prosper Marketplace is written as an example of alternative funding a down payment for a mortgage extension.
• At Site Point in 5 ways to fund your web startup for online business funding.
• NBC Action News aired a segment on Peer-to-Peer Lending
• KGBT4 features Prosper in their Show Me the Money Segment: Personal Loans
• Barron’s article feature Web Lenders See Opportunity in Bank’s Woes
• More Prime Borrowers at Prosper Site in American banker (subscription required)

Photo Credits: 1

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RateLadder is a Prosper lender and has been since July, 2006. He has a passion for p2p lending. He owns RateLadder — My Prosper.com Journey and other P2P Lending Adventures, P2P No Bank the P2P Blog Aggregate, and ProProsper — Professional Tools for Prosper Lenders featuring SQL access to Prosper data.

Greetings from Prosper! It has been a fast-moving three months since I had the opportunity to join the Prosper team to head up Business Development with Chris, John, Kirk and Catherine. Coming from a traditional banking and capital markets background, it has certainly been a change of focus, but I can’t pay enough compliments to the management team here. They are smart, innovative, creative, and collaborative. One of the first things that struck me when I joined is that every Prosper employee is passionate about their desire to make consumer lending better and more financially and socially rewarding.

I will be heading up strategic partnership opportunities and our institutional lender platform. I plan to post updates here as events transpire and appreciate all of the support and inquiries from the Prosper community.

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Adrienne Penake, CFA is the VP of Business Development at Prosper