The #MeToo movement is making a major impact across industries, small businesses included. From reviewing internal policies to getting the right kind of insurance, these steps can help small business owners protect their companies and employees.

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Despite recent stock market turmoil, everywhere you looked this year someone was heralding the strength of the economy, which grew at 3.5 percent in the third quarter. However, not all economic growth favors small businesses, and some even detracts from it. The Inc. Entrepreneurship Index, which measures the quarterly health of the U.S. startup economy, currently sits at 83 out of 100 for the third quarter of 2018. This is down two points from the second quarter and a full nine points from the first quarter of 2017, when our Index peaked. Our indicator sees one factor in particular still dragging like an anchor on the startup economy: job growth.

Even though overall economic conditions have been largely favorable, small businesses have hit a growth ceiling as larger companies--bolstered by generally strong market conditions, favorable tax policies, support from local governments, and easing federal regulations--have been gobbling up talent. This is why, for the past year, the Index has shown a startup economy that is strong but slowing.

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I am pleased to bring you my top five tricks for disconnecting – and at least temporarily escaping the job stress.

1. Make the business case.

Taking time to recharge is not just good for your mental and physical health -- it is the smart thing to do for your business. Studies have shown that increased stress leads to reduced productivity, while decreased stress levels lead to increased productivity.

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The standards for small business success have unquestionably gone up. Todays small businesses must do a lot more to stay competitive than their predecessors. Myriad businesses, however, take this notion a bit too far. Once they discover yet another resource or strategy with the potential to elevate their success, they jump all over it. This is partially due to the many online articles urging business leaders to devote more effort to virtually every element of their businesses.

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Today, tens of thousands of people are considering starting their own business, and for good reasons. On average, people can expect to have two and three careers during their work life. Those leaving one career often think about their second or third career move being one they can run out of their own home. The good news: Starting a home-based business is within the reach of almost anyone who wants to take a risk and work hard, as are a plethora of other low-cost ideas.

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Here are three popular things that are actually not mandatory for all small businesses:

1. Aggressive Marketing

It is easy to go overboard with marketing. With so many tools available, your gut instinct is to try anything with the slightest potential. Even if you stand to lose money, you want the assurance of knowing you are doing everything you can to gain the interest of your target audience. And it is difficult to ignore a marketing tool that has worked marvelously for other small businesses. If they had to do it all over again, these businesses would likely spend 10% of their time developing their products or services and 90% marketing them.

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Being a small business owner puts you in control of your destiny, but there are major costs that go along with being the boss. With licences, office rent, and staff payroll to deal with already, some aspiring entrepreneurs shrug off the idea of purchasing business insurance in the start-up phase.

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A lack of available workers will make the holiday season a challenge for companies of all sizes. Some of the bigger retailers have already begun ramping up their seasonal hiring efforts. That puts more pressure on small business owners to figure out how to meet their holiday season employee needs sooner rather than later.

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Eleni Gianopulos spent more than 15 years selling her handmade sugar cookies to a famous gourmet grocery chain. Then Dean & DeLuca stopped paying its bills. By January 2018, Gianopulos, founder and owner of New York City-based bakery Elenis Cookies, realized that she might never be paid for $86,000 worth of 2017 custom holiday orders.

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Small businesses are often on the cutting edge because they have to be. With smaller foundations and limited budgets, small-business owners have to think on their feet every day, developing strategies that boost productivity and the bottom line. Because a small business can not afford to embrace strategies that do not provide quick, measurable results, the trends that spring up among them are likely to make a positive difference in any company.

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Chances are good, few habits need more of an overhaul right now than your sleep routine. You probably picked up a few bad sleep habits during the cold, dark winter and any additional stress you're facing is helping the situation, says Brown University associate professor and medical doctor Katherine Sharkey.

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Email marketing continues to be one of the most powerful tools for growing your business. (Need proof? Check out stat #1 below.)

And although email marketing has been around for decades, it’s everchanging.

New email marketing tools — like AMP for Email — pop up all of the time. Marketers are taking innovative approaches to email marketing. And email marketing benchmarks change every year.

Want to see how your own email marketing strategy compares and what other businesses are doing to innovate?

Check out this ultimate list of email marketing statistics to find out how you stack up and see email marketing benchmarks to compare your results.

General email marketing statistics and usage
79% of small businesses say email marketing is important to their business strategy. [AWeber]

60% of small businesses say their email marketing strategy is effective or very effective. [AWeber]

64% of B2B marketers use a dedicated email marketing platform. [Content Marketing Institute]

40% of B2B marketers claim that email newsletters are the most important tactic in their content marketing strategy. [Content Marketing Institute]

43% of small businesses have 500 or less email subscribers. [AWeber]

42% of small businesses with over 500 subscribers have effective or very effective email marketing strategies. [AWeber]

46% of emails are opened on mobile devices. [Litmus]

61% of consumers prefer to be contacted by brands through email. [Statista]

On average, consumers spend 2.5 hours checking email on a typical weekday. [Adobe]

Recovery is slow: In fact, more than half (56%) have experienced a slower recovery than expected after shelter-in-place orders began to expire, with nearly half of small business owners fearing they may need to shutter their business within six months if pandemic restrictions are not lifted or if shelter-in-place orders resume in the near-term.
    
Survival requires adaptability: Yet despite fear of survival, owners are demonstrating resiliency and adaptability, with about a third (30%) creating products/services to meet new needs and half (50%) of those with an online presence increasing their digital footprint to meet the moment. And, they’re looking for help in making those changes – nearly 70 percent of female and 60 percent of male small business owners say they need one-to-one small business advice.

They depend on their community: While small businesses continue to be important facets of communities, many small business owners have noted changes in their customers and worry that people will not be able to afford doing business with them. However, half of small business owners believe that there seems to be a renewed interest in shopping locally in their area.

Finding and keeping the best talent has never been easy. It became the top concern for HR professionals this past year, with more than two-thirds reporting struggles with their recruitment and retention efforts. While the reasons for those struggles run the gamut, they often relate to attracting qualified candidates (49%), retaining star employees (49%) and issues with the talent-culture fit (42%).

For small and midsize businesses (SMBs), any difficulties with finding talented hires end up wasting precious resources. Worse yet, the cost of a bad hire is equal to 30% of the hires first-year salary – without factoring in the potential losses in revenue and time associated with onboarding the wrong person for a job.

Pivoting has become one of those hot topics in mainstream business media. When an economic crisis arises, countless think pieces are written about how to pivot your business to respond to the external environment. But pivoting is a huge gamble, requiring deep resources and the ability to fail with minimal consequences (hence why the term is often associated with venture-backed startups). And, one must ask oneself if there’s even a solid reason to pivot.

As a small business owner, while you might feel pressure to look anywhere and everywhere to increase your top line, resist the urge to pivot. Instead, focus on your mission.  

Define your mission
In the college admissions space, disruption is something we are used to. While high-profile recruiting scandals and a renewed focus on racial inequities have dominated headlines recently, a larger cultural shift was quietly occurring.

With the tax filing deadline approaching, make sure your company is getting all the assistance available from government programs. For instance, that means checking that you've fully utilized the Employee Retention Credit (ERC), the refundable tax credit designed to make it easier for businesses to keep employees on the payroll.

The credit is getting extended as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, the $1.9 trillion relief package just signed by President Biden. Originally scheduled to end on June 30, ERC will continue through year end, giving business owners access to as much as $33,000 per employee in incentives.

How the credit works, depending on the time frame
First half of 2021:

Eligible employers can claim a refundable credit against the employer share of Social Security tax equal to 70 percent of a full-time employee's qualified wages paid--including certain health plan expenses--from January 1 through June 30, 2021. The maximum ERC amount available is $7,000 per employee per quarter or $14,000 for eligible wages paid in the first half of 2021.

(EMAILWIRE.COM, November 03, 2024 ) The Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Market is experiencing growth due to rising concerns over antibiotic resistance and infection control. AST systems help healthcare providers determine the most effective treatments for infections, improving patient outcomes....

In our second study in 'Overcoming Adversity', we learn 'What You Need To Know'. From the amazing Romans 8, David explains how God has given us the tools to overcome adversity. There is a special understanding that we have when we are 'in Christ' that causes us to triumph even in the worst afflictions. This comes from knowing who we are and what we have in Christ - knowing what is ahead of us in Christ; what God has purposed for us in Christ and how secure we are in Him. These keys to overcoming are available to all generations of believers whatever the current global challenges or personal trials we face. This is a message of encouragement that we all need in these days. This message is available now from https://www.preachtheword.com in MP3 audio format...

Dr. Roto reveals two Tampa Bay Rays to look closely at in your 2016 Fantasy Baseball draft!

Dr. Roto discusses two Texas Rangers to keep an eye on heading into the 2016 Fantasy Baseball season!

Dr. Roto discusses two players from the Toronto Blue Jays Fantasy Baseball owners should keep an eye on in 2016!

Dr. Roto breaks down two players you may want to target from the Washington Nationals in your 2016 Fantasy Baseball draft!

The daily FISK asks the question: Does Bush need a scapegoat? Or is he THE scapegoat?

FEMA boss Michael Brown isn't being fired. He's just being reallocated. Speculation is strong that this is a precursor to his removal as director, but the die-hards remain in denial.

Charles Krauthammer notes:

Gerald Weathers said in email: "I'm an old Tulsa ex-patriot reading thru your website and I couldn't help but remember an old bumper sticker I had stashed in a box: an original UGH! bumper sticker from the 60s." On the KRMG page.

Jack is looking for movie/video footage, old commercials, pics, anything from the 1970s for his "70s show". Watch a preview in GroupBlog 329.

Published at LXer: In this tutorial, we will explain the Linux SED command using some real examples. SED (Stream Editor) is one of the most used Linux commands in scripts and command lines. It...

Editorial rebuttal of Garuda dasa's article, "More Gurus Desperately Needed".

Film locations of many scenes from the 1981 film Eye of the Needle starring Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan. Some locations have not ever been identified on the Internet.

The good folks from One Peace Books have just sent us details for an up coming manga Hero Without a Class: Who Even Needs Skills?!. Manga by...

In a world where everyone receives a Class and Skills at the age of ten, and where such revelations have a huge impact on one's life, Arel, ...

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Are you thinking about starting a side hustle or growing your online business, but feel held back by a lack of tech skills? That’s exactly where the “5-Day Profitable Newsletter Challenge” comes in—it’s a game-changer, especially for those who aren’t tech-savvy. This challenge is meticulously designed to take you from beginner to pro in the […]

Think of cyber insurance as disaster insurance. Hopefully you'll never need it, but it may save your company.

By October 2025 almost all Windows 10 computers should have been upgraded or replaced. But what if you can't replace all your old PCs in time?

The Web Marketing Association’s 23rd annual Internet Advertising Competition (IAC) Award program is currently accepting entries and is looking for qualified judges to help adjudicate this year’s award program. The IAC Awards are the first and only industry-based advertising award competition dedicated exclusively to online advertising. To nominate yourself or someone within your organization, please complete [PR.com]

Whether you’re just starting out and need a brand new website for your small business, or you already have a site up (but it doesn’t seem to be doing anything for your business), you could benefit from determining what your website actually needs. Just having a site is not enough. Remember, a website is your most important digital asset and should be your central, online marketing piece. So putting some extra thought into that is [...]

The post How do you know what your small business website needs? appeared first on Create + Design + Market.

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