Author: Small Business Desk
Obama Administration Opens Health-Insurance Portal to Small Businesses
The Obama administration has opened a new health-insurance portal to small businesses in five states after a yearlong delay of the Affordable Care Act’s online marketplace for small-employer health plans. The exchange, which was shelved last year amid mounting technical problems, quietly went live for the first time over the weekend in Delaware, Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey and Ohio. Companies in those states that have fewer than 50 full-time workers can start using the siteRead More
Small Business Development Center Welcomes New Director
The Southern Maryland branch of the Maryland Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has welcomed a new regional director – Ellen Flowers-Fields. Flowers-Fields has a history in the county, having moved to Calvert 14 years ago. She spent 10 years heading federal workforce initiatives with the Tri-County, then went to work for the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation as the deputy secretary of workforce development. She brings her background to her work with theRead More
Free small business help available
MARSHFIELD – A counselor from the Small Business Development Center at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will be in Marshfield, by appointment only, Nov. 12. Confidential business counseling is available without charge to current or prospective small business operators on issues ranging from financial management to sources of capital. The SBDC staff member will meet clients at the Marshfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MACCI) from noon to 4 p.m. Appointments must be madeRead More
Start-Up Lendoor Aims to Use Crowdfunding for Small-Business Loans
Crowdfunding — gathering lots of small checks from individuals to finance a company or a project — is a hot area in Silicon Valley at the moment. Now, one fledgling company in New York wants to bring the principles of crowdfunding to a dusty sector of American finance: small-business lending. The company, Lendoor, plans to introduce a way for local businesses to borrow money from their customers and other individuals online. It is the latestRead More
The Water’s Fine: How hiring a business broker turned a Florida couple into pool entrepreneurs
After 30 years of telecom and network systems work in corporate America, John Smee was ready for a change. He’d thought plenty of times before how nice it would be to find a little operation of his own and take over as its boss. So in late 2012 he decided to get to it. He was ready to buy a small business. Fast-forward six months, and Smee and his wife, Kathleen, had set up asRead More
Chris Myers: Small Business, Startups and the Wisdom of Crowds
My fascination with the concept of crowdsourcing started back in 2004, as it did for many who read James Surowiecki’s brilliant book “The Wisdom of Crowds.” The idea that the collective wisdom of a large group could prove superior to the expertise of individuals is powerful. It has been proven out to a great degree by experiments both large and small. However, for the longest time I wondered about the commercial aspects of collective wisdom.Read More
Three Best Ways to Insure Your Small Business
Insuring your small business against a natural disaster, a fire or a catastrophic event is almost an afterthought in the scheme of daily operations, but it shouldn’t be. For starters, if you don’t have enough coverage to replace damaged or destroyed equipment, it might be harder – or impossible – to get your company running again. A quarter of businesses never re-open after a major calamity, according to the Institute for Business & Home Safety.Read More
How to Create a Disaster Plan
No matter how good you are as a businessperson and manager, there will always be circumstances beyond your control that can affect your business. No one likes to think about such large-scale catastrophes as devastating hurricanes, earthquakes or — in today’s world — terrorist attacks. Fortunately, those events are rare, but smaller “disasters,” such as computer crashes and power outages, can wreak havoc on a small firm. Preparing for the worst can help minimize theRead More
Medical marijuana in New York: Barriers High for Small Businesses
Medical marijuana is coming to New York state, and it could make some companies a fortune. But small business owners shouldn’t expect to make money from it. Providing New Yorkers with medical marijuana could be a profitable business for those savvy enough to get a license. Derek Peterson of Terra Tech, who ditched Morgan Stanley in 2012 to become a medical marijuana entrepreneur, says profit margins for the leafy business can be anywhere between 30%Read More
Document of the Week: Confidentiality Agreement for Your Small Business
What is a Confidentiality Agreement? A Confidentiality Agreement is a legally binding contract where a person or small business agrees not to disclose certain information with other people or businesses. This type of agreement is also known as a non-disclosure agreement or a NDA. When do you need a Confidentiality Agreement? In the course of doing small business, whether developing a product or marketing a service, a company inevitably has to enlist the help ofRead More