Small-Business Lending Gets A Jolt
President Obama, preaching a continued emphasis on lending to small businesses, has signed a bill which will free up $125 million to the largest loan programs of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA estimates that the money, made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will support $4.5 billion in small business lending through the end of February. New approvals of loans will begin by Monday, December 28, a little more than a month since funds were exhausted for the SBA programs. The money will allow the SBA to guarantee 7(a) loans up to 90% and waive borrower fees on most 7(a) and 504 loans.

"This administration and Congress recognize that these key programs were successful in helping jump-start the economic recovery for America's small businesses," said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. "The increased guarantee and reduced fees on SBA loans helped put more than $16.5 billion in the hands of small business owners and brought more than 1,200 lenders back to SBA loan programs. The extension of these programs through February is important to continuing our path toward recovery and will mean thousands more small business owners have access to the credit they need."

On Tuesday, Obama met with a dozen community bankers to examine the state of small-business lending. He promised to streamline regulations to encourage more local lenders to take advantage of federal funding programs. According to Treasury data, only 49 of the nation's 7,408 community banks have taken money from the Obama Administration to jump-start small-business lending plans. "There remain enormous opportunities as we come out of this recession for businesses to start growing again and to start hiring again," Obama said.

Cintas Announces Fiscal Second Quarter Results
Counselor Top 40 distributor Cintas (asi/162167) reported this week that revenue in its fiscal second quarter of 2010 (three months ended November 30) decreased 1% when compared to the fiscal first quarter of 2010 (three months ended August 31). While the company realized $884.5 million in revenue in the most recent quarter, the result was a 10% decrease from its second quarter last year when it had sales of $985 million.

In a statement, Cintas CEO Scott Farmer said that increased unemployment over the past year has directly impacted his company's business. "According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. economy has lost jobs for 23 consecutive months, with 7.2 million jobs lost during that time frame. These job losses directly affect our business as many of our products and services are dependant on customer employee levels. While job losses have moderated recently, 1.2 million jobs were lost during the last six months and we do not know when positive job growth will return. We will continue to focus on taking care of our customers and actively managing our cost structure in this difficult environment."

Cintas further reported that its net income for the most recent quarter was $57.2 million, an increase of 6% over the company's fiscal first quarter but a decrease of more than 20% from the company's net income result in the same time period last year. In his statement, Farmer said that while Cintas would still be impacted by general employment levels, he believes the company is well positioned to capitalize on any improvement in market conditions. "Our solid foundation and focus on cost control and cash generation continue to enable us to weather this difficult economic environment," he said. "Over the last six months, we have significantly increased our cash flow. When market conditions improve, we expect these competitive advantages will provide us enhanced opportunities."

Podcast: Counselor's Industry News
Every week, the ASI Internet Radio Tuesday Morning Show delivers an audio version of the industry's top news. Click here to listen to the segment from this week's show. The topics: good news on the product compliance front, a supplier merger, and a new wireless discount program for ASI members. Click here to listen.

Regulators Grant Partial CPSIA Reprieve
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has voted to delay the enforcement of certain third-party testing rules related to items used by children until February 2011, a postponement of one full year. The decision means manufacturers won't be required by law to hold compliance certificates showing their products have been independently verified as safe. "The extension of the stay was needed in order to give the agency more time to promulgate rules important to the continued implementation of the CPSIA and for the agency to educate our stakeholders on the requirements of those new rules," wrote CPSC Chair Inez Tenenbaum, in a statement.

The rules, outlined as part of the controversial Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), were originally intended to go into effect in February 2009, but the enforcement has been delayed twice – once until February 2010, and now another year to February 2011. Legislation has called for the independent verification of products to take place at a lab recognized by the CPSC, creating concerns over costs. The CPSIA applies to all products that may be used by children who are 12-years-old and under.

While the decision grants a reprieve for third-party certification, it does not provide a blanket stay for lead-related testing. For example, bicycle helmets, bunk beds and infant rattles must still be independently tested starting on February 10, 2010. Among other provisions, the CPSIA limits lead content in children's products to 300 parts per million (ppm), down from 600 ppm. However, the CPSC has not specifically defined what items are subject to the rules or how often companies will have to test their products for lead, lead paint or phthalates.

Despite the uncertainty, toy makers did gain a victory when the CPSC recently decided manufacturers wouldn't be responsible for testing individual parts of children's products, like buttons or zippers. Previously, the entire finished item would have to be tested. Passed by Congress in 2008, the CPSIA applies to a broad range of items, including apparel, toys, books and sports gear. For a detailed listing of provisions, click here.

Call For Entries: Counselor Product Design Awards
Counselor magazine is looking for innovative products for its Product Design Awards competition. Suppliers are invited to nominate their favorite eye-catching products in the following categories:

In order to enter, please submit the following three items: 1. A sample of the product. (We recommend that the product be exclusive to the supplier that is submitting it, although this is not a requirement.); 2. A quick description of the product, including any special features; 3. The category that the product should be considered for. There is a limit of one submission per category, per company. All submissions will be judged on the following areas: design appeal, functionality and the ability to attractively feature a logo (when appropriate). Winners will be featured in the June issue of Counselor.

Please send all entries to: Karen Akers, Awards Editor, Counselor Magazine, 4800 Street Road, Trevose, PA 19053. Questions? E-mail Karen Akers at kakers@asicentral.com. Please note that only products from North American suppliers will be considered and that submissions will not be returned unless specifically requested.

Introducing ASI Show Live
The ASI Show Live is making its debut at The ASI Orlando Show – if you're not going to be at the show this year, you can watch select New Distributor Success courses and the 2010 Fashion Show LIVE at www.asicentral.com/asishowlive.

Be part of the action, even if you're not able to attend the show. Watch these courses and events live at www.asicentral.com/asishowlive:

New Distributor Success Track
Sunday, January 3
Ad Specialty Sales Overview: The Nuts and Bolts of Success
David Blaise, Top Secrets of Promotional Product Sales
8:30-9:30 a.m. EST

10 Proven Ways to Get Your First Customers
Rosalie Marcus, PromoBizCoach.com
9:45-10:45 a.m. EST

Inside the Mind of the Advertising Specialties Client
David Blaise, Top Secrets of Promotional Product Sales
11 a.m.-Noon EST

ASI's 2010 Fashion Show
Monday, January 4, 5-6 p.m. EST

New Course Available on ASI Education's Online Learning Center 
Be sure to register at http://www.asicentral.com/asionlinelearning for some exciting new courses available exclusively to ASI members. Brought to you by ASI Education, Online Learning is the newest and most convenient way for distributors to get educated. Here are some of the courses from our New Distributor Success Track available now:

NEW
Building Profitable Client Relationships. In the advertising specialty industry, 75% of the average distributor's revenue comes from repeat clients. That's probably because it costs anywhere from five to eight times more to gain a new customer as opposed to retaining the ones you have. In this course, we'll explore ways to build profitable client relationships. This includes: tactics to turn one order into repeat business by building a positive relationship with your client; how to creatively reach out to clients; and how to patch things up when you've made a mistake.

Course Track: New Distributor Success
* Nailing Down the Basics
* Write Your Business Plan
* Marketing Your New Business
* Steps to Selling Success
* Creative Case Studies
* Avoid These First-Year Pitfalls
* Managing Your Business
* Wearables Crash Course
Coming in 2010: 
* Green Apparel From A-Z: Grown Your Eco-Wear Business
* Social Networking Tactics That Deliver Results

In The News
Atlantic Coast Cotton (asi/37355) announced that it will host an open house on April 9, 2010. The event will take place at the company's warehouse in Gainesville, VA. Go to www.accinfo.com for more information.

Broder Bros. Co. (asi/42090) announced that it is welcoming customers to its 2010 Northeast Imprintable Sportswear Expo, to be held January 28 and 29, 2010 at the MGM Grand Hotel at Foxwoods in Mashantucket, CT. For more information, go to www.broderbros.com/expo.

Busco/Prestige (asi/42830) announced that in a mutual agreement it will no longer represent Dress Code Sweaters (asi/48342) in the industry. Dress Code now has its own ASI number. 

K&R Precision (asi/63770) announced that it has ended its business relationship with McDonald Marketing, K&R's sales agents for many years in the south east.

People On The Move
Calibre International LLC (asi/43442) has named Michael Leigh its new president.

ASI SHOW

The following are the dates and locations for The ASI Show in 2010:
Orlando: January 3-5
Dallas: February 1-3
San Diego: February 24-26
New York: May 4-6
Chicago: July 13-15

Plus, don't miss the ASI Advantages Roadshow, the industry's #1 traveling show. Visit www.advantagesroadshow.com for the complete schedule!