How Two New Trade Agreements Can Propel Your Growth
Although many small business owners go about their daily routines never giving a second thought to foreign trade, it is actually a very important issue for the small business sector of the US economy. That is made amply apparent by two facts. First, small businesses are the biggest job creators in our country and second, small and medium sized businesses account for nearly 98 percent of all US goods exporters. This is true even though only 24 percent of our small businesses are engaged in global commerce, according to a UPS survey. Therefore, when the number of exporters increases, the number of jobs created gets a big boost as well. Free trade agreements There are some rather big political issues that are up in the air right now. The Obama administration is negotiating two free trade deals, one with a large group of Pacific nations – the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement (TPP) – and the other with the European Union – the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). At the same time Congress is debating whether or not to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank. The free trade agreement negotiations have been lingering on for years. TPP talks date back to 2005 and both agreements were to be finalized in 2014 or 2015. Due to the number of nations involved and thorny issues such as agriculture and intellectual property, it’s uncertain if either negotiations will be wrapped up this year. These agreements will require majority approvals in both houses of Congress and will need bipartisan support. Some liberal democrats may oppose the agreements due to union pressures. Moving beyond NAFTA The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) greatly benefited small business exporters. Today the overwhelming majority of our small biz exports go to NAFTA nations. These agreements have the potential to create similar opportunities throughout the Pacific Rim as well as in Europe. If there is any element of your business that can become involved in global commerce, it would be wise to start putting your strategy in place today. The UPS survey cited earlier and other statistics point out more important facts: 95 percent of all consumers live outside the US, small businesses that export are 20 percent more productive, and small biz exporters create 20 percent more jobs than their non-exporting counterparts. Lobby Congress Further, let your representatives in Washington, D.C. know that you would like to see trade restrictions eased by fast tracking these agreements when they come to Congress. In the same way, get your local business and professional organizations on board with their vocal support. For any every business, new avenues of growth are the most precious commodity. With these important trade agreements pending, major opportunities can become...
read moreThis Week in Small Business: Elvis Costello, Cybercrime and Ex-Cons
From what I hear, the Irish saved civilization and they definitely made last week a lot more fun. We start out with a serving of Irish (marketing) stew before moving on to productivity, taxes, the best cities for women in terms of wage parity and much, much more. Marketing What do Elvis Costello, Guiness and Riverdance all have in common? They are great examples of Irish marketing triumphs. We hope you toasted these on St. Patrick’s Day! David Ciccarelli, CEO of Voices.com, outlines some principles to help startups do their own marketing on a tight budget. And here’s more on the topic: Startup marketing is its own beast. If you need a little guidance on how to pace your marketing strategy, Ed Zimmerman offers guidance. There’s definitely a line between personalizing an experience and stalking a customer. Sky TV’s marketing guru says you should know where that is. Increased touch points, customer data and custom content will be driving increased email marketing success in 2015. And for an in-depth look at how companies are pushing personalized experiences to the next level, here’s the story. Social media marketing Have you noticed changes in your Facebook “Likes”? Here are the latest machinations at our biggest social networking platform. More FB news: Facebook has a “firehose” of user-generated topical data that it is finally opening up to marketers. This should keep people busy for a while. You’ll find the most important social media metrics to follow in this article broken down by social media platform. Tips and tools To make the sale you need to establish the relationship, understand your prospect and keep the conversation going on the right level. Here are 30 effective questions to ask that will help you close more deals. Appeal to your customers’ primal instincts to connect on a very visceral level. Here are four ways. Forbes writer Drew Hendricks says these are the only six content marketing tips you need for 2015. We’ll see about that.., There’s nothing fancy about this list of 80 (I think) third-party marketing tools, but look it over and see if there are any you don’t recognize or any categories you don’t know about. Entrepreneurship, venture capital and startups Most states offer some type of tax incentives for investors who pour capital into early-stage companies, however many companies and investors are in the dark about these breaks. It’s time to shed a little light on the subject. “Storage Wars” makes for great reality TV on A&E, but buying abandoned storage units may be the ideal recession-proof small business opportunity. Darrell Sheets explains. If Indiegogo fundraising is an indictor, Christopher Engelo has hit it out of the park with his 21st century tool box. It proves that even products that have been around forever are ripe for innovation. I’m going to take another look at that mousetrap. To be a successful entrepreneur, one trait is valuable above all the rest: Persistence. Jeremy Johnson describes its many benefits. If your startup is of the virtual variety, review these five tips for starting your business online. Take note of this year’s #SXSW Accelerator Winners and check back next year to see if their picks were on target. Government, politics and economics Would you be surprised to learn many SBA loans from $1 million to $5...
read moreHow Much Better Would Business Be If Washington Acted on these 10 Priorities?
The situation in Washington D.C. reminds me of the scene in “Rebel Without a Cause” when Buzz (Corey Allen) and Jim (James Dean) are playing a deadly game of “Chicken Run” in their cars, racing toward a cliff and testing who would be the first to pull up. The big difference is that Congress and the President declare they want to solve the same national problems and then they play a game where the winner seems to be the first to act. The President beat Congress by a wide margin on immigration. Taxes are now the target with the President’s spokesman recently declaring that President Obama is looking into taking unilateral executive action to raise taxes. This should put Congress under pressure to act sooner rather than later and to prod our lawmakers forward on a variety of issues that impact small business. The National Small Business Association (NSBA) recently issued the group’s Top 10 Priorities for the 114th Congress and this would be a good place for lawmakers to start. Look over this list and see if they jibe with your views, then take time to lobby your elected officials, industry groups and local organization to support those you favor. Corporate Tax Reform and Small Business. We need tax reform, but if it is solely for corporate entities, it would bypass most small businesses, which are organized as pass-throughs. That would put small businesses at a disadvantage. Improve Access to Credit and Capital. We know how difficult credit has been to obtain in recent years. The NSBA favors changes to the SBA loan programs, enhancing the status of credit unions and reforms that would make crowdfunding more viable for small businesses. Deficit Reduction and Entitlement Reform. These are certainly two of the biggest issues facing the long-term health of our economy and small business. Sweeping changes to the tax code, Social Security and Medicare are required. I don’t see anything happening until after the next presidential election, if then. Rein-in the Costs of Health Care. The Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, didn’t really solve the affordability problem, except for those individuals who now have subsidized health insurance. Modernization, tax reform, and market-based solutions need to be injected into the system. Capital Gains and Dividends. President Obama is proposing changes that would dramatically increase the amount of capital gains taxes small business owners pay, especially when they pass their businesses along to beneficiaries. Tax Extender Permanency. Each year Congress extends various business tax deductions and this song-and-dance is growing rather tiresome. Small business owners need certainty so they can plan new equipment purchases and capital improvements. Export-Import Bank Reauthorization. While there is some debate on the effectiveness of the Export-Import Bank for small business, the NSBA urges its reauthorization for a four-five year period. National Regulatory Budget. Our regulatory environment is probably the biggest inhibitor to economic growth. The NSBA urges Congress to pass legislation that would require regulators to estimate the economic burden created by new regulations as well as create caps to control those costs. Immigration Reform. There is, of course, much to do here, but as a guiding principle, policies should be adopted that encourage immigration by individuals who will benefit the American economy and our competiveness, including foreign students graduating from our colleges and universities,...
read moreFour Tips To Prevent and Handle Workplace Conflict
One out of five people working in every office is a pain. Look around. If the next four people you see are great folks, it could be you. Okay, I made up that statistic and if you’re reading my tips, there’s a good chance you care about your workplace and you’re probably not the source of conflict. However, even among otherwise amiable people, conflicts arise. It’s part of life. In fact, when people’s livelihoods and the future of their careers are on the line, it adds pressures that can push us into places where we would otherwise never go. In other words, sometimes when things get tough, it brings out the worst in people. We have all said things in the heat of the moment that we regretted later. But as a small business owner you are probably very aware of the fact that few things can ruin productivity and potential for growth as much as workplace conflict. Not only is it in your best interest to keep it under control for the sake of your peace of mind, you need to keep it under control to guard your profitability. These tips should help you maintain smooth sailing. Be a people person. I’m not saying that you have to be a social butterfly; I’m saying that you need to be a student of people so the early signs of conflict get onto your radar screen. Sometimes small business owners can be so enthralled by their vision and the “inner workings” of their business that they lose touch with the human side. It’s just a fact that many small business owners have to be a one-person human resources department. When you hire new people, ask about their interpersonal skills. Discuss the subject during the interview and with previous employers/references. Be a teacher. Let your employees know how you value a respectful work environment. If you have any faults you know about – and who doesn’t? – bring them out into the open. I remember a manager of a fairly large operation once tell his crew, “It may seem like I have a fence around me, but it’s only six inches tall – anyone can jump over it.” He was encouraging dialog with his employees. Tell your team that they should not expect to enjoy working with everyone equally. Some people’s personalities make them a natural “fit” with one another while others are more of an “acquired taste.” I know one man who just talks a little on the loud side and until people get to know him, they mistake it for anger. Be clear about your expectations. Let your team know that you do not appreciate office gossip or other bad behavior, such as bullying. Tell them that you expect their relationships to be founded on the advancement of your business and that cooperation is required for that to happen, even when they are working with people who aren’t their best water cooler buddies. Let them know that it’s the customer’s perception that trumps everything. When a customer gets the feeling that two employees are at odds with one another, it undermines the credibility of the business as a whole. Tell your employees that you expect them to iron out small differences in an honest, respectful and timely manner. If...
read moreSmall Business Productivity: Do You Need to Deploy an Army of Digital Spies?
Some studies indicate that employees on average spend 16 minutes an hour on social media. That can be a real productivity killer. The answer? Digital “tattle tale” software that monitors your employees’ computer and online activity…maybe. I qualify this with a resounding “maybe” because before you jump into downloading the software that lets you keep track of what your employees are doing on their computers you need to consider one more side of the issue: If you don’t deftly manage the introduction of this software and how you use it, you can kill team morale in a way that could be more destructive than the time your employees are currently wasting on social media sites. The software We’ll come back around to this issue in a moment, but let me give you a quick introduction to the players in this arena and the way this software works. Activtrak, Spector 360 and WorkExaminer are three of the major software providers. While the software differs in pricing along with “bells and whistles” they all track what software your employees are using and where they visit on the Internet. They will send you screen shots and compile information into reports. Some will also give you the power to block access to sites. They are made for regular computers so you won’t be able to monitor smartphone or tablet use. Activtrak has a basic free offer for three or fewer computers. Price points generally run from $25 to $115 per computer depending on which software you prefer and how many machines you need to equip; the volume discounts can be significant, but few small business owners will qualify for the best pricing. Careful deployment As I mentioned above, how you manage and use this software is extremely critical. With all the recent publicity about government spying on our online use via the NSA, people are very sensitive to this issue. And just as many fear the government misusing the data it collects, employees may fear a similar abuse from their employers. It’s easy to imagine a situation where an owner detects online political activity from an employee that runs contrary to his or her political beliefs. Not only might that activity cause an immediate confrontation, it could color the owner’s views of the employee and lead to unjustified negative performance evaluations. Listen to your employees This illustrates how important it is to inform your employees that you are introducing this software and clearly define why you are using it. Give them time to adjust to the idea and bring their questions and concerns to you before you install the software. Further, if you go this route, be sure to update your policy handbook. I also need to mention that merely announcing your plans to start monitoring computer use often leads to employees becoming better stewards of their digital work habits. However, there is one situation where you might not want to tell your employees about your intentions. If you are suffering from fraud or shrinkage that may be occurring through online manipulation or deceit, you may want to consider beginning your surveillance without informing you employees. If this is the case, be sure you know what you are doing and have good legal advice in case you need to take serious follow-up...
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