As you drive around town running errands — picking up a few must-haves for dinner at the grocery store, shuttling the kids to soccer practice, or dropping off a prescription at the pharmacy — you likely drive past a community bank or credit union in your neighborhood. In fact, you might pass several without even noticing. Small banks and credit unions have been in your neighborhood for as long as you've lived in your home (and in many cases decades and decades longer), and you...

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For small business owners, any given day can include the smallest details from preparing bid proposals to changing printer ink cartridges. Not enough hours ever seem to be spent doing the work you truly enjoy, like engaging with your favorite customers and building your business into a successful way to support you and your family. You likely discovered pretty early on that running a home and running a business are entirely different creatures. While you may be outstanding at wrangling both on any...

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Businesses everywhere are feeling the impact of increasing product costs. As the costs of necessities reach new heights, it’s more important than ever for small business owners to create a budget and stick to it. Focusing on cash flow has always been important for small businesses, but it’s now essential with consumer goods at unstable costs nationwide. Here are a few things you can do to ensure your budget can cover you in the case of an emergency. Budgeting For Small Businesses During...

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In the wake of COVID-19, the federal government is taking plenty of measures to help small businesses. One of these measures is the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). This article will cover the ERC, how it can help small businesses, and how you can seek help with applying for the program. What is the Employee Retention Credit ERC? As a part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the ERC is a refundable credit on qualified wages. This credit is paid to employees, but many business owners...

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Running a business is a marathon. At every step, business owners make mistakes. But mistakes often don’t make a business fail; instead, it is a business’s response to mistakes that makes the difference. Successful business owners know how to identify their mistakes, focus on what they could have done differently, and can develop a plan to prevent similar errors in the future. Use an Audit to Learn from Business Mistakes Plenty of business owners might think ‘audit’ is...

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There are dozens of business trends currently affecting the market. Among these trends is the rise of microbusinesses and solopreneurs. While not entirely new terms, you’ve undoubtedly heard them more than ever this year. With their newfound popularity, it’s important to understand each one and the lessons you can glean from them. What is a Microbusiness? There are small businesses, and then there are microbusinesses. A microbusiness usually has a very small number of employees,...

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2022 is turning out to be a strange year. Even though it is poised to be the first post-pandemic year with loosened mask mandates, and the return to the office in full swing, many questions can still puzzle potential entrepreneurs. The biggest question, which always resides within the back of the mind, is whether 2022 is the perfect time to launch a small business. What About Yesterday? There is an old saying: “the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second-best time is...

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Business owners are undoubtedly aware of increased prices. You don’t have to be paying attention to your supply chain to notice them when you can easily find them at the grocery store and the pump. But small businesses must navigate price increasing to continue turning a profit, so how can they do it? Luckily, there are a few aspects of your business that you can evaluate in the face of price increases. Evaluating Labor’s Effect on Raised Prices There is an immense rise in labor...

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According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, U.S. businesses lose an average of 5% of gross revenue annually to fraud. Small business fraud is one of the most common types, but why does it occur so often? How Small Business Fraud Occurs Small businesses start with fewer resources than their counterparts. This lack of resources results in increased business fraud risk. For many owners, fraud occurs for one of two reasons. The first is that business owners are often too busy to...

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If you own a business, then you’ve undoubtedly heard about rising prime rates. And those predictions are in fact coming true, with the first rate hike occurring just yesterday, March 16, 2022. What does this mean for your organization, and how can you plan for success with increased interest rates in mind? Addressing Rising Prime Rates You may already know that increased interest rates affect every facet of the economy. People often associate this rise with changes in their mortgage or...

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