Is your business lacking the ambition it needs to innovate? Unfortunately, this seems to be happening within a lot of companies of late. For this reason, Abby Johnson offers some tips that businesses can implement that actually encourage innovation.

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These tips include empowering employees, allowing employees to volunteer, practicing sharing, mentoring programs, and partnering with startups. Each of these tips creates a culture within the business that makes employees feel good about what they are doing. This, in turn, makes them want to succeed, which sparks new ideas and innovations.

Learn more about what your business can do to encourage innovation in this video report right here on SmallBusinessNewz.

Google Aims To Help Small Businesses With Boost

Google launches Boost for small businesses

If you own a business and have claimed your free business listing in Google Places, which then appear on Google and Google Maps, then you will be glad to know the search and advertising company has introduced another way to help your business get noticed.

The company has introduced Google Boost, which allows business owners to create online search ads directly from within their Google Places account.

The Google Small Business Blog offers more details. “Boost ads are eligible to appear in the ‘Sponsored Links’ section of Google.com and Google Maps search result pages. For example, if you’re a restaurant owner in San Francisco who has signed up for Boost, your ad may show up when someone does a related search like the one below, indicating a cuisine and location that matches yours.”

“Beyond the basics like your company name, address, phone number and website, your ad may also include the number of reviews you’ve received, an average star rating and a link to your Place page to help potential customers find additional useful information about your business. When a map appears alongside the results, a blue pin will help folks quickly find your location on the map. Businesses using Google Tags will also see their yellow tag appear in the ad.”

Currently Boost in in beta in San Francisco, Houston and Chicago. Interested businesses can sign up to receive notification when Boost comes to their area.

What To Do About Never Ending To-Do Lists

If you’re an entrepreneur, chances are you have a never ending to-do list about a mile long. And it’s easy for that to cause stress and frustration (and maybe even feelings of inadequacy). Here are three ways to deal with it.

1)    Admit it will never all be done. It just won’t. So quite working all hours in a futile effort to do it all, or feeling overwhelmed or guilty when it isn’t.

2)    Break it up. Giant to-do lists are hard to deal with. So break yours down in order of importance. Then each day make a shorter list of just what you’re going to do today, starting with what is most important.

3)    Outsource albatross items. You know those tasks that need to be done, but you somehow never seem to get to? Those are albatross items on your to-do list because they’re a burden on your psyche. Either admit you don’t need to do them, or hire someone else—like a Virtual Assistant—to get them done

SBA Readies Small Business Program For Women

SBA finalizes contracting program for women

The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced it will begin implementation of its women-owned small business (WOSB) contracting program.

The rule is part of the Obama Administration’s overall commitment to expanding opportunities for small businesses to compete for federal contracts, in particular those owned by women, socially and economically disadvantaged persons and veterans. This rule identifies 83 industries in which WOSBs are under-represented or substantially under-represented in the federal contract marketplace.

In addition to opening up more opportunities for WOSBs, the rule is also another tool to help achieve the statutory goal that 5 percent of federal contracting dollars go to women-owned small businesses.

“Women-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing sectors of our nation’s economy, and even during the economic downturn of the last few years, have been one of the key job creation engines in communities across the country,” SBA Administrator Karen Mills said.

“Federal contracts provide critical opportunities for owners of small firms to take their business to the next level and create good-paying jobs,” Mills added. “Despite their growth and the fact that women lead some of the strongest and most innovative companies, women-owned firms continue to be under-represented in the federal contracting marketplace. This rule will be a platform for changing that by providing greater opportunities for women-owned small businesses to compete for and win federal contracts.”

The agency expects the program to be available for WOSBs in early 2011.

eBay Promotes Buyer Protection For Small Businesses

eBay aims to help small businesses

eBay has launched a month long campaign to expand consumer awareness of its eBay Buyer Protection program.

Launched nationally earlier this year, eBay Buyer Protection covers the purchase price plus original shipping of most purchases on the site.

According to a study commissioned by eBay and conducted online by Harris Interactive in September:

More than half (52%) of shoppers agree they like to shop with small retailers when purchasing online 78% of shoppers said they would have an increased likelihood to purchase from a small retailer if the retailer is part of a marketplace that offers buyer protection.

Nearly half of shoppers (47%) said that buyer protection programs, like eBay’s, make small online sellers more competitive with large online retailers .

“Small business entrepreneurs are the backbone of the American economy, creating most of the jobs in our country,” said eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe.

“eBay creates opportunity for millions of independent sellers and small-business entrepreneurs who are creating jobs through their businesses on eBay. eBay Buyer Protection helps these independent sellers and small-business entrepreneurs compete more effectively with national retailers by increasing consumer confidence and trust. Shop on eBay, and we’ve got you covered.”