It doesn’t hurt BP.  The BP gas stations are independent small business owners.  They are members of your local community, not a big giant oil conglomerate.

So while you may want to strike out at BP, not buying gasoline at your local BP station only hurts a small business owner like you.

Or am I missing something?

I will not pass judgements on Tiger’s past actions, but instead give him advice on what he needs to do to bounce! (and what we can all learn):

1. Humility. No one now knows more than Tiger Woods that life changes very quickly and bad times happen for even billion dollar sports heroes. There is alot of luck and randomness at play here if any of the news reports are close to correct.  Tiger needs to accept what has happened and right size his ego. Whether this is fair or not, I will let others debate that. Tiger finally took the first step in this direction when he announced on Friday on his web site that he was leaving golf for an indefinite period of time to focus on his family. Step 1 has started for Tiger.

2. Give Up the Shame and Let Go. Believe it or not, Tiger needs to give up the shame around his admitted actions. He can wallow in it for awhile if he wants and ask why me now? It can be therapeutic sometimes for me to cheer the darkness. But eventually to move on to whatever comes next, he has to grieve this failure and let go. An appearance on Oprah would probably help. If Elin was there, if that fits for her, that’s even better.

3. Set Patient Interim Goals for the next success. Tiger needs to focus getting back on track. What can he do to feel like he is repairing the damage? He states he will be focus on rebuilding his relationship with his family. He should also look at rebuilding the relationship with his business sponsors such as Accenture, AT&T, Gatorade, and Nike. He should slowly take on new commitments to regain the relationships from people around him.

4. Get back on the golf course and win! Although we hold up our sports superstar to super hero standards, we will forgive Tiger once he gets back on the golf course and wins. In the end, what we really what we want from Tiger is for him to play amazing golf. He is the greatest golfer that ever lived, and we want to watch more of him on the golf course more than any evening news! Our Sunday afternoon’s won’t be complete until that happens.

What other advice do you have for Tiger to bounce?

The President again proposed more help this morning:

1. Eliminate for one year capital gains taxes on new investments in the stock of small businesses. This would be a good thing, but we need more details on how this would help angel and VC investors (if that is who it is directed at).

2. Small businesses would get a tax break for hiring new employees. This is one of my ideas at the beginning of 2009 on what he should do.  

Obama can go further by eliminating Employer Matching Federal Withholding Tax for businesses less than 9 people. This will encourage the more than 4M businesses that qualify to hire people full time instead of trying to skirt the laws and use freelancers. More money would go to the employee instead of the myriad of government taxes.

3. Eliminate fees for loans made through the Small Business Administration. It is good to eliminate them but the SBA and Banks need to still open the spigot up wider on these loans. A business can’t save on the fee if they don’t have the loans.

What are your ideas?

Well, the news services reported this morning the economy grew at 3.5% in the third quarter(the best in 2 years) meaning that the recession is over! Shout it now: THE RECESSION IS OVER?

But is it? How much of the uptick has to do with government funded programs for cars and homes?

The recession isn’t over because:

1. There are no jobs: The jobless rate is still over 10% and in many states like Michigan, much more than that. Peoples bills keep mounting and they are losing their homes.

2. There is no credit: Despite what President Obama and the SBA say, there is little credit flowing to small businesses or people that want a mortgage for a home. We can’t hire people, invest in new infrastructure or get payables paid.

3. There is no consumer spending: Without jobs and credit, people are still not buying things. Christmas is forecasted to be a bust.

4. The stock market while up is still way down. Most of our portfolios are still down 30% from last year.

The government always reports things in arrears. The recession started before we knew it and now they say its over before it isn’t.

Do you think the recession is over?

What others said to my twitter question:

@lizstrauss I was on a plane on the tarmac in Dublin waiting to fly home from a 31 day biz trip around the world. It certainly offered a different perspective and an irony … Dublin airport is fitted out for bombs from the IRA.

@smartstartcoach I was driving to the office in tears as my husband had just told me he was leaving me and the children. Bad day all around..

@shannvanderleek I was working at a television station watching in horror as the second plane hit the WTC.

@davidrflanagan At the MBTA in Boston en route to a State House event

@shadowcoil Working in a kiosk listening to the radio. The radio host had no idea what to say when the news broke, and cut to music.

@entmagazineKym working in an after school program in SoCal, fielding questions from kids about what was going on

Where where you?

(True to 9-11 form, Business Insanity Radio had technical difficulties due to a software upgrade this morning. We will reschedule Anita Campbell and Rieva Lesonsky)

Courtesy of Dyerproductions.com and Daniel Dyer

With the World Health Organization raising the the flu pandemic alert from 4 to 5 (there is only one more level to go which is 6, but we all must read Stephen King’s “The Stand” to find out what happens), Swine flu deserved another post. After one of my twitter buddy, Miss Destructo  yesterday solved one of the mysteries of the world (what is the difference between a YAM and a SWEET POTATO), I asked her solve the mystery of what is Swine Flu now. She replied on her blog:

“Sure thing Barry, but of course you know that Swine Flu albiet a horrible pandemic is actually the name of a upcoming German industrial band? (You say it… “SVINE FLUGH”)”

As Miss Destructo says, this German band actually probably has the worst marketing campaign ever: Spread the Sickness!

Any other mysteries you need solved by Miss Destructo?

My sons at the Obama Rally on Election night

Capitalist Rallies Have Stores!

We were fortunate enough to get tickets to the Obama-palooza party in Grant Park last night. We wanted to take the kids so they could be part of history. Being there, it was more like being at a rock concert than a political rally. As I stood there with tears in my eyes as President Obama spoke, I could not help but think that we were part of something bigger than ourselves. This is a good feeling to have because sometimes, especially during these tough economic times, we can get dragged down with our our personal situtations since we are so heavily focused on what is in front of us. Change happens all around us. We just need to work toward it. As the Obama campaign said, “Yes We Can!”

When I got back to the office, I heard about the Twin Towers. The issue we had discussed seem to fade away compared to what was going on in New York that day. In the subdued mood that followed days later, the employees and the CEO were able to put aside their differences and reconcile in the end.

Where were you?

1. It shows that people will compete to be the best at anything. We will do almost anything to get fame and how important fame is in our culture. We can get our respect and self esteem by being successful at anything. It can give us that bounce! that can carry us to success in other things or enable us to let go of our failures.

2. Most competitive processes there is politics and room for corruption. Billy, the current champion is the favorite of the ruling body who judges these things. In fact, one of the original taglines to the movie was to be: ” The highest form of corruption at the lowest levels.”

3. Some people like Steve see themselves as losers when they come in second place. Don’t get me wrong, I think we should try to win and that we usually don’t remember who came in second…but being second, does not mean we are branded a loser.

Watch the movie. You will enjoy it!

I grew up loving chess. When I was 12, Fischer beat Boris Spassky for the title. It was a source of great American pride. Then Fischer got weird with his actions. He became increasingly Anti-Semitic (although he was Jewish) and Anti-American. He became very reclusive.

What sticks in my mind is not Fischer himself, but the 1993 movie, Searching For Bobby Fischer. It is about a boy who is incredible at chess. I vividly remember a line in the movie where the father, played by Joe Mantegna, is pushing his son to be the best with despite what perhaps his son really wants. He says, “My son is better at chess than I have ever been at anything”. For me, this shows the hope that all parents have for our children to be better than we are. And the pride that we take in it. And unfortunately, sometimes, as the father in this story does, how we push our children too hard to achieve for our own selfish ego gratification.

I talk about in Bounce! how we are addicted to achievement. This goes not only for ourselves but for our children. Let us each follow our own dream and passion but let’s make sure it is our own. Let’s make sure that we do not push our hopes and dreams on our children….at least not too hard.