The dunking booth is always the most popular attraction at the Broadmoor Fest, a neighborhood carnival held every year since Hurricane Katrina to celebrate the survival of one of the Crescent City's low-lying, flood-ravaged districts. At recent fairs FEMA officials were favorite targets in the booth; this year, though, everyone was waiting in line to soak a city tax assessor.
With commodity, fuel and insurance costs hitting record highs, small-business owners are anxious about Thursday's federal minimum wage hike, which will require employers in 26 states and the District of Columbia to raise their base to at least $6.55.
By inadequately vetting participants in its HUBZone set-aside program, the Small Business Administration has mistakenly placed more than $20 million in government contracts in the hands of undeserving businesses, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report spotlighted in a hearing last week by the House Committee on Small Business.
For a tax that each year affects only a few hundred of the nation's 27 million small companies, the estate tax manages to scare an outsize number of entrepreneurs: In a July Zogby poll of small-business owners, nearly half said they believe they will be affected by the fee critics call "the death tax."
Small businesses drove much of the employment growth in July, according to a report released Wednesday by payroll manager Automatic Data Processing. Firms with fewer than 50 workers added 50,000 new non-farm jobs to the private sector this month, which offset the 41,000 jobs dropped at medium and large companies.
The good news: The economy is not as bad as it was in the early 1980s, when unemployment hit 10% and the inflation rate touched the double digits. The bad news: A lot of small business owners think it is.
Optimism is a rare commodity among today's small business owners, according to a new national survey conducted by Suffolk University. More than 80% believe the country is in an economic recession, and 86% feel that the government is doing "nothing" or "little" to help small businesses.
President Bush's recent nomination of Santanu "Sandy" Baruah to head the Small Business Administration (SBA) was met neither by celebrations or jeers in the small business community, but by a resounding "Who?"
When the Massachusetts passed its much-delayed state budget last week, it included an obscure tax-law change that could be crucial for small-business owners concerned about unfair competition. By becoming the 22nd state to adopt "combined reporting" legislation, Massachusetts lawmakers are hoping to put a stop to a longstanding practice that, they say, gives large corporate chains an unfair advantage over their smaller competitors at tax time.
Anne Messenger's hair stood on end as she read her former administrative assistant's Facebook profile. The picture showed the woman in a sultry pose, smoking a cigarette. Her main interests? Men and drinking. Yet in her interview, the candidate had seemed personable and energetic. The position included bookkeeping and her math skills were a little subpar, but she could brush them up on the job, right?
The dunking booth is always the most popular attraction at the Broadmoor Fest, a neighborhood carnival held every year since Hurricane Katrina to celebrate the survival of one of the Crescent City's low-lying, flood-ravaged districts. At recent fairs FEMA officials were favorite targets in the booth; this year, though, everyone was waiting in line to soak a city tax assessor.
With commodity, fuel and insurance costs hitting record highs, small-business owners are anxious about Thursday's federal minimum wage hike, which will require employers in 26 states and the District of Columbia to raise their base to at least $6.55.
By inadequately vetting participants in its HUBZone set-aside program, the Small Business Administration has mistakenly placed more than $20 million in government contracts in the hands of undeserving businesses, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report spotlighted in a hearing last week by the House Committee on Small Business.
For a tax that each year affects only a few hundred of the nation's 27 million small companies, the estate tax manages to scare an outsize number of entrepreneurs: In a July Zogby poll of small-business owners, nearly half said they believe they will be affected by the fee critics call "the death tax."
Small businesses drove much of the employment growth in July, according to a report released Wednesday by payroll manager Automatic Data Processing. Firms with fewer than 50 workers added 50,000 new non-farm jobs to the private sector this month, which offset the 41,000 jobs dropped at medium and large companies.
The good news: The economy is not as bad as it was in the early 1980s, when unemployment hit 10% and the inflation rate touched the double digits. The bad news: A lot of small business owners think it is.
Optimism is a rare commodity among today's small business owners, according to a new national survey conducted by Suffolk University. More than 80% believe the country is in an economic recession, and 86% feel that the government is doing "nothing" or "little" to help small businesses.
President Bush's recent nomination of Santanu "Sandy" Baruah to head the Small Business Administration (SBA) was met neither by celebrations or jeers in the small business community, but by a resounding "Who?"
When the Massachusetts passed its much-delayed state budget last week, it included an obscure tax-law change that could be crucial for small-business owners concerned about unfair competition. By becoming the 22nd state to adopt "combined reporting" legislation, Massachusetts lawmakers are hoping to put a stop to a longstanding practice that, they say, gives large corporate chains an unfair advantage over their smaller competitors at tax time.
Anne Messenger's hair stood on end as she read her former administrative assistant's Facebook profile. The picture showed the woman in a sultry pose, smoking a cigarette. Her main interests? Men and drinking. Yet in her interview, the candidate had seemed personable and energetic. The position included bookkeeping and her math skills were a little subpar, but she could brush them up on the job, right?
President Bush has selected a new leader for the Small Business Administration: Santanu "Sandy" Baruah, who currently heads the Economic Development Administration at the Department of Commerce and has been a member of the Bush administration since 2001.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain threw some red meat to the small-business crowd on Tuesday, promising that if elected president he would drastically overhaul the tax system, end corporate welfare, introduce tax credits to make health insurance more affordable, and help the GOP "reclaim our good name as the party of spending restraint."
The cost of health insurance continued its 20-year reign as the number-one issue worrying small-business owners, according to the latest edition of the Small-Business Problems and Priorities survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, released on Monday.
Barely two months after Meg Whitman vacated the CEO position at eBay after a 10-year run, the executive's supporters are eager to see her step into a new power-broker role.
Is it time to consider moving your small business to Macs?
It's no exagerration to say that entrepreneurs are being crushed by regulatory costs. A 2005 report by the Small Business Administration found that small firms spend $2,400 more per employee, on average, than bigger counterparts to keep up with the demands of Uncle Sam.
There are two proven paths to building wealth: You can increase the amount of money you make, or you can increase the amount of money you keep.
Dear FSB: My business partner and I have a small horse-treat manufacturing and distribution business. We are in a small commercial space and have no employees. We would like to expand, but need guidance with how to go about it. Do we hire people? Outsource the baking and packaging? As far as financing, is a commercial loan better than investors?
Dear FSB: My sister just started her own business and I'm trying to set up her payroll on Intuit's QuickBooks. The program is asking me for addresses to which to send state taxes and federal taxes. I just want to make sure I'm doing everything I need to. Is there a list of "what to do" when paying employees? Who to register with? Where to send the tax payments, etc?
As if you didn't have enough to worry about.
An online job-search company founder was named National Small Business Person of the Year this week, becoming the first entrepreneur to win the Small Business Administration award for a Web venture
While the headline National Small Business Week events take place in Washington D.C. and New York City throughout the next few days, regional Small Business Administration (SBA) offices across the nation are recognizing small enterprises in their own time and in their own ways.
Monday marks start of National Small Business Week (NSBW), a five-day event intended to spotlight the accomplishments of America's entrepreneurs and draw policymakers' attention to the challenges confronting them. But after more than 50 years, the annual Small Business Administration-run event still remains off the radar of many small business owners.
In "Small Business Success," small business owners share how they grew their businesses and some key decisions that made them successful. Watch "Small Business Success" on "Morning Express with Robin Meade" on Headline News.
A barbershop quartet sings "The Girl From Ipanema" in Portuguese on a television dialed to a Brazilian satellite channel inside Pavilion Barbecue, where the air is piquant with the aroma of the house specialty, frango de churrasco - slow-roasted chicken braised in red chili sauce.
Carnival operators in Alaska, landscapers in Pennsylvania and sugarcane processors in Louisiana are just a few of the thousands of small businesses imperiled by a Congressional standoff concerning H-2B visas, which allow seasonal foreign workers to enter the country legally.
Competing for federal grants can make a small-business owner feel as if she has stepped into a Tom and Jerry cartoon. Larger, better-funded firms are always ready to pounce on little guys and snatch their tiny portion of the government cheese. What's worse, some politicians have now decided that it's Tom who needs some help. The U.S. House has passed, and the Senate is considering, legislation that would dramatically alter the definition of "small" business and expand access to set-asides now reserved for independent entrepreneurs. The bill's Orwellian title: the Small Business Investment Expansion Act.
Dear FSB: Our company has been recognized as among the top contingency and retainer search firms, but would like to go beyond that. We are a small business with a young owner. What kind of recognition or lists can we be considered for?
Dear FSB: I own a carpet cleaning company. I am looking to move my existing health care insurance and 401(k) to one company. Do you have any suggestions on the best provider to contact?
Who's an entrepreneur's best friend during tax season? If "accountant" is your answer, you may need to reconsider.
The Small Business Administration and preferential contracting - procurement policies designed to assist small companies and other vendors designated as disadvantaged in open competition - have been inexorably linked for more than 50 years.
When she heard that a unit of the U.S. Navy planned to award contracts worth $5.4 million for disposing of hazardous waste in her area, Elizabeth Novak was ready to bid.
Dear FSB: Where can I get a small start-up loan for my business?
As an entrepreneur, Tom Broughton finds most banks pretty annoying.
Dear FSB: I just started a financial services research company here in Denver that provides financial data analysis, market analysis, and international - especially Asian market - information. Can you provide some local resources to grow my business?
Dear FSB: Way back when, there were low-interest rate loans from the government for women and minorities in small business. They no longer exist, business advisors say. Why is this? I am an older woman in business and find it all but impossible to get a loan.
Dear FSB: What is the 2008 small business tax rate? Is it 15%, or has it dropped?
Dear FSB: How do the Fed rate cuts affect business loans, if at all? Say I take out a loan for several hundred thousand dollars to buy a small business. What criteria is used to set the interest rate on the loan?
Dear FSB: I work for a wholesale distribution business that is considering building a new distribution center this year. The U.S. Congress is currently debating an economic stimulus package that would include bonus depreciation that would certainly have an impact on our decision to make an investment now. How can we best express our need for tax relief for small business?
Dear FSB: I am a green card holder and have tackled the retail and restaurant business in India. I have experience with management of parties and events, including conferences. At present I am living in Madison with my son, but I want to create an independent business and take advantage of my 34 years of experience in this business. What finances are available to help me?
Dear FSB: I'm part-owner of our family business. Our goal is to expand and become a larger company. Do you know if there are grants that help small businesses grow? If so, whom do I contact? We have some debt, which has prevented us from expanding.
Dear FSB: Are there any tax breaks for small businesses? If so, what are they?
Women's business groups will be rallying at a U.S. Senate hearing today to fight a proposal by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) that would limit federal contract set-asides to four, fairly obscure industrial sectors.
Washington, D.C., is moving forward with a bill that would make it the second city in the U.S. to require all businesses, including those with fewer than 10 employees, to provide paid sick leave for their staff.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) and other government agencies are currently at work fleshing out plans for the new small-business training and grant programs mandated by the sweeping, years-in-the-making energy bill signed into law last month by President Bush.
Are Macs finally small-business ready?
Dear FSB: I would like a 401(k) for my small business but there are so many, and I don't know who to trust. I'd like an online 401(k) so my employees have access to their information. I would like to know what fees there are and what fees will be charged to my employees. I don't want them to have to pay a lot on their investments.
FRANK LOBASCIO IS ON THE FRONT LINE OF THE battle for safe computing. The president of American Carriers Moving & Storage of Moorestown, N.J., Lobascio used to spend at least $20,000 a year to protect the systems that generate customer estimates, schedule trucks and drivers, send invoices, and process payroll for his $3-million-a-year company. Still, viruses, spyware, and spam kept creeping onto the network killing hard drives, destroying data, and knocking servers offline. To make matters worse, a handful of staffers were secretly visiting porn and gambling sites on company time. With no room in his budget for a full-time IT person, Lobascio tried to make do by calling in a part-time consultant. "You name the antispyware and antivirus package, and I bought it," he says.
Dear FSB: What is a good, affordable way to provide my employees with health insurance coverage? (My business is an insurance company, but we sell auto insurance.) I have a total of three employees.
After months of wrangling, the Senate hammered out an energy bill Wednesday that includes a compromise on tax incentives for renewable energy. Despite small-business provisions remaining intact, the bill - passed by the Senate late Thursday - provides little relief to companies facing rising fuel costs.
Wood Expressions, a Los Angeles business that sells $3 million worth of high-end backgammon sets, dominos, and checkerboards a year, has seen its fair share of recessions over the past 30 years. Owner Ron Reyes says he's heard about the threat of a potential economic downturn, but he's not particularly worried about the upcoming holiday season. "Personally, I don't think it's going to directly affect us," he says. "In fact, I think we're going to do better this Christmas than last year."
The Senate, convening today for its brief December session, has a lot on its plate - top priorities include a free trade deal with Peru, new fuel economy standards, and a bill to immunize phone companies from liability for wiretapping. But Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), chairman of the Senate's small business committee, hopes to find time for a floor vote on the Small Business Venture Capital Act, which would entitle VC-backed startups to apply for federal research and development grants.
Entrepreneurs, zip up your parkas and head for the plains! South Dakota once again leads the list of U.S. states with the best tax and regulatory climate for small business, according to the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council's latest ranking.
The Small Business Administration took quite a beating on Capitol Hill today. A Senate oversight committee held a hearing on how the agency measures success. Meanwhile Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) introduced a bill that would force the agency to improve its data collection.
Dear FSB: What is the best strategy for hiring quality employees and retaining them? How do small businesses compete with bigger firms and become successful enough to grow larger?
What does the "war on terror" mean for America's small businesses? A government report, released Wednesday, said that military operations related to the war could add as much as $1.7 trillion by the year 2017 to the hundreds of billions we already spend on defense.
On Thursday the Senate Finance Committee considered options to expand health care coverage for small business employees. Half the nation's 47 million uninsured workers are employed by small businesses, according to a committee press release, and coverage offered to small business employees is declining rapidly.
You can't expect to compete as a small business today without taking advantage of online marketing tools. These links can help.
The links below can help you in your quest to launch a successful business.
On Wednesday small business owners nationwide caught a break of sorts when a federal judge blocked the implementation of a recent Bush administration initiative that would use the Social Security system to go after employers of illegal immigrants.
Consider this: if all 19,700 members of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) reduced their energy consumption by just 10 percent, they would save approximately $193 million in energy costs and eliminate more than one million tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year.
Every weekday morning at 6:10, Dominic Valente, owner of Valente Yeast in Queens, N.Y., dispatches five trucks filled with baking ingredients to Manhattan, where they make deliveries to wholesale and retail bakeries and bagel shops. For years their biggest worries were potholes and daredevil bike messengers. But now Valente finds himself in the middle of a rising national debate among small-business owners about the clotted traffic that is choking dozens of cities, and the hefty tolls that are being touted as a cure.
Although Scott Hauge and Grafton Willey are both entrepreneurs, they have little in common when it comes to politics. Hauge, 57, runs Cal Insurance, a regional brokerage based in San Francisco (cal-insure.com). A registered Democrat who faces a double-digit increase in his $140,000 annual premium to insure 32 employees, he argues that health-care reform should be our next President's first domestic priority. "Small-business owners just want health insurance off their backs," he says.
When Diane Dobry incorporated Kristof Wines in May 2006 to import brands from Hungary, she did what many first-time entrepreneurs do - she scrounged for capital wherever she could find it, including in her home's equity. She took a $10,000 personal loan, got $13,000 from micro-lender Acción International and tapped a relative for $10,000. But she counted on getting the biggest chunk - $50,000 - from selling the Bethpage, N.Y. house she had bought for $43,000 in 1980.
In May, the House of Representatives passed the Small Business Fairness in Contracting Act, which would raise the government goal for small-business participation in federal procurement contracts from 23% to 30%. Time to celebrate? Probably not.
Don't let government deadlines sneak up on your company. Use these websites to stay on top of the latest regulations that affect your business.
By now, virtually every American supports the goal of national energy security and nearly two-thirds of us, according to a recent Harris Interactive poll, believe that human activity is responsible for climate change. So everyone agrees on the goal: to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels that must be imported and that are responsible for greenhouse gasses. But there is no consensus on how to get there.
STEVE WREN IS THE kind of yeoman inventor that the drafters of the Constitution had in mind when they commanded Congress to write a patent law "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts." In exchange for publishing patents and sharing their knowledge, little guys like Wren got exclusive rights to the use of their ideas for 20 years. The system helped make the U.S. the innovation capital of the world.
Steve Wren is the kind of yeoman inventor that the drafters of the Constitution had in mind when they commanded Congress to write a patent law "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts." In exchange for publishing patents and sharing their knowledge, little guys like Wren got exclusive rights to the use of their ideas for 20 years. The system helped make the U.S. the innovation capital of the world.
AS A SUCCESSFUL DEALER IN ORIENTAL RUGS for more than three decades, Peter Pap has a well-honed sense of the market. These days he's picking up vibes that make him both excited and increasingly anx...
Carson Stanwood has no problem with the Internal Revenue Service going after tax cheats. The founder of Stanwood & Partners Public Relations, based in Jackson Hole, Wyo., understands that paying th...
Today entrepreneurs are America's role models. Almost everyone wants to own a business - from teens and college students, who are signing up for entrepreneurial courses in record numbers; to those over age 65, who are forming more companies every year; to recent immigrants, who in 2005 started 25% more companies per capita than native-born citizens did.
Let us quickly review the technology set-up for the average small business: Make a quick trip to Staples, get a PC and call over to the phone company. But not so fast. These days, choice rules. New Web-based office and telephony tools and wireless data services are rocking the once-simple tech universe of the small business.
Whether you've got a great idea for a business, are struggling to get your business off the ground or have an established firm in need of a turnaround, Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) can be valuable resources that don't cost a thing.
After suffering through years of deadlocked debate in Washington, small- business owners can be forgiven for finally feeling a twinge of optimism when it comes to health care. The newly powerful co...
Small business owners' confidence in the economy stayed steady in February as optimism about their own business fortunes was offset by an increase in concern about cash flow, according to a survey released Tuesday.
As Congress gets set to readdress a small-business health care bill, proponents and critics begin to sharpen their swords.
In a 360-45 vote, the House on Friday passed a $1.4 billion package of small-business tax cuts, which is expected to ease the passage of a federal minimum-wage increase in the Senate.
Which states are the most entrepreneurial? Which have the most women-owned businesses? Here are snapshots of a few noteworthy locales.
These days just about everyone wants to be an entrepreneur. Here are eight people - women, immigrants, corporate refugees, minorities, even kids - who got in on the action. Here's what they have to say about it.
FOR YEARS THE TERM "FEDERAL SMALL-BUSINESS CONTRACT" has contained an internal contradiction: Many firms receiving the deals had outgrown the designation or been acquired by large corporations. Acc...
ONCE UPON A TIME, SMALL BUSINESS WAS seen solely as the domain of idiosyncratic, iconoclastic outsiders, willing to forgo the security of corporate life to venture out on their own. But ...
FRANK LOBASCIO IS ON THE FRONT LINE OF THE battle for safe computing. The president of American Carriers Moving & Storage of Moorestown, N.J., Lobascio used to spend at least $20,000 a year to prot...
The Senate voted Tuesday to attach the $8 billion package of tax breaks and regulatory concessions for small business to the minimum wage bill, taking the measure a step closer to becoming law.
Frank Lobascio is on the front line of the battle for safe computing.
For years the term "federal small-business contract" has contained an internal contradiction: Many firms receiving the deals had outgrown the designation or been acquired by large corporations.
Big paychecks and bonuses aren't everything.
Once upon a time, small business was seen solely as the domain of idiosyncratic, iconoclastic outsiders, willing to forgo the security of corporate life to venture out on their own. But today entrepreneurs are America's role models.
In the first 100 hours of the 110th Congress, the House passed a minimum wage bill that raises the federal minimum from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour and the Senate may follow suit this week, to the dismay of some small business owners.
The Senate Finance Committee approved a bill Wednesday that would give tax breaks to small businesses but would also close tax loopholes for CEO pay and large corporations.
The House of Representatives passed the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 by a wide margin on Wednesday afternoon.
All eyes will be on the 110th Congress when it convenes on Thursday, but small businesses will be paying particularly close attention to legislation in the works that could impact their bottom lines.
2006 started strong for small business owners but sluggish economic growth took a toll on entrepreneurs towards the end of the year. Next year promises to be better, but not by much experts say.
Aside from buying gifts, attending parties and making travel arrangements it's also the season to be tax planning.
If you work for a small company, your holiday wish has come true at last.
To judge by the current political rhetoric, our elected leaders are all tireless champions of small business. In July, Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) charged the Bush administration with "bal...
Like many entrepreneurs, Tedd Saunders finds most taxes annoying. He co-owns seven East Coast hotels, including the Lenox in Boston, and would love to see the estate tax gutted. He also rankles at ...
"Oprah's Favorite Things," an episode of Oprah that usually airs annually around Thanksgiving, has repeatedly been one of her best rated shows of the year. This year, though, it's not running at all.
From almost every angle, it looked like one sweet deal.
Which places are low on taxes and light on government regulations? Exclusive rankings for FSB.com from the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.*
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