A recent survey by the NFIB Research Foundation, a small business advocacy group, showed that only 47 percent of small business owners offer employee health benefits. Those employing 20 or more people are more than twice as likely to offer employee health benefits as those with fewer than 10.

The survey found that the low numbers are primarily the result of new small businesses opting not to cover employees. Most small businesses who offer benefits have offered them for a while and are reluctant to drop them for fear of losing good employees.

”It’s much better for employee morale if a small-business owner never offers health benefits, than it is to offer them and then be forced to take it away because it is too expensive to continue,” said William J. Dennis, NFIB’s senior research fellow. “Small-business owners experience considerable turmoil in their early years. They often experience cash flow problems and are reluctant to incur additional expenses such as health insurance. What’s new to this picture is that it appears that new small-business owners are waiting longer or choosing not to offer health insurance benefits to their employees at all.”

The fact that new small businesses are choosing not to offer benefits is a disturbing trend because of the swift turnover of the small business population. If the trend continues, the number of employers who never offer benefits will increase. And that will hurt small businesses because it will limit thet talent pool from which they draw.

What Can Be Done?

Small businesses aren’t alone in struggling with the cost of health care (and premiums) in the current economic climate. The U.S. Census Bureau reports 47 million people, or 15.8 percent of the U.S. population, were without health insurance during 2006

Unfortunately for the small business owner, new legislative approaches to help the uninsured may actually hurt them. One popular option is the “pay-or-play” mandate, in which employers are required to either provide health insurance for their employees or pay a penalty to offset costs the government incurs to provide health care for the uninsured. The rules likely would only apply to full-time employees.

Proponents say such mandates could significantly reduce the ranks of the uninsured, since the vast majority of the uninsured are in families with at least one full-time worker. Many of these are low-income families, suggesting that such measures could benefit the working poor.

Opponents argue that many low-wage workers will just be paid less, reduced to part-time or laid off to offset the insurance costs.

In their paper, “Employer Health Insurance Mandates and the Risk of Unemployment,” researchers Katherine Baicker and Helen Levy found several factors affect the extent to which such mandates cost more jobs:

Well, what type of small business is it that you are going to start? After you have figured this out, whether it is an information site or selling products online, you might need to go to the many different Internet advertising sites that will help you generate traffic to the your new Internet small business.

The next step, may be to decide what products you are going to have on your small business web site. This way you have an idea as far as the inventory and other information you will need. Building a web site for your small business.

There are many web sites available to help you as far as promoting your small business such as adverting sites and marketing sites as well.

When starting a small business on the Internet you’ll want some means of getting visitors to your site, this being said the advertising company you go with should be a reliable one. Once again, you can do the research and find many different advertising agencies as well as web sites that can help you with this.

Usually small businesses that start out on the Internet without the help or support of any kind of advertising, marketing or helpful tools will not last very long and you will soon find your small business on the Internet suffering, if not being taken off of the Internet completely.

Some Internet small businesses have tried this and it does not work. However, if you know what type of Internet small business you want, then you start researching on advertising and marketing and getting visitors to your site, such as generating traffic in other words; your small business on the Internet will have a better chance of surviving. And in most cases, prospering to the point that your small business on the Internet has grown tremendously.

It is not impossible to start a small business on the Internet while some people may tell you that it is. You simply have to know the right techniques and have the right tools concerning the Internet at your disposal. This makes it so much more easily to start a small business on the Internet and at the same time making it a productive one, that will last.

Advertising plays an important role in generating traffic, or visitors to your site, while the marketing portion, assists you in setting up the means of the visitors who want to purchase things off of your small business on the internet to do so.

Make things as easy as possible for the visitors that come to your small business as well, in this case they may very well be returning customers.

Many Internet small businesses will start out with very few products on their site, however as time goes by, and if done in the proper way of management the site will grow along with your inventory as well as the profits. The visitors to your site will increase too. Remember, do research and don’t just throw an idea on the Internet building a web site to sell things. Think it out first, what you want to accomplish with your small business on the Internet, and then do the marketing and advertising parts next, therefore generating traffic to your new small business web site.

Before outlining exactly how you can go about finding career fairs, it is important that you first know exactly what they are. Career fairs are events that are almost always open to the general public and held in public locations, like shopping malls. Although career fairs can vary, most employer participants set up their own tables or booths. These booths are often accompanied by printed information, brochures, or pictures about the company in question. Each booth is often staffed with a couple of company representatives; representatives who are able to accept applications or resumes, as well as answer any questions that job seekers may have.

Now that you know what career fairs are, you may be wondering exactly how you can go about finding them. When it comes to finding a career fair, one of the best things that you can do is keep your eyes and your ears open. For instance, many of the career fairs that are hosted in shopping centers are advertised weeks or sometimes even months in advance. Since career fairs are commonly held in local shopping centers, you are advised to always be on the lookout for any career fair signs or banners. If you are unable to visit your local shopping center or other public establishments, you can always trying calling them once a month or so to see if any career fairs are scheduled for the future.

Career fairs are often advertised in local newspapers as well. While information about a career fair may appear in different newspaper sections, it is common to find information about them in the employment section of a newspaper. Although it isn’t as common as newspaper advertisements, many career fairs are also advertised online. If you have access to any local business websites or message boards, you may be able to find information on an upcoming career fair.

Community boards are another way that career fair organizers go about advertising their upcoming career fairs. Since most career fairs are planned months in advance, many organizers have the time to go around the neighborhood and hang-up signs. Many career fairs are advertised on college campus community bulletin boards. Businesses where those looking for work are likely to hang out may also have bulletin boards that may have information on available job openings or career fairs. These types of businesses tend to include restaurants or coffee houses.

You are also advised to contact your local career center, which is sometimes referred to as a career counseling center. These types of centers are where you should be able to receive assistance with finding a job. Most career centers are staffed with those who are educated on the art of finding, applying for, and landing a job. If you do have a local career center in or around your community, they are often the first ones to know about an upcoming career fair. That is why it is advised that you contact your local career center to ask if they know about any upcoming career fairs. If they do, be sure to get the important information, like when and where.

By keeping the above mentioned points in mind, you should be able to find and attend any career fairs that happen in or around your place of residence. For the best chance of success, when attending a career fair, make sure that you bring multiple copies of your resume, dress for success, and be prepared for an onsite interview, because they do occasionally happen.

You can generally categorize banks into: 1) 10% that are actually making small business loans now and are serious about doing so, 2) 70% who will talk to you directly and indicate they are not making small business loans at this time because of the economy, and 3) 20% that slap you on the back, invite you in, and readily take your application. It is the latter group that gives us the most heartburn. It is not unusual after the initial review of your application papers for a bank represented to signal you have a good chance. Overjoyed, you begin to make plans, including executing contracts and receiving quotes for inventory, raw materials, or merchandise. Two months later, after the fourth loan committee review, you get a call that they have decided not to make the loan. The reason has little if anything to do with credit. It is typically something that was never been mentioned before and after reflection, it seems like an excuse not to make the loan in the first place.

Loan brokers such as myself are victims of the same misleading behavior. I cannot tell you how many banks have looked me in the eye and said: “Sure, we are making lots of loans. For unsecured loans of $75,000 to $150,000, we just need a credit score above 680, in business for over a year and a half, and decent financials. Real estate security is not required. We would love to entertain your applications.” Right.

What they really do is pour over the applications and pick 1 out of 100 that has the following fantasy credentials: a platinum credit score that Bill Gates would be proud of and which could support a small country, gushing positive cash flow, little competition, executed contracts stacked high on your desk, then a booming market niche. In other words, someone who doesn’t need the loan in the first place. You know the old adage: banks only give money to people who don’t need it.

It is simply psychology 101. Banks are filled up with loan officers and they have to show they are busy. If their boss walks into their office and sees nothing on their desk, they might be laid off. They have to show they are busy earning their salaries, which means receiving applications and going through the review process. It’s gotten so bad that the other day we had a client whose grandfather helped found the bank, whose father was best friends with the president, and who had received two successful loans before. Even he was turned down. Nor do they tell you the large SBA commercial loan department job layoffs of employees throughout the nation.

To prevent being too caught in this trap, look your banker in the eye and ask these questions:

1) “Tell me honestly. I don’t want to waste your time or mine. I know the credit crunch is quite depressing and there is really no secondary market. Are you actually entertaining small business loans at this time or should I wait.”

2) “How many small business loans have you personally made in the last 30 days?”

3) “What are the loan terms of the last three loans you made, including interest rate and monthly payments, for the amount of loan I am seeking?”

4) “How long will it take before I get a definitive answer?”

5) “Can you briefly describe to me the process I have to go through to get the final approval? Will you be the one making the final decision? What other people superior to you or committees will make that decision?”

But do not despair. There actually are real live prime lenders out there making small business loans. They just need to know where to look. In the next article I will discuss if such loans are available to startups.

Working on Your Career Development

Career development is actually a path that helps you choose the career that you would like to pursue. It includes all the various steps that you would have to undertake in order to advance in your chosen career.

The concept of career development basically includes testing your stress management capabilities and your inherent skills. If you want to have a better shot at some career that you would particularly like to pursue, you need to make sure that you do well at the present position you hold. You should take the opportunity to enrich your knowledge and develop your capabilities. These things will influence the success of your career development. You can?t afford to resent your present job because this will not help you advance in your career. Learn to love your job and embrace the responsibilities attached to it. You would have better chances of succeeding.

Educate Yourself and Strengthen Your Chances

Once you have determined the career development path that you would like to pursue, you can then direct your attention to preparing for it. You need to educate yourself. You will strengthen your chances of succeeding if you take up classes, join seminars or undergo training sessions.

There are many colleges, institutes, schools and universities that are offering career development courses. In fact, there are courses for practically every career that is out there. You will even find these courses online. This is perfect if you can?t afford to go to regular classes.

To advance in your chosen career, you need to show to people that you are dependable. You need to show that you are a trustworthy employee who is capable of producing quality work. To do this, you need to strengthen your knowledge, skills and capabilities. Career development is a continual process of learning and working. Therefore, it is very important that you know what you are getting yourself into. You need to be committed to it. It will help if you choose a job that you would enjoy. Otherwise, you wouldn?t have a shot at succeeding.

Creating a Career Development Plan

You need to plan your career growth if you want to keep track of your progress. This will also help you analyze your aspirations and motivations. Successful individuals do not just develop a plan for promotions or salary raises. They look beyond these things and create an entire plan for career development or advancement.

A career development plan is something that should be done continuously. You cannot just focus on specific goals. You need to be continually reviewing and revising your plan if needed. This way, you can easily keep track of changes or improvements. You won?t be confined to anything. You will keep your options open and you will have more shot at succeeding.

To start off, you need to make sure that you have practicalities covered. You need to have an updated resume at all times. This is just the practical aspect of your plan. What is important is your vision for yourself. Regardless of whether you are pursuing a career goal in the same company or you are looking for change of career, you need to make sure that you know what you want.

There are a lot of things that you need to take into consideration, so make sure that you have considered everything before you start making your ?things to do? list. You should have considered the things that could hinder your progress. You should have determined the driving force behind your career choice. You should also know what can motivate you to succeed.

If you want to succeed in your choice of career, you should prepare for it. You should equip yourself with the knowledge and skills required for it. You should also create a career development plan to guide you to succeed.

Lines of credit can be used to purchase inventory, pay utility bills, manage payroll, advertise, or to fund expansion projects. A line of credit can also allow a small business to weather downward trends in sales without having to make painful budget cuts and unpopular layoffs. A line of credit also allows a small business to avoid high interest loans from traditional banking institutions. Lines of credit are also much simpler to manage than typical loans or financial advancements, and securing a line of credit for your small business has never been easier.

While traditional banking institutions offer lines of credit for your small business, there are also other options. Conventional credit card companies are great resources a line of credit. They usually offer introductory low interest rates, flexible payment options, and are usually easier to secure than small business loans from a bank. The Internet is great tool to utilize when searching for an available line of credit for your small business. There are several web sites that offer searchable databases of credit offers. You can limit the search by any number of criteria, making each search specialized to your particular needs. These details can include credit limits, payment options, interest rates, and credit company options. Also, by applying online, many credit card companies offer different and better credit line terms for small businesses. These better terms can mean the difference between success and failure in a competitive business environment.

While credit card companies are a great and easy way to secure lines of credit for your small business, a bank can also be a good place to look for a line of credit. The terms may not be as good initially as a credit line issued from a credit card company (especially from an online application for credit), but banks a generally more trust worthy and the credit line terms are more predictable. When applying online for credit lines, there can be hidden terms or stipulations that are hidden in pages upon pages of small print. It is often difficult to realize all the terms and limitations of an online credit line. Interest rates are a good example. While introductory rates can seem excellent, once those introductory rates expire, the interest rate can skyrocket. This increased interest rate can cost your small business thousands of hard earned dollars, thus straining your business? bottom line. Credit lines issued from banking institutions are more straightforward, and while their introductory interest rates are not generally as desirable as online credit institutions, the increased rate is generally much lower. When trying to secure a line of credit for your small business all aspects of the credit line are important. While credit lines can help your small business purchase inventory, pay employees, and weather downturns in sales, the wrong terms for your credit line can cost your small business thousands of dollars.

Their members are concerned about jobs and how to hold on to jobs; small businesses are usually the last businesses to make employees redundant. The calls are asking how to make employees redundant, how do I do it, what action should I take, this is extremely worrying when it is thought that 32,400 business may go bust. On average each small business employees approximately 5 members of staff; this means that 150,000 people could lose their jobs from small businesses this year.

The federation of small businesses is the voice of small and medium-sized businesses in the UK; they have over 215,000 members, who employ more than 1.3 million people with a combined turnover of

]]> http://businessbookshelves.com/business-articles/career-articles/career-development-using-online-education/feed 0 http://businessbookshelves.com/business-articles/small-business-articles/small-business-security-its-a-serious-business http://businessbookshelves.com/business-articles/small-business-articles/small-business-security-its-a-serious-business#comments Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:21:41 +0000 Business Bookshelves http://businessbookshelves.com/business-articles/small-business-articles/small-business-security-its-a-serious-business People who own and run small businesses may have been overlooked in the past. Not attracted to the big budgets and sophisticated requirements of big business, the security industry has not focused on providing small business security. Small businesses had to settle for inappropriate and overpriced security that resembled home security systems.

But there’s good news. Leading security industry manufacturers and providers are paying attention now. They’re beginning to understand that the unique needs of small business security require tailored security measures and systems.

Small business security does have one advantage. Needing smaller staff and experiencing less turnover than large businesses, small business’s risk for in-house theft is significantly less, reducing the need for inventory tracking and video monitoring for break rooms and storage areas. But small businesses still face serious risks for theft, vandalism, and violence.

Small business security needs are in many ways like those of corporations and individual homeowners. Common-sense security measures are important. Things like removing potential hiding places for would-be thieves by eliminating blind spots on building exteriors is a basic preventive measure. Lighting the building, inside and out, makes it possible for people outside the building to observe criminal activity at night and when the business is closed. Keeping entry points clear of obstructions and shadows is important to safety and security. Installing locks with security codes for individual employees prevents entry by unauthorized people.

Exterior lighting is not only important for security. It’s an important way to prevent injuries to customers and to prevent crimes against both customers and employees outside the building. Liability insurance is a significant expense, and good exterior lighting can qualify small businesses for discounts and insurance savings. So in a way, liability insurance is a good small business security measure.

Every year, small businesses lose billions of dollars to preventable theft and vandalism. Monitored commercial alarm systems are an inexpensive and effective way to protect your small business. They’re easy to install in less than a day, and they’re easy to operate. A good small business security system will include control panels, security keypads, glass break sensors, window and door contacts, motion detectors, and sirens. Systems can be hard-wired or wireless. They can include loud immediate alarms or silent alarms that alert law enforcement without interrupting ongoing business. They can have add-ons like fire alarms and video surveillance. You can get a back-up system to assure your small business security needs are covered at all times.

If you haven’t already done it, you should ask a security professional to inspect and assess your small business for vulnerabilities and ask for a proposal that addresses them. Inherently more vulnerable to financial losses, there’s no such thing as too much security for a small business. An expert in the field can help you identify your small business security needs and create a plan that both meets your budget and makes your small business more secure.

When shopping for a small business security system provider, there are a few basic ways to select the best one for your needs. First, you should always talk to more than one company. Three or four reputable vendors is a logical choice that produces competition and gives you a variety of ideas and options. They should be willing to come to your business for face-to-face meetings. Be sure to get the proposals and price estimates in writing, and make sure the proposals are complete, including monthly charges, set-up and installation fees, and warranties. Find out if they offer training for you and your staff. Once you’ve made a commitment, review the contract very carefully to make sure it includes all the options you discussed with them.

The small business security specialist can analyze your physical layout, your internal procedures, and your vulnerabilities to help you come up with a comprehensive plan.

Here is a list of 20 questions to find answers to before concluding that a career you think you?d like is really right for you, followed by 9 sources of information for answering these questions:

Questions:
1. In general, why do you think you?d ?like? this career?
2. Why is going into this career important to you? What values, needs, and goals does it satisfy?
3. What do you actually know about this career?
4. Do you have any direct experience in this career? Have you had any jobs or volunteer experiences?
5. Have you talked to people who are in this career?
6. Have you done any reading on the career?
7. What are the opportunities? What kinds of money can you make in this field, and where are the openings?
8. What would your typical day be like in this career?
9. What are the drawbacks, disadvantages, and roadblocks of this career?
10. Do your interests match the interests of others in this career?
11. Do you have the aptitudes, skills, and abilities to be successful in this career?
12. Do you have the education or training to get into this career?
13. Do you have the personality characteristics that will make you successful in the new career?
14. Do you have the motivation and energy to follow through and do what you would need to do to get into the new career?
15. What are your ?transferable? skills? That is, what skills or knowledge do you now have that you can use in the new career?
16. What skills or knowledge do you have that would not only be transferable, but that would also be a unique advantage in the new career?
17. What will it take to get into the new career? What kind of additional training, education, or experience would you need?
18. Have you developed a specific plan, including timetables and specific goals to be accomplished?
19. Do you have a network of support from family, friends, co-workers, or significant others?
20. Having answered all of the above questions, do you still ?like? the career and think it?s a good idea to get into it, and why?

I think you?ll find that there are many resources you can use to help you answer the above questions. Among them:
1. Reading. This would include not only the hundreds of books and pamphlets on careers and career choice, but also publications describing careers (such as the Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the U.S. Department of Labor and available on the Internet).
2. Practical experience. Not only is it possible to get a full-time or part-time job, but one can also volunteer at an organization or a company a couple of hours a week, just to get exposure to the area. Usually, any organization is glad to have this kind of help (unless they think you?re an investigative reporter from some newspaper or TV program).
3. Job search counseling. Anyone changing career directions needs a highly competitive job search strategy. This should include resume, cover letter, and job interviewing strategies that are specific to your situation. This may also include advice on researching the job market.
4. A thorough self-assessment. This is not an assessment BY yourself, but an assessment OF yourself. A good career counselor can provide this kind of assessment, which would include counseling and testing.
5. Career tests. In general, tests divide into three categories: 1) aptitude, ability, and skills tests, 2) career interest tests, and 3) personality and motivational tests that focus on characteristics related to the career world.
6. Career coaching. Guided discussions with an expert can help you to clarify your goals, strategies, and commitment.
7. Education and training. Before you launch full-time into a degree program, it is possible to take one course, or a seminar, or a workshop, or a brief certificate program in the new career.
8. Networking. There are many job clubs and career resource centers available to explore new careers. Schools, career counselors, and other professionals can usually give you information on these resources.
9. Informational interviewing. It?s usually not a good idea to go into a career if you haven?t talked to at least a few people who are already in it and can give you the lowdown. You can also talk to people in academic and training programs.

Armed with all of this information and all of these insights, you should now be in a better position to judge whether taking the next step in this new career area makes sense for you.