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© Grant Wickes

A recent national measure of confidence for small business opportunities in Canada has hit the lowest level of the year, dropping for a second moth in June to 66.3. The confidence ratings fell in 11 out of the 13 industry groups surveyed, which suggests that the pessimism is not industry specific or regional. Sentiment in the Western provinces remained more upbeat, but it also declined on the back of flooding which hurt the agricultural sectors in Saskatchewan and Manitoba provinces.

Some energy price stabilization helped confidence in Quebec and Ontario, but not by enough to impact the overall ratings. According to analysts, a reading of 66 doesn't indicate a serious slowdown, but more of a sluggish growth phase. The optimists believe that the slump in confidence is due to some temporary factors and should be transient, with the Bank of Canada echoing this view.

© Hoboken Condos

Donald Trump has done a lot of amazing things in real estate, and is well-known for his public recovery from near-bankruptcy. His popular TV show The Apprentice keeps him in the public eye, and now he has come out with a new multi level marketing program called The Trump Network.

This is an opportunity for people to market health and wellness products for the usual new MLM commissions and downline under the Trump brand. It has surprised many in the media world to see Donald Trump, the epitome of big business, lending his name to a system like this. After all, the entire MLM business is built around grassroots effort and small business opportunity, which is not something you'd expect to see Trump get behind. Yet he is using all of the recent media attention over his possible run for the Presidency to hype The Trump Network, so he is clearly serious about making it work.

© Sean MacEntee

Top real estate agents today can take advantage of a new idea for Real Estate Fan Pages on Facebook. These pages are designed to help agents find more potential home buyers through the power of social media. Real Estate Fan Pages is the idea of a Des Moines, Iowa entrepreneur named Matthew Smith.

He submitted the idea into a local contest called Dream Big Des Moines, which is designed to promote the top tech business ideas in Iowa. Out of the top 7 entries, the grand prize winner based on online voting will receive $5,000 and a spot in the statewide competition to win a $10,000 prize. Most real estate agents today still don't have an adequate online presence, according to Smith. His idea is to make it easier for them by providing technology and training via a web app that creates professional real estate Facebook pages.