Holiday Party = Strategic Opportunity

October 15, 2014 by

business (1)The company Christmas party has mostly been replaced by the company Holiday party.  Some companies are holding the Holiday party as early as the beginning of November.  Regardless of when it’s held it isn’t too early to start planning your strategy, because a company party is not a traditional party.  It’s a networking event, one you should take full advantage of.

According to various surveys managers say 15% – 25% of employees have limited their career growth because of inappropriate behavior at company functions.  An additional percentage may not have limited their growth, but they behaved poorly enough that their lack of judgment was noted and remembered.  Most people who’ve been to a company party have a cautionary tale about someone’s bad behavior and the posted pictures to prove it.

Be smart and make sure those stories and pictures aren’t about you.  Recognize and treat your company’s Holiday party as a strategic opportunity to advance your career.  Do your due diligence and develop a strategy to get positive recognition.  Here are a few tips to follow, which will help you.

Don’t drink – Remember, this is a work function you’re using to advance your career and you don’t drink on the job.

Don’t eat – It’s inventible, just when the CEO is free for you to make your move your breath smells like garlic, something is in your teeth and you’re unsuccessfully trying to juggle a used plate, soiled napkin and dirty utensils.

Don’t complain – A Holiday party is the time to be positive, appreciative and socially engaging.  People respond to genuine appreciation, not kissing up, of a job well done.  With the information you gathered use specific examples to highlight other’s and the company’s successes.

Don’t talk too much – You finally have a chance to meet the VP you’ve wanted to meet, don’t waste the opportunity by talking about your dog.  Plan on having a couple of things to say and ask, but let her do most of the talking.  People love to talk about themselves, learn to facilitate it.  Studies show that people who’re good listeners are perceived as knowledgeable and accomplished.

Social intelligence is vital for advancement in most workplaces.  Be smart and use the Holiday party as a networking opportunity to showcase your social skills.  Arrive on time, stay until the end and make the effort to speak to as many people as possible.  The adage – it’s not what you know, but who you know – is old, but still true.  Don’t ever doubt it, someone in the room is noticing.

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Small Business Topics You do Not Want to Miss

October 6, 2014 by

business (2)Small business owners wear many hats when running their business.   Many issues that plagued them daily are the issues of cash flow and time.  Their “to do”  list is never done, and the time needed to finish the myriad of things they need to accomplished is never enough. Cash flow issues are a constant reminder to the small business owner that either they need to borrow money or find a way to stay afloat. If those issues are something that you as a small business owner feel are important to you, follow the links below for more information about these topics.

What comes first: financing or growth?

The most common complaint we hear from small-business owners in 2014? Financing and lending are still tight, and these restrictions are impeding growth. For this special report, Crain’s reporters and researchers dove deep into the latest trends in lending, from Small Business Administration-backed loans to the community banking resurgence to the Kickstarter phenomenon. We also present trends and list resources in alternative lending, venture capital and microloans.

And what’s a small-business special report without plenty of advice from area business owners who have successfully cracked the money code? Meet the owners of Lickity Split, a custard shop that is taking advantage of tax-increment financing grants to expand; a day care owner in Portage Park who financed an extension with a microloan; and a maker of gluten-free bakery mixes who has dazzled venture capitalists at the age of 26. And lest you think that finding funding for your idea is impossible, scroll through our slideshow of 20 random Chicago-area projects that won Kickstarter in the past 12 months.

Small business, big mistake: Losing sight of the mantra that ‘cash is king’

Welcome to “Small Business, Big Mistake” where small-business owners face up to their biggest mistakes and share advice to help your company avoid the same fate.

My previous education and business experience were limited to the technical side of doctor’s offices, so I didn’t think I was prepared to be an entrepreneur. Still, I wanted to have my own business, so experience aside, I decided to jump in with both feet.

I did my research, wrote my business plan, and hung out my shingle. Suddenly, I was a professional pet sitter with my own small business. I provided daily dog walking services for busy professionals and pet-sitting services for owners when they went out of town.

My business grew organically, and within six months, I had more business than I could handle on my own.

10 Ways to ACTUALLY Get Through Your To Do List

We start out each day with the best intentions to get it all done, but sometimes it feels like the world may be conspiring against us. As entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals, we have a myriad of tasks on our plate at any given moment, not to mention trying to balance this workload with your personal life. If you’re looking for a few ways to help you actually cut through the fluff and get your real work done, try out these ten tips:

1. Just do it!
This is probably the simplest way to start getting more things done. Instead of spending time debating what you should be doing, pick one thing and just do it. Then pick another and do it. Don’t worry about what’s next on your list or the other things that need your attention. They’re not going anywhere. Just focus on the one task at hand. You may be surprised at how well this simple approach works.

2. Work in chunks of time. 

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Business Keys to Success and Other News

October 1, 2014 by

business (7)From January to August 2014 the unemployment rate was been slowly but surely decreasing.  February and March unemployment rate was 6.7% and last confirmed rate was August with a 6.1% unemployment rate. While economists believe the US economy is getting over the bump and jobs are added every month, there is skepticism over how well over the bump we really are.

ADP: Small Businesses Add 88,000 Jobs in September

Small business hiring picked up slightly in September, according to private payroll processor ADP.

Businesses with fewer than 50 employees added 88,000 jobs last month, up from 82,000 in August. Small businesses created 41% of all new jobs in the private sector in September, with 213,000 total jobs added.

“September’s jobs added number marks the sixth straight month of employment gains above 200,000,” said Carlos Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP.
“It’s a positive sign for the economy to see the 200,000-plus trend continue.”

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, which helps prepare the ADP report, added that gains across all company sizes and industries is especially encouraging news for the economy.

Small businesses should focus on five keys to success 

What do small-business owners need to pay attention to this fall? Heath care, Internet security and new technology make the list. Here are five things that small businesses need to be on top of over the next several months:

HEALTH CARE: Small-business owners who bought employee health insurance policies before the end of 2013, sidestepping the law’s requirements for a year, could pay between 10 percent and 20 percent more when it’s time to renew, says Michael Stahl, chief marketing officer of HealthMarkets Inc., a broker based in North Richland Hills, Texas. They’ll also have to decide on plans. Policies issued under the law have significant changes including the requirement that pre-existing conditions be covered. Some owners may decide it’s better if workers purchase their own government-subsidized coverage on health insurance exchanges.

Companies whose coverage took effect Jan. 1 of this year and complied with the law could see increases between 5 percent and 10 percent for 2015, Stahl says. Not all small-business owners will have to make these decisions this year. Employers with 50 to 99 workers have until 2016. Companies with fewer than 50 workers are exempt.

Google AdWords Secrets: What Works for Small Business

Launching an AdWords campaign is one of the most effective ways to grow a small business. Whether you are trying to get the word out about your business or have a special event or sale to promote, launching ads on Google can mean big business in little time.

The Google Display Network (GDN) reaches the majority of U.S.-based Internet users — a whopping 80 percent — giving AdWords advertisers the widest reach possible. Although this is definitely a good thing, it does come with some disadvantages. Because AdWords casts such a wide net for advertisers, launching an effective AdWords campaign requires a finely tuned strategy to reach the right customers and get a better return on investment (ROI).

Launching an AdWords campaign is one of the most effective ways to grow a small business. Whether you are trying to get the word out about your business or have a special event or sale to promote, launching ads on Google can mean big business in little time.

The Google Display Network (GDN) reaches the majority of U.S.-based Internet users — a whopping 80 percent — giving AdWords advertisers the widest reach possible. Although this is definitely a good thing, it does come with some disadvantages. Because AdWords casts such a wide net for advertisers, launching an effective AdWords campaign requires a finely tuned strategy to reach the right customers and get a better return on investment (ROI).

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Does your Business Need Mentoring?

September 24, 2014 by

business (3)The value of mentoring for entrepreneurs has invaluable benefits to them according to research. Many businesses and young entrepreneurs have acquired insights through mentorship, and have learned from their mentors’ mistakes business acumen that will help them with their business and endeavors.  Business people coming out of an MBA program can benefit the greatest and make fewer mistakes by having a mentor that can guide them and direct them to the right path.

Ohio River Bridges Project means big business for local contractors

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The Ohio River Bridges Project means big business for some local companies.

Major progress on the Ohio River Bridges Project and the reconfiguration of Spaghetti Junction is taking place. Cranes are up and cement is mixing. Four major components of the bridge project are: ready mix concrete, structural steel, aggregates and asphalt paving.
Advance Ready Mix is working on both the Downtown and East End Bridges. Business has been so good with this project, the company says it’s hiring more truck drivers.
“What percentage of your business is the Bridges Project?” WDRB’s Valerie Chinn asked.
“I’d say right now it’s 10-20 percent of ours,” said Chad Deters, sales manager for Advance Ready Mix. “We still have a lot of other work.”
“It came at a really good time when the economy was down,” Deters added. “It really kick-started our year last year and kept on rolling.”
The company was not working on the Bridges Project when a woman was killed in the crosswalk on the Louisville side of the Clark Memorial Bridge at Second and Main by an Advance Ready Mix truck.

Business mentoring franchise expands to serve Springfield, northwest Ohio

A business mentoring concept has opened a second location to serve northwest Ohio and the Springfield area.

The Alternative Board — a concept of business advisory and executive business coaching boards — is forming another franchise based in Russia (Shelby County), which will serve the northwest of the state. Ed Miller, a longtime consultant, is the owner of The Alternative Board of Northwest Ohio.

“The fact you’re dealing with decision makers and CEOs in this concept, it appeals to the intellectual and academic side, this type of concept,” Miller said.

The board will likely attract businesses in the manufacturing and professional services industries, but its goal is to bring in business leaders from multiple industries to provide many perspectives similar to a board of directors for smaller companies in the $1 million to $8 million revenue range that might not have an established group of mentors.

Support for minority businesses costing Ohio taxpayers

Consumers know you pay more when you buy a product through a middleman who must mark up the price to make a profit.

State government, by its own design, is spending hundreds of thousands of additional taxpayers’ dollars with middlemen as part of its quest to support minority businesses.For many years, when state purchasing officials needed software from Microsoft, they placed orders with two of the company’s authorized resellers.

Now, state agencies buy software through three middlemen created by a contract through which they resell the resellers’ software to the state, an investigation by The Dispatch finds. The minority-business enterprises (MBEs) relay orders to the resellers while tacking on fees of 3 to 4.75 percent of the cost, increasing the expense to the state.

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A Customer-Centric Culture is Everyone’s Job

September 5, 2014 by

business (7)Jim was making a large purchase of electronic equipment, add-ons and accessories.  He did his research on-line and was planning to buy it all on-line.  However, he wanted to see some of the components, so he went to a big box store.  The salesman was attentive, informative and offered discounts on various items.  Jim made a several thousand dollar purchase in the store due to the salesman’s help, knowledge and flexible pricing.

Jim was so impressed with the customer service that he asked to talk to a manager, to compliment the salesman.  After some time the manager showed up complaining that he was on a break and was unhappy with being interrupted.  As Jim tried to praise the salesman the manager was impatient and uninterested.

He even tried to take credit for the sale, arrogantly saying “I taught him everything he knows.  I should be the one you’re thanking”.  Jim walked away still happy with the salesman, but dissatisfied with the company “who should know better than to promote such an oblivious jerk to a management position”.

In a customer-centric culture it’s everybody’s responsibility to understand and uphold the company’s clearly communicated principles.  These succinct and focused set of values and norms guide how employees think and act, day in and day out.  It’s a culture where the customer’s perspective and experience is embedded into the company’s DNA.

Establishing and maintaining this culture is an on-going project which requires discipline and commitment at all levels.  All of the employees are responsible for monitoring, supporting and mentoring each other.  The best customer-centric cultures flow from top to bottom and bottom to top.

When the principles are at the center of every action, decision, conversation and strategy it becomes harder for a company to lose its way.   The company’s purpose becomes the companies “why and how”.  Why are we doing this?  How will it help the customer?  It helps a company stay focused on the reason why they’re doing what they’re doing – their purpose for being in business in the first place.

Then everything they do to design the customer’s experience will be aligned with this purpose.  Remember, customers buy from and return to the brands that they feel committed to, ones with which they feel aligned.  Many companies lose their purpose and then lose their focus, which weakens their customer’s commitment, leading to the business faltering and eventually failing.

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Obamacare and Tax Refunds for Small Businesses

September 4, 2014 by

business (8)According to certain reports by the SEIU.org Ohio ranks 35th.in the nation for health Status. It also states that as the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented, close to a million Ohio residents will gain access to affordable health care. Diabetes, asthma and obesity have plagued the nation in recent years and Ohio is not immune to those health risks. Being able to afford health care is for many individuals a problem of insurmountable proportions and President’s Obama Health Care Act gives them the hope of obtaining health coverage for them and their families this year.

For more news about Ohio, follow the links below.

After delays, Obamacare options for small businesses coming to Ohio soon

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Obama administration has selected Ohio and four other states for what it says is “early” access to an Affordable Care Act program offering health insurance to small businesses.

This will allow businesses with up to 50 employees to look for competitively priced health coverage for 2015 through the Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The federal SHOP program was supposed to be in place this year but was pushed back amid numerous problems in starting up the ACA’s main program, covering individuals. Some states with their own enrollment processes did not have these problems and were able to start SHOP anyway, but Ohio was one of many relying on the federal enrollment mechanisms.

Small business owners get hefty state tax refunds

The state is refunding millions of dollars to small business owners who overpaid their taxes in previous years and were not aware of the errors.

An Ohio law signed this year by Gov. John Kasich forces the Ohio Department of Taxation to refund overpaid taxes to companies. State officials said so far they have cut refund checks for $29 million.

Previously, if a business wasn’t aware it had overpaid and didn’t request a refund, the money would be held at the department of taxation, and once statutory deadlines passed, the money would roll into the state treasury, officials said.

“It was just wrong. The policy was anti-business. It was terrible, so we have changed it. Who knows how many millions and millions of dollars should have been in the hands of business people across this state for many years and it’s lost forever,” Ohio tax commissioner Joe Testa said.

Down-ticket Dem candidate talks small business in Athens

The Democratic nominee for Ohio Secretary of State, state Sen. Nina Turner, visited Athens Tuesday to meet with various area small-business owners to learn about ways to help if she is elected in November.

Turner, a Cleveland Democrat, said in an interview that she was in Athens to hear the experiences of small-business owners, and hear their ideas about the local business environment and how to improve the Secretary of State’s Business Services Division. She called the division a key component of her plans for the office.

“It was such a pleasure sitting down with these business owners and leaders in their community to discuss the situation on the ground in Athens and learn their stories of starting their businesses and making them successful,” said Turner.

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Women In Business

August 28, 2014 by

business (10)There are more than 9 million companies that are owned by women.  They employee close to 8 million people, and together they accomplished sales close to 1.5 trillion dollars as of this year. With those statistics one wonders why it is still hard for a business woman to get a loan from a bank or get the same benefits than their male counterparts get. To read more about this topic and to read more about Ohio’s economy outlook, follow the links below.

Ranking state economies: See where Ohio falls

Ohio’s economy is something of a mixed bag, at least according to Business Insider, which has ranked all 50 states.

The Buckeye State ranks No. 25.

Here’s what Business Insider has to say about Ohio:

“Ohio has a disproportionate number of manufacturing and health services jobs. However, Ohio’s scores on our measures were very much a mixed bag:

On the bright side, Ohio’s unemployment rate dropped sharply over the past year, from 7.4% in June 2013 to 5.5% in June 2014.

The housing market in Ohio, on the other hand, is not recovering as quickly as it is in many other states. Ohio saw a small 0.1% drop in housing prices between Q1 2013 and Q2 2014.

Similarly, Ohio faces demographic challenges, with the working age population shrinking by a marginal 0.1% between 2012 and 2013, one of only 13 states to show a decline in this population.

Women small business owners struggle to get loans

NEW YORK (AP) — Women are a growing force in the business world, but if they own a company, they may still struggle to get a loan from a bank.

Carrie Charlick and Marcia Cubitt have $4 million in sales but have been rejected for $500,000 credit lines since 2012. Their 11-year-old company, Essential Body Wear, sells women’s underwear at parties at customers’ homes. That’s a problem for bankers, Charlick says. Because the Detroit-based business doesn’t have a traditional structure and sells directly to the public rather than retailers, banks keep saying no.

“We don’t have receivables and we don’t own a building,” she says. “We don’t have collateral.”

Male loan officers have also made inappropriate comments about the fact the company sells lingerie. Charlick is convinced that they have a problem with women-owned businesses.

Women owners have long been at a disadvantage getting loans. Some states required husbands or other male relatives to co-sign business loans until the practice was outlawed by the Women’s Business Ownership Act of 1988. But women’s business loan approval rates are between 15 percent and 20 percent below men’s, according to the online lending marketplace Biz2Credit.com.

Several factors contribute to the problem. Banks historically have been gun-shy about small businesses, and that caution increased due to stricter government regulations after the 2008 credit crisis. Often, women-owned businesses are young, making them look risky to lenders.

Greg Abbott celebrates growth in women-owned businesses in Texas, overlooks meaningful details

In an email blast, Greg Abbott’s campaign said Texas businesses owned by women flourished with Barack Obama in the White House.

Abbott, the attorney general and Republican gubernatorial nominee, wasn’t saluting the Democratic president. In the July 10, 2014, email message, Kim Snyder, Abbott’s deputy campaign manager, called Texas the “land of opportunity – especially for women.” Texas does better than other states, Snyder wrote, adding: “Let’s compare: the growth rate of women-owned businesses in Texas has nearly doubled that of the nation since President Obama has taken office.”

A reader, bringing the email to our attention, wondered about the described growth rates.

To our inquiry, Abbott spokesman Avdiel Huerta said by email Abbott’s near-doubling reference was based on reports by American Express OPEN, which American Express describes as the leading payment-card issuer for small U.S. businesses.

According to the 2013 State of Women-Owned Businesses report, Huerta said, there were 8,617,200 woman-owned U.S. firms, including 737,300 in Texas, in 2013. In 2007, AMEX said there were 7,793,139 woman-owned firms nationally and 610,007 in Texas, Huerta said.

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Ohio’s Unemployment Rate and Other News

August 20, 2014 by

business (4)The national unemployment rate for July was 6.2%, a bit higher than the Ohio unemployment rate of 5.7%. Compared to the 7.5% unemployment rate in 2013, things seem to be going in the right direction for Ohio. And although the recession seems to have slowed lending for small businesses, small business owners are still optimistic that things are heading in the right direction.

To read more about small business news follow the links below.

Ohio jobless rate posts small hop to 5.7% in July

Ohio’s unemployment rate edged up to 5.7 percent in July, as the number of those out of work rose and the total with jobs dropped from the prior month.

The state reported Friday that non-farm employment sank 12,400 jobs from June to nearly 5.3 million last month, helping push up the jobless rate from 5.5 percent in June. About 323,000 Ohioans were out of work in July, the Department of Job and Family Services reported.

The state’s jobless rate in July 2013 was 7.5 percent.

But the state said 24,400 more individuals were working in July than a year earlier. Adding the most jobs over the 12 months was the goods producing sector, up 14,700, and professional and business services segment, up 17,000 positions.

Who’ll pick SC peaches? Immigration policy gridlock stymies farm labor

The heated tempers of the nation’s border states are driving the debate over immigration policy. States such as South Carolina, though, are reckoning with a different set of challenges: a skimpy agriculture labor market and cumbersome immigrant worker programs that go unfixed amid partisan gridlock on Capitol Hill.

Over 20,000 U.S. farms employ more than 435,000 immigrant workers legally every year, according to 2012 U.S. Department of Agriculture census data. Thousands – probably tens of thousands – more are employed illegally. In the fruit orchards of the Carolinas, farmers confront a blue-collar labor vacuum.

“Because we’re not a border state, it’s definitely harder to get people over this far from the border to work,” said Chalmers Carr, the owner of the East Coast’s largest peach grower, South Carolina’s Titan Farms. “2006, 2007, even 2008, we had a very robust economy and there were not enough farmworkers then. And there’s truly not enough farmworkers now, legal or illegal.”

Small-Business Lending Is Slow to Recover

Lending Remains Far Below Pre-Recession Levels; Things ‘Aren’t What They Used to Be’

Small-business lending by banks is rebounding but remains far below prerecession levels, forcing entrepreneurs in places like Carroll County, Ga., to seek other financing sources. WSJ’s Angus Loten joins MoneyBeat with the details. Photo: Carrollton Mainstreet.

CARROLLTON, Ga.—Brandi Shirey wants to borrow at least $20,000 to expand the birthday- and wedding-cake business she started four years ago after leaving her job as a bookkeeper.

Demand for the cakes, which sell for $150 to $500, overwhelms her home kitchen. She plans to use about $2,000 from her savings to move into a nearby storefront next month. But the 28-year-old Ms. Shirey believes her credit record and financial paperwork have to be bulletproof before she dares approach a bank for a loan. “It’s time to grow,” she says, but things “aren’t what they used to be.”

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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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The BWC Settlement Agreement

August 4, 2014 by

business (8)After a long battle and many years of unfair rates to small business owners, the BWC has to pay $420 million to small businesses all across Ohio.  The ruling came last Thursday and agreed with a ruling from 2013 that states that the BWC must refund millions of dollars to small businesses owners. Now that settlement has been reached many small businesses should be getting refunds ranging from a few pennies to millions of dollars according to some reports.

To read more follow the links below.

Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation reaches $420M settlement agreement over rigged premiums

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has reached an agreement to pay $420 million to settle a years-long legal battle over allegations it overcharged business owners for workers’ compensation premiums.

The agency would create a fund to repay the more than 250,000 businesses that were overcharged between 2001 and 2008, according to the settlement disclosed Wednesday.

In a class-action lawsuit filed in 2007, thousands of mostly small-business owners accused the bureau of rigging the system to benefit participants of a special group-rating plan. They asked for $1.3 billion in damages then.

The Ohio 8th District Court of Appeals in a scathing decision in May called the system “a cabal of Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation bureaucrats and lobbyists for group sponsors who rigged workers’ compensation insurance premium rates so that for employers who participated in the BWC’s group rating plan … it was ‘heads you win,’ and for employers who did not participate in the group rating plan … it was ‘tails you lose.’ ”

Columbus Small Businesses Endorse Same Sex Marriage

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Over 250 small businesses in Columbus endorsed same sex marriage on Monday, many saying it would boost business.

“When legislators talk about jobs, jobs, jobs they need to think about this,” said Mark Dempsey, owner of Dempsey’s restaurant.  “When you go to get married there’s a celebration involved. There’s the wedding reception, the wedding itself, there’s flowers, there’s cakes, there’s wedding rings.”

Dempsey’s downtown restaurant is no stranger to politics.  On the walls you can find pictures of everyone from Warren G Harding… to Tip O’Neill and the Gipper… to honest Abe.

Dempsey was joined by other Columbus small business owners today to endorse marriage equality in Ohio.

Kasich approved increase in Ohio’s small business income deduction

Ohio Governor John Kasich recently signed a bill that, among other things, increases the small business income deduction from 50% to 75% of the first $250,000 in net business income.

In an effort to grow Ohio’s economy, last year the Ohio budget bill included significant tax law changes to deliver a $2.7 billion tax cut to individuals and businesses, over the course of three years. The changes included:

• A small business tax cut that enables owners/investors to deduct from taxable income 50% of the first $250,000 in net business income.

• A 10% personal income tax cut to be phased in over three years. In 2013, Ohio tax rates were reduced by 8.5%.

• New assistance for lower-income Ohioans in the form of an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) equal to 5% of the amount claimed for the federal EITC.

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