Dr. Diane Hamilton's Blog

Which Degree Will Make You The Most Money

If you are considering going to school or going back to school, check out some of these figures gathered from over 11,000 graduates.

New Businesses Not Getting Loan Approval

A survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows that small businesses in the area are not getting the loans they are applying for this year.  Businessweek.com reported, “Of the 59 percent of businesses responding to the poll that applied for credit in the first half of 2010, only half got any loan approval at all, and three quarters said their full borrowing needs were not met. (The PDF of the report is available here.)”

In the entrepreneurial courses I teach, my students discuss the issues a new start-up must face.  Raising capital may be one of the most difficult hurdles right now.  Part of the problem stems from not having collateral to secure the loans.  If this is the case, it may be possible to obtain a loan through merchant services. Credit cards with cash advances may be an option.   

Articlebase.com suggests there are other things you can do to qualify for a loan.  “First you need to identify which among the many types of small business loans you need. Small business loans ranging from $5,000.00 to $35,000.00 are called micro loans. For larger needs, such as for the acquisition of land, buildings and other major fixed assets, development financing is what you should find. There are also import export loans as well as franchise financing. Do your research to find out if you are qualified for small business loans guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration or SBA.” 

There is some positive news.  According to Finance.yahoo.com, “Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech on Friday that there have been some “positive signs” in the credit conditions for small businesses. “In particular, banks are no longer tightening lending standards and terms and are reportedly becoming more proactive in seeking out creditworthy borrowers,” he said.”

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Number of College-Educated Workers Increases Nearly Every Year

All of the increase in employment over the past two decades has been among workers who have taken at least some college classes or who have associate or bachelor’s degrees—and mostly among workers with bachelor’s degrees. The number of these college-educated workers has increased almost every year. Over the 1992–2009 period, the number of college-educated workers increased from 27 million to 44 million. In contrast, the number of employed people with only a high school diploma or without a high school diploma has remained steady or decreased.

50 Famous People Who Failed Before Becoming Successful

In my book, How to Reinvent Your Career, I write about how some things we see as failures may actually lead us to something better.  The following is a list of 50 famous people compiled by Katrina Solomon from onlinecollege.org who failed before they became successes:

1.  Henry Ford
2.  R. H. Macy
3.  F. W. Woolworth
4.  Soichiro Honda
5.  Akio Morita (Sony)
6.  Bill Gates
7.  Harland David Sanders (KFC)
8.  Walt Disney
9.  Albert Einstein
10.  Charles Darwin
11.  Robert Goddard (rocket researcher)
12.  Isaac Newton
13.  Socrates
14.  Robert Sternberg (President of APA)
15.  Thomas Edison
16.  Orville and Wilbur Wright
17.  Winston Churchill
18.  Abraham Lincoln
19.  Oprah Winfrey
20.  Harry S. Truman
21.  Dick Cheney
22.  Jerry Seinfeld
23.  Fred Astaire
24.  Sidney Poitier
25.  Jeanne Moreau (actress)
26.  Charlie Chaplin
27.  Lucille Ball
28.  Harrison Ford
29.  Marilyn Monroe
30.  Oliver Stone
31.  Vincent Van Gogh
32.  Emily Dickinson
33.  Theodore Seuss Giesel (Dr. Seuss)
34.  Charles Schulz
35.  Steven Spielberg
36.  Stephen King
37.  Zane Grey
38.  J. K. Rowling
39.  Monet
40.  Jack London
41.  Louisa May Alcott
42.  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
43.  Elvis Presley
44.  Ludwig van Beethoven
45.  Igor Stravinsky
46.  The Beatles
47.  Michael Jordan
48.  Stan Smith
49.  Babe Ruth
50.  Tom Landry