Business Generation

PROVIDENCE – The amount of money flowing into the state treasury in the first 10 months of the 2011 fiscal year is ahead of estimates by 3.4 percent, the R.I. Department of Revenue said Monday.

From July 2010 to April this year, Rhode Island collected $2.35 billion in taxes and other revenue, $76.86 million ahead of the $2.27 billion that had been forecast for the 10-month period by fiscal advisers last November, according to the state’s monthly revenue report.

The report’s release comes as the semiannual Revenue Estimating Conference is expected to release its outlook for the coming year, a crucial prediction that state budget writers use to craft next year’s budget.

As of Monday, the projected deficit for fiscal year 2012 stands about $330 million, but most everybody is expecting good news Tuesday, a feeling bolstered by the better-than-predicted revenue figures so far this fiscal year. If advi

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There is plenty of talk, chatter, and online articles about how you can use social media to your marketing advantage with customers. However, it seems most of these articles and resources are aimed at how a small business owner can utilize social media to promote their business with the final consumer. But what about those small businesses who sells products or services business to business (B2B)? Can social media work for them too?

The answer is yes! In fact, methods for using social media for B2B companies are not that much different than for retailers. However, the approach for B2B companies is a little different.

How does a small business owner change focus to promote their company to other trade and retail industry clients?

Define Your Customer

As with any successful marketing effort, your first step should always be to determine who your target customer is.

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BOSTON – The total compensation costs for private industry workers increased 2.8 percent in the Boston-Worcester, Mass.-Manchester-N.H. metropolitan area for the year ended in March, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday.

The 2.8 percent hike compares to a 2.0 percent increase a year earlier. Wages and salaries, the largest component of compensation costs, advanced 2.3 percent.

Nationally, compensation costs rose 2.0 percent as wages and salaries grew 1.6 percent.

The Boston metropolitan area is the closest relevant data to Providence. The Bureau also breaks down data two other areas in the Northeast including: New York-Newark-Bridgeport and Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland.

The New York metropolitan area compensation costs advanced 2.4 percent while Philadelphia matched the Boston area’s increase, at 2.8 percent. Wag

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Whether your business is an established neighborhood institution, a family empire, or a new and growing enterprise, offering consumers a wide range of payment processing options is a great way to improve your bottom line. If you’ve ever lost a sale because of inadequate processing capability, you may want to consider rebooting your basic payment option service.

Any top of the line merchant services provider can offer the absolute cutting edge of advanced payment options. Plus, you can rest assured that by taking this crucial step, you’re maximizing the value of every dollar that flows into your business. And that’s a return you can count on, year after year. Here are just a few of the ways you can optimize your payment structure to best meet the needs of any customer base.

Credit Card Processing

Consumers need to know that their payments are being processed as quickly and securely as possible. A goo

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If you are a small business owner who is looking for new ways to market your company, most likely you have heard of Twitter. Twitter is not just a place where people can micro-blog at 140 characters or less or catch up on the latest celebrity gossip. Twitter has become a major marketing factor, even for small business.

However, what can Twitter do for you? And how do you use Twitter to your business advantage? Here are five important tips that all small business owners should use when creating or modifying a Twitter account.

1. Define Your Needs from Twitter

   First, you need to be clear on your expectations. Sure, Twitter is a fun social media website that attracts multitudes by the millions. But don’t expect that your small business will gather hundreds of millions of followers.

   What makes Twitter a great marketing outlet is that it doesn’t have a specific paradigm followed by small or large businesses to work. You

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PROVIDENCE – U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha on Friday told Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee the state law establishing up to three medical-marijuana centers violates federal law and could lead to civil and criminal prosecution.

The governor received the news in a three-page letter that was hand-delivered.

“The Department of Justice maintains the authority to enforce [federal law] vigorously against individuals and organizations that participate in unlawful manufacturing and distribution activity involving marijuana, even if such activities are permitted under state law,” Neronha wrote. “The [state law], the registration scheme it purports to authorize and the anticipated operation of the three centers appear to permit large-scale marijuana cultivation and distribution.

“The Department of Justice could consider civil and criminal legal remedies against those individuals and entities who set up marijuana-growing facilities and dispensaries, as such actions are in violation of federal law,” Neronha said in the letter.

The governor’s office issued a statement saying only that it had received the letter and it is under review.

The R.I. Department

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