Employees at small businesses can no longer count on automatic raises in base pay. Small-Business Employee Pay Stays Flat. More money only comes for performance that goes above and beyond. The Great Recession has left deep scars in the minds of many business owners, leading them to hold back on employee compensation even as conditions improve. According to several leading payroll processors that specialize in small businesses, employee pay has stayed virtually flat year over year, in contrast … [Read more...]
Small-Business Owner’s Surprising Reaction To more taxes
Small-business owner Jed Horovitz questions the belief that more taxes lead to less investment. During the fiscal cliff debate, a key point of contention was the impact that higher income tax rates would have on small-business owners. The argument presented was that higher taxes leave less money available for investment, which in turn leads to lower growth, yielding smaller profits and less income to tax. More taxes, especially on small businesses, would therefore hurt everyone … [Read more...]
Small-Business increases on health insurance rates
California small-business owners are getting hit with double-digit increases on health insurance rates, as state regulators deal with a loophole in the Affordable Care Act. Small-business owners in California are caught in the middle of a battle between the state’s insurance commissioner and leading companies insurance such as Anthem Blue and Aetna. The companies announced significant small-business premium increases, up to 17.4 percent, for 2013. Insurance commissioner Dave Jones believes … [Read more...]
New Law Helps Small Businesses Win More Government Contracts
President Obama recently signed into law new provisions to increase the percentage of federal dollars spent with small businesses with Government Contracts. 2012 was the eleventh year in a row that the federal government missed its small-business procurement goal. Federal agencies are tasked with spending at least 23 percent of their budgets with small businesses but consistently miss this mark. Last week, President Obama signed into law a series of provisions meant to address this problem. … [Read more...]
Why Aren’t Small Businesses Applying for Hurricane Sandy Assistance?
Small businesses affected by Hurricane Sandy aren't taking advantage of numerous Hurricane Sandy Assistance programs at the federal, state and local levels. Several months after Hurricane Sandy devastated many parts of the Northeast, many eligible small businesses have failed to take advantage of the numerous assistance programs made available by federal, state and local agencies. Many businesses that have applied are facing delays because documents containing important information were lost as … [Read more...]
Scam Alert: Latest Scam to Target Small-Business Owners
Small business owners are ripe targets for scam artists. A simple yet effective Scam to Target Small-Business Owners -- bogus bills. Small-business owners are very busy people, and scam artists know this makes them good targets. An old fraud targeting busy business owners has been making a comeback as of late. The scam couldn’t be simpler: Fraudsters send fake invoices to small-business owners and hope that they’ll just pay it without verifying whether it's genuine or not. The perpetrators play … [Read more...]
New Minimum Wage Laws in Effect Across the Country
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...]
treating a new customer like a long-term returning customer
The value of treating a new customer like a long-term returning customer. Many business owners fail to understand the true potential value of a customer nor do they come close to realizing that value. It takes time, effort and resources to close a sale with a new customer. If that customer returns to buy more from you—even if its a small purchase—the cost associated with the closing that second sale is far less; they already know you, your business, how you operate and therefore they don’t … [Read more...]
web-based investment guidance
Will the Web Replace Your Financial Advisor in 2013? Finance expert Mike Periu on the emerging shift from small businesses using financial advisors to less expensive, web-based investment guidance. Many small-business owners need financial advice because they just don’t have the time to take away from their businesses (and perhaps the discipline) to make a proper financial plan and execute it. There are two types of financial advisors: fee-only advisors which charge a fee for their advice and … [Read more...]
Increase Current Customer Revenues With Loyalty Programs
Finance expert Mike Periu on improved customer loyalty programs that have gone mobile and result in a more effective way to retain customers. Loyalty programs—where consumers are rewarded with gifts, discounts or other benefits—can be quite effective in building long-term relationships with customers. Traditionally purchases had been tracked on a punch-card or note card; and some businesses even invested in electronic systems with credit-card type cards or barcode scanners. But these solutions … [Read more...]
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