Millennials And The Workforce

September 3, 2015 by

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According to some reports, by the year 2025 Millenials will make up the majority of the workforce in the United States. This year alone Millenials comprise 36% of the workforce in this country and continue to grow for the foreseeable future. And although they are a passionate group of workers and can take less money if they are passionate about their positions, they are quick to move on if they are dissatisfied with their job or employer.

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

Survey shows work ethic of new hires has deteriorated for small business owners

A survey released Tuesday by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says about three-quarters of small business owners say the work ethic of new hires has deteriorated in recent years.

It also found that more than two-thirds of them say the quality of applicants has also declined.

“A lack of qualified applicants is the biggest issue for entrepreneurs and concerns about the quality and work ethic of new hires suggests a worrisome trend ahead for Canada’s workforce,” said the report.

 The CFIB said 65 per cent of entrepreneurs said  employees are the most important element to the success of their firm – more important than even their product or service.

 “Canada’s small businesses will be the first to tell you that their employees are their greatest strength,” said Dan Kelly, president of CFIB, in a statement. “But they are finding it increasingly difficult to find qualified applicants, especially workers prepared to consider entry-level jobs.”

Millennials will move, take less money for IT jobs

A new survey suggests millennials seeking IT jobs are willing to accept less money and relocate in exchange for positions they’re passionate about, but they also aren’t afraid to quickly move on if they are dissatisfied with current employers.

Millennials who want to work in IT say they would consider accepting less money and relocating if they find jobs they are passionate about, according to a new Progressive Insurance survey of 1,000 U.S. millennials interested in IT positions. The report, conducted by Wakefield Research, found that 30 percent of the millennial respondents are “very likely,” and 51 percent are “somewhat likely,” to accept smaller salaries in exchange for work they feel strongly about.

“It’s clear from the survey that millennials in IT are more interested in a job that allows them the flexibility to be creative and experimental rather than one that simply offers good compensation,” says Lynley Williams, recruiting director at Progressive Insurance.

Are Millennials Wreaking Havoc on Employers? Or Vice Versa?

Enter the Project Grow Challenge presented by Entrepreneur and Canon USA for a chance to win up to $25,000 in funding for your business. Deadline is Sept. 15 2015. Click here to enter.

“Help! The inmates are running the asylum!” may be the cry these days running through the heads of many business owners who have multi-generational employees.

This is to say that owners are struggling with the rapid rise of this younger segment of the workforce, and the way these employees refuse to behave the way their predecessors did — a scenario creating a wave of chaos in human resources departments. Let me explain further.

Much research has been done and many articles written on the millennials segment (young people born between 1982 and 2004, meaning employees aged 21 to 33) and their impact in the workforce. I personally never paid much attention to the issue until one of my clients experienced the impact of the millennials firsthand and passed on lessons he learned, which I’m passing on to you.

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How To Reward Your Employees

August 29, 2015 by

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When a slow economy and other external factors start disrupting a business’s cash flow and making it more difficult to get the help it needs, hiring new employees, even when a business needs them, is relegated to the end of the to do  list.  The cost of hiring new employees goes far beyond the salary the business can offer.  The cost of recruiting and training are the beginning costs of hiring a new employee. The incentives the business can provide to recruit top talent and to retain them are far more than the base salary the employee will get.  For more about this topic, follow the links below.

Why Saying ‘Thank You’ Is More Important Than Giving Employees a Raise

Entrepreneur and CultureIQ are searching for the top high-performing cultures to be featured on our annual list. Think your company has what it takes? Click here to get started.

You know the success of your business rests on the shoulders of your employees. That’s why you offer them a raise, put a ping-pong table in the staff room and provide other “cool” perks, like an office beer fridge and weekly yoga, right?

But a recent report by TINYpulse shows all those perks may be for naught if employees aren’t also receiving the occasional “thank you.”

The report (https://www.tinypulse.com/2014-employee-engagement-organizational-culture-report), which comprises data from more than 30,000 employees across more than 500 organizations, showed employees who received recognition were much more likely to rate their workplace as more fun. What’s perhaps most shocking is that 70 percent credited their peers for creating an engaging environment, as opposed to perks and amenities.

Small Business Dilemma: Paying For Health Care

Under the new health care law, sometimes called Obamacare, the “employer mandate” kicks in for businesses with 50 or more full-time equivalent employees (FTE). For purposes of the mandate, FTE includes full-time employees plus each 30 hour period worked by non-full-time workers.

With Obamacare, employers must provide health insurance to at least 95% of their full-time employees and dependents up to age 26. If employers who are required to provide health insurance and do not, they may be forced to pay a penalty of $2,000 per full-time employee, with an exclusion for the first 30 employees. Additional fees may also apply, depending on the circumstances.

The employer mandate does not apply to employers with fewer than 50 employees. According to the Treasury, approximately 96% of employers are small businesses with fewer than 50 FTE workers which means they are exempt from the employer responsibility provisions. This is good news for small businesses but that doesn’t make the health care question go away. The reality is that many small businesses still do provide health care for their employees, either out of a sense of responsibility or out of a desire to attract quality candidates (or both).

The Secret to Hiring the Best Employees at a Small Business

JOHN SULLIVAN: Smaller firms have one advantage over their larger rivals, and that’s the knowledgeable and personalized service provided by their passionate employees. In fact, employee friendliness, knowledge and empathy may be the primary reason why your customers return. Yes, employees are “the face of your business”; because they are often the only point of contact with your customers. Unfortunately, you won’t be able continually to provide that exceptional service or expand your business unless you can constantly recruit new team members that understand the needs of your customers. And the best way to ensure that is to actually recruit your existing best customers, who obviously already know about customer’s needs and they like your unique approach to business.

Data from the corporate world reveals that recruiting has the largest measurable impact on revenue of all human resources actions. In fact, formerly small firms like Uber and Google quickly became dominant firms by realizing that “hiring is the most important thing you do.” Fortunately there’s one recruiting area where small firms can easily “mirror” the approaches of powerhouse firms like Nike, Pier 1, Harley-Davidson, Microsoft and Wells Fargo. And that approach can be described as, “recruit your customers because they share your passion.”

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Retirement and Small Business Advice

August 19, 2015 by

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For many employees, working for a small firm that offers no health insurance or retirement plans is something to think  about very carefully. Top talent invariable seek companies that will offer them those extra benefits that make taking the job appealing, and worthwhile. In some states in the United States though, legislation is underway for  launching pension programs with no employer contributions for employees. These Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) can help small business employees plan for their retirement, with no extra burden for the small business owner.

For more about this and other topics follow the l inks below.

4 Bad Business Habits Of Small Business Owners… And What Can Help Them

The 6th annual Small Business Survey conducted by Wakefield Research for Brother International revealed that  the majority of small business owners are ready to invest in their businesses – as well as let go of bad habits. Having surveyed 500 small business owners with 100 employees or less, the report identified that 54 percent of small business owners surveyed would prefer to invest in their businesses rather than stockpiling their profits – an 18‐percent swing in preference since 2010.

Additional insight from the survey  shed light on how small business owners feel about the economic climate. Based on this 2015 survey, 42 percent of respondents reported a high level of stress because of the economy – a figure that is flat with last year and down 16 percent from a 58‐percent high‐water mark recorded by the survey in 2013. Meanwhile, forty‐one percent of respondents stated they would be interested in investing their money on tech purchases or upgrades only if they increase their revenues by five percent or more this year.

States Developing IRA Plans for Small Business Employees

Roughly half of the U.S. states are working to create government-sponsored automatic individual retirement account (IRA) plans that would enroll workers without access to employer-sponsored retirement plans.

California, Illinois, Oregon and Washington state have taken the lead, passing legislation to launch Secure Choice Pension programs. California and Illinois both aim to begin enrolling workers in 2017.

Employees would contribute through payroll deductions to Secure Choice Pension accounts. The plan’s investments would be professionally managed, but no employer contributions would be required.

There is a regulatory sticking point, though: Will the plans be governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the federal law that sets standards for private-sector pension plans?

Although IRAs are not covered by ERISA, the payroll deduction feature of Secure Choice Pension plans raises the question. Concerns about regulatory burdens for employers – and their possible fiduciary responsibilities under the plans – led states to include clauses in their enabling legislation stating that these pension plans would not proceed if they were deemed to be ERISA plans.

5 Types of Pillar Posts to Write for Your Small Business Blog

I’ve been blogging for over 2 years now (man does time fly) and believe me when I tell you that it has been a journey.

I’ve had my ups and a lot of downs, but one thing’s for sure is that blogging…mixed with social media marketing and content marketing has been instrumental in getting more traffic to my site and visibility for the Small Business Sense brand.

I decided to write this blog post today to one: stress the importance of blogging and content marketing for business purposes and two: to give beginners, give you a reference point for pillar content that you can create for your business blog.

Sure, there are a million ways to skin this cat…(with creating content that is) however, these are 5 types of blog posts that are known to drive traffic to your website and generate a lot of shares on social media.

What is Pillar Content?

Pillar content is essentially blog posts that as Singlegrain.com states “will solidify your blog’s reputation as a go-to source for good content within your industry”.

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Why Aren’t You Focusing on Sales?

August 14, 2015 by

54640451I know — you’re in business to sell something — sounds like such a basic principle.  It’s so simple that it deserves a “duh” and forehead slap.  And yet, it’s amazing how many small business owners don’t take the time to understand it, don’t practice it, don’t think it applies to them or lose sight of it.  Owners who don’t follow this primary tenet are the rule, not the exception.

There’s a logical reason for that.  The average owner starts or buys his company because he has experience with, expert knowledge of and/or an interest in the product or service.  He feels comfortable and competent producing the product or offering the service.  He sees self-employment as enjoyable, interesting, financially beneficial and liberating. 

But, for the typical owner, selling the product is out of his comfort zone and uninteresting.  In addition, he believes he doesn’t have the knowledge, skill or experience to put together an expert sales team.  He ends up not dealing with it, because, after all, he went into business for himself so he “wouldn’t have to do the stuff I don’t want to do”. 

He does what most people do; he ignores it while citing the excuse that he’s too busy to address it.  Understand the irony here — he’s too busy to focus on selling the product he’s producing to sell.  He doesn’t make the connection that he’s not in business to produce products — he’s in business to create revenue, which comes from producing the products. 

Being unable to make this shift in perspective, and many owners aren’t willing to make it, is a primary reason why many small businesses fail.  Being unwilling is a basic flaw in human nature; we focus on what we’re comfortable with, enjoy and are interested in.  This narrows our mental field of view and creates tunnel vision.  We become single-minded and too focused on limited goals or restricted points of view. 

This tunnel vision, “All I have to do is put out a good product and the customer will find me” has bankrupted an incalculable number of businesses.  Active, vigorous selling is the best way for the product or service to get to customers.  Small business owners who understand and prioritize this simple principle always have a better chance of staying open than those who don’t.

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Small Business Planning and Finances

July 21, 2015 by

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The cost of hiring a new employee does not stop at the salary a business owner pays them.  The cost of recruiting and training can be expensive costs to the small business owner, and one of the many reasons the can hesitate about hiring if they are short in cash.  Keeping a talented workforce is another matter.  The salary and benefits small business owners provide to their employees can be instrumental in keeping individuals with talent in their businesses. To read more about this and other topics, follow the links below.

How Banks Lost Their Groove In Small Business Finance… And Why They May Never Get It Back

Prior to the Great Recession, easy credit conditions prevailed for small businesses. Cash was free flowing, and relaxed lending practices made it relatively easy to secure financing.

After the Lehman Brothers crash and during the ensuing “credit crunch,” volume fell roughly 19% from 2008 until 2012. This general slowdown in lending coincided with stricter requirements placed on borrowers. Financing simply became less available — even for “creditworthy” companies. For the first time in U.S. business history, small business owners frequently were unable to secure credit even from their own banks.

Many banks suffered losses when the housing bubble burst, and they became risk averse. In order to make loans, they often sought three years worth of financial data. Naturally, revenues declined during the recession, and startups were particularly challenged because they had no financial track record to highlight. Historical data from my company’s Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index shows that big bank lending hit rock bottom four years ago in June 2011, when only 8.9% of small business loan applications were granted.

IKE TROTTER — Planning is vital for small businesses

Here in Mississippi and, in particular, the Delta, small businesses are the backbone to our economy. And, equally as important, small businesses can be the glue that brings children back home to run and eventually succeed in the ownership of a business. But, as many know, running a small business today involves a great deal of risk.

Needless to say, a small business normally comprises the largest part of one’s estate.  Unfortunately, most business owners fail to address the need for succession planning because it is human nature to put off decisions concerning death, disability or retirement. But here’s a typical scenario: upon the departure of a business owner, there are three choices for remaining family members; sell the business, liquidate the business or try to continue operating. Because of this, succession planning is critical in carrying forth both an orderly transition of power to new owners as well as providing continuity for employees and existing customers.

A properly drafted buy-sell arrangement that is adequately funded can provide financial protection for both family and business. Designed effectively, the plan can allow surviving family members and owners to enjoy ongoing economic support for succeeding generations.

Small business advice: How to attract and retain loyal millennials

It’s no secret that building and maintaining stable employee relationships saves money in the short term and increases company performance in the long term. But what does appear to be a mystery is how to build those relationships.

Many small business owners haven’t found a way to take advantage of this insight because they struggle to build attractive benefits packages and cultures that appeal not only to the best employees, but also to the most dedicated employees.

Fortunately, there’s new information available that points to a surprising solution to this problem: Small businesses need to hire more underrated (and underrepresented) long-haul millennials.

“Dedicated” and “loyal” might not be terms that you usually associate with millennials, but new research indicates that you might want to reconsider your outlook. Although you wouldn’t want to focus your entire hiring strategy on one demographic, there are two facts about millennials that you need to consider before dismissing this approach.

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What’s Your Disgruntled Customer Plan?

June 16, 2015 by

64510516Whether you’re an established, successful small business or a start-up you probably have a sales and marketing plan to attract customers.  After all, providing a product or service to them, for a profit, is one of an entrepreneur’s key goals.  A great deal of up-front time, money and sweat equity is spent on finding and selling to consumers.  But, what about after the sale?

At the beginning of the sales process the focus is on the person, the potential client.  How can the product make their life and business better?  All good sales people know that learning what the client wants, their perception of what the service can give them, is paramount to making the sale.  The billion dollar advertising industry was built on linking emotion to a product. 

After the sale, the focus naturally shifts to getting the service to the client.  Unfortunately, this is where the sales plan usually stops, or is incomplete and falls apart.  The attention of the seller can become more focused on the product or service they are providing, while ignoring or marginalizing the person they’re providing it to.  The following is an example of this disconnect.

Kevin wanted lawn care services for his business.  He met with George, the owner of a landscaping company, and was impressed with George’s understanding of what he was mainly looking for — “decent, no hassle maintenance”.  However, the lawn often became overgrown and unsightly, resulting in Kevin contacting George repeatedly. 

At first, he was apologetic and would send a crew within 2-3 days.  Then George started to complain that he didn’t have enough crew to keep up with the overall demand.  He even became angry at Kevin’s “not understanding his situation”.  Kevin wasn’t interested in excuses, didn’t renew his contract and posted a negative review on a consumer website. 

Upon completion of the sale George prioritized himself and his difficulties with his business over his customer.  He knew that hassle free maintenance was primary for Kevin, yet he didn’t take steps to make sure he was satisfied. Having a sales strategy that stopped at the sale, with no provision for good quality customer service, cost George current and future clients.

A good sales plan is all encompassing and ongoing.  It should include the “how tos” for finding customers, as well as the “how tos” for keeping them.  Unfortunately, many business owners work hard to get customers only to lose them through poor execution of the service and poor treatment of the client.

A comprehensive sales strategy includes policy and procedures which address the inevitable disgruntled customer, because addressing their complaints is still a component of selling to them.  If not for the hassle and George’s attitude Kevin would have renewed his contract, because the mowing was sufficient.  Good customer service can elevate the value of a mediocre product and bad customer service can undermine the value of a good one. 

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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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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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Gov. Kasich’s Budget Proposal

February 3, 2015 by

business (6)Many of the states that are considered “small business friendly” are those states that do not have income tax. Gov. John Kasich tax reforms for Ohio and the proposed elimination on income tax from small business owners, is an attempt to help Ohioans share the wealth of the state. Among other proposed tax initiatives is increasing personal exemption for Ohioans earning less than $40,000. For more news about Gov. Kasich tax plans follow the links below.

John Kasich to propose eliminating income tax on most small businesses, boost exemptions for low-, middle-income Ohioans

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The budget proposal Gov. John Kasich will unveil Monday will include reforms that would eliminate state income tax on nearly all small businesses in Ohio and increase exemption levels for lower- and middle-income Ohioans.

Kasich revealed his plan in an appearance Thursday before a conference of the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies. He also used the event to highlight initiatives in his budget that will help to lift the poor out of poverty and make Ohio’s welfare programs operate more effectively.

His tax plans, touted as “a comprehensive plan for helping all Ohioans share in our state’s prosperity, call for:

  • Elimination of income tax from small businesses — pass through entities such as sole proprietorships and S-corp. companies that report income on the owners’ individual tax returns.
  • Increasing the personal exemption for Ohioans earning less than $40,000 a year from $2,200 to $4,000 in 2015.
  • Increasing the personal exemption for Ohioans earning $40,000 to $80,000 a year from $1,950 to $2,850.

Governor’s new budget to include the elimination of the state’s income tax for many small businesses

CLEVELAND – Cleveland’s West 25th Street is a large part of the city, no doubt, but it is a large part made up of small parts.

“Half of Cleveland’s jobs are in small businesses,” said Sam McNulty. The Market Garden Brewery founder should know—as a small business owner he is an employer and one who could benefit by Governor John Kasich’s budget proposal to be unveiled Monday.

The plan would eliminate the state income tax on small businesses with annual gross receipts of $2 million or less.

“It’s significant and instead of just sending this off to the state… we’ll be able to efficiently deliver those same dollars to the business, reinvest and again creating jobs,” said McNulty. “What this does is this gives all of us the ability to grow the city even more and really supercharge the renaissance we’re seeing.”

The tax cut would cost the state about $700 million over two years and the income tax exemption another $372 million, a fraction of Ohio’s current $60 billion-plus budget.

Big Tax Cuts For Small Businesses

CINCINNATI (Paula Toti) — Governor John Kasich officially released his new budget proposal on Monday. He says the state is doing better financially and it’s time for income tax cuts for everyone. Under the plan if you make less than $80,000 a year, you would see an increase in the personal exemption you can claim. Tax rates would also be cut under the Governor’s plan, with the top income tax rate under five percent (verses eight and a half). The part of the plan getting the most buzz is to eliminate state income taxes on small business. The tax break on small businesses would be big. However, what a lot of people don’t realize is there is currently a big break. In the 2014 tax year, 75 percent of the first 250 thousand in income is state income tax exempt. Kasich would increase that to 100 percent, and the bigger part may be that it would expand to any company with less than two million in gross receipts. The Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber says that’s 85 percent of its members. While it might not mean every small shop will lower prices, the chamber says it likely means more jobs and investing in the local economy.

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Small Business News

January 28, 2015 by

59350241There are many tax advantages that came into effect for this year for small business owners, and cutting more taxes is one the things Rep. Steve Chabot wants to accomplish now that he is Chairman of the House Small Business Committee. Cutting taxes and regulations are a top priority for the Representative, and the small business community cannot fail to benefit from this agenda. Follow the links below for more news about small business.

Small business lending in Ohio shifts toward institutional investors

The biggest obstacle to opening a small business in Ohio is still financing, and Juanita Darden-Jones can tell you all about it.

Darden-Jones plans to open a coffee and wine shop in downtown Dayton called Third Perk this summer, which will mark two years since she first contacted CityWide Development Corp. about getting help raising the money for the equipment and renovations to open the shop.

“Small businesses are almost impossible to finance,” Darden-Jones said. “Banks are not very kind to us.”

The equipment for the coffee shop cost at least $30,000, and Darden-Jones expects to invest about $30,000 in renovations to the store. But that doesn’t include any coffee, food or wine inventory costs.

Small business lending in Ohio is becoming dominated by institutional investors as approval rates at big banks remain rather slim, and small bank approval rates are decreasing.

Big banks improved their small business lending approval rate to 18.5 percent by December 2014, up from 15.9 percent in January, but still lag behind the national rate of 21.1 percent, according to the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index.

Small business agenda: Target taxes, regulations

NEW YORK (AP) — Cutting regulations and taxes are on Rep. Steve Chabot’s must-do list for small businesses.

The Ohio Republican, who became chairman of the House Small Business Committee when Congress took office earlier this month, plans to continue the committee’s focus on how the government burdens small companies.

“If there’s one thing government can do for small business it’s to get the heck off their backs,” Chabot says. “We do over-regulate them. We do overtax them.”

PRIORITIES

Chabot plans to hold hearings to advocate for small businesses, as did his predecessor Sam Graves, R-Mo. Chabot says the committee will focus on the health care law and regulations issued by the IRS and Environmental Protection Agency.

Chabot also plans to push for tax relief for small businesses. He noted that when the Republican-led House passed tax bills in the past, the legislation stalled in the then-Democratic led Senate. He’s looking for more progress in a Congress now controlled by the GOP.

“We think we have a much better chance at advancing a whole range of tax reform issues,” Chabot says.

What an Ohio fire truck company tells us about globalization and free trade

Think free trade deals will help small businesses? It’s a lot more complicated than that. 

For 125 years, some small portion of America’s fire trucks have come from Columbus, Ohio. That’s where the family-owned Sutphen Corp. produces shining red masses of steel and aluminum, loaded with ladders and tanks, the kind of vehicle that towns buy as a promise to keep citizens safe.

But when the recession hit in 2008, Sutphen knew that the United States wouldn’t be enough.

“We saw that we were totally dependent on the U.S. economy, especially municipal funding,” says Ken Creese, the company’s director of sales and marketing. Sutphen’s orders had dropped by some 40 percent, and they were starting to lay people off. They needed new markets, stat.

To find them, the company looked to a country better known for selling stuff to America rather than buying it: China. They hired a vice president for international relations, began responding to solicitations by local governments, and quickly started filling orders. Now, about 11 percent of the 250 trucks Sutphen makes per year sell overseas — not only in China, but Venezuela, Colombia and Peru. Just last week, the company signed a $3.8 million deal with a Chinese fire department.

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