Good News On the Horizon
It's been a challenging year for small businesses, but we seem to have ended on a good note, with signs that the small business economy is starting to rebound. But is the worst really over? Let's take...
View ArticleUncertainty Clouds an Economic Recovery
Hiring continued to improve in January, and we see the first month of salary growth in well over a year. Has the economy turned the corner? The data may say yes, but sentiment says no. The first month...
View ArticleHiring and Wages on the Rebound
What a difference a month makes! If most people equate these economic times with an emotional roller coaster, small business owners have been on the ride of their lives. Last month I reported a...
View ArticleNot Yet Ready to Call It a Recovery
March ended on a positive note with a year-to-date increase in small business hiring of 3.1 percent and a year-to-date increase in pay of 0.4 percent, according to SurePayroll's Small Business...
View ArticleRecovery's in the Air, But...
American sentiment about the economy seems to be changing. The Federal Reserve reports that the "U.S. economy continues to strengthen," and our SurePayroll small business owner optimism level jumped up...
View ArticleIndependent Contractors See Gains
We've been hearing some good things that affect the economy lately. Most people seem to think we're in a full recovery, gas prices are down, and more Americans travelled this Memorial Day weekend than...
View ArticleSmall Business Paychecks Dip
The phrase "The only certain thing in life is that nothing is certain" comes courtesy of Pliny the Elder, an ancient Roman philosopher and military commander. And it seems fitting nearly 2,000 years...
View ArticleSmall Business Owners are Going Mobile – Have You?
With all the press surrounding the iPhone 4 launch, I'm reminded that it's been seven months since we introduced our Mobile Payroll app. As excited as we were to be the first in the industry to offer a...
View ArticleEntrepreneurs Think Like Consumers
The SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard results are in and they're revealing more of the same. Jobs increased slightly from last month (0.2%) to bring us to a year-to-date increase of 4.1 percent and...
View ArticleWhy Net Neutrality Matters to You
Despite its lack of coverage in many small business publications, changes to net neutrality policy have the very real potential to hurt the majority of small business owners. I know net neutrality...
View ArticleIncreased Spending, No Increased Pay
Every month before I report on the results of the SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard I'm sure to create a mental checklist consisting of two columns: One includes all of the news items I've heard...
View ArticleWhy Encourage Mistakes?
In my first year as a leader here at SurePayroll I encouraged employees to take risks. I stressed that if employees don't make mistakes they're playing it too safe and not stretching themselves to a...
View Article1099 Reform: Where Do You Stand?
The rules governing 1099s are set to change in 2012, created a huge new burden in terms of small business record-keeping.Taking care of small business paperwork is a good chunk of my business; however,...
View ArticleLiving the New Economic Norm
The SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard numbers are in for September, and they are pretty similar to last month…and the month before that.Hiring is up one percent, bringing us to 4.3 percent...
View ArticleEmbracing the Bush Tax Cuts
One thing I continually tell my employees here at SurePayroll is to slow down before you speed up. Rush jobs come up, but in almost every case, taking the time to gather the facts, analyze the issue...
View ArticleFlat Lined into the Election
The markets may have seen movement in October but Main Street hasn't. The SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard results are in, showing near flat month-over-month small business hiring and paycheck...
View Article3 Secrets of Successful Sales Quotas
There's something I've learned in the last 10 years as President of a growing small business that you probably won't hear elsewhere: For burgeoning small businesses, establishing a sales quota is more...
View ArticleWhat Businesses Can Give Thanks For
Entrepreneurs are America's chief optimists. But I'll readily admit that the past couple years have made even the most positive small business owners wonder how much longer they can still look at the...
View ArticleEconomy Remains Static, Competition Rises
November's SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard numbers are in and, as expected, we remain at the bottom of our L-shaped recovery. Hiring is down a tenth of a point over last month, bringing us to 4.2...
View Article2 Keys to Playing Big in 2011
Call it a hometown kick, but lately I've found a lot of inspiration in all things Chicago. Even in a tough economy, the Windy City is poised to take the reins as the next Silicon Valley. And its past...
View ArticleWages Climb While Hiring Rests
The last month of 2010 ended on a high note for small business employees, with pay up 0.6 percent over November, according to the Surepayroll Small Business Scorecard. There's no doubt we can attribute...
View ArticleThe Importance of Hiring Right
Hiring is a tough business. It takes patience, proper screening and careful analysis. With so many talented people out of work right now, it's going to take some time to find the one who really fits...
View ArticleGoing Mobile: Is Your Office Ready?
As the president of an online Software-as-a-Service company, I have been touting the advantages of choosing online services for a long time. In this economy, it's easy to focus on cost savings, sharing...
View ArticleRecovery Hangs in Delicate Balance
After so much negative news regarding the economy, the last few days' reports on Warren Buffet's letter to shareholders were a breath of fresh air. A few encouraging statements from the world's most...
View ArticleThe Value of Hiring Experience
We are in the age of the inexperienced entrepreneur making a fortune and leading the pack. At least that's what I see in everything from The Social Network to a recent Inc. article about a 20-something...
View ArticleThe Danger of Experience
In my last blog post, I made the case for hiring candidates with experience for positions that require problem-solving, people management and leadership skills. And after reading a few thoughtful...
View ArticleSmallest of Businesses Still Struggle
The last couple days have brought numerous positive reports about the economy. Most show jobs climbing, others show decreased layoffs and still others indicate increased capital investment.But what...
View ArticleEconomy Shifts Into Neutral
The small business economy has shifted into neutral, with hiring and wages virtually flat month over month (both down 0.1 percent from March), according to the SurePayroll Small Business...
View ArticleThe Importance of Saying No
As a business owner, you have to work within a lot of confines—a small (or no) staff, a limited budget and only so many hours in the day. If you've made your business a success, you're probably a...
View ArticleHappy to Be in Neutral
According to the most recent SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard, hiring remains flat and paychecks are virtually flat in May over the previous month. But small business optimism skyrocketed.Given...
View ArticleEconomy Flat, More Feeling Uncertain
The June SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard is a bit of déjà vu, looking similar to last month. While wages inched up just a sliver this month, bringing us to -0.1 percent for the year, hiring stayed...
View Article3 Most Valuable Learning Experiences
One of the reasons I love my job is having access to so many customers who are bright entrepreneurs. When you treat your customers like the gifted business people they are, you’ll be surprised how much...
View ArticleThe Skinny on Economic Reports
We all know it’s a bad economy, so why pay attention to monthly economic reports? It’s a fair question, and one that a lot of small business owners wrestle with.The truth is that monthly economic...
View ArticleEconomy in Reverse
For the last several months I’ve talked about our economy being in neutral and teetering on the brink of improvement or downturn. With results in for the July SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard in...
View ArticleGovernment Could Point Way for SBOs
Historically, small business owners (SBO) have proven to be a fairly resilient bunch. However, this perseverance has been severely tested in recent years by the Great Recession and subsequent tepid...
View ArticleHow you Play the Game
I like to look at most areas of life as a game. If I didn't think it were fun to navigate the challenges of the game called "business," I wouldn't have taken the career path I have. As the president of...
View Article3 Reasons to Take a Vacation
If there's one thing entrepreneurs have to work harder for than winning business, it's some well-deserved time off. As mobile technology has made it easier than ever to work from anywhere, it also...
View ArticleWhy Business Owners Are Less Optimistic than Meatloaf
More than 30 years ago, Meatloaf sang that two out of three ain't bad. Sure, it was a hokey and over-the-top love song, but it contains an important theme for entrepreneurs. When everyone else focuses...
View ArticleTwo Words Matter -- Make Them Count!
As the boss, you don't get much applause on a day-to-day basis. Unless you've hired a circle of yes men to sing your praises, life as an entrepreneur means receiving very little recognition for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Business Optimism is Back
With year-to-date hiring down 2.9 percent and wages down nearly 1 percent, small business optimism is a glimmer of sun through an otherwise dreary scene.'>The SurePayroll October survey of U.S....
View Article