Ohio Business News and other Stories

September 20, 2014 by

business (5)News about  Ohio’s small business and personal income tax deductions have been updated and are found at the Ohio’s department of taxation website.  If you are not sure what deductions to take or your business is allowed to take you must contact your tax advisor for information about it to make sure that you have indeed all correct information.  For more news about Ohio follow the links below.

Kasich Plans Small-Business Swing To 3 Ohio Cities 

HAMILTON, Ohio – Ohio’s governor will focus on small businesses in a swing through three western Ohio cities.

Gov. John Kasich has Tuesday stops in Hamilton, the Dayton area and Tipp City. The Republican is seeking re-election this November. He will begin the day at Hamilton Caster, a business that makes casters, industrial wheels and other products and dates back more than a century in the Butler County seat.

A campaign announcement with the National Federation of Independent Business/Ohio is planned there. The small business association recently announced its endorsement of Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine’s re-election.Kasich also plans to meet with owners and patrons at a Dayton-area bowling alley, followed by a small-business panel discussion in Tipp City.

Democratic Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald is challenging Kasich this fall.

Ohio ~ Personal Income Tax: Small Business Deduction Discussed

The Ohio Department of Taxation (DOT) has updated its web page dedicated to the small business personal income tax deduction. The DOT notes that virtually all small businesses in Ohio are now eligible for a 50% tax deduction on the first $250,000 of business income.

The DOT reminds taxpayers that the small business deduction enables a business owner to deduct 50% of Ohio net business income from the adjusted gross income they report on their Ohio personal income tax return. If the business has multiple owners, each is eligible to claim the deduction. The 50% deduction is available on up to $250,000 in business income, meaning the deduction is capped at $125,000 for each investor or owner.

For taxable year 2014 only, the small business investor income deduction will increase to 75% of a taxpayer’s small business income of up to $250,000. The deduction will be limited to $187,500 for individuals with a filing status of married filing jointly or single. For individuals with a filing status of married filing separately, $125,000 is the maximum income subject to deduction which allows for a deduction of up to $93,750. The DOT notes that at this time, the temporary increase in this income tax deduction is authorized for tax year 2014 only.

Ohio’s candidates for governor cite favorite statistics on economy 

Go to any speech by Ohio Gov. John Kasich and you are guaranteed to hear how the state has gained 250,000 private-sector jobs since he became governor, compared with the 350,000 lost under his Democratic predecessor.

Democrats will point out that job growth began during the final part of Gov. Ted Strickland’s term: Ohio’s national ranking was better in the Democrat’s last year than in Kasich’s past year.

Both contentions are true. That’s the challenge of comparing economic plans: Since both sides know that employment is easily the top issue among Ohio voters, the political handlers furiously churn out a whirlwind of statistics to make the case for their guy.

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Ohio’s Year End Surplus

August 14, 2014 by

business (3)With a surplus of $475 million the Ohio government is finishing the year better than expected.  And although the recommendation is to be cautious with this surplus, lawmakers are still unsure what they will do with it. It could mean tax cuts or debt payments for the state of Ohio or they can tap into the funds for additional spending for the next years.

To read more about this and other topics follow the links below.

Main Street Ohio Retailer Needs Congress to Pass E-Fairness Legislation

For nearly 40 years, I’ve held the reins at Baker and Baker Jewelers in downtown Marietta, Ohio. Spanning nearly a century, Baker and Baker has grown and evolved along with our community. Over the years, I’ve had to contend with a lot, but the current disparity between how our nation’s tax laws treat brick-and-mortar businesses like mine compared with our online competitors is perhaps one of the most insurmountable obstacles we’ve ever had to face. For the sake of Main Street businesses and communities nationwide, it’s time for Congress to do something to fix this problem once and for all.

Currently, most if not all of my online competitors are exempt from collecting and remitting state sales taxes. Meanwhile, brick-and-mortar businesses like mine must collect and remit these taxes every day on every purchase, putting me at an immediate 7.25 percent disadvantage here in Marietta. As any small-business owner will tell you, this is enough to make or break a business. I can generally match or beat a price — I have no issue competing against a nearby retailer or an online competitor — but I can’t tell a customer that I won’t bother charging them sales tax. The government would probably throw me in jail if I did that, yet my online competitors are invited to do that every day.  How is this a free market?

Ohio’s projected year-end surplus grows despite tax cuts 

Even as projected revenue is reduced because of new income-tax cuts, the state budget office now estimates the state will finish the fiscal year with nearly $632 million more than it will spend.

Once the mandatory carry-over is subtracted, the early estimate is the state will end June 2015 with a surplus of about $475 million. That’s money lawmakers could seek to tap into via tax cuts, debt payments or additional spending when they return in November, or next year.

The estimated surplus is unusually high — 2.1 percent of the general revenue fund compared with the 0.5 percent that budget officials often target. Tim Keen, the state budget director, said continued Medicaid underspending — there are roughly 200,000 fewer Ohioans on Medicaid than anticipated — is driving the surplus higher.

Ohio’s rainy-day fund is at its legal capacity — around $1.5 billion — so the question is what Gov. John Kasich and lawmakers will choose to do with the surplus money, should it actually materialize. Keen, as he often does, is urging caution.

“We’ve worked very hard to regain the fiscal stability of the state, and we ought to be very conservative and cautious with what commitments we make, particularly because much of this is from underspending,” he said.

Dayton given an ‘A’ from small businesses

The city of Dayton is rated the top business friendly metro city in Ohio, according to a survey of small business owners.

Small business owners gave Dayton an A- for its overall friendliness and tax code, according to the survey of 12,000 U.S. small businesses done by Thumbtack.com in partnership with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

“It’s a good environment for our firm, and we’ve had a lot of support from the community through the years,” Tom Thickel, president of architecture firm Levin Partners Associates, said about Dayton.

Nearly 80 percent of businesses in Dayton are considered small businesses, meaning they have fewer than 50 employees, according to Dayton Chamber of Commerce vice president Chris Kershner.

Downtown Dayton Partnership president Sandy Gudorf said small businesses help add to the job creation needed in Dayton.

“We’ve seen significant activity in small business growth in downtown. This is a great community for a small business,” Gudorf said.

Gina Jones, owner of Green Baby, an organic baby specialty store, said Dayton has opportunities she wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.

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BWC and Other News

July 8, 2014 by

business (1)News about Ohio and what is happening in the state are important to all of us.  News about the Ohio Bureau of Workers compensation refusal to pay small business across Ohio what it owes them is not only negligent but devastating to the morale of Ohio Businesses and the local economies.  Small business owners deal with a myriad of issues in a daily basis, making government issues not only hard for them to do but impossible to fulfill is an obstacle and encumbrance to the well being of our economy.

Pressure Mounts On Gov. Kasich To Force BWC To Pay Back Small Businesses

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Pressure on Gov. John Kasich to pay back hundreds of millions of dollars to more than 250,000 small businesses is mounting.
An NBC4 investigation into overcharges that sunk thousands of small business across Ohio is now going statewide.

An advertising campaign based on the NBC4 investigation is set to air on TV Friday, asking Kasich to get involved in the payback.

Ron Foreman is front and center in an ad campaign aimed directly at Kasich.

“I gathered my family together and told them, ‘Things are going to have to change because Daddy is going to have to file bankruptcy,'” Foreman said in the commercial.

Kasich plans small-business swing to 3 Ohio cities 

HAMILTON, OHIO: Ohio’s governor will focus on small businesses in a swing through three western Ohio cities.

Gov. John Kasich has Tuesday stops in Hamilton, the Dayton area and Tipp City. The Republican is seeking re-election this November. He will begin the day at Hamilton Caster, a business that makes casters, industrial wheels and other products and dates back more than a century in the Butler County seat.

A campaign announcement with the National Federation of Independent Business/Ohio is planned there. The small business association recently announced its endorsement of Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine’s re-election.

Ohio entrepreneurs should learn about new health coverage options: Grant Lahmann

Pundits and politicians from Ohio to Oregon have spent years bemoaning the new health care law and its impact on the economy, and on small businesses, in particular. But the law has been in full effect for six months now, and the real-life implications of it are anything but dismal.

A recent report shows the Affordable Care Act actually increased the gross domestic product for the first quarter of 2014, and here in the Buckeye State, almost 155,000 individuals, self-employed and small business owners and their workers have already found affordable insurance through the new insurance marketplace created by the health care law.

In case you’re not already familiar with it, Ohio’s marketplace has two branches — one for individuals, the other for small businesses. The individual marketplace is available to any self-employed individual or small business employee whose employer doesn’t offer insurance. Open-enrollment for the individual marketplace is closed, but enrollment for 2015 begins on November 15 this year.

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Why Your Employees Won’t Listen to You

May 15, 2014 by

business (10)Talk to any manager about the problems they’re having with their employees and one of the main complaints is, “They won’t do what I tell them to do.”  However, the problem is often with the supervisor and not with the employees.  Many mangers don’t want to do the job of managing; they want the employees to manage themselves.

But, if you’re a manager who wants to manage and are looking for ways to get your employees to respond better, the fact that you may be the problem is good news.  If it’s your problem then the solution lies with you, it’s in your control to change.  With coaching, some practice and a little introspection the problem of getting people to follow your instructions can be greatly reduced.  These are the 3 most common errors many supervisors make.

Poor communication skills – The biggest problem people have with communication is assuming it has taken place.  Effective communication skills don’t come naturally to most people, they must be learned.  An effective manager will make the effort to learn the skills.  Ultimately being a better communicator will make your professional and personal life easier.

Don’t want to be the “Bad Guy” – Many managers don’t want to be the bad guy, they want to be liked.  However, kindheartedness is frequently a pretext for weakness.  It’s more important to be respected than liked.  People will like you and still take advantage of you.

Poor or no follow through – Countless managers mistakenly believe, “I shouldn’t have to hold their hand. I should only have to tell them once and they should do it.”  This idea shows a poor understanding of human nature.  People learn through a repetitive 3 step process – instruction, supervision (manager, parent, teacher) and consequences for poor work or praise for good work.

After you’ve corrected your errors and have consistently implemented the changes, you‘ll find most employees will understand and perform better.  However, there will always be difficult employees who no amount of communication will help.  But, with your new skills and knowledge you’ll handle them more effectively.  You’ll be a manager who’s managing.

Nicole Abbott – writer, educator and psycho-therapist

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The Benefits Of Having A Virtual Team

May 13, 2014 by

business (2)The integrated workforce experience page at Cisco tells us that the company sales force consists of 20,000 people in 87 countries, and keeping abreast of the new products, solutions and architectures is a critical task.  Although your company may have a smaller workforce than Cisco, the challenges and rewards of having a virtual workforce is indubitable.  Keeping your team engaged and collaborating with other team members may not be as easy as you would think.  The challenges of keeping your team members offering great customer service (if you are a service company) may not be easy to track if you do not have a good system in place. Training and engaging your virtual team is a must for your business and the rewards you can achieve with them can be beneficial for all parties.

Building an All-Star Virtual Team

Employers and managers are often skeptical when it comes to hiring virtual workers.

To build a virtual team of employees, trust and confidence factor into the hiring process. Indeed, some employers never meet candidates in person. Yet that employee is involved with building a company’s success; no wonder some managers are nervous when it comes to hiring virtual workers.

Apprehensive about hiring telecommuters? Consider current trends about virtual work environments: According to Forrester, nearly 34 million Americans are working from home and telecommuting is expected to rise 43 percent in the United States by 2016.

Virtual teams allow an employer to tap into some of the best talent available because recruiting is not restricted by geography. By opening up positions to candidates across the world, companies such as Upworthy, Buffer and Mozilla have experienced success with virtual teams, finding individuals who are truly passionate about what they do.

Smells like team spirit

A virtual workforce opens up access to a global talent pool, but needs special attention and a personal touch to build trust among members spread across geographies

The website that you use for online shopping or the aircraft that takes you places have most likely been built through the collaborative effort of teams dispersed across continents. Organizations are increasingly turning global to take advantage of diverse talent, achieve operational and cost effectiveness, and inculcate the ability to respond to market demands with swiftness to be able to thrive in a highly competitive environment.

Virtual teams are the order of the day and, this, of course, has been facilitated by the rapid advancement of technology which has helped transcend distance, time zones, cultures and organizational boundaries. Virtual teams embody a distinctive shade of group dynamics, along with their concomitant set of unique challenges. There are umpteen examples of teams that have outshone their collocated counterparts in terms of productivity and effectiveness, but there are plenty that have shrivelled and fallen apart. So what makes a virtual team tick?

Managing & Achieving Goals with a Virtual Team

Managing one or two remote workers can be difficult enough–never mind an entire team of virtual employees! Whether it’s for a short period of time or a long-term work situation, virtual teams are becoming a more common occurrence in the modern workplace. There are many benefits for both the team members and the employer, such as less time spent traveling to meetings and a reduced commute for employees. However, virtual work needs to be monitored closely to ensure quality and productivity. There are a number of available tools that make this task much easier.

1.  UberConference: UberConference is a hit among virtual workers and those who manage them. The rich interface is actually quite easy to use, and provides virtual workers with a number of tools and resources they need to easily complete a remote work assignment. This is a good option for those who need to participate in remote conference calls, as it allows workers to easily connect to and chat with others.

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Is Small Business Hiring Slowing Down?

May 5, 2014 by

business (10)A Washington Post article by J.D Harrison dated April 30th. talks about  how small business hiring has remain flat in April, and the belief that the projections of greater figures in the small business sector has fallen short. The news can lead one to wonder whether the rising costs of health care and the minimum wage increase has led small business owners to think about those issues first before hiring.

Read more about this topic by following the links below.

Small business weekly: Minimum wage, maximizing loans and expensive limes

A review of the biggest small business and startup stories from the past week, with a special focus on Washington.

SBA slammed: During a hearing last week, Democrats and Republicans on the House Small Business Committee ripped into the Small Business Administration for creating several new entre pre neur ship training programs that have not been approved by Congress while pulling back on some of its long-standing counseling programs. (OSB)

Nation’s job engine? While employers as a whole posted strong job gains last month, small businesses are still struggling to pick up the pace. Hiring by small companies was flat in April, according to the latest readings by ADP, while their share of the nation’s total job gains declined for the fourth consecutive month. (OSB)

Mimimum wage splits businesses: Senate Republicans last week blocked legislation from moving forward that would raise the federal minimum wage to $10.00 per hour. Some small business owners say the legislation would cripple their companies by driving up labor costs, while others strongly favor raising the floor on wages. (OSB)

Many Small Employers Face Rising Insurance Costs Under ACA

Size matters – when it comes to the impact of the Affordable Care Act on employers. For the next three days ideastream health reporter Sarah Jane Tribble will walk us through the differences. She starts the series today by going to a bar.

Paul Siperke is the co-owner of Fat Heads – a popular brew pub in North Olmstead. He has fewer than 50 full-time employees, so he’s classified under the Affordable Care Act as a small business.

He doesn’t have to provide health insurance to his employees. But that’s what he’s been doing despite some pretty crazy volatility in rates.

“They just seemed to keep going up every year.  One year we got a 38 percent increase, another year we got 11. One year we got 3,” Siperke says.”

This year, under the Affordable Care Act, he saw another hike – this one for about 20 percent.

“It just seems odd that we get such a drastic price increase when nothing has really changed with us as far as our employees and health issues,” he says.

Until now, if employees were healthy and claims were few, premium prices were relatively good. But, for a small business, if even one employee was in a car accident or was diagnosed with cancer, insurance costs could skyrocket the next year.

Advice for small businesses navigating Obamacare

Serving as a partner in a health care staffing and consulting firm, health insurance costs were the second largest expense only to employee salaries.

We maintained a commitment to providing health benefits to our team, but each year the cost would climb often by double digits, forcing tough decisions on whether to reduce benefits, increase employee shares or take a bite out of the bottom line.

As a business owner, the decision to offer health benefits is critically important particularly in light of the roll out of the Affordable Care Act.

Health benefits help companies recruit and retain talent in their workforce. A recent survey by Towers and Watson found that more than half of employees surveyed identified the health plan offered as a major reason to stay with their current employer.

Small business has traditionally been at a disadvantage providing these benefits facing higher premiums and administrative costs than large employers.

Much attention on the Affordable Care Act has been on the individual health care coverage options and the technical challenges with the exchange website. Depending on where you stand on the issue, the act has been a great success at enrolling millions of uninsured into coverage, or complete failure in both concept and implementation.

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Taxes, Penalties And Your Business

April 9, 2014 by

business (9)The cost of starting a new business depends on the business model or the industry you are entering. A home based, consulting home business or free lance is much cheaper that opening offices some place, and buying office furniture, installing new phones, electric, insurance, etc. The cost of starting a home based business could be only a few thousand dollars, compared to the figures of the small business administration a few years back that estimated the opening of a new business as $30,000.  The cost associated with opening and running a small business is high, but there are many expenses that you may be able to postpone or even get by without worrying too much about it.  One of the expenses that you can absolutely not postpone is getting an accountant that will take care of the taxes and government filings your business needs to do to avoid penalties that you could incur otherwise.

Read more about this topic by following the links below.

Small Business Owners Have a $4.5 Billion Payroll Tax Problem

Every month, employers across the U.S. send money to the IRS to cover payroll taxes—levies drawn from employee pay to cover Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment insurance. Many botch the process. The IRS issued 6.8 million penalties totaling $4.5 billion related to these employment taxes for the year ending last September, according to recently published data from the IRS (PDF).

Those numbers are down from 2009, when the IRS issued 7.9 million penalties for $7.1 billion. The government doesn’t say what share of the fines were handed out to small businesses, but large employers are generally better equipped to stay current on ever-changing tax rules.

Why are businesses incurring enough in annual penalties to pay for a new Navy destroyer?

As companies get bigger or smaller and hire different types of employees, the rules they must follow can shift. Tax collectors often change rules on their own accord, meaning a business that paid payroll taxes on a monthly basis one year might be expected to pay every two weeks in the next. “There are so many little rules for a small business owner to stay on top of,” says David McKelvey, a New York-based partner at accounting firm Friedman.

McKelvey advises his clients, which generally have at least $1 million in annual sales, to outsource payroll services. Companies such as ADP (ADP) and Paychex (PAYX), to name two of the largest payroll firms, have the resources to stay current on tax rules and in many cases will guarantee customers against payment of IRS penalties, McKelvey says.

Small Businesses in Limbo Again on Tax Breaks

Small businesses are in limbo as they wait for Congress to make decisions that could save them a lot of money.

Bills in Congress would extend tax deductions widely used by small businesses making equipment or property purchases. One, known as the Section 179 deduction, has shrunk to a maximum $25,000 this year from $500,000 in 2013. Another, called bonus depreciation, expired at the end of last year.

The deductions are a big deal for small companies, saving them thousands or even millions of dollars on capital investments. But because Congress decides every year how big the deductions will be, owners can’t plan their equipment budgets until lawmakers vote. And in recent years, worried about the ballooning federal deficit, Congress has put off those votes, sometimes until late in the year.

The annual uncertainty hurts small businesses looking for a break when their combined federal and state tax rates run as high as 40 percent, says Doug Bekker, a certified public accountant with the firm BDO in Grand Rapids, Mich. They don’t know if they should make the purchase in the current year or defer it. And as the economy gets stronger and businesses are more profitable, they’re concerned about tax bills.

“If you talk to the typical small business out there, there’s a very high level of frustration,” Bekker says.

It’s getting cheaper to buy a small business in Baltimore

The cost of buying a small business in Baltimore has dropped by more than 11 percent during the last year, according to BizBuySell.com.

The website reports that the median asking price of  businesses for sale in Baltimore is $255,000, a $33,000 decline (11.6 percent) from the end of the first quarter in 2013.

Meanwhile, small businesses are generating more revenue than they were a year ago. BizBuySell reports business had median revenue of $496,654 during the first quarter, up from $480,000 during the first quarter last year.

BizBuySell compiled its numbers based on listing data from 248 businesses.

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Taxes, Hiring And The Minimun Wage In Ohio

April 5, 2014 by

business (7)It is the tax season and talk about taxes, penalties, tax cuts, minimum wage and hiring are the talk of the town.  For everyone that is still procrastinating about doing their taxes, I just want to remind you you ONLY have 10 DAYS left.   If you are not ready nor will be ready in ten days time, it is probably wise for you to file and extension to file later and avoid those pesky penalties the IRS will impose on you. For more news about what is happening in Ohio please follow the links below.

Push for $10.10 minimum wage would create winners, losers in Ohio

Amy Zickefoose’s husband works long, difficult hours with machines in Tennessee, hundreds of miles from their Mansfield home . For this dangerous work, he receives $11 an hour.

State and federal politicians have proposed raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour by 2016, but Zickefoose said fast-food employees shouldn’t be paid that much.

“I definitely don’t feel (they) should make almost as much as my husband,” said, Zickefoose, adding that she doesn’t believe an increase would help her family . “I know his boss wouldn’t give him another dollar.”

An increase in the minimum wage, which is $7.95 an hour in Ohio, would mean layoffs and potentially higher food prices, but also better-paid workers and potentially lower costs for social services. Whether that sounds like a great or horrible idea depends largely on where you fit into the workforce.

“From the employees’ perspective, a wage increase is always appreciated,” said Randy Davies, president and CEO of the Chillicothe-Ross Chamber of Commerce. “There are many aspects a small business owner  would have to adjust.”

The Congressional Budget Office estimated 500,000 workers, or 0.3 percent of the American workforce, would lose their jobs by 2016 if Congress raised the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. However, another 16.5 million would see their wage increase, the report stated.

Faber: Tax cuts, regulatory reform has Ohio going in the ‘right direction’

LIMA — The leader of the state Senate claims Ohio is moving in the right direction, but that is not good enough and more work needs to be done.

Before Republican Gov. John Kasich took office, the state was losing 100,000 jobs per year for several years, Senate President Keith Faber, R-Celina, said. In the last three years, the state has seen private enterprise create 238,000 jobs, including 300 jobs at Ford Motor Co. Lima Engine Plant.

Under former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, Faber pointed out the state’s “rainy day” fund dropped to 89 cents and Kasich inherited a state budget that was $8.5 billion in debt. Today, the “rainy day” fund is approaching $1.5 billion and the budget is balanced.

“We are going in the right direction now,” Faber told about 100 people Friday during the Allen County Republican Party luncheon at the Elks. “Ohio is doing better, we are doing better, but better is still not good enough, because if we sit on our laurels than we should expect to go back to the bad old days of 2010, and 2009 and 2008.”

Survey: Ohio business owners hold off on hiring

More Ohio small and mid-size business owners are expecting higher sales and profits over the next six months compared to a year ago, according to new survey results released today by The PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Bank, Ohio’s fourth largest bank by deposits held, surveys business owners and customers twice a year, gauging sentiments about the economy.

On a less-positive note, the same Ohio business owners told PNC that even though business looks to be improving, it doesn’t mean they plan to hire more people.

“Ohio business owners are still very guarded,” said Mekael Teshome, PNC economist.

The outlook has brightened across the local, national and global economies, Teshome said. For example, six months ago the U.S. government was shutdown.

But small Ohio business owners — who do the majority of the hiring — are looking for more goods news before they risk the investment.

“I see this as indicating businesses are pretty much playing defense. There has been some volatility in Ohio’s economy. We hit a bit of a speed bump in the fourth quarter” from declines in government employment, Teshome said.

“I think that speed bump had something to do with firms taken a more precautionary approach,” he said.

“The other reason I think is the manufacturing rebound is really approaching a more mature, more advanced stage. I think there will be continued improvement in this sector, but not of the same magnitude we saw in 2012,” he said.

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How To Spot Problem Employees Before Hiring Them

April 3, 2014 by

business (7)How to Spot Problem Employees Before Hiring Them

The whole hiring process requires careful thought and consideration. If an employer is not careful there are many things that can be overlooked in finding great employees. Upon viewing a prospect, the employer should view the initial application carefully to see if there is anything there that appears to be misleading or false. References and past employers should carefully be checked by giving them a call and asking a few unexpected questions and making certain that the past employer has a legitimate company. The past employer can be researched to see if they really exist.

If the application looks impressive, the next phase would be to give the person a call and let them know that their application was received and ask them why they feel they would be a good prospect for the job. It would be a good idea to tell them about the main job duties and ask them if they have experience in those areas. If the applicant is able to answer the questions in a convincing manner then this would be a great time to schedule an interview. If the person does not sound convincing they could be told that that there still needs to be time to view their application. This would be the perfect time to send them an email and thank them for their application and let them know why it was denied.

The interview is the final draw. First impressions mean everything. The applicant should be dressed for success suitable for the interview. Does the employer really express that they are interested in the company or in just getting paid to do a job? Some concerns may be health related problems that may cause this person not to be able to perform well on the job. The applicant should be able to work the hours needed and be able to be to work on time. Does the applicant answer in a way that he or she comprehends the questions asked? Does he or she communicate well and present themselves professionally? The answers to these questions could be red flags that help spot problem employees.

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Financial News For The Small Business Owner

February 6, 2014 by

business (5)According to the ADP National Employment Reports small business created 78,000 jobs in January. The highest employment contribution among small businesses was from businesses with less than 20 employees and that accounted for 56% of the employment contribution growth. Analysts as well as small business entrepreneurs are eager to begin the New Year with great news about the economy.  Follow the links to read more about financial news and Obamacare.

What small business owners should know about the new Obamacare report

Despite some media reports, the health care law isn’t killing 2.5 million jobs.

Congressional budget analysts on Tuesday released revised estimates concerning the economic footprint of the health care law, spawning another round of headlines declaring that Obamacare will take a massive bite out of workers’ hours and eliminate millions of jobs.

Thing is, that’s not what the report said at all. In fact, the nonpartisan group’s predictions actually refute some of the warnings from small business leaders — namely, that the law will force employers to trim hours for their current workers and think twice about hiring new ones.

Still, there are some other areas of the law that the group says may indeed have unwanted side effects for companies.

Bank of America boosts small business lending as it hires even more bankers

Bank of America said Tuesday that it made almost $11 billion in new loans to U.S. small businesses in 2013. The bank also plans to hire 200 small business bankers this year, many on the West Coast.

The bank’s pace of small business lending last year was up 26 percent over 2012. California’s largest bank has seen small business loan originations rise every month on a year-over-year basis for the past three years. That may reflect the bank’s initiative to hire 1,000 small business bankers that began in late 2010.

Emily Shanks, BofA’s small business banking region executive for the West, based in Concord, told the San Francisco Business Times in May 2012 that the hiring, which included 31 small business bankers in the Bay Area up to that point, allowed for more face-to-face meetings between bankers and small business owners at their place of business.

When counting both new and renewing financing, BofA’s small business lending exceeds $22 billion.

GroupMe Founder Gets $3.4M to Make Small Business Loans More Accessible With Fundera

In the past five years, the number of bank loans under $1 million has dropped by more than 20 percent. This puts small business owners, arguably the driving force of our economy, at a severe disadvantage when it comes to starting a business.

But Jared Hecht, co-founder of startup success story GroupMe, alongside cofounders Rohan Deshpande and Andres Moran, is today launching a totally new service called Fundera, built specifically to facilitate small business funding through alternative lending.

Fundera has received a total of $3.4 million in funding from Khosla, First Round Capital, Lerer Ventures, SV Angel, and various angel investors including Strauss Zelnick, Rob Wiesenthal, David Rosenblatt, and David Tisch.

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