SBA's 1st Quarter Economic Indicator isn't All Bad News

The Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy released their 1st Quarter Economic Indicator. The news indicated that the U.S. economy is still sluggish in rising above its ongoing weakness. The economy grew 0.6 percent in the first quarter of 2008, just like it did in the previous quarter. The press release also stated that consumer spending rose a mere one percent, which is the slowest rate since the second quarter of 2001. Wow! So, basically we're still going to be stuck in a rut. I think even L.A. traffic is moving at a faster rate than our economy now.

But of course, not all the news was bad in the SBA's quarterly indicator. Real exports benefited from our weak dollar with annualized growth of 5.5. percent for the quarter. So, what does this mean to you and me? Well, its time to go global if you haven't already done so. Take advantage of our current situation. The Bush administration spent two terms working on Free Trade Agreements with so many countries, and believe it or not, it was designed to help you. Yes, the agreements have been scrutinized and the international laws still aren't as easy for us as it has been made for those we partnered with, but if you do a little bit of research, and put in some hard work, you can make the economic situation work for your benefit. If you haven't read our Guidelines for going global, take five minutes and do so. Don't worry, there's no need to thank me.

- Philip P. Mathew
Trade Show Editor

P.S. Don't just read our Guidelines... apply it!