For many small business owners, the new year brings new challenges, but also many fantastic opportunities for their business. Many small business owners reflect on the opportunities they had, and let them passed. Was marketing their business effective this year? Were the products and promotion adequate? Looking back at 2016, many businesses are already making changes, and preparing for the new year. If you are one of those businesses, we wish you luck and hope all the goals for 2017 come your way. Happy Holidays!
Cures Act: Small Business Provision Gives Employers More Health Plan Options
Small business owners will ring in the New Year with a new law that allows them to offer certain health benefits through qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangements (QSEHRAs) without facing a huge penalty.
President Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act, to which the Small Business Healthcare Relief Act was added, on December 13, 2016. The bill comes during a time when small employers with fewer than 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees have had limited options when looking for the best individual health plans for their employees. Previously, under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), small employers had been prohibited from helping pay for employees’ individual health insurance through health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs), risking fines up to $36,500 per employee.
HRA fines under the Affordable Care Act
There was a time when HRAs were legal and they were extremely beneficial. HRAs for individual health insurance plans had historically been a useful tool for small employers who wanted to help employees pay for their out-of-pocket expenses.
Just 23 Percent of Small Businesses Expect Increased Sales This Holiday
The holiday cheer seems to be missing for small businesses.
Small Businesses Are Anticipating Slow Holiday 2016 Sales
A new survey reveals only 23 percent of small businesses are expecting an increase in sales this holiday season. That’s down 29 percent a year ago.
Businesses are Optimistic Overall
On a positive note however, Capital One’s latest Spark Business Barometer, has found despite the drop in sales expectations, the overall small business sentiment seems to be improving.
Forty-nine percent of business owners reported “good” or “excellent” business conditions in their area heading into 2017. That’s an increase of eight points compared to the first half of 2016.
“It is encouraging to see many businesses improving their outlook about the future, after a brief dip in confidence earlier this year. While concerns related to costs and regulations still exist, we are glad to see that optimism is on the rise,” said Buck Stinson, Head of Small Business Card at Capital One (NYSE:COF).
Your small business can afford a CTO. Here’s how
So you’re thinking about hiring a CTO, or chief technology officer, for your startup —or dreaming about it, at least. Having someone to focus on IT best practices, disaster recovery planning and the implementation of cloud technology so that you can focus on doing what you love would be an absolute dream —perhaps an unreachable one,you think.
The national average salary for a CTO is nearly $165,000, according to Glassdoor. What small business has that kind of money lying around? You’ve perusedrésumés of independent contractors, but hiring one seems risky. Who says they’ll perform? There is a safe, affordable happy medium, and it comes in the form of an MSP, or managed service provider, that can offer you the CTO services you need in an affordable, à la carte fashion, according to the information technology experts at Frontier IT in Colorado Springs.
Why do small and new businesses need CTOs? Why does outsourcing this position makes sense for so many start-ups? How can you arrange CTO services for your company? The experts at Frontier IT answer these questions.
