Ten states have increased their minimum wages for 2013. How will that affect your business? As of January 1, 10 states increased their minimum wages by between 10 cents and 35 cents per hour. Analysts expect these boosts in minimum wage to affect more than 1 million workers in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Rhode Island is the only state where an increase was made by choice by the governor; the other states' increases were … [Read more...]
Retirement Account Contribution Limits Rise in 2013
Finance expert Mike Periu on the new Retirement Account Contribution amounts set by the IRS for retirement accounts like IRAs and 401(k) plans. December 26, 2012 The Internal Revenue Service announced the annual cost of living adjustments for retirement plan contributions for 2013. Every year the IRS increases the amount you can contribute to retirement accounts to compensate for the ever-rising cost of goods and services to ensure that you are saving enough for retirement: 401(k) plans The … [Read more...]
Federal Reserve’s announcement that it will keep interest rates low
Finance expert Mike Periu on the Federal Reserve's announcement that it will keep interest rates low to help spur job growth. Will Remain Very Low for the Foreseeable Future The Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, announced that its main focus will now be on lowering the unemployment rate. It plans to keep interest rates at historically low levels until the unemployment rate is below 6.5 percent. The last time the country experienced that rate of unemployment was in late … [Read more...]
Today’s Jobs Report Has Significant Implications
OPEN finance expert Mike Periu on the release of today's Jobs Report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release the October employment report today. Economists generally believe that the report will show two things. First, that the unemployment rate has increased to 7.9 percent, and second, there was an increase in the number of non-farm payroll jobs of 125,000. This is the last jobs report before the election. If the report does not match the consensus (either much better or much … [Read more...]
Use an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (esop)
Use an ESOP to Blunt the Fiscal Cliff Tax Increases OPEN's finance expert Mike Periu on Employee Stock Ownership Plan (esop) to Blunt the Fiscal Cliff Tax Increases. Starting in January, capital gains taxes on investments held more than a year will increase to 20 percent from 15 percent. An additional 3.8 percent tax on unearned income also goes into effect at the start of the year. Business owners who want to take equity out of their companies or that have been unable to sell their businesses … [Read more...]
How to Deal With Irrational Behavior
Every businessperson has had to deal with irrational behavior. Minimize frustration by approaching it in these ways. As a person regarded by others as rational, I sometimes have a hard time dealing with people who act irrationally. During my fifteen years in business I have lost more than a few nights of sleep over the actions and attitudes of others that are objectively irrational. According to Stuart Sutherland, author of Irrationality: Why We Don't Think Straight, irrational behavior … [Read more...]
Deciphering the Latest Jobs Report
The most recent employment report by the U.S. Dept. of Labor looks good on the surface. But let's dig into the numbers of the latest jobs report With so much uncertainty about the direction of the economy in 2012, everybody jumps at the slightest possibility of good news. Investors, employers, politicians, business owners and job seekers all want good news. The most recent Employment Situation report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that we added 243,000 jobs during the month of … [Read more...]
How To Increase Productivity And Reduce Your Response Time
Give these internet tools a try to visibly decrease your response time and get back to those who seek your attention. How To Increase Productivity And Reduce Your Response Time About a year ago I made a conscious decision to improve my response time. My inbox was filling up with anywhere from 12 to 20 e-mails per hour and my voicemail was filling up regularly, as I don’t answer the phone while in meetings out of consideration to my fellow participants. (Speaking of meetings, they were taking … [Read more...]
Why You Should Reward Average Performance
In our nearly obsessive focus on the exceptional, we have also gone too far in ignoring average performance. When was the last time someone thanked you for doing an average job? Still thinking? Well that’s not surprising. Our culture is designed to reward exceptional performance in both personal and professional settings. If a sales manager achieves their quota right on time and right on budget, the reward they receive is the privilege of keeping their job. To an extent, this is reasonable … [Read more...]
Employee Retention: Warning Signs That Your Employees Are About To Leave
Don't let the poor job market fool you. Employee retention is not an issue to be put on the back burner. With the poor state of the job market, many business owners take it for granted that their employees won't quit. This relaxed attitude towards employee retention has reduced employer engagement on addressing employee-related issues. It’s a mistake to assume that your most talented employees, especially your superstars, won’t consider offers by competing companies. Assuming that a poor job … [Read more...]