Small Business Outlook For 2014

February 12, 2014 by

business (3)For a few months now we have read in the news that small business owners’ confidence in their business is good, and the outlook for an improved economy is embraced by many businesses across the nation. Some changes in taxes that small business owners could claimed  have expired last year, but still their outlook is optimistic. According to recent surveys conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in conjunction with The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found that many of the small business owners in NJ,NY, PHI and neighboring states claimed they are more confident  in finding credit for their small business and plan to hire within the next six months.

Read more about this topic by following the links below.

Some good news for small contractors in 2014

Federal contractors entered 2014 having witnessed the failure of Congress to implement comprehensive procurement legislation. But lots of large and small tweaks found their way into the system — and small businesses might be among the benefactors.

Many of these developments center on small business contracting. In 2014, contractors can expect increased governmental emphasis on small business size rules. Plus, major procurement reform may have eluded Congress, but one big change that did occur opens up new business opportunities for small companies.

That change occurred deep in the 2014 National Defense Authorization Act. Section 1609, one of the shorter sections, updates the rules for how large prime contractors are able to meet their small business subcontracting goals.

The NDAA in effect rewrites rules originally derived under the Small Business Act designed to boost participation in federal contracts by small, disadvantaged, woman-owned, and veteran-owned businesses, as well as those located in designated highly-underutilized business zones.

Small business confidence rising in 2014

More small business owners are planning to add jobs and boost pay this year, according to the most recent Business Confidence Survey released by Insperity Inc.

Half of the respondents said they plan to add employees this year, up from just 26 percent in October, while only 3 percent say they expect more layoffs. Compensation metrics climbed as well with average compensation for the fourth quarter of 2013 up 2.9 percent from the year before among the 5,500 small- and medium-sized clients with Insperity.

“The small business community is taking a more positive approach to 2014 business plans according to our Business Confidence Survey responses and internal data,” says Paul J. Sarvadi, Insperity chairman and CEO. “Business owners and managers seem willing to hire more employees, increase wages and gear up for improved sales in spite of challenges like an uncertain economy and the Affordable Care Act.”

Another ObamaCare Delay for Some Small Businesses

Small-business owners got a bit of reprieve from the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service Monday, as the employer responsibility provision of the Affordable Care Act saw yet another delay.

Businesses with between 50 and 99 employees will not have to comply with the employer mandate portion of President Obama’s signature legislation until 2016. The law requires every business with at least 50 or more full-time workers to offer them approved coverage or face a penalty of $2,000 per worker per year for failing to comply. For companies with 100 or more full-timers, this mandate kicks in in 2015.

The government says it is delaying the move to “streamline” tax reporting requirements for  businesses. The departments said in a release that the delay will impact only about 2% of employers nationally. In 2011, there were 7,876,979 small businesses that fell into this category, according to the Small Business Administration.

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Financial News For The Small Business Owner

February 6, 2014 by

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

What small business owners should know about the new Obamacare report

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Retirement Plans For The Small Business Owner

January 28, 2014 by

business (11)There is an overabundance of retirement financial groups all over the United States. For a small business owner a retirement solution for them and their employees is necessary and much needed. What are the retirement options a small business owner can have? The options are many according to financial planners all over the United States, the option is up to you and what you want to accomplished by retirement age.

Follow the links below for more information about this topic.

Retirement plans for small business owners

There are a lot of choices so figuring out what you need is crucial to ending up with the best strategy.

Americans ages 55 to 64 are fast becoming entrepreneurs. In fact, the share of new entrepreneurs in that age group grew from 14.3% to 23.4% from 1996 to 2012, according to the 2013 Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity.

And if you’re among that group of entrepreneurs who are trying to save for retirement while building your business there’s a plethora of plans from which to choose, including SEP-IRAs, SIMPLE-IRAs, SIMPLE 401(k)s, small-business owner 401(k)s, traditional 401(k)s, money purchase plans, profit-sharing plans, and defined benefit plans.

But which retirement plan might be best for you?

Small Business Administration Committing More Cash to SBIC Program

The U.S. Small Business Administration, which provides capital to private investment funds to back small businesses through its Small Business Investment Company program, is opening its wallet a bit wider these days.

The SBA plans to increase its annual commitment to the SBIC program to $4 billion, up from $3 billion, said Javier Saade, associate administrator for the Office of Investment and Innovation of the SBA. Launched in 1958, the SBIC program is designed to help private investment firms augment capital raised from private sources to back small businesses. A popular format of the SBIC program calls for the administration to match each dollar of equity capital that funds receive from private investors with two dollars of public funding in the form of debt.

Another Sign Your Next Small Business Loan Won’t Come From a Bank

Here’s more evidence of the growing market for alternative small business loans: OnDeck, an online lender that makes term loans up to $250,000, generated $65 million in revenue in 2013, Chief Executive Officer Noah Breslow said yesterday. He noted that’s up two and a half times from the year before. The increase comes after a report earlier this year estimating that nonbank lenders including OnDeck loaned about $3 billion to small business owners in 2013.

In a press release today, OnDeck said it received four times as many loan requests from residential construction contractors in 2013 compared with the year before, echoing research from Experian (EXPN:LN) and Moody’s Analytics (MCO) that’s highlighted a connection between rebounding housing markets and small business growth.

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Akron Ohio Business News

January 21, 2014 by

business (2)The distractions a person doing business from home are innumerable. Not only that, but the tediousness of waking up every morning to go to your office across the hall can be a bit boring. In my opinion, it is way better than fighting traffic and the cold to go to an office downtown.  But, if you are really anxious to escape the home and all the distractions involved, read the article below for some inspiration and to follow more news affecting Ohio.

Akron General back on the prowl

Akron General Health System remains one of the few independent health systems in Northeast Ohio. That was poised to change when Cleveland Clinic and Community Health Systems, a for-profit health care juggernaut out of Tennessee, announced in August they would acquire the health system through a new joint venture.

That deal has seemingly fallen apart, at least for now, and Akron General is on the hunt for new suitors.

It’s possible Catholic Health Partners, the Cincinnati-based health system that through a subsidiary purchased a minority stake in Summa Health System, could make a play for Akron General. Such a deal would make CHP an immediate, big-time player in Northeast Ohio, especially with its recent acquisition of Kaiser Permanente’s Ohio operations. That said, I’m not sure how Summa — Akron General’s larger and much more solvent — competitor would react to the news.

Akron business offers space to work that’s not the coffee shop

The cats, the laundry and other distractions. Not to mention, “the mundane feeling of being in the same place for so long.”

That’s what drove Torrie Fischer to seek out an alternative to working from home.

She’s among a growing number of folks across the country turning to shared work space.

Fischer, a software engineer, landed at Office Space Coworking, or OSC, in downtown Akron. OSC is housed on the ground floor of the historic Everett Building at Main and Market streets.

“This is out of the house and there’s food [eateries] nearby. It’s got a collaborative atmosphere — it’s starting to,” said Fischer, whose job with an international company allows her to work from anywhere.

The new owner of Office Space Coworking, Nick Petroski, encourages that sharing of ideas and is stressing that his operation offers a lot more than space, free Wi-Fi, parking and coffee.

“With Office Space Coworking, you get access to a community,” Petroski said. “You can get access to the person sitting right next to you. You can get feedback on an idea.”

To build that community, Petroski, 28, has begun sponsoring educational, as well as social events.

Tressel isn’t at Akron to be ‘an ornament’

Former Ohio State football coach has had his influence with Zips expand significantly.

If the last 24 months have proven anything about Jim Tressel, it’s that he’s no ornament.

Two years ago next month, Mr. Tressel joined the University of Akron in what was then a largely undefined administrative role — one that carried the weighty title of vice president for strategic engagement. The controversial hiring came less than a year after the Northeast Ohio native resigned as Ohio State University’s head football coach in the wake of a scandal involving a group of his players and his failure to report violations to the NCAA.

“There might have been some skepticism when I came to work here,” Mr. Tressel said in an interview last Tuesday, Jan. 7, with Crain’s. “People thought, “He’s going to come here and kind of be an ornament and go out to lunch occasionally and ask someone for money.’ I understand why people might have thought that.”

 

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Ohio Increases The Minimun Wage

January 15, 2014 by

business (7)For many people that work for minimum wage, the news that Ohio is increasing the minimum wage to $7.95 per hour is good news. The 10-cent increase is not a terrible burden to small business and definitely can be conceive as a small increase which will eventually help the local economies. For the most recent news affecting Ohio small businesses follow the links below to read the articles in their entirety

Small businesses wary of large minimum-wage increase

On Wednesday, Ohio’s minimum wage will be increased by 10 cents per hour to a rate of $7.95 per hour, impacting an estimated 330,000 workers in the state.

Tipped Ohio workers will see a 5-cent increase in their minimum wage, going up to $3.98 per hour. This increase comes as a result of a 2006 vote requiring annual adjustments to the minimum wage to keep pace with the rising cost of living.

Certain groups, such as Policy Matters Ohio, a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy research institute, applaud the change, maintaining that an increased minimum wage will spur consumer spending and economic growth by as much as $38 million.

“Ohio workers and the Ohio economy will both benefit from this raise for our lowest-paid neighbors,” Amy Hanauer, executive director for Policy Matters Ohio, said in a statement. “The employees who benefit will turn around and spend money in our communities, stimulating growth here.”

Internet cafe law now in effect, takes toll on Ohio businesses

Disconnected phone lines and shells of buildings are all that remain of many Ohio sweepstakes businesses three months after a law effectively banning their existence took effect.

The law, which went into place Oct. 4, limited Internet cafe prizes to items valued at less than $10 and gave law enforcement officials the authority to prosecute businesses as illegal gambling operations if they do not comply. A last-ditch effort to delay the law and place the decision before voters fell about 71,000 signatures short of the 231,000 needed to make the ballot.

The only signs of the former Starz Internet Cafe in Heath, for example, are multicolored carpeting and remnants of window clings advertising Internet cards. Large “for lease” signs are visible from the road.

One challenge to counting how many Internet cafes are still operating in Ohio is that it wasn’t clear how many were doing business in the first place. The best estimates placed the number at 620 before the law took effect. Of those, 339 registered with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office earlier this year.

Skimpy Obamacare plans leave some ‘underinsured‘

For working people making modest wages and struggling with high medical bills from chronic disease, President Barack Obama’s health care plan sounds like long-awaited relief. But the promise could go unfulfilled.

It’s true that patients with cancer and difficult conditions such as multiple sclerosis or Crohn’s disease will be able to get insurance and financial help with monthly premiums.

But their annual out-of-pocket costs could still be so high they’ll have trouble staying out of debt.

You couldn’t call them uninsured any longer. You might say they’re “underinsured.”

These gaps “need to be addressed in order to fulfill the intention of the Affordable Care Act,” said Brian Rosen, a senior vice president of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. “There are certainly challenges for cancer patients.”

“Cost may still be an issue for those in need of the most care,” said Steven Weiss, spokesman for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. That “makes it critically important for patients looking at premiums to also consider out-of-pocket costs when choosing a plan.”

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Small Business Financing And Opportunities

January 6, 2014 by

business (5)There are approximately 22 million small businesses in the United States. And there are 543,000 new businesses that get started every single month, but unfortunately, the life expectancy of those 543,000 businesses is not very long. According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics only 44% of those businesses make it past the 4th. year of operations.  And by making it past the 4th. year, these small business owners are under a lot of financial hardship just to keep the business going.

If your new year’s resolution is to start a new business, or have an idea you want to explore, the statistics about starting a new business are not pretty. Failure and financial hardship are ever present for a new business, but being prepared and researching every single aspect of starting a business can be beneficial for you and your new enterprise.

How to Research a Business Opportunity

Protect yourself by learning what a business opportunity really is, how the government regulates them, and the steps you should take to ensure you’ve found the best opportunity available.

Just what is a business opportunity? That question has plagued a great many people trying to decide whether to buy a current independent business, a franchise, or what we’ll refer to in this text as a business opportunity. To allay the confusion, we offer a simple analogy. Think back to elementary school when your teacher was explaining the difference between a rectangle and a square. A square is also a rectangle, but a rectangle isn’t necessarily a square. The same relationship exists between business opportunities, independent businesses for sale and franchises. All franchises and independent businesses for sale are business opportunities, but not all business opportunities meet the requirement of being a franchise nor are they in the strictest sense of the word independent businesses for sale.

Making matters even more confusing is the fact that 26 states have passed laws defining business opportunities and regulating their sales. Often these statutes are drafted so comprehensively that they include franchises as well.

The Basics of Startup Financing

So you’ve come up with an idea for a business? Congratulations! Now you need startup financing – that initial infusion of money needed to turn the idea into something tangible. And that’s where it becomes tricky.
When you are just starting out, you’re not at the point yet where a traditional lender or investor would be interested in you. So that leaves you with selling cherished assets, borrowing against your home, maxing out credit cards, dipping into a 401(k), and asking loved ones for loans. There is a lot of risk involved, including the risk of bankruptcy with your personal finances and soured relationships with friends and family.

This is the hard part behind starting a business — putting so much at risk. But doing so is the rite of passage to both success and failure. It’s what sets entrepreneurs apart from people who collect paychecks.

A major key is to ramp up initial operations as quickly as possible to get to the point where outside investors can see and feel the venture, as well as understand that you took some risk getting it to that point.

Some businesses can also be bootstrapped. They can be built up quickly enough to make money without aid from investors who might otherwise come in and start calling the shots.
With so much at risk, it is important to have a strong business plan in place, and to seek out advice from experienced entrepreneurs and experts — people who might also invest in your business someday.

Learn How An App Helps Small Business Owners Focus On Growth

As owners of the online stationery and gift boutique The Paper Cottage, entrepreneurs Beth Kneebone and Michelle Lease handle everything from operating their website to managing social media and corresponding with customers.

But for small-business owners, details like tracking expenses and filing receipts can be overwhelming — “all those little things [that] used to put small businesses out of business,” as Lease puts it. Watch this video to see how Kneebone and Lease use the App from Ink, a mobile expense-management app, to simplify their lives and grow their business.

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Small Business Owners Challenges For 2014

December 27, 2013 by

business (3)2014 will certainly be a year of many changes for the small business community.  The Affordable Care Act will surely be a component of the uncertainty they feel, and the possible financial increase they expect because of it.  Read more about this and other topics by following the links below.

The Advantages and Challenges of a Remote Workforce

Remote employment options are becoming increasingly popular for businesses and employees alike and the relationship can be mutually beneficial to all parties involved. Businesses have access to a much larger hiring pool, and can generally save on salaries and office space, while the employee saves on commuting and relocation costs as well as more flexibility in their work and personal time.
Automattic, software provider to blogging giant, WordPress, has been utilizing remote workers since 2005. Although the company is based in San Francisco, it employs workers from around the globe from as many as 26 different companies, according to an article published at Businessweek.com.

Staff and employers save with remote work

Automattic benefits by saving money on salaries. Instead of paying their staff based on wages appropriate for San Francisco and Silicon Valley, pay is based on the employee’s physical location. While that doesn’t benefit the employee necessarily, it does allow someone living as far away as Bangladesh a job opportunity without the added expense and inconvenience of relocating to California.

Small Business Majority — 2013 Spells Year of Big Changes, Uncertainty for Americas Small Business Community

With the end of the year fast-approaching, America’s small business community looks back over the past 12 months of enormous changes and gridlock in Washington that has left them closing the books on 2013 with mounting uncertainty. The small business community across the country continues to face these challenges with 2014 on the horizon.

From the implementation of the Affordable Care Act to Congressional dysfunction in Washington resulting in a government shutdown and sequester, 2013 has become a year of big changes and lingering vulnerability for America’s smallest businesses.

Story ideas for what America’s small businesses have faced in 2013:

Implementation of the Affordable Care Act — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the online portion of the federal Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) marketplace through HealthCare.gov will be delayed longer than previously expected. Instead of the online marketplace, small employers who wish to purchase insurance through the SHOP can still do so by working with a certified broker or directly through an insurer—exactly the same way they purchase insurance now.

Next Obamacare crisis: Small-business costs?

Think the canceled health policies hurt the Obamacare cause? There’s another political time bomb lurking that could explode not too long before next year’s elections: rate hikes for small businesses.

Like the canceled individual health plans, it’s another example of a trade-off that health care experts have long known about, as the new rules for health insurance prices create winners and losers. But most Americans won’t become aware of it until some small-business employees learn that their premiums are going up because of a law called — oops — the Affordable Care Act.

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Small Business News And Information

December 17, 2013 by

business (10)During the holiday season, businesses -big chains and small business- hope they can make the jump from the red to the black numbers, and if not making a big return at least make it even. scams during the year are always there, but during the holiday season, they seem to more prevalent, and find many small business owners unawares of what is going on making the profits a bit harder to come by.

Read more about what is happening in Northeast Ohio by following the links below.

Ohio jumps nine spots as entrepreneur-friendly state

When it comes to fostering entrepreneurs, Ohio is doing it right. The Buckeye State jumped nine spots on the annual Small Business Policy Index, which ranks states by entrepreneurship-friendly policies.

This year, Ohio ranks No. 9, compared to No. 18 in its 2012 ranking.

The annual report takes into account 47 policy measurements, including taxes, regulatory and government spending measures. The report is published by the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.

Policy reforms aimed at small-business startup and growth are mostly being implemented at the state level, said Karen Kerrigan, SBE Council president and CEO.

However, federal policy and uncertainty remains a negative for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

“The top states on the Small Business Policy Index 2013 are streamlining government and lifting burdens like excessive taxation and regulation,” Kerrigan said.

FBI issues alert to NE Ohio businesses: Criminals are now using aluminum foil in credit card scam

The Cleveland FBI reports criminals are scamming small businesses in several states, using stolen credit cards. Store clerks aren’t alerted to these bad credit cards until it’s too late, allowing the crooks to steal thousands of dollars in merchandise.

The scam works because some businesses rely on satellite equipment to relay credit card information once a card is swiped inside the store.

Criminals then have the opportunity to climb onto the roofs of these businesses and put aluminum foil over satellite antennas to block credit card communications.

Cleveland FBI Special Agent Vicki Anderson told NewsChannel5 once the satellite equipment is blocked, the crooks will then make their way into the store and are using bad credit cards without necessarily being detected.

“They’ll interrupt the signal and then they’ll go in the store and purchase high-end items, and when that credit card is not authorized, a lot of times the businesses will allow it to go through thinking that they’ll validate it later,” explained Anderson. “When they do that, later they’ll find out it was a bad credit card.”

Small business gets big help

When she found herself without a job at age 54, Mary Magyar decided she wanted to take fate into her own hands.

So she went back to school, enrolling in the Culinary Arts program at EHOVE Career Center.

She knew she didn’t want to work for $10 in someone else’s kitchen. The idea of working for herself took root.

“They didn’t just teach cooking,” she said. “It was management, math and how do you do pricing. I realized, ‘I can do this’”

Magyar also went to Small Business Administration seminars at Terra Community College, where she met Bill Auxter, who would soon become her ally in the new venture.

Magyar came up with “Mary’s Catering to Go,” a business where she cooks the food and clients pick it up. She’s also preparing “The Railroad Depot,” an all-purpose venue where she can cater banquets, corporate functions and private events.

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New Government Contracts Land In Ohio

December 12, 2013 by

business (6)The economy seems to show signs of recovery some analysts suggest but, others are not as optimistic as they are, and yesterday the Dow Jones fell nearly 130 points, along with S&P and Nasdaq which lost more than 1% each.

Certainly the economy shows its ups and downs and the stock market as well, and  although the Akron area has seen the loss of hundreds of jobs, other parts of Ohio are getting government contracts that should help the local economy. Below are two articles concerning the Ohio economy and one about small business news. Follow the links to read more about them.

Ohio company lands VA small business program work

After abruptly ending a three-year contract, the Department of Veterans Affairs awarded two task orders to meet the requirements of its veteran-owned small business program.

Despite the quick contract transition, verification of service-disabled, veteran owned small businesses didn’t miss a beat, the program’s chief told me.

As I reported Nov. 27, the VA allowed a contract with Alexandria-based Ardelle Associates to end Dec. 2 without an alternative in place for processing and verifying contractor applications, which in turn would allow them to be able to compete for work set aside by the VA.

The agency kicked off a competition during the Thanksgiving holiday and has apparently decided on this approach: split the work into two.

Both task orders were awarded to Monterey Consultants Inc. of Dayton, Ohio — one providing support for the Office of Small And Disadvantaged Business Utilization, and the other VA’s Center for Veterans Enterprise. The latter includes the application processing. The two task ordes were worth $1.08 million and $2.26 million respectively.

Business news briefs: Giant Eagle acquires Cleveland pharmacy company

O’Hara-based Giant Eagle Inc. has acquired Cleveland-based Rx21 Specialty Pharmacy, which specializes in medications used for complex treatment regimens for cancer, hepatitis C, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis, among others. With the acquisition, Giant Eagle officials say pharmacy customers receiving these treatments now have 24-hour access to a pharmacist for consultations. Terms of the deal were not released.

CBIZ Small Business Employment Index Rises

The CBIZ Small Business Employment Index (SBEI), a barometer for hiring trends that surveys data from 3,500 companies with 300 or fewer employees, increased by .52 percent during November following a decrease of .42 percent during October.

Wednesday’s ADP’s November survey revealed that the private sector added 215,000 jobs during the month, which is the strongest job growth reported this year. In addition, October’s revised tally is 184,000 jobs created, after 130,000 new jobs were reported initially.

“Approaching the holiday shopping season with optimism, we know that retailers spent the month stocking shelves. A small increase in the SBEI seems to indicate that, by and large, smaller retail shops performed those tasks with only minimal hiring. Although the reading was less than what we had hoped for, it was better than three of the last four November reports,” shares Philip Noftsinger, business unit president for CBIZ Payroll Services. “There are mixed economic signals in the numbers right now, but most retailers seemed to be optimistic about this holiday season,” he continues.

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Ohio Business News

December 5, 2013 by

business (8)Having a business- whether it is small or has many employees-requires to have an online presence. A website that has current information is a must for many businesses nowadays, and if your business is retail the information you have on your website can make a big difference in how much business you do online. Read the articles below to find more news about Northeast Ohio.

5 Easy Ways to Lose Customers 

No one wants to lose customers. But in a competitive environment, the smallest slip can do just that. In fact, 29 percent of customers will not order from an online store again if just one order is incorrect. This statistic and others are included in this infographic from Webgistix, an online fulfillment company, which breaks down the easiest ways to earn a customer’s loyalty or lose it forever through shipping and delivery errors.

Ohio energy efficiency and renewable energy laws headed for a vote

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Republican-led effort to change Ohio’s energy laws at the request of the state’s electric utilities — and over the objections of the Ohio Consumers’ Counsel, the Ohio Manufacturers Association and several environmental groups — is headed for a showdown Wednesday.

The Senate Republican Caucus met until midnight Tuesday debating a number of bills, including whether to go ahead Wednesday to vote a bill out of the Senate Utilities Committee that would upend the state’s energy efficiency and renewable energy mandates.

But two separate sources early Wednesday morning said the chances of that happening were very slim, based on the tone of the debate and concerns raised during the caucus about the legislation’s impact on consumer electric bills.

Government Files Suit Against Canton, Ohio-based Tab Construction and Its Owner for Allegedly Defrauding the Historically Underutilized Business Zone Program

The government has filed a complaint against Canton, Ohio-based TAB Construction Co. Inc. (TAB) and its owner, William E. Richardson III, for allegedly making false statements to the Small Business Administration (SBA) to obtain certification as a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) company, the Justice Department announced today.

 “The HUBZone program is intended to create jobs in areas that historically have had trouble attracting business,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery.  “The Justice Department will take strong enforcement action when companies obtain contracts to which they are not entitled.”
The government alleges that TAB used its fraudulently procured HUBZone certification to obtain four U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ construction contracts worth millions of dollars.  Each of those contracts had been set aside for qualified HUBZone companies.  The government’s complaint asserts claims against TAB and Richardson under the False Claims Act and the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989.
Allegedly, Richardson originally applied to the HUBZone program in 2000 by claiming that TAB’s principal office was located in a designated HUBZone when no TAB employees worked out of the HUBZone office, and TAB actually was located in a non-HUBZone.

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