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Financial tips and hacks for small business owners

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Are You Lobbying for Your Interests?

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I tend to believe that small businesses have a competitive advantage over larger companies. Decisions can be made in less time. Customer service is more personalized and sincere. New ideas can be approved and implemented in days instead of months. Overhead costs are also significantly less. The list goes on. But there is one area where small businesses are not doing well:  lobbying for their own interests. Lobbying for your interest Influence: Over $750,000 in lobbying expenditures per … [Read more...]

The Most Important Ratio for Your Business: Revenue per employee

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I recently had dinner with a group of fellow business owners to exchange war stories and share our opinions on the current state of the economy. Towards the end of the conversation, I asked the group what they thought was the most important financial ratio to calculate for a young, growing business. Several members of the group argued for profitability-based ratios. Others suggested operational ratios or gross margins. This generated some rather interesting discussion. My answer was different: … [Read more...]

Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

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The 112th Congress promises to be very active in areas that will have a profound impact on small businesses. While many small business owners try to stay out of politics, doing so is very risky. It’s important to understand which elected officials are making decisions that impact the livelihood of your business. This article provides an overview of who the key players are in Congress. Profile legislators as if they were prospects. Before attempting to sell to a potential customer, it’s … [Read more...]

Behavioral economics and behavioral finance

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Behavioral economics and behavioral finance are some of the most fascinating areas of study today. The disciplines combine economics, finance and psychology in ways that better model how consumers actually make decisions. In general, the study of economics is based on theoretical models that only remotely resemble the complexities of the real world. These models assume that individuals behave like machines that always know what is in their best interest, always do what is in their best … [Read more...]

Protect Your Company Against Unemployment Insurance Increases

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State unemployment insurance is an important lifeline for millions of families across the country. The money to pay for this insurance is provided by employers, and the state governments administer the programs. Most companies don’t think about state unemployment insurance because they simply outsource the calculation and payment to a third-party provider, typically a payroll processing company.  While you may not calculate it yourself, it’s still important to understand how it works because … [Read more...]

Should You Offer a Pension Plan?

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For the past 20 years, there has been a clear trend in retirement benefits offered by companies. Investment risk has steadily shifted from the employer to the employee. Decades ago, most employers that offered benefits did so via defined benefit or pension plan. These plans guaranteed a certain income stream to retirees. Defined benefit plans provided employees with security, which helped fuel loyalty. But as demographic changes and medical advances increased post-employment lifespans, … [Read more...]

IRS Makes Reporting Tax Fraud and Errors More Rewarding

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In 1912, President William Howard Taft signed into law the Lloyd -- La Follette Act which protected civil servants from “unwarranted or abusive removal” and gave employees the right to furnish information to members of Congress without interference. This in effect became the first law to protect whistleblowers in the United States. Since then, numerous laws have been established to protect whistleblowers in both the government and the privates sector in areas as diverse as environmental … [Read more...]

China’s Message to U.S. Businesses

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At the completion of the summit between President Obama and President Hu, there was little doubt that China sees itself as a global power on equal footing with the United States. During his visit, President Hu had several important messages for U.S. companies. While the $45 billion in contracts that were signed during the summit received much attention, it’s important to look beyond that. China's Message to U.S. Businesses "We don't mind if you want to sell us more goods and … [Read more...]

Reality Check for Your Small Business Accounting

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Working with small business owners can be more interesting than watching the latest mystery thriller on Netflix.  Owners are far more complex than movie characters.  The stories of how they got started and how they stay in business can beat any movie plot. And sadly, the downfall (in cases where there are downfalls), can be caused by the most unlikely circumstances.  It really makes for great storytelling!   On a recent occasion I met a business owner whose company had gone through an … [Read more...]

A New Streamlined Process for SBA Loans

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The National Federation of Independent Businesses recently published its “Small Business Economic Trends” report for January 2011. Since 1986, this survey captures small business owner perspectives on key areas such as earnings, spending, inventory, sales, and credit. This latest report confirms that small business owners continue to be “in a rut” with little change in their perceptions for 2011. According to the survey, credit conditions for small business owners have rebounded from record … [Read more...]