Marketing Your Business For Success

November 15, 2016 by

64510516

Marketing is essential for any business.  The global economy has made businesses across the globe have a longer reach.  Marketing therefore is an essential part of doing business here in the USA or abroad.  Depending on what your business is selling, marketing can help your business acquired customers all across the United States, making your success a bit more possible. 

For more about this another topics, follow the links below.

The Trump effect on small businesses

Lisa Hall has mixed feelings about Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.

The New York restaurant owner does not agree with all of his politics, but she feels squeezed by some burdens on her business and is optimistic Trump will help her and other small-business owners.

Trump has vowed to lower taxes for big businesses but also cut back on regulations that are hurting small businesses.

“My small-business owner side says something’s gotta give with all the rising costs, not to mention all the rules and regulations they are imposing on us,” Hall says. “I’m willing to pay my share, but some of our regulations are hurting smaller businesses.”

Dan Rorick, who owns a small fast-food business in Oneonta, New York, says he is unlikely to be affected by Trump’s policies on business taxation, because he does not operate as a corporation. But Trump’s potential changes to the United States trade policies could affect him.

“If he does something where imports are cheaper, or production is done in the U.S., then it becomes cheaper for me to buy products that I use, like ingredients that potentially benefit me,” Rorick says.

Does Your Small Business Really Need a Marketing Plan?

There’s no use in denying it — marketing is a critical component of a small business’ success.

There’s no use in denying it — marketing is a critical component of a small business’ success.

The challenge is that so many small business owners have no idea what it takes to make marketing work for them. They are experts in their business, but they simply don’t have the time to become experts in the ever changing world of online marketing.

So what happens? Rather than taking a strategic approach, most SMB’s marketing efforts are the result of off-the-cuff thinking, and it shows. Their marketing mix looks like a fragmented collection of tactics and tools from a variety of in-house and external sources.  On a good day, the business owner doesn’t truly know what is working.  On a bad day, they feel like blowing it all up and cutting of the marketing investment all together!

If any of this sounds familiar, I highly recommend you take a step back… and that “step back” involves creating a strategic marketing plan. Developing a marketing plan is your best chance at success, and here’s why.

Social Media Marketing: 4 Reasons Your Small Business Should Invest In It

The average American spends 37 minutes per day on social media. That amounts to 217 hours or 9 days — almost a week and a half — over the course of a year.

That alone is enough reason for any business to jump on the social media marketing train; however, it’s important to consider that investing yourself in social media is extremely time consuming. Living the busy life of a small business owner, dedicating the time and resources necessary to successfully advertise your business on social media can be costly.

But that doesn’t mean you should avoid social media marketing for your small business altogether. Doing so would set you back in the digital age and you would be missing out on an entirely new audience.

Still not sold? Consider these four reasons why you should be using social media marketing for you small business:

  1. Develop a diverse set of connections

Social media is unique in the sense that it allows individuals to create connections with people of various backgrounds from one central hub. This is no different for businesses. Since I began developing and implementing social media marketing campaigns, I have helped small businesses create key connections with influential people, businesses, and past, present and potential. These connections go a long way in making your business more recognizable and can generate increased sales in the long-term.



 

Filed Under: Ohio Business News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Small Business News For This Election Day

November 8, 2016 by

64735957

Today is Election day.  With the uncertainty in the economic climate of the United States, and the global economy, people cannot not participate in this election.  We have choices, and for better or worse as United States citizens, we have a constitutional right to vote. Indecisiveness does not help the economic climate, nor your small business. The small business policies the next president will institute in this country affects us, and the economy.  Think about it. Go Vote!

Survey: Small business owners worried about election impact

Small business owners are concerned about the impact the election could have on their companies but hold mixed views of how supportive the candidates are on different issues, according to a survey by researchers at Pepperdine University.

In the survey done by the Graziadio School of Business and Management, more than three-quarters said they were concerned about the election effect, with about half of those considering themselves very concerned.

Between the two candidates, 66 percent of the more than 1,350 business owners surveyed said Republican Donald Trump was more supportive on tax issues. Sixty-four percent called Trump more supportive on regulatory issues. When asked about equal pay for male and female workers, 59 percent said Democrat Hillary Clinton was more supportive. Fifty-eight percent said Clinton was more supportive of family leave.

The survey covered randomly chosen companies in Dun & Bradstreet Corp.’s database that had annual revenue of $5 million or less.

Indecisiveness Can Be Costly To Small Business Owners: Here’s How To Fix It

Major bottlenecks in businesses are often caused by indecision. It could be that a business owner is waiting on more data before making a decision on a big ticket purchase. They could be too busy to stop and make up their minds on something that needs to be done or perhaps they’re easily distracted by new options that are presented to them. But avoiding the tough decisions that need to be made can paralyse a business, leading to lost opportunities. Here’s some advice from small business expert Dr Greg Chapman to help business owners tackle the problem of indecisiveness.

Over at Australian Small Business Blog, Dr Chapman noted that while many bottlenecks like delays in issuing invoices or suppliers not honouring their commitments may create real costs for a business, being unable to make tough decisions in a timely manner could be even more costly:

Ohio’s tax policy rated one of worst in U.S. for business

COLUMBUS — While Ohio has bragged about being open for business, a Washington-based tax policy think tank ranks the Buckeye State’s business tax climate among the nation’s worst.

The Tax Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit research center, judges states on how well it believes their tax structures encourage or hinder economic growth. Its 2017 report ranks Ohio 45th, ahead of only Minnesota, Vermont, California, New York, and New Jersey.

Ohio trails all of its neighbors. Indiana ranks eighth; Michigan, 12th; West Virginia, 18th; Pennsylvania, 24th; and Kentucky, 34th.

“Ohio has done some good things in recent years, particularly in lowering the individual income tax rates,” said Jared Walczak, policy analyst with the foundation. “But structurally, the state has a more complex tax code and one of the least neutral tax codes.”

Ohio lawmakers and Gov. John Kasich’s office have preferred to point to other business climate rankings, such as this month’s latest from Site Selection magazine. The magazine gauges corporate opinions and tracks announced project sitings.

 

Filed Under: Ohio Business News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The State of Small Business Borrowing

November 3, 2016 by

donk1-300x266

A loan pre-approval offer for your business to expand, invest, or cover payroll may not be on the table any longer. Small businesses are dealing with a lot of rejection this time around when looking for a small business loan, and banks seem unwilling to go forth with loans that were pre approved only a few month ago. “The loan is no longer available to us because that was a special offer a few months back, and the bank is not offering it now.” A small business owner claimed. The companies that are struggling to pay past loans are high, and that can be an indication why banks are unwilling to acquire more debt int he form of loans made to small businesses.

For more about this and other topics, follow the links below.

U.S. small business borrowing falls, delinquencies rise

Borrowing by small U.S. firms slipped in September, and the percentage of firms late on repaying existing loans rose to its highest in nearly four years, data released on Tuesday showed.

The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index fell to 128.9 from a downwardly revised 132.8 in August. Measured from a year earlier, it was the fourth straight monthly decline, with the index at its lowest point since January.

Companies also struggled to pay back existing debts, PayNet data showed. Loans more than 30 days past due rose in September to 1.64 percent, the sixth straight monthly increase and the highest delinquency rate since December 2012.

Bank turned down your small business loan? Now it must offer an alternative

From today, the UK’s nine largest banks will be legally required to help entrepreneurs find funding elsewhere, thanks to the bank referral scheme

Katrin Herrling felt she had nowhere to go when, in the midst of the financial crisis, her bank suddenly changed its lending terms. She had inherited a dairy farm and needed support with her cash flow during the four months of the year the cows weren’t producing milk. “Nothing in our position had changed but the banks felt they had to rebuild their balance sheet,” she says. “I didn’t know where to turn … I [knew] that just going to another bank where I didn’t have an established relationship wasn’t going to solve the issue. Outside of banks, I had no idea.”

From today, entrepreneurs should not find themselves in Herrling’s position. As part of the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, the UK’s nine major banks will be legally required to refer those SMEs they refuse to finance to an alternative provider, under the bank referral scheme.

Study: Women Small Business Owners Being Shut Out of Major Government Contracts

Jane Campbell

Jane Campbell is the director of the National Development Council’s Washington office and president of WIPP.

When Komal Goyal started her IT company, 6e Technologies, in 2003, she knew she had what it takes to run a successful business. She’d made a name for herself in the IT services space and had a robust list of contacts in the commercial arena. What she didn’t have was a hefty government contract—something that could propel her business to new heights—so she set her sights on locking one down. Thirteen years later, she’s still trying to nab one of the large umbrella contracts with the federal government that could double the size of her business in just a few years.

The problem is that most of these super contracts—the kind many federal agencies favor because they create a pre-approved list of businesses that can supply unlimited goods or services during a specified period, of up to 10 years—have requirements to allow various socio-economic groups to compete, but not for women.“The contracting officers putting together a list of possible vendors must ensure certain groups have access to these contracts,” Goyal said. “If women-owned businesses aren’t one of those boxes to check off, we don’t even get the chance to compete.”

 

Filed Under: Ohio Business News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What You Need To Know About Motivating Employees

October 27, 2016 by

54640451

The January 2016 Gallup poll about employment engagement in 2014 and 2015 shows a .5% increase in 2015.  That said, employment engagement in the United States is still only 32%.  The small increase is minimal, and employment engagement has been flat since 2000 according to them.

Also, according to the Gallop poll information, “Engaged employees are involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work” in other words, only one-third of employees in the United States are enthusiastic, or committed to their job.  Many employees believe they have very little or no say in the way they do their jobs, and that their work lives are not in their control.  Many believe the impact they have in their place of work is minimal if any at all.  As a manager, what can you do to improve employment engagement, or motivate them to do better?  Follow the links below for more about this topic.

How to Motivate Employees to Work

Motivation can simply be defined as your willingness or eagerness to accomplish a task. Motivation is what enables you to take action instead of procrastinating about doing something. Motivation isn’t the same as inspiration. A lot of people might be inspired to do something but that does not mean that they will be motivated enough to get started on the work that needs to be done in order to achieve the goal.

So what keeps people motivated at work? Although we need motivation to do almost everything other than just work but since work is what we do in order to make a living, we’ll keep this article to what it takes to ensure your employees are motivated to work and be productive.

First of all, the stress of not doing something that needs doing can sometimes in itself make people motivated to get work done. But not everybody performs so well under stress plus constant stress can affect the health badly.

Have you ever noticed that you don’t feel like doing anything until the deadline of submission comes really close and then you panic and start working all hours of the day. Well that’s the kind of stress some people feed on in order to get things done. So a positive way to ‘push’ people to perform can be by fixing a deadline to tasks. When they know that they don’t have unlimited time to complete the task they’ll be more motivated to work on it.

4 Ways to Motivate Employees to Achieve Phenomenal Results Every Day

Motivating your employees day-in and day-out is no easy task. But, if you want to keep them engaged, productive, and happy, then it’s a necessity if you want your business to thrive. Not only will your employees give you their all, they’ll also be more inclined to stay with you, which reduces the cost of hiring and training new employees.

If you’re looking for a good starting point, here four ways to motivate your employees to be phenomenal every day.

1. Identify and retain your A-Players.

Arguably the most important way to motivate your employees everyday is to make sure that you have people who are talented and can fit your company’s culture. In other words, you want to surround yourself with people who are, asBrent Frei, executive chairman and co-founder of Smartsheet, describes as “A-Players.”

Three steps to making employee motivation work

Engagement is key to employee happiness, says a workplace psychology expert.

Numerous works have been written about how to keep staff happy, motivated and productive. Adrian Furnham, professor of psychology at University College London for the last 25 years, can write his principles of good people management on a small piece of paper.

First priority is setting clear objectives. The second is supporting employees to do their job. The third is providing constructive feedback.

Stick to these and you won’t go far wrong, he says, even in a disrupted working environment where the pace of change is breakneck and managers are struggling to separate threats from opportunities.

“People always think that change is faster in their generation than in any other,” Furnham says. “However, I think there is reasonable evidence to suggest things are changing faster than ever before, particularly in relation to technology. We are all so interconnected now that changes in one part of the world create changes everywhere else.

 

Filed Under: Ohio Business News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Competition, Profitability and Retirement; Are You Ready?

October 19, 2016 by

64002400

“I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.”

— Thomas Jefferson

As a business owner, there are many that believe the above mention phrase and relish the opportunity to be their own boss, and profit from the hard work they do.

Online marketing has given many small businesses the opportunity to compete with bigger companies, and be successful with it.  Marketing a business is no longer for the big guys. Small businesses can have successful online marketing campaigns to attract customers, and to market their business and benefit from the results.  Now, the attraction and the challenge for every small and big business is the ability to compete in a  global market and come up on top.

For more about this and other topics concerning the small business owner, follow the links below.

How to Deal With Competition in Business

The way I see it, competitors are everywhere. Whether you’re a startup owner or veteran, you need to know how to deal with competitors in business.

After being a business owner for over 30 years, I’ve learned how to handle the competition. I know first hand how important it is to pay attention to businesses in your industry but also to not make them your priority.

You don’t want to be completely oblivious to your competition. You should put your energy into your own entrepreneurial tasks above all else.

Why you shouldn’t ignore the competition

Ever hear the saying, Never underestimate your opponent? The same holds true for business.

I have a general idea of where my competitors are, where they’re going, and how fast they’re going to get there. Other than that, I don’t lose sleep over them.

5 facts you didn’t know about retirement

Here are some important retirement-related facts about Social Security, long-term care, retirement savings balances, homeownership, and taxes.

If you want to have the best retirement possible, it’s important to take steps to prepare for the things that could affect you the most. Here’s a closer look at five retirement facts that could have a huge impact on your retirement plans, and there’s a good chance you may not even know about them.

Whether you’re a few years or still a few decades from retirement, these five facts are important. Let’s take a closer look at how they could affect you.

1. You’ll probably need long-term care (and have to pay for it)

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 70% of people who live past 65 will need long-term care. If you’re married, there’s a 90% likelihood either you or your spouse will need long-term care. In other words, if you live to retirement age, the odds are good that you’ll end up needing some sort of long-term care.

How to Manage Your Profitability in Your Small Business

A profitable small business is rarely an accident; you have to constantly work for new revenue.

Projecting profits on a financial statement in a business plan can make you feel hopeful as an entrepreneur. But your business plan is simply your hypothesis of what you thing will happen in the marketplace of your business. However, the only way to ever realize the profits you want is to mentally, and physically, exert your leadership while executing your sales plan. The following are several important factors I would encourage you to consider as you work to focus on the profitability of your business.

Invest Wisely

You have a very narrow margin of error in a small business. Therefore, making wise investment decisions is critical to your profitability. Whether hiring a new employee or acquiring equipment or assets for your company, always assess the potential return on investment. Before buying a building, furniture, resale products or supplies, consider the direct or indirect impact the investment has on your bottom-line.

 

Filed Under: Ohio Business News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Marketing Your Business And Products Using Social Media

October 13, 2016 by

Customer Relationship Management business chart on a digital tab

If you are a small business owner and need to market your business, what better way to do it  than to use social media?  Many small business owners have realized than marketing their business using social media is easier than they thought at first. They do not need to be computer savvy to do it, they do not need to understand the code behind a WordPress post, and they do not need to be afraid to try it for the first time.  Using social media to market their business is the best way to reach millions of customers without investing too much time and money to do it.

For more about this topic, follow the links below.

Almost Half of Small Businesses Marketing Products on Social Media (INFOGRAPHIC)

Small businesses are waking up to the potential for using social media to market their products, a new study has found.

How Small Businesses Are Using Social Media

According to the report by SCORE, a nonprofit association for small businesses, 45 percent of these small companies use social media marketing to promote a specific product or service.

Apart from product promotion, small businesses use social media marketing for the following purposes:

To share information about sales and discounts (38 percent).

To gain likes and fans (38 percent).

To solicit/respond to customer feedback (34 percent).

Other purposes include providing videos to highlight products or services (29 percent), sharing a company blog post (20 percent) and establishing their personal expertise (23 percent).

5 Ways To Use Video Marketing For Small Business Growth

The power of video can’t be ignored. It’s the most engaging type of contentavailable today. And it’s never been more affordable to create one. There are many ways in which you can use a video to grow your small business. This guide is going to show you how to do it.

Implant A Video On Your Landing Page

The majority of small businesses will invest in online advertising. These ads will lead to a landing page, where customers can begin to crawl through the sales funnel. Improving landing page conversion rates is always a major matter of concern, but with a video, this is relatively easy.

Studies have shown that a video placed on your landing page can increase conversions by 80%. This is because the content is engaging and it encourages people to watch. What you have to bear in mind is that this video shouldn’t automatically play.

Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses: An Interview with Douglas Geller

The following social media marketing industry interview is with Douglas Geller, author of The Dreamer and an experienced PR professional who is currently serving as a Social Media Coordinator for The University of Mixed Martial Arts.

Andrew: Do you think that Social Media Marketing is useful for small businesses? Why or why not?

Douglas: I think social media marketing is extremely useful for small businesses. It allows businesses to not only target a specific audience but engage with the audience as well. It also allows for a connection that can’t be bought through a TV or magazine advertisement. People can make an emotional connection and will remember when the brand reaches out or reacts on social media. Social media also creates the opportunity for content to go viral which other mediums are not able to offer (though this should never be counted on). There are so many positives in my opinion that the negatives such as bad reviews are outweighed and can be turned into positives. Bad reviews simply tell you what is wrong and how to fix it, without social media, you can’t hear what everyone says about you and offers a chance to make adjustments and be recognized for it.

Filed Under: Ohio Business News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

It’s Time to Get Serious About Your Brand (Part 2)

October 10, 2016 by

business (7)Last month I talked about what a brand is and how it’s past time for small business owners to get serious about theirs.  It’s a concept that’s here to stay.  How you create and manage your brand can often be directly linked to increased or decreased sales.

Knowledgeable customers are increasingly expecting (demanding) an overall positive buying experience.  If they don’t get it from you they’ll go elsewhere.  You can produce the experience people are coming to expect by thoughtfully managing your brand.

The idea of creating a brand can seem overwhelming and confusing to a lot of owners.  But, it doesn’t have to be.  If you start with 2 basics and do them consistently well, that might be all you’ll ever need to do to establish and support your brand.  You’ll certainly be far ahead of your competition. 

One of the first things owners lose sight of is their company’s visual image.  They get caught up in the day to day duties of running the business (the inside) and forget to look at how the world (the outside) sees them.  You ignore the outside at your own risk — that’s where your clients are. 

As your company gets more successful its image should change accordingly.  Are you using the same materials (cards, web site, letterhead, logos, taglines, graphics, customer paperwork, signage, etc) you’ve had since you were a start-up?  Does it look cheap, out-of-date and homemade?  Don’t trust your own judgment; ask a lot of other people how they see it.

Also, what do your service people and vehicles look like?  How about the outside of your building?  Do you want this to be a potential customer’s comment, “What do I know about Acme Electrical (fictional)?  The building needs painted, the yard has trash in it and their service people look unkempt.  They must be going out of business.” 

What people see is powerful, and what they see first forms their lasting opinions.  Your brand should represent your business now and where you’d like to be in 5 years.  You want it to convey success, professionalism and trustworthiness.  You may not care how things look, but potential and current customers do and it’s their viewpoint that matters.

   

Understanding that their viewpoints matter is the second basic strategy you need to create a successful brand.  It’s commonly called excellent customer service.  The biggest complaint consumers have about most buying experiences is poor customer service.  This includes business to business transactions.

This is not a new or revolutionary idea, but it’s still one many companies get wrong.  That’s good news for you if you’re serious about taking your company to the next level through positive brand awareness.  As your competitors’ customer service gets worse, it makes it easier for yours to surpass it.

The simpler you make it for people to do business with you the better chance you have of selling more.  When was the last time you used your web site?  Do you require your salespeople to have ideas about improving service?  How long has it been since you’ve asked a client for feedback on their buying experience with your company? 

For most small businesses developing an effective brand doesn’t have to be complicated if you focus on these 2 basics first.  It does, however, take commitment, effort and time to implement them successfully.  But, the effort will pay off in the long run. 

As Peter Drucker said, “Suppliers and especially manufacturers have market power because they have information about a product or a service that the customer does not and cannot have, and does not need if he can trust the brand. This explains the profitability of brands.”

Filed Under: coaching Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Borrowing And The Small Business

October 4, 2016 by

donk1-300x266

For many small and medium size businesses, borrowing money to pay for new equipment, expansion, new hires, or even the monthly payroll, is a reality.  But, more and more of those businesses find it hard to go to a traditional bank for their loan, preferring to seek a different alternative.  And, although many of those businesses can find loans for a comparable rate, some of them are finding it hard to pay them back.  According to economists, small business borrowing is a sign the economy is growing, but if those businesses cannot pay their loans back, are they hiring too many people? 

For more about small business finances, follow the links below.

US small business borrowing up, as are delinquencies: PayNet

Borrowing by small U.S. firms rose in August, in part because the month had more business days than July, and the percentage of firms late on repaying existing loans also increased, data released on Tuesday showed.

The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index rose to 133.7 in August from an upwardly revised 123.1 in July, which had three fewer working days. Borrowing by companies in most industries, except construction and recreation, fell.

“It’s malaise, rather than freefall,” said Bill Phelan, PayNet’s president.

Companies also struggled to pay back existing debts, PayNet data showed. Loans more than 30 days past due rose in August to 1.63 percent, the fifth straight monthly increase and the highest delinquency rate since December 2012.

The figures come as the Federal Reserve mulls the timing of its next rate hike. Higher interest rates tend to slow economic growth. Movements in the index typically correlate with movements in gross domestic product growth a quarter or two ahead.

Finding Cheap Loans Is Getting Harder For Small Businesses Around the World

It’s still tough out there.

Small businesses are increasingly having to pay more for their loans, according to a new survey that examines credit constraints for more moderate ventures across the U.S. and Europe.

Only 48 percent of small- and medium-sized businesses said they can get financing at rates below 8 percent, according to a new survey from C2FO, a financial technology startup that has created a marketplace where small- and medium-sized businesses can get paid early by the large companies they supply. The inaugural such survey, released last year, showed nearly 60 percent of respondents were able to secure funding at rates below 8 percent.

The survey comes despite benchmark interest rates hovering at record lows, particularly in Europe where the central bank has begun buying corporate bonds in an effort to lower borrowing costs. Regulation introduced after the 2008 financial crisis, as well as a continued wariness of riskier loans, is often said to have made small business lending less attractive for banks, encouraging a host of new entrants eager to grab a slice of the market.

How SMBs — And Their Lenders — Brace For Regulation

As the fluctuations within the small business lending industry continue, SMEs must keep their eye on the state of the market: whether capital is available, how affordable it is and where it’s coming from.

Marketplace lender Bizfi released today (Sept. 13) the results of its research on how small businesses are managing the changes made to how they access financing. And in an interview with PYMNTS, Bizfi Founder Stephen Sheinbaum offers his own take on how alternative finance players are managing those changes, too.

What SMEs Face

According to Bizfi’s Small Business Growth Survey, demand for financing from alternative funding sources is at a “record high.” More than two-thirds of companies surveyed said they prefer to seek loans from alternative sources rather than traditional banks. Less than a third of small businesses plan to seek a bank loan from a local bank, while nearly 28 percent said they’ll use a credit card or line of credit for their financing needs.

 

Filed Under: Ohio Business News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

News To Help You Make Your Small Business Stronger

September 27, 2016 by

59948705

Small businesses, many economists believe are the driving force of the US economy.  From the business owner with no employees, to the companies that have 500 hundred, it is certain the United States economy benefits from the entrepreneurship of the 27 millions of Americans that start a business, or are running one. 

For more information about small business, follow the links below.

 Better Serving Small Business

Small businesses have to go through too many regulatory obstacles to fund themselves.

While it’s new firms that tend to drive job creation, small businesses overall play an important role in the economy. In 2013, roughly half of all jobs and wages earned were through small businesses. And as Goldman Sachs’ Head of Global Investment ResearchSteve Strongin pointed out earlier this year, as of 2013 there may be more than 600,000 fewer small businesses than if we’d not had the 2007-2009 crisis. Since politicians often blame others for economic woes or claim responsibility for economic successes, it’s no surprise that small businesses serve as a talking point this election season.

For instance, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton pledged to “break down barriers so that starting a business can be as easy as setting up a lemonade stand in the front yard,” though regulations even seem to be getting in the way of that these days. Nevertheless, the objective of making it easier for small businesses to fund themselves has broad appeal with Americans of all political stripes. Figuring out how businesses fund themselves and what obstacles they face is the first step toward thinking about effective solutions to address the constraints on access to capital for small businesses.

How to maximize your tax deduction for business use of a car

Anyone who uses a car for business should know the costs associated with the miles you drive for your business are tax-deductible. Most years, when the IRS publishes its deductible cost-per-mile rates, the figure rises as the cost of owning and operating a motor vehicle rises.

But not for 2016. For this tax year, the IRS has dropped the standard mileage rateto 54 cents per mile from 57.5 cents in 2015, thanks to sustained low gas prices.

However, you may find that your actual operating costs are higher than the deduction the IRS allows in its standard mileage rate.

So why do so many taxpayers use the standard mileage rate to figure their deduction for business use of a vehicle? Well, for starters, most people think it’s easier, requires less documentation and has less chance of an IRS audit. But none of that is true.

You might think the standard rate overcomes a lack of keeping detailed expense records. But it doesn’t. In fact, most people who use a car for business purposes probably have most of the expense records they need to use the actual-expense method.

Your Small Business Should Have a Board of Directors

You may have the best small business ideas in the world, but succeeding in business requires you to understand the business of running a business. Operating a business of any size is not like mixing together the right ingredients for a casserole and then letting it cook in the oven. It’s a continual, evolving process, and you have to develop and tweak your processes and systems to make it work. One of the best ways to learn to run your business better is to pull together a board of advisors.

It’s important to be honest with yourself about what you don’t know. Once you identify learning gaps, it’s best to pull together five or so people who know more about business than you. When you start thinking about who might be the best suited for your advisory board. Start with an existing entrepreneur, an existing or potential customer, a mentor who may not be in your industry, a lawyer and an accountant to recruit to your board.

You can always realize a strong return on investment by allowing specialists to advise you in areas in which you are not trained. As the business owner, you always need to be focused on your most valuable tasks. In addition to specific skills and processes, your business can benefit from small business advice on a broader, more holistic level. Using a board of advisors is invaluable guidance for your business.

 

Filed Under: Ohio Business News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Productivity In The Workplace

September 22, 2016 by

64002400

There are many factors that affect the profitability of a firm.  For managers and directors of firms, one of the most important factors is to increase profitability for their stakeholders.  The income a company earns over a fiscal year must exceed the expenses they incurred.  Profitability is then one of the many reasons management tries to increase the productivity of their workforce.  Productivity in the workplace is a major challenge for many companies, and research over the years have shown that happy employees are more productive than non happy or stressed employees. But how about working remotely? How is the productivity level compared to those working at the office?  For more about this, follow the links below.

Study: Whopping 93% Say They’re More Productive Working Remotely

Catherine Conlan’s spent her fair share of time in offices. These days, though, the rural Minnesota writer clocks in from home to a content marketing agency in Baton Rouge, La. Still, many of the work-life balance challenges are the same.

“There are days where I’m still rushing around to pick up the kids or the laundry just doesn’t get done, because I’ve put a priority on my work productivity,” Conlan says. “But working remotely, especially with an employer who embraces a project- or results-based approach to work and is dedicated to supporting employees’ lives away from work, can make finding a sense balance a lot easier.”

Boosting America’s Workplace Productivity

Here’s the plain truth: whether at home or at work, productivity tends to suffer under stress. And while stress triggers are highly personal, one thing many workers seem to have in common is uncertainty around how to handle personal finances. In fact, according to a recent study commissioned by MassMutuali, while most Americans say they prioritize understanding the importance of their personal finances, many admit they actually know little or nothing about them, and half say they don’t know how much to spend on benefits. Worse, 37 percent of those surveyed find managing their personal finances “somewhat” or “very difficult” and 40 percent say personal financial problems are a distraction at workii.

It’s clear from the research that personal finances bedevil many Americans, especially when it comes to understanding and making the most of their employee benefits. And employee stress doesn’t just affect employees – the prevalence of distracted employees in the workplace poses a huge productivity issue for employers that, if left untreated, will likely become worse.

Productive mobility is poised to give business a virtual boost

Throughout history, new technologies have constantly changed the way we’ve worked. They’ve been responsible for full-scale revolutions. And continued investments have come as corporate demand for worker productivity drives tech spending.

We should expect augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to eventually attract increased spending in the enterprise as they combine with new mobile network advancements to make an emerging trend called “productive mobility” a reality.

Productive mobility is about being as productive out of the office as inside, and as productive in a virtual instance as a physical one.

Consider Boeing’s use of augmented reality glasses to streamline plane assembly workflows, decreasing assembly time and reducing errors by 25 percent. This is amazing. It’s also just the beginning of this reality-transforming workplace future.

That’s where critical mobile network developments come in. Many of the most exciting AR applications require instant environmental interpretation, and rapid delivery of contextually relevant information and functionality. VR, in particular 360 stereoscopic video, greatly raises the payload overhead of rich media.

Fixed and mobile broadband network advancements like fiber and 5G, along with service provider-centric content delivery topologies, deliver higher throughput with lower latencies. New convolutional network designs find patterns among previously insurmountable massive data sets, enabling rapid, intelligent predictions about the network, the things connected to it and the users engaging with it.

 

Filed Under: Ohio Business News Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »