Congratulations to Mr. Obama :)

I’m not into politics, but I think that the newly appointed Barack Obama as the new President of the US sparks hope and enthusiasm, not only for the US citizens, but also for the global citizens.

However, hard work is ahead for President Obama.

I found an interesting article on BusinessWeek about the experts’ view on Obama’s policies for small businesses.

From the interview excerpt, I concluded that although Obama administration will breath fresh air, the taxes, labour, and health care policies are only make small business owner shuffle things around, although the policies are fundamentally sound.

Tax incentive plans are plausible, but not really answering the real question small businesses have in today’s recession – how to foster growth, especially if your small business is, well, small.

For example, one of Obama’s plan is for immediate deduction for the full value of qualified purchases on things like trucks, copiers, and manufacturing equipment. Again, the plan is plausible, but will it enough to push small businesses up?

Nevertheless, every change is good and needed.

Hope for a better economy

Psychologically speaking, the Obama effect is beyond policies and plans.

For non-US small businesses, the Obama effect is more intense, in my opinion.

Particularly in the Asia region, the Obama administration are hoped to bring a chance for a better economy, as the US and The Fed are (still) indicators to global economy.

The premise – if the US economy is recovering, the global economy will too.

From the place where I live, the Obama effect is so strong, in such a way that the national stock market is recovering and the sentiment on economy is turned into positive outlook.

How to capitalise the Obama effect

Global economy is never be driven by one person or one entity. All global entities are affecting each other in a complex way, in such a way that recession can only be recovered if the global community wanted to.

What you and I can do, is to look into our personal and business finances. The main idea is getting ready for changes, as I believe any changes, small or big, will affect the economy. Changes are excellent ways to shuffle things around and seek what’s best for your personal and business finances.

Lean your business operation, disposes unnecessary activities that are waste of money. Restructure your personal finance. Do everything you need to do to capture any opportunities, no matter how small they are.

Get your surf board, and be ready to ride the wave when it comes.

Ivan Widjaya
Obama effect
Image by jetheriot.

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