Information Silos Are a Small Business Problem Too

May 4, 2015 by

64735957The problem of insular management in businesses, governments and organizations has been around for millenniums.  It began when the first chiefs (managers) became responsible for the safety and well being of their tribe (workers).   Julius Caesar, 2,000 years ago, conquered a large portion of Europe by aggressively minimizing or eliminating insular management in his army.

In large and small companies the problem of insular management is just as relevant and troublesome today as it was then.  However, many small business owners believe that only big companies have difficulties with it.  They erroneously think it is a function of size – that while a larger company may struggle with it their smaller business is exempt.

But, it is an issue which can be present in almost any size of entity (i.e. big governments, small businesses, teams, committees, families).  Insular management is the cause and effect when there is a systemic communication, operational and management breakdown.  This breakdown creates and is the result of information silos, think of the classic snake eating its own tail metaphor.

The concept of information silos is a simple one.  Silos are created when information is not readily shared and fundamental responsibility is abdicated.  In other words, one hand does not know what the other hand is doing, nor do they take responsibility for their actions.  This is a problem which can only be managed, not fixed, because it is caused by basic human nature. 

People, consciously and unconsciously, typically do not readily share information with their co-workers or bosses.  There are a variety of reasons for why they do not.  They also, routinely, do not take responsibility for their behaviors, decisions or job duties.  To the point where it seems, to some managers, that people who are self-motivated to do their jobs responsibly are the exception not the rule.

Therefore, to minimize, eradicate, or stop silos from forming a capable owner will understand human behavior and be willing to manage it.  Unfortunately, many are not willing to learn and are as culpable as their employees in creating and maintaining information silos.  Consequently, whether it is the tragedy of the General Motors ignition switch problem or a machine shop foreman shipping defective parts, they will continue to affect businesses of all sizes. 

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How To Avoid Business Mistakes

April 30, 2015 by

business (2)Retirement plans for the small business owner is probably one of the most important issues they face every year. Retirement accounts are  not something small business owners offer their employees, but even for themselves is not something that is widespread nor considered at all. Hiring an outside firm to oversee those financial aspects for the business is costly, and many small businesses cannot afford such an expense. Does your business need a loan? Are you making too many mistakes in your business and don’t know what to do? Do you need to set up a retirement account and don’t have any information?Follow the links below for more information about these topics.

Why online lending will take off with small business owners

At a minimum, banks are perfect partners in the new game.

Earlier this month, the momentum behind the online lending industry was in full view at LendIt—an industry gathering that didn’t exist four years ago, but grew from about 700 attendees last year to more than 2,500 this year. What was clear is that it’s no longer a question of whether these disruptors will change the game in small business lending, but how quickly.

In fact, in his remarks at LendIt attendees in New York City, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers predicted that online lenders could eventually capture upwards of 70% of the small business lending market. That may be an overly optimistic prediction, but one thing is clear online lending is a welcome innovation in the small business sector.

Small Business Retirement Plans in the Hands of Lobbyists

 Financial advisers will be lobbying Congress this week on 401(k) plans for employees of small businesses.

The 401(k) accounts many rely on now are complex, require an outside administrator, and as a result are not cost-effective for some small businesses to set up for their workers.

Tom Iorio, an Edward Jones financial adviser in Rantoul, Ill., says they’re lobbying for a program for small companies.

“There are several bills out there in Congress that are trying to incentive small businesses to more easily get into what we think of as the traditional 401(k) market, like a small 401(k) or a ‘simple 401(k)’ is really the term that they’re using,” he says.

In a 401(k) program, employees may make tax-free contributions and select their investments within a plan that is administered on behalf of the employer. Employers also can contribute to employees’ accounts.

Avoiding Small Business Blunders

Entrepreneur Reva Minkoff aims to stop small businesses from making the same mistakes over and over.

Common mistakes account for too many small businesses wasting an average of 25 percent of their pay-per-click advertising budget each month. After identifying the same basic mistakes in 95 percent of the accounts she consulted on, Reva Minkoff started the award winning-website DigitalGroundUp in the summer of 2012 to train small business advertisers and over 300 students in successful digital marketing through short, hands-on online courses.

The company has since collaborated with major companies such as Facebook, while Minkoff herself wasinvited to the White House to live tweet the arrival ceremony of new British Prime Minister David Cameron. I recently interviewed Minkoff by email.

What are the worst mistakes small businesses make in advertising?

Not tracking their results. It drives me nuts when companies don’t know what’s happening on their website, what the results of their marketing are and how both are factoring into their bottom line. If they’re spending money on something, they should know what they’re getting out of it, and if they don’t, their agencies and developers should be working with them to help get them that information.

What are the most common pieces of advice you give students?

I remind students to focus on the overall concepts and not the interfaces. The fundamental digital marketing concepts haven’t changed from day one. As long as students understand them, they’ll be able to adjust to any other changes that may come their way and make the right decisions when faced with a new concept.

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Minority Owned Businesses and Gov. Kasich’s Budget

April 23, 2015 by

54642287Minority owned businesses have increased over recent years, and the US government knows the important growth these businesses provide to their local economies, and the nation’s economy  overall.  The increased in minority owned businesses have more than double compared to those of non-minorities nationally, and the City of Cincinnati, Ohio is now looking into promoting the inclusion of minority owned businesses for the State.  To read more about this and other topics follow the links below.

Ohio House Markedly Improves On Gov. Kasich’s Budget Plan

Last week, Ohio House leadership introduced a substitute bill to Governor Kasich’s proposed budget that would make many notable improvements to the tax plan. This is good news, because the proposed tax plan that came from the Kasich administration was deeply in conflict with itself.

The central element of the governor’s proposal was to reduce the individual income tax, which Kasich argues has “sucked the vitality out of this state.” The internal conflict, however, came from the revenue offsets the governor chose, which would have placed greater hindrances on, well, economic vitality. When first details emerged, I wrote on Forbes that the governor’s plan may be a tax cut overall, but that doesn’t make it good policy.

The governor’s proposed hikes included an increase in the state’s unique Commercial Activity Tax (arguably the most distortive tax in Ohio’s code), a hike to cigarette taxes, new taxes on electronic vapor cigarettes, hikes in the severance tax, and a hike to the sales tax. When done correctly, tax swaps can reduce highly harmful taxes while offsetting revenue losses by leaning on less distortive taxes. The Kasich proposal, by contrast, leaned on economically distortive, nontransparent taxes to make the ledger balance.

Here’s how Cincinnati is pushing for minority-business inclusion (Video)

Sorry, small business: Middle-market companies create most net new jobs

Companies with revenue between $10 million and $1 billion created 2.1 million out of the net 2.3 million new jobs added over the past seven years, according to an American Express/Dun & Bradstreet analysis.

Maybe it’s time for politicians to drop their rhetoric about small businesses creating most of America’s new jobs — since 2008, it’s actually been middle-market companies that have driven job growth.

That’s according to a new analysis from American Express and Dun & Bradstreet. It found that middle-market companies — businesses with revenue between $10 million and $1 billion — created 2.1 million of the 2.3 million net new jobs added over the past seven years.

Middle-market companies “have been the unsung heroes of employment growth,” said Susan Sobbott, president of global corporate payments for American Express.

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Are You Ready for Growth?

April 15, 2015 by

64002400Responsible parents teach children how to manage and mitigate risk.  One of the classic childhood lessons is how to cross the street safely.  We are taught to Stop, Look (both ways) and Listen before crossing.  It’s an important skill for both children and adults to acquire.

A responsible business owner needs to stop, look and listen when he is thinking of expanding his company.  Growth is a high risk area, which involves a multitude of new challenges.  It is up to him to make sure he understands and is ready to meet them, because many successful businesses fail when they attempt to go to the next level. 

There are a variety of reasons for why they fail.  The biggest one is the lack of preparedness by the owner, who attempts to grow without giving thoughtful consideration to the changes he needs to make to be successful.  He falsely believes that what he did in the past will support future success.  Unfortunately, it rarely does. 

One of the reasons that past success is not a good indicator of future success is that many do not understand the dynamic of growth.  He thinks that because he was able to grow from a start up to a $2 million company that the same skill set will continue to be usable for a $4 million one.

However, as a business grows it demands different requirements from the owner. A few of these requirements include: learning to read more complicated financials, keeping up on increased tax liabilities and government regulations, understanding additional human resource requirements, finding and retaining good employees, developing an operational knowledge of profit and loss, and knowing how and when to delegate. 

The duties and functions of management change with growth.  If an owner does not keep up with these demands he will start to lose control.  When the business is growing, he must grow too.  Many a business has become a victim of its own success because he was unable learn new behaviors and skills.  He did not stop, look and listen.

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The State of the Small Business in the U.S

April 15, 2015 by

business (5)We are past the point of expressing as a nation, any shock to the news that the United States is trailing behind other developed nations in terms of education. But, when one starts talking about business, we believed that we are a nation to be emulated and look up to what other developed nations should be doing, or trying to achieve.  It is with trepidation to find out that the United States now ranks 12th – Yes, you have read it correctly – among developed nations concerning business start up activity.  So, what is the government doing to fix this? Can they fix it? Or better yet, do they want to do anything about it? Follow the links below for more information about this and other topics.

Is the estate tax killing small farms and businesses?

“Here in South Dakota, we are land rich and cash poor, leaving roughly one-third of South Dakota farms vulnerable to the death tax, based on cropland values provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The death tax imposes a tax rate as high as 40 percent on family farms, ranches and small businesses, which hurts economic growth by discouraging savings and development.”

–Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), opinion article in the Rapid City Journal, April 13, 2015

“This tax doesn’t just hit the big guy. It hits the little guy—like the small business and the family farm. It is both unwise and unfair, and it needs to go.”

–Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), hearing at the House Ways & Means Committee, March 25, 2015

“I believe that the estate tax is politically misguided, morally unjustified and downright un-American. It undermines the life work and the life savings of farmers and small- and medium-sized businesses in Georgia and across the nation.”

Small business tax concerns with SHOP

Initially created with the goal of helping small businesses comply with the requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) has not been meeting expectations.

According to Don Donner, CEO and president of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), “Almost no one is using the SHOP exchange, according to the government’s own enrollment data, and to the extent that there are subsidies available in the form of tax credits, they are complicated, temporary, and too small to offset the costs.”

A February 26, 2015, letter from Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business, to Sylvia Burwell, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, highlights these concerns, with a focus on problems associated with incorrect SHOP tax forms that were recently sent out by HHS.

Policy Points: How Tax Inversions Hurt Smaller Businesses

Everyone’s “favorite” day of the year is less than 24 hours away – Tax Day. And the big question is: Have you filed your return yet? (If you haven’t, stop reading this and go take care of that. This will still be here when you’re done.)

By now, most people have (hopefully, anyway) sent in their returns. Some have probably gotten a pretty decent refund; others might be a little disappointed at their bill.

One thing you can always count on come April 15 is some griping about how much Americans pay in taxes. Nobody likes paying them, after all. But as Oliver Wendell Holmes once wrote, “Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.” Everything people rely on the government for, from public safety to infrastructure, health care and education, is paid for with your tax dollars.

It’s easy for this to get lost in the mix – especially when you find out you owe more than you thought you would – but paying taxes is one of the most important things Americans do for their country. Name a program that matters to you, and your tax dollars — and those paid by businesses — help make it possible. What makes it work is that everyone recognizes the burden is not only on them: Everyone has taxes to pay, and everyone has to chip in for the services we all rely on.

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Employee Praise and Last Minute Tax Tips

April 7, 2015 by

59948705Google has been for a while now considered one of the best places to work for.  Thousands of new applications are received daily for employment at Google, and even a movie has been made about Google being the place to be.  Taken those points into account, one has to consider whether Google is actually doing things right.  According to research done by The Gallup Organization, they discovered that for a place to be considered a great place to work, one of the four characteristics they had to have was recognizing and praising employees for doing good work.  They stated that; “Praise and recognition are essential building blocks of  a great workplace.”

To read more about this topic follow this link. To read more about tax tips, follow the links below.

Last Minute Tax Advice for the Self-Employed

Every tax paying American knows April 15 is the deadline to file your federal income tax return, but do you know about this year’s tax code changes that can have a big effect on your 2014 tax return and your wallet? As the American public, including millions of self-employed business owners, race to meet the April deadline, there are some important changes to the tax code to keep in mind that could help ensure your return is filed accurately – and with the greatest possible financial benefit.

 Health Care Penalty:

The biggest change is the new health-care penalty, if you chose to not to obtain qualified health-care coverage. As part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), everyone is required to sign up for health-care coverage, or face a penalty that increases each year for non-compliance.

5 Tax Breaks Overlooked By Small Business Owners

For the small business owner, tax season can be stressful, and the prospect of shelling out a load of money to the government is not exciting. That’s why small business owners love tax benefits. Here are 5 tax benefits that are often overlooked by small business owners that can save your business money.

Please consult your tax professional before following any of the suggestions below. If you do your taxes yourself, there is a resource which compares the online offerings of TurboTax, TaxAct, and HR Block.

1. Have Lunch Meetings  
If you often buy lunch (eat-in or take-out) while you are working, you might be able to deduct 50% of meal expenses. If you and your business partners or employees have meetings, consider having meetings over lunch.
As long as the dining expenses are reasonable, you are allowed to deduct 50% of meal costs when eating with business partners and employees while conducting business operations. If you buy lunch every day and spend around $8, you can deduct $4. If you do the math, that amounts to over $1000 a year in claimable deductions ($4/day x 5 days x 52 weeks).

Getting coverage Small-business owners seek affordable health care options for workers

The days when Annapolis’ Prographics offered all of its employees health insurance may have ended.The graphics firm’s owners are considering their options as they try to get 2015 coverage for their staff of six by next week’s deadline.

Costs have increased so much, they said, that it might be cheaper for employees to get their own insurance through Maryland’s exchange, rather than doing so through the company.For weeks, Chris Larson and his employees have been examining coverage options that last year came with a $300 monthly premium but would go up to$700 in 2015.
The same employees could qualify for $344 premiums by getting individual coverage through the exchange.”We’re sort of being forced to look at other options,” said Larson, who runs the firm with his wife, Carol. “We have to look at where everybody falls and make the decisions of cost savings.”
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Constructive Praise is Important Too

April 7, 2015 by

54642287The art of giving constructive criticism is a well known management concept.  The skill of giving and receiving critical feedback is an important one for all managers to learn.  If handled appropriately, by the person giving it and the person receiving it, a critique can result in professional and personal growth for both of the people involved in the discussion.

There’s an equally important skill that’s rarely talked about and commonly misunderstood.  The ability to give productive praise is as important as the ability to give productive critical feedback.  But, unfortunately and erroneously, the knack of giving constructive praise is viewed as easier and more natural to do.  Therefore, many people believe it doesn’t need to be learned. 

They think – What’s there to learn, don’t you just tell someone they’re doing a good job and move on?  The answer is an emphatic “No”.  People rarely respond to and rarely learn anything from a generic “good job”.  To be useful meaningful praise should follow the same guidelines as meaningful criticism.

Be timely.  Highlight the here and now.  Focus your praise on specific behaviors which have happened very recently, ideally in the last day or two.   

Neal was confused when Sam, the owner of the company, said, “Thanks for your hard work”.  He thought Sam was being sarcastic because it was a very light work week.  When he realized it was 2 weeks ago (when the whole shop worked hard to fill a large order) that he was being thanked for Neal perceived the praise as being “a day late and a dollar short”.  The praise only strengthened Neal’s opinion that Sam was out of touch with the daily operations.

Focus on behaviors.  Specifically refer to what the person did or does.  Describe what you have seen and think about his behavior. Use “I” statements and focus on behaviors you want him to continue doing, which reinforces positive actions

Paul was diligently putting in long hours for a new a client.  His manager Jill stopped by his office and praised him for his work.  She specifically cited the weekend hours he was putting in and how satisfied she was with the quality of the work he was producing.  Paul was gratified to see that someone was paying attention and felt she “was interested” in his success.

Be specific.  Be ready and able to discuss the behaviors specifically.  Praise that’s too general is often seen as insincere or of little value.

Dawn’s boss Ed thanked her for her contribution to a presentation which helped secure a large contract.  She had used new techniques for the graphics and was eager to hear about the reaction to them.  She asked for specific feedback to gauge what might work for future presentations.  It quickly became clear Ed didn’t know what her contribution was and that he had paid little attention to the presentation.  Dawn saw his praise as “dishonest and worthless”.

When done correctly, constructive praise is often more effective in motivating people than constructive criticism.  Successful managers learn how to use both to improve relationships and productivity.  A few well-chosen, specific and timely words of praise have been known to make the difference between a good day and a bad day for many people. 

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The State of the U.S. Economy and other news

April 2, 2015 by

64002400Depending on whom you ask, the economy of the United States is a hot topic for any business owner, or analyst willing to delve into it.  For Ohio small business owners the health of the state’s economy is always an important part, and the changes that can affect their business are always a hot issue.  Tax changes, especially changes that affect them particularly are viewed carefully by them and are not always welcomed. For news about the state of the U.S economy, follow the links below.

Ohio’s major chambers of commerce rap John Kasich’s tax plan as divisive and bad for business

COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a letter to Gov. John Kasich, nine key chambers of commerce from around the state wrote that his tax reform proposals will shift tax burdens, cause friction and hurt businesses.

The chambers, while pledging to work with Kasich and legislative leaders in the future, said they don’t believe Kasich’s tax proposal will help to bolster Ohio’s economy.

“The proposed plan does not look to create greater efficiency within government in order to support tax cuts,” they wrote in their letter to Kasich and the leaders of the Ohio House and Senate. “Instead, this plan shifts the tax burden from one group to another, pitting different types and sizes of businesses and individuals seemingly against each other while government spending continues to grow.”

Has American Business Lost Its Mojo?

​Over the past three decades, the American economy has become less vigorous. An extensive body of evidence shows that the public focus on the success of high-tech companies like Apple and Google masks an overall downward trend in key measures of business vitality.

“Business deaths now exceed business births for the first time in the thirty-plus year history of our data,” note Ian Hathaway and Robert E. Litan, economists at the Brookings Institution, in a May 2014 essay, “Declining Business Dynamism in the United States.”

There is widespread support for their assertion. Jim Clifton, chairman and C.E.O. of Gallup, wrote in a January 2015 essay, “American Entrepreneurship: Dead or Alive?”:

Until 2008, start-ups outpaced business failures by about 100,000 a year. But in the past six years, that number has suddenly turned upside down. There has been an underground earthquake.

The Cleveland Flea: Why sellers are sold on it 

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland Flea started two years ago with 40 businesses participating. On April 11, when the Flea starts its outdoor season, about 160 businesses will be selling. And Flea organizers say there’s a long wait list to join the party. I posed the following three questions to a handful of Flea vendors:

*How has participating in the Flea changed your business?

*What’s the best part of the Flea?

*What do you hope to see for the Flea in the future?

And here is what they said:

What they sell: Specialists in interior design, estate sales, antiques, mid-century modern, gifts and things

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The Legalization of Marijuana in Ohio and Other News

March 25, 2015 by

business (10)Legalization of Marijuana raises different views and opinions depending on whom you ask.  Some argue that the legalization of marijuana will boost the local economy by the tax revenue the state will collect.  The prohibition enforcement costs the state will save by legalizing marijuana are in the millions according to some research.  The incarcerations due to marijuana related charges cost the prisons $1 billion dollars a year.  The savings and tax revenue that legalization will save the state are in the billions, so what are the cons for this issue?

Follow the links below for more news happening around Ohio.

Petition Wants To Make Ohio The Fifth State To Legalize Marijuana

A group in Ohio wants the state to join Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska in the legal recreational marijuana club, with a new petition to amend the state’s constitution.

The petition from ResponsibleOhio must collect 300,000 signatures before the amendment making marijuana legal medically and for recreational use could be put to a vote in November, reportsCNNMoney.

The group is made up of investors from several companies who want the state to allow residents 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of pot for personal use and allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for some medical conditions. Residents could also grow a limited amount of cannabis plants at home.

Pew study finds auto title loans as harmful as payday loans

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Title loans are just as toxic as their payday loan cousins, according to a new report from Pew Charitable Trusts.

“They fail to work as advertised. They’re overwhelmingly unaffordable,” said Nick Bourke, director of Pew’s small-dollar loans project.

Like payday loans, auto title loans are marked by triple-digit interest rates and balloon payments that make them hard to pay off.

The Pew study sheds light on auto title lending ahead of a field hearing Thursday in which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to map out a rule that could cover not only payday lending but other high-cost small loans.

Ted Cruz: Small business are going out of business ‘in record numbers’

​Republican Sen. Ted Cruz became the first big-name politician to announce a 2016 presidential bid during an address at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.

Cruz, of Texas, asked the audience to “imagine” (a word he used 38 times) what he believed a conservative administration could accomplish.

“Think just how different the world would be. Imagine instead of economic stagnation, booming economic growth,” Cruz said. “Instead of small businesses going out of business in record numbers, imagine small businesses growing and prospering. Imagine young people coming out of school with four, five, six job offers.”

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Tax Breaks For Small Business Owners and other News

March 19, 2015 by

59948705

Starting a business requires an entrepreneur to wear many hats right from the onset.  The demands on your time are many, and developing your business plan and hiring the right people are time consuming tasks that are very serious, and can play a devastating role if not done properly.  Hiring a business coach to see you through the developing stages of a business plan, plan your goals and time stages to achieve those goals, and developing a strategic plan that will produce success for your business is a must every business should have.

5 Tax Breaks Overlooked By Small Business Owners

For the small business owner, tax season can be stressful, and the prospect of shelling out a load of money to the government is not exciting. That’s why small business owners love tax benefits. Here are 5 tax benefits that are often overlooked by small business owners that can save your business money.

Please consult your tax professional before following any of the suggestions below. If you do your taxes yourself, there is a resource which compares the online offerings of TurboTax, TaxAct, and HR Block.

1. Have Lunch Meetings

If you often buy lunch (eat-in or take-out) while you are working, you might be able to deduct 50% of meal expenses. If you and your business partners or employees have meetings, consider having meetings over lunch. As long as the dining expenses are reasonable, you are allowed to deduct 50% of meal costs when eating with business partners and employees while conducting business operations. If you buy lunch every day and spend around $8, you can deduct $4. If you do the math, that amounts to over $1000 a year in claimable deductions ($4/day x 5 days x 52 weeks).

Small business: National ombudsman helps small businesses address concerns about federal regulators

Small-business owners turn to Brian Castro when they need help collecting payments from federal contractors, are concerned about excessive fines or think a regulation is too burdensome.

Since August 2013, Castro, a Duke University law school alumnus, has led a little-known program that advocates for small businesses at the federal level. Castro is the national ombudsman and assistant administrator for Regulatory Enforcement Fairness at the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Last fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, the office received 430 formal jurisdictional complaints and thousands of inquires, Castro said.

“We offer an informal avenue, a channel for an expedited resolution,” that is separate and apart but in addition to a company taking their concerns to court, often a long and expensive process, Castro said. “Our services are already paid for with the taxpayers’ dollars and very often are resolved or obtained within 30 to 60 days.”

Castro’s office employs seven and offers four tools to help small-business owners, nonprofit organizations and small governments address concerns about federal rules and regulators.

Tax Structure & Business Incentives

​Businesses in the Columbus Region benefit from:

  • No personal property tax
  • No inventory tax
  • No state corporate income tax

In addition to these tax savings, which are further detailed on the Tax Structure page, state and local governments offer tax incentives, credits, loans and grants to new businesses and expanding companies. State and local resources are below.

If you have questions about these programs, please contact the Columbus 2020 team. Our team of experts can help you navigate the many programs available to businesses.

Incentives

Tax credits and abatements

Job Creation Tax Credit

The Job Creation Tax Credit is a refundable tax credit to companies generally creating at least 10 new jobs (within three years) with a minimum annual payroll of $660,000 that pay at least 150 percent of the federal minimum wage. The tax credit is measured as a percentage of the state income tax withholdings for all new employees hired under the program, and is applied toward the company’s commercial activity tax liability. Should the amount of the credit exceed the company’s commercial activity tax liability for any given year, the difference is refunded. A business must apply for the credit before committing to the project. Applicants must be approved through the Ohio Tax Credit Authority before hiring begins.

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