Federal Regulations: A Modest Proposal
I have a friend who occasionally jokes that if the United States wants to decrease poverty and encourage wealth creation, the government should use the same strategy it does when it wants to encourage a certain behavior and discourage another. For example, we give tax breaks to people willing to install solar energy in their homes because we want more of that and we tax the heck out of a pack of cigarettes because we want fewer people to smoke. If we want to be consistent, he says, we should raise taxes on the poor and lower them on the rich. He doesn’t expect his proposal to get very far, but this is exactly what we have been doing with small businesses through regulations for years. According to a 2012 report, regulations are 80 percent more costly to small businesses than they are to big businesses. An earlier study (2008) found that the annual regulatory cost per employee to small business was nearly $11,000, which was 36 percent higher on a per employee basis when compared to larger businesses. EPA costs high When the study broke it down to various types of regulations, if found that environmental regulations costs small businesses $4,101 per employee while that number is just $883 per employee for large businesses. The reason, of course, is the costs of various licenses, permits and even reports are fixed so their costs represents a much smaller percentage for larger companies. To flip my friend’s “tax the poor to end poverty” upside down and apply it to small business, how about reducing the currently-fixed costs of regulation for small businesses? Make those costs reflect the current way we do taxes – give breaks to those on the lower end of the income scale. Be doers not talkers I’m speaking rhetorically here, but there are things Congress and the president can do. The most important of these is to stop talking about small business and its regulatory burden and actually be willing to do something about it. The recent “budget” that Congress passed may be a signal that we will see some movement on this front – or at least some real debate. Republicans in Congress managed to push through rescinding an irrigation ditch and farm pond water rule the EPA was about to enforce under the Clean Water Act. Also rescinded was a Department of Transportation regulation that would have required more rest for truck drivers. President to fly solo? President Obama has vowed to act without legislation to move the country forward on various fronts and during the next two years he will be facing an even more hostile group of legislators. This could get interesting. There will have to be some compromise on both sides, as there was with the budget deal. The question is whether there will be any easing of the regulatory burden. If it happens, I expect small business would greet it enthusiastically. Business formation would increase and expansion would be renewed. Stay tuned....
read moreAre You Loosening Up Your Arm Getting Ready to Throw in the Towel? Read This First
The final few weeks of the year are always a time of reflection and planning. For some of you it will be outlining marketing or expansion plans for 2015. Others may be looking at 2015 and wondering if its time to throw in the towel and move on. Here are some approaches to take as you try to answer that difficult question. Various systems designed to explain human nature have opposing or complementary elements, like the id and ego, and the yin and yang. Business is similar. There is the unforgiving “bottom line” and then there is the less tangible side, which includes elements such as your brand, innovation, and consumer acceptance/demand. Dealing with the doubts If you’re beginning to think that it’s time to fold your small business, then we know that the profits you are generating are unacceptable in the long run. If you were to make your decision solely by this criterion you would close shop. However, you probably still have some nagging doubts about the less tangible elements of your business, so let’s put them under the microscope. What did your market research say? You either conducted formal market research or considered your own ideas and observations as sufficient market research. If you had good reason believe there is demand for your product or service, it leads to two questions: Is your marketing, branding and customer service (including your physical location) good enough? Is your product or service uniquely solving problems for your customers? When the answers to both of those questions is “yes” and you still aren’t making it, it’s probably time to move on. If the answer is “no” to either or both of those questions, you may be able to turn things around. Improving your marketing, branding and customer service just takes knowledge, effort and money. It can be something a simple as your location. I know a funky little hat store whose initial shop was on a quiet street where she got no business at all. She moved to a location that was experiencing a retail revival and she started to flourish. Is yours a better mousetrap? If your product or service isn’t really exciting your prospects and solving their problem, then you need to ask yourself if there’s a way to pump some innovation into it. Talk to prospects who don’t buy and find out why. Talk to existing customers and find out what they like or don’t like. See what more they need. You may find a niche that you have overlooked. If you’re struggling and yet you’ve “got the word out,” then there is a reason people aren’t feeling compelled to buy. How can you change what you’re doing to light a fire under your prospects? And if in the end you decide to close, don’t feel too bad. While many of us love our Apple computers, none of us are working on NeXT computers, are we? NeXT computers, Steve Jobs’ company after he was fired at Apple, was a commercial failure. However, it set the stage for Jobs’ return to Apple and the outrageous success that...
read moreStop Your Workers from Singing: ‘Tis the Season to be Stealing!
By now we have all seen the pictures of looters destroying small businesses in Ferguson, Missouri. They make compelling television images and it’s a tragic situation for the local business owners, their employees and the citizens of Ferguson in general. However, there is another crime spree that’s picking up steam throughout the holiday season that doesn’t provide the network and cable TV crews with the kind of photo ops they thrive on. I’m referring to employee theft. This theft can take many forms and hit virtually any business: retail, restaurants and service providers. Here are some of the causes: Hectic workplace provides better cover for illegal activities, Increased alcohol consumption, Employees experiencing financial pressures, Demanding schedules at work and in private lives, and Addition of temporary workers. We all immediately think of stealing retail items when we consider employee theft and certainly that is a big part of the problem. But it doesn’t stop there. If you have employees who handle cash, they could be making sales without ringing them up properly and then taking the cash at the end of the day. Restaurants frequently notice food and beverage costs increasing faster than sales. Employees may be helping themselves to food or treating friends to free food and drinks. One of the biggest problems that often goes undetected is employees cheating on their time sheets. If you’ve brought in extra help or are scheduling extra shifts, it’s easy for an employee to leave early without being noticed. Further, if you’re pushing employees too hard, they may feel that they are entitled to the extra money and extra time off they get by falsifying their time sheets. Temporary workers always pose a special challenge during these busy periods. First, owners and managers often don’t screen them thoroughly. Second, usually they are added to the team without any corresponding addition among supervisors. This means some workers are probably not being watched as closely as they would during regular working conditions. The first, and most important step toward lessening your losses is to be increasingly vigilant and let your employees know that you’re paying attention. Holidays are a time when we often assume that people are at their friendliest and most caring. Unfortunately, theft statistics tell a different story. Be sure you’re doing these things: Change up the way you handle cashiers and monitor/audit their operations frequently. Check references for temporary employees. Provide adequate supervision throughout your operation. Deal with fraud and theft immediately. Finally, don’t think it can’t happen to you. A 2011 survey conducted by the National Retail Federation reveals that the greatest theft occurs in convenience stores, truck stops, shoe stores and stores that sell office supplies and stationery. The high-end operations, like jewelry stores and Apple Computer stores, suffer less employee theft because they have excellent controls and internal safeguards to begin with. There’s a lesson in...
read moreFrom Bites to Bytes: The Benefits of Digital Girl Scout Cookie Sales
One of the wags on NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! declared that as Girl Scout cookies begin to be sold online it will mean a lot less work…for parents who have to go around to coworkers begging that they buy boxes of their daughters’ cookies. However, I suspect moms and dads will still be visiting the desks of coworkers and leaving order forms strewn across lunch room tables. Moving the sales of some Girl Scout Thin Mints, Samoas and Tagalongs to cyberspace should work out well. After all, as both Internet surfers and baked goods consumers, most of us have “cookies enabled.” Better marketing reach But on a more serious note, the modernization program offers other marketing and educational benefits. Traditionally it has been hard to twist the arms of relatives who live out of town and now there’s an app for that. Individual Girls Scouts create their own cookie-selling pages that can be accessed via the Girl Scout Cookie Finder app – available in both iOS and Android versions. And this leads to what I love most of all: how the program is introducing young girls to business, finance and technology through a very practical, real-world experience. For generations girls have learned a lot about business and finance by participating in the cookie sales program and I’m overjoyed that the Girl Scout leadership has now found a way to bring technology into the mix. STEM studies improved We have been reading a lot about the importance of improving the way we teach science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to our youth. Historically, these areas have been dominated by men; for a variety of reasons, participation by women has been far too low. When I was raising venture capital for a technology-based company I founded, I discovered that less than 3 percent of all tech firms were headed up by women. That needs to change and I believe that this new addition to the Girl Scout cookie sales program is an excellent step in that direction. It’s often a lack of comfort or familiarity that prevents people from pursuing careers in technology. Bringing in a technology element to the program will help get girls comfortable working in that environment. A person becomes a “power user” by merely engaging the technology on deeper and deeper levels. Leadership upgraded Further, in my experience, the local leadership in Girls Scouts is mostly comprised of volunteer women. Adding technology to this fundamental Girl Scout program will serve to make them more knowledgeable and comfortable with computers, mobile devices and software as well. They will then take those new skills back into their homes, where all their children will benefit. Sometimes the daily economic and political news we read can be a bit discouraging. In contrast, following the stories about the Girls Scout cookie sales program going digital has been uplifting. Recently I also wrote about the good work Junior Achievement does encouraging entrepreneurship in our youth. With community-based groups like these continuing their good work, it makes me more confident about our future. Support them in any way you can…even if it’s just downloading the app and ordering a few boxes of cookies from a Girl Scout in your...
read more3 Home Page Mistakes that Will Undermine Your Marketing
Where is the most valuable real estate? Some might argue for Beverly Hills, New York City, or the Washington D.C. area, but I would nominate your home page. After all, we measure the real estate on your home page in pixels – Donald Trump doesn’t even do that yet – and every pixel is valuable; none should be wasted. This fundamental truth, however, seems lost on many small business owners. A copywriter friend recently got a job rewriting a website for a healthcare professional. The entire home page was dominated by “welcoming” the visitor and listing various academic milestones and credentials. It went on and on without ever really making any case why a prospect should choose this professional over the next guy. The resume mistake is how I’ll label this one and it’s very common. For many people, the only self-promotional materials they have ever written are their own resumes. When they write for their websites – or for a social media site like LinkedIn – everything ends up sounding like a resume. The fact that this healthcare professional graduated “magna cum laude” may have impressed her parents back in the day, but no one cares now. (And any prospect who does care will probably keep looking until he finds someone who graduated summa cum laude.) The “Have you seen my vacation pictures?” mistake is another major error. This is the one where the home page drones on and on about what a wonderful and accomplished person the owner is. It’s self-aggrandizing to the max. In today’s world, personal branding is important; personal bragging isn’t. Can you recognize the difference? If who you are plays an important role in what your business is, then your personality needs to come across. However, you need to accomplish this without boring your prospect. After reading your web page, your prospect must want to spend more time with you. You must pique the interest of visitors and establish rapport (engagement). The “Howdy y’all!” mistake may be number one on our lists of faux pas. This one treats home page copy like a greeting card. You’re so happy and glad someone finally came to your home page, you feel the need to extend your most sincere welcome. Often the people making this mistake just have no idea what they should be saying. Unfortunately, on the Internet, you don’t get anyone at “hello.” Internet users are an impatient audience and when they land on your home page, they are usually on a mission; they don’t have time to waste with casual small talk. Are you seeing a pattern here? These are all mistakes because they don’t communicate a unique selling point quickly, efficiently and effectively. If you suspect that your home page – or other promotional materials – could be making some of these errors, rethink them as an elevator pitch or landing page with a catchy headline and copy that pulls the reader in and makes your case with no fuss or...
read moreProductive Ways to Say ‘Goodbye’ to 2014
Unless you’re working the returns counter at Macy’s, the week between Christmas and New Years can be very slow. This is especially true if your company is B2B. Lots of businesses close down during this week and others operate with minimal personnel. What does that context tell us? For one thing, if you’re planning to meet some sales target, trying to accomplish it in the final days of 2014 is probably going to be a frustrating experience. So don’t go in that direction if you’re looking to be productive during these days. If we admit to ourselves that those days are going to be low key, we can find projects and activities that fit well into that environment. The human side Are there some customers, clients or associates that you should talk to? In the weeks preceding the holidays, there are a lot of handshakes, toasts, cards and gifts exchanged, but despite our best intentions there is a dearth of sincere conversation. Perhaps you need to patch up a business relationship, or put in the groundwork that will allow a relationship to grow significantly in 2015. The quiet, waning days of 2014 might be the ideal time…with the exception of New Year’s Eve, of course. The machine side If you’ve been pushing some of your equipment to the edge, upgrading or performing important maintenance and repairs can be scheduled during this period without losing much productivity. If it’s time to bring in newer, faster computers, get it done; your computer person will have time to make sure everything is running smoothly. In the same way, building maintenance is a great job to get out of the way during this week. If it’s time for a fresh coat of paint, waxing the floor, or shampooing the carpet, get it done now so that in 2015 you can really start with a “clean” slate. The personal side Sometimes there’s a skill I’d like to learn and I just can’t set aside enough time to learn it when I’m on my “normal” schedule. Maybe you want to do an online tutorial to teach you Photoshop or HTML basics. Or perhaps you can free up time for others on your team to pick up skills. There certainly are enough sites on the Internet that offer courses and tutorials today. You should be able to find something that will enhance your operation and help you get off to a strong start in 2015. The financial side Of course, there’s no way around the fact that you have to start thinking about finances at the end of the year. Approach this from two angles: Talk to your tax preparer before the tax season crunch, and Outline a game plan for 2015 growth. Get everyone together for a lunch/brainstorming session where you can capture any and all growth strategies – no matter how off-the-wall they may be. Go off campus, let your hair down and let the ideas fly. Finally, as these days roll by, spend a little time reflecting on the year and promise to leave any regrets behind and allow your 2014 triumphs to propel you into a 2015 of truly outrageous...
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