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GET CONNECTED TIPS
Nifty ideas you can use to build a better
business
Don’t Go Postal
Small businesses can’t seem to get a break. First gas prices went through the roof. Then FedEx announced shipping rate increases. Now the U.S. Postal Service is promising higher mailing costs. In January 2006, brace yourself to pay more for stamps. The cost of a first-class stamp is scheduled to go to 39 cents, up two pennies from the current cost. Rates for postcards will rise to 24 cents. The last postage rate hike occurred in 2002.
African Americans Online
There’s good news for small businesses aiming to reach African Americans online. The gap in Internet usage between African Americans and whites still exists, but a report published last month by eMarketer shows that the gap is narrowing, and will continue to narrow over the next decade. The report, “African Americans Online: Crossing the Digital Divide,” finds that usage among the African American population is now 48.7 percent, which is still short of the 68.8-percent level among whites. “The African American online market is gaining some momentum as more users come online,” says the author of the report, Debra Aho Williamson, senior analyst at eMarketer. African Americans now make up 10.5 percent of all U.S. Internet users.
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