It’s time to vote on your favorite small business books of 2009.

For the second year in a row we are holding the Best Small Business Book Awards – Reader’s Choice.

This year the Awards are bigger and better than ever.  A total of 47 books have been nominated. And you can help choose the winners. The 10 books that get the most votes from readers like you will receive a Reader’s Choice Award.

Following are some FAQs that explain the Awards and how to vote.

What are the Awards?

The Small Business Book Awards, presented by Small Business Trends, recognize the year’s best new books for small business owners and entrepreneurs.  Small business books are usually lumped in with personal finance, investing, and other advice topics for purposes of bestseller lists and honors. They are often overshadowed by bigger niche categories. Our Awards shine the spotlight specifically on small-business books.

What are the criteria for an Award?

To be eligible for a Reader’s Choice Award, a book must be

• relevant to entrepreneurs and those who own or work in small businesses
• first published in 2009 (or revised during 2009)

How do I vote?

Voting is open through November 30, 2009.  Simply

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — President Obama is in China this week meeting with that nation’s leaders. Since China is the largest foreign owner of U.S. debt, I wonder if they are going to give Obama a free toaster.

According to figures released by the Treasury department Tuesday morning, China held $798.9 billion in Treasury securities as of the end of September. That’s up slightly from August and just a hair below the $801.5 billion peak that China held in May.

So there’s no way around the fact that China is bankrolling a major part of the U.S. government’s stimulus efforts and financial bailouts of the past year.

With that in mind, it’s no surprise that China is talking tough about how much money the United States is spending and complaining about how low interest rates are and how weak the dollar is.

Over the weekend, China Banking Regulatory Commission Chairman Liu Mingkang said that the depreciation of the dollar and the Federal Reserve’s indications that it won’t raise rates anytime soon have caused “massive” speculation in the currency and stock markets around the globe.

China has a legitimate gripe. With interest rates at practically zero for nearly a year now, China is not earning much on its Treasury holdings.

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At various times in the life of a company there are going to be requirements for outside capital in order to grow the business. Choosing which type financing vehicle is best for your company is very important. Deciding whether to seek equity capital or debt financing is the first step. Usually companies trying to get equity capital are very early stage with little or no real assets, while companies on their way to a steady growth curve use debt financing.

The equity route

As the owner of a business idea, plan, or company – you hold ownership to a subjective value called equity. The equity of any type of property whether intellectual or physical is the value someone is willing to pay for it minus any liability attached to it. In business that could mean the value of an entity today measured in time and money invested versus the value in the future measured by comparable growth.

Once the owner and investor determine the “valuation” of the equity, the owner can then sell parts of the equity in order to raise capital. There are a variety of methods you can raise equity capital (Seed, Angel, Venture) and you should learn the pluses and minuses for each. An eq

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Job fairs are becoming more and more popular these days, and businesses are getting smarter about them. It used to be that organizations would only set up at job fairs if they were desperate to find employees. Now, companies are learning that one needs to use every avenue to find the best employees out there.

Job fairs are when companies set up booths or tables and open up to the public for browsing. They often are centered around a particular type of job, but they are sometimes general in nature as well. Regardless, the job fairs will bring in many people all with the same goal – to find a great job. What is great for employers is that you are already looking at go-getters as a rule if they are at a job fair. People that are proactive in their job search are usually wonderful candidates for employment.

To take advantage of this great pool of applicants, one must be prepared. To really get the most out of a job fair, you need to spend some time thinking of a creative way to attract them to your booth. This might mean a fun game, or a drawing or giveaway. A

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