October 29, 2009 Press Release from the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy:
- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Small businesses will play an important role in the nation’s economic future. The Office of Advocacy’s Small Business Profile for the United States, released today, provides details about small business employment, business starts and closings, bank lending in 2008, the demographics of business ownership, and firm and employment change by major industry and firm size.“The United States continues to depend on the health and ingenuity of its small business sector for the nation’s economic growth,” said Susan Walthall, Acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy. “In today’s economic climate, it is especially important for policymakers to keep small business concerns in mind as they formulate policy.”
In 2008, the United States saw an increase of 0.7 percent in GDP and a private sector employment decline of 0.7 percent. The U.S. profile also shows that:
Ø Small employers in the United States numbered 6 million in 2006 (latest data). There were also 20.8 million nonemployers, which increased to 21.7 million by 2007.
Ø Small businesses added 2.5 million net new jobs in 2005-2006. Overall, they employed 50.2 percent of the nation’s nonfarm private workforce in 2006.Ø Businesses owned by women, and by Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Hawaiians and Pacific Islandeers all increased significantly over the most recent period for which Census data are available.
For more information and a complete copy of the state and territory small business profiles, visit the Office of Advocacy website at www.sba.gov/advo.
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The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers. For more information, visitwww.sba.gov/advo, or call (202) 205-6533.
Filed under SBA Releases by 1 Comment. 
Craig Davidson - A.K.A. as IStockPhoto 7068613
Recently I was asked to take a look at a product called Certified Cash Club – a product allegedly created by Craig Davidson (also known as IStockPhoto photo 7068613).
Certified Cash Club makes the bizarre, yet seemingly excited proclamation that it has been seen on Twitter, YouTube, Digg, StumbleUpon, and Squidoo…all of which are sites just about anyone could load information up to. In other word, making a claim like that at the top of a sales page is tantamount to saying either "I have no idea what I'm talking about" or "I hope you are too stupid to realize that none of this means anything at all".
Of course CertifiedCashClub also seems very excited about "being seen" on FaceBook, AOL, MSN, and Yahoo. As usual "HOW" they were seen isn't explained. Did they possibly BUY ADVERTISING on those sites to "Be Seen"?
Of interest is the fact that they didn't list "Google" in the "As Seen On" logo at the top. I mean, I just searched on Google and I "saw" CertifiedCashClub.com "on Google"…I also "saw" a picture of an Astronaut "on Google":
I "see" Certified Cash Club "on Google"...I "see" a picture of an astronaut "on Google"....
Thomas Bennett - a.k.a. iStockPhoto 4253221 loves all things certified
Thomas Bennett has ventured outside his comfort zone as a stock photo on the stock photo site iStockPhoto and worked his way up as a collector of all things certified.
Here he sits with his certified family in front of his certified home posing for a certified photographer. The youngest one is technically not certified yet, but she does have a certified binky (pacifier).
Michael Thompson - a.k.a. iStockPhoto 7256206 giving his "I got me some certified cash" look
Michael Thompson, also a regular of stock photo site iStockPhoto recently revealed that his glasses are fake and that he maintains his dazzling white pearly teeth by eating certified organic fruits and vegetables.
Oddly, right above the two testimonials that have images that can be found on iStockPhoto is the statement:
"Now I do know that every other formula, system, method, etc. out there only tells you how to generate money using only one not too useful tactic. WELL, YOU HAVE BEEN LIED TO AND RIPPED OFF."
What is the Certified Cash Club refund rate?
Also, another fact that seems to be in dispute is their refund rate. For example, according to the image below, Certified Cash Club claims that their refund rate is 4%, but CBEngine.com claims the refund rate on Certified Cash Club is 33.21%.
So, let's review what we have so far:
We have a photo of Craig Davidson, the alleged founder of CertifiedCashClub sitting on the stock photo site iStockPhoto.
We have a photo of Thomas Bennett and his family – the first person giving a testimonial for CertifiedCashClub.com - on the stock photo site iStockPhoto.
We have a photo of Michael Thompson – the second person giving a testimonial for CertifiedCashClub.com – on the stock photo site iStockPhoto.
We have CertifiedCashClub claiming that their refund rate is 4% and CBEngine.com claiming that the refund rate on Certified Cash Club is 33.21%.
And we have a picture of an astronaut on the moon to demonstrate that the words "as seen on" can't be properly interpreted without proper context.
What should one believe about Certified Cash Club's claim of their average member's earnings?
Certified Cash Club's Income Claim
I noticed that Certified Cash Club's optin form includes the statement "MEMBERS EARNING AN AVERAGE OF $253.91 EVERY SINGLE DAY". If I am interpreting that claim correctly it would mean that they are claiming that the average member earns $92,677.15 per year.
Should you believe this claim? That's up to you. I am merely presenting my observations of various elements of the sales page that cause me some concern. They should NOT be construed as absolute proof of anything, but merely indicators that you may want to include in your decision making process.
What would I do personally if I were considering a product like Certified Cash Club? I'd pass on the product. There are simply too many indicators that cause concern for me.
Filed under Sales Page reviews by %s Comments.
This is the place to submit your questions as the forum is officially on hold for now.
I'm in the process of getting a F.A.Q. section installed at WorkAtHomeTruth which will also allow you to submit your questions.
I've decided to do this in place of the forum for now as it seemed like the forum was mostly being used for that purpose and I'm MUCH more likely to answer on the blog than in the forum.
You can post your questions here for now until I get the F.A.Q. section set up.
Thanks.
Note: This is page 2 of questions submitted. You can see previous questions and answers on page 1 here.
Filed under Blog by %s Comments.
