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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Emphasize Your Strengths by Understanding Your Weaknesses

March 19, 2015 by

Our country was founded on many strong principles.  One of these principles is that we are a society of people who are self-sufficient.  Our national culture upholds and supports the idea that anyone can achieve success – all a person needs to do is pick themselves up by their bootstraps and get on with it.

This is a good concept, which has built, developed and invented wo64521313rld changing ideas, machines and technologies.  But, when taken too literally, it has also created failures, calamities and disasters.  The paradox of self-sufficiency is to know when you cannot and should not depend only on yourself, to understand when you should ask for help. 

One of the characteristics of highly independent and successful people is the ability to identify the proper time to get help.  The “secret” to being constructively independent, rather than destructively, is to understand your knowledge gaps and then seek out assistance to fill them.  It is not important to know the answers to all the questions, it is important to know where and how to find the people who know the answers.

In our culture’s bootstrap mentality there is a false belief that gaps in knowledge, skill or understanding equal weakness and that this weakness is a character flaw or a moral failing.  Unfortunately, because of this, for thousands of years people have been unsuccessful because – often due to pride, ignorance, ego or misguided notions of independence – they did not get help for these gaps.

Everyone has strengths and weaknesses; it is part of being human to be good at some things, average at most and poor at others.  You can learn to make one of your strengths the ability to recognize your weaknesses or gaps.  Once they are identified, you can ask for help to change or minimize them.  Truly self-reliant people understand their success is enhanced by other’s knowledge and that they can “…stand on the shoulders of giants.”(Sir Isaac Newton).

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Ohio Small Business Tax Cuts

March 11, 2015 by

64002400Many small businesses across the country relish the idea of tax savings for personal and business matters.  When Gov. Kasich talks about a $696 million tax cut for small businesses, we believe that it will amount to something substantial for our business, when in reality the tax cuts are meager to say the least.  The Ohio Department of Taxation believes that each eligible business would save an approximate $935 a year.  That is hardly conductive to more hiring and giving a boost to the economy as proposed by the current Ohio administration.

Follow the links below for more information about this and other news.

Report: Ohio consumers are at a high risk of ID theft

The National Consumers League has issued a report that analyzes new Federal Trade Commission data that indicates Ohio remains a hotspot in the national fraud epidemic and that Ohio consumers are at a high risk of ID theft.

Ohio was ranked the 20th highest-ranked state in per-capita identity theft complaints to the FTC in 2014. Government benefits, credit card and utilities fraud accounted for most of the 9,161 identity theft complains received in Ohio. Fifty-four percent of Ohio residents who filed complaints reported a loss. The average amount reported paid was $1,428. he Cleveland-Elyria metropolitan area ranked in the top fifty nationally in per-capita identity theft complaint rates.

AT&T continues Ohio job growth, hits milestone

AT&T is continuing its Ohio job growth with the latest round of hiring for call center workers as it surpasses a hiring milestone.

The latest 120 new jobs in the state, including some in Dayton, are pushing the telecommunication giant’s total job growth in Ohio to more than 1,700 in the past two years.

Positions filled in the past two years included IT/engineering, retail, technician, call center, business solutions, and corporate support categories.

AT&T says the hiring reflects its continuing investment in its Ohio network and team. The company made more than 830 upgrades to its wireless network in Ohio in 2014, including the launch of service for former Alltel subscribers in more than 20 northern Ohio counties. The integration of former Alltel towers into the upgraded network increased AT&T’s cell towers in these areas of Ohio by nearly 40 percent.

Most small businesses would see limited savings from John Kasich’s tax cut plan
COLUMBUS, Ohio — More than 90 percent of the roughly 1 million businesses eligible for Gov. John Kasich’s proposed small-business tax cut would save less than $364 per year, according to state statistics.
Kasich and administration officials say his proposal to stop collecting state income tax from small businesses will create jobs and give the state’s economy a boost. But critics say that most of the businesses that would benefit from the change are too small, and the savings too meager, for them to make new hires.

The $696 million tax cut, laid out last week in the governor’s state budget plan, would apply to Ohio business owners who report yearly gross receipts of $2 million or less on their individual tax returns. That includes limited liability companies, S corporations, sole proprietorships, and partnerships.

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Achievers Understand the Lessons of Failure

March 4, 2015 by

64002400The fear of failure, some experts have called it a fundamental or primal fear found in all humans. Whether or not it’s a primary fear, it’s so common that it’s the basis of or inherent in all motivational or inspirational seminars, as well as being the topic of thousands of books. Much has been said and written about the fear of failure, for good reason.

It holds many people back from achieving their goals and dreams. The average person avoids success because they’re afraid they’re going to fail at the things required to achieve it. There are several reasons why the fear of failure is debilitating. One of the reasons, of why people pass up success, is that they don’t understand the lessons of failure.

The process of failing is often misunderstood. Achievers understand failure, they don’t like it, but they’ve learned to value it. One of the key characteristics of successful people is that they have the desire and ability to learn. They view a setback as an opportunity to gain knowledge and grow.

They ask themselves productive questions. What did I do correctly and how can I make it better in the future? What did I do incorrectly and how can I make it better in the future?  Successful people look for logical answers that produce useful insights, both positive and negative, which then lead to an action plan. Here’s an example.

Joe made a client presentation and was surprised when it didn’t result in a sale. He reviewed the presentation and determined that his information was solid and easy to understand. However, he’d been overconfident and failed to connect the benefits of the product to the client’s needs – a fundamental error. Joe created an action plan to meet with the client again and created a pre-sales checklist to avoid making the same mistake in the future.

Unsuccessful people ask non-productive questions. The answers to these questions are emotionally based, instead of logically based. Often, no useful information can be obtained from these answers. This blocks the person’s ability to learn a lesson from the experience, making forward momentum difficult, usually impossible. Here’s another example.

Steve made a client presentation and was surprised when it didn’t result in a sale. He asked himself unproductive questions (Why can’t I do anything right? Why do these things always happen to me?). He got answers he wasn’t able to use (I’ll never get this. The client is out to get me.).   The plan formulated from these answers is – There’s no use in trying. The opportunity to learn from the lesson of failure is lost.

Success, in spite of the fear of failure, is a hallmark of achievers. They don’t seek it out, but they don’t avoid it either. C. S. Lewis said it well, “Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. One fails forward toward success.”

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Small Business News

March 3, 2015 by

59948705At the beginning of starting a new venture, an entrepreneur or small business owner forgoes many of the financially crippling costs of starting the new business, sometimes with disastrous consequences. Hiring an accountant or a small business coach may seem financially impossible in the beginning, but as you travel the business road ahead you realize how important having the right people helping you is for your business.

Follow more business news below.

Ohio repeats as No. 2 in ‘Site Selection’ rankings 

Ohio came in second in the country in Site Selection magazine’s annual economic-development rankings. Ohio cities big and small also fared well in the rankings released yesterday.

Site Selection magazine Governor’s Cup Competition issues rankings based on economic-development projects per capita and total projects.

Ohio repeated its 2013 performance by coming in second in both competitions among the states.

Corporate tax reform will hurt small business, unless 

Corporate tax reform will pose a big problem for America’s small businesses unless Congress tackles the ‘pass-through’ problem. By letting firms deduct dividends distributions, lawmakers could erase many of the tax complications business owners currently face.

Tax reformers agree the United States needs a more competitive corporate tax system. To be competitive the 35 percent corporate tax rate must come down. But the trade-off for a lower corporate tax rate – the elimination or reduction of deductions and credits – will cause big problems for America’s small businesses.

Their taxes will go up with no offsetting reduction in their individual tax rate.

That’s because most small businesses – and 94 percent of all US businesses – organize themselves as pass-through entities. Sole proprietorships, S corporations, partnerships, and limited liability corporations taxed as partnerships are called pass-through businesses because their profits, gains, deductions, and credits are not taxed at the corporate level and instead pass through to the owners’ individual tax returns. This makes the owners’ returns mind-numbingly complex, but they put up with it because it’s cheaper than paying corporate tax.

The Essential Small Business Resource Is Already Working for You

As a small business owner, you’re probably paying a monthly fee for a bookkeeper, accountant or a CPA. Most likely, you’re turning to these professionals for standard tax, bookkeeping and auditing services only, but your accountant is probably knows your financials as well as you, if not better. Your accountant can be your partner to build a solid financial strategy.

Here’s what to look for in an accountant to get the most out of the relationship:

A trusted advisor.

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Ohio Small Business News and other Stories

February 20, 2015 by

54640451There may be small businesses that believe social media or marketing will be the answer to some of their financial woes, when in fact, having a quality product that consumers want and need may be the answer to all of our problems. Marketing and social media can help a business promote their products and services, but they cannot sell them. Knowing how to use social media, and knowing what to expect from their use is crucial to any small business owner. Follow the links below for more information about Ohio small business news.

Success Story: Ohio

By Dan O’Brien

Police Officer Invents ‘Bolo Stick’ to Protect Schools.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — The device is remarkably simple: a steel bracket and anchor pin that affixes to the base of a door, preventing an intruder from opening or forcing that door open.

What’s even more remarkable is that no one else has thought of it until now.

“I’ve been a police officer for 28 years, I’m an instructor at the police academy,” says William Barna, inventor and owner of the Bolo Stick, a security tool that he is marketing to local schools and hopes to sell across the country. The name of the product is derived from a common police term, “Bolo,” short for “be on the lookout.”

Over the last several years, Barna, a resident of Howland, became interested in how school systems responded to security threats, such as a potential gunman in the building. All followed the “Alice” plan, an acronym for alert, lockdown, inform, counter and evacuate. “They would shut the doors, lock them, shut the lights and pile desks and chairs in front of the door to make it harder for an intruder to come in.”

Should Ohio’s minimum wage be increased to $10.10?

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The low-wage workers’ movement, which successfully lobbied last year for minimum wage hikes throughout the country, could rally to increase Ohio’s minimum wage to $10.10.

Last week, state Sen. Kenny Yuko, Democrat of Richmond Heights, introduced Senate Bill 25 that would give minimum wage workers in Ohio a $2-an-hour raise in January 2016. The state’s minimum wage is currently $8.10.

Artheta Peters of Cleveland, who earns the current minimum wage after 13 years as a home health care worker, said she is underpaid for providing one-on-one care to the sick and elderly. She is among the home health care workers who demonstrated locally last year as part of the national fast-food workers’ strikes. Peters and her fellow home health care workers rallied, not only in solidarity with fast-food workers, but also to demand a $15 minimum wage in their field.

Beware Of Small Business Wire Transfer Scam

Late last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a wire transfer scam alert for all small businesses in the United States. According to the FBI alert, between October 2013 and December 2014 a total of 1,198 complaints from U.S.- based companies were received dealing with wire transfer scams. Losses from these incidents totaled more than $179 million. The FBI also reports that the scams can follow a Ransomware incident, and may involve a fraudster contacting a vendor and requesting a change of payment to an alternate fraudster-controlled bank account.

How To Mitigate This Type of Scam

If you’re a small business owner, you may be at risk for this kind of scam. The FBI recommends the following mitigation steps for these types of scams:

  • Keep all of your anti-virus software up-to-date.
  • Educate your workforce about security best practices.
    • Be sure that any changes to payments via electronic transfer are verified with an employee of the bank and at a phone number that you utilize for assistance.
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Small Business Tax Cuts

February 18, 2015 by

64002400The tax reduction small business owners are taking advantage this year is the 75% reduction on the first 250,000 in income. The new tax cuts the governor of Ohio is proposing may seem like a good deal to many small businesses, until those businesses can see, the tax cuts will be minimal. For more news about small business news and what is happening in Ohio, follow the links below.

Meet Congress’s new small business leaders

Rep. Steve Chabot can empathize with small business owners. Before launching his political career – and between his two stints in Congress – the Ohio Republican and seasoned attorney owned and ran his own law practice in Cincinnati.

“We were a small storefront law office, and we had to deal with all the things that come with running a business,” Chabot said in a recent interview on the Hill. “I have seen firsthand the challenges that are faced by small business folks.”

It’s that experience that lured Chabot onto the House Small Business Committee when he first arrived in Washington 1995. After 19 years on the panel (he lost a reelection bid in 2008 only to win back the seat two years later), Chabot last month took over as chairman. He replaces Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), who stepped down in keeping with self-imposed term limits.

Tea Party’s Disastrous Tax Cut Experiment Comes To Ohio

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) wants to mimic a tax cut experiment that has already brought fiscal calamity and public service cuts to a state 600 miles west of his.

Kasich describes his $696 million tax cut as a helping hand to small businesses. But the design of the cut would put the bulk of that benefit into the hands of just a few high-income business entities with a handful of employees while providing just a few hundred dollars each to the vast majority of the people who would benefit, according to an analysis by the Cleveland Plain Dealer. For nine out of every 10 companies that would benefit from the Kasich cut, the total yearly savings would be $364 or even less.

For the remaining 10 percent of companies affected, savings could be as high as $8,000 a year, a number that Kasich administration officials acknowledge is far too low to create even a single job per company. Instead of pitching the cut as a direct job creator, the officials are marketing it as an “every little bit helps” move for hardworking entrepreneurs.

How social media can make your small business go gangbusters

Social media is constantly being touted for its brand-building power, and rightly so. But many small businesses fail to reap the expected benefits from their investments of time and money in social media, largely because they haven’t fully grasped the unwritten rule of social media marketing: It’s not which tools you use, it’s how you use them that spells the difference between profitable performance and lackluster results.

Like professional marketers, successful small business owners target their social media activities for maximum impact. While their competitors are adrift in a sea of tweets and blog posts, savvy strategists focus and fine tune their social-media plays. Consider three social media campaigns that generated big results through careful targeting:

  1. When Denver-based Sword & Plough launched its business to recycle military surplus material into tote bags and related products, it had a bold idea and grassroots support, including a $6,500 award from Harvard’s Pitch for Change competition. The firm’s start-up financing strategy focused on building its network of contacts via social media as the springboard for a Kickstarter campaign.
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