Small Business Job Creation At 18 Year High According to Report

The National Federation of Independent Business issued a report on Thursday indicating that job creation among small businesses is increasing.  The report is a marker that businesses see significant business growth in the US and abroad.

The percentage of U.S. small business owners saying they planned to add to payrolls in July exceeded those with plans to cut jobs by 19 percentage points on a seasonally adjusted basis, the NFIB data showed. That is a 4-point increase from June and the strongest reading since December 1999. Sixty percent (60%) of owners said they were hiring or trying to hire, a 6-point increase from June.

Although businesses are looking to hire, it appears that having skilled employees remains an issue in creating a more robust economy.  Fifty-two percent (52%) of respondents said they had few or no qualified applicants for the positions they wanted to fill, according to the report. Around 35 percent of business owners said they could not fill jobs in July, a 5-point increase from the previous month and a 43-year record high on a quarterly basis.

Also an issue is the increase expenses associated with payroll.  Bill Dunkenberg, Chief Economist of NFIB states “The tight labor market is driving up costs for small employers.  More than a quarter of all owners reported raising wages in July, and the pressure was especially high in the construction industry.”

The report comes out at a time when the economy added 209,000 jobs in July while the unemployment rate fell to 4.3 percent, the lowest since March 2001, according to a government report Friday.

http://falconconsultingandmarketing.com/small-business-job-creation-18-year-high-according-report/

Google Has Dropped Instant Search

Google’s Instant Search feature which automatically prompts search results while you type a query has been removed as a feature.  The rationale behind Google’s decision is that search is now becoming mobile and as a result of this, there isn’t much of a need for it.  According to a spokesperson speaking to Search Engine Land, 

“We launched Google Instant back in 2010 with the goal to provide users with the information they need as quickly as possible, even as they typed their searches on desktop devices. Since then, many more of our searches happen on mobile, with very different input and interaction and screen constraints. With this in mind, we have decided to remove Google Instant, so we can focus on ways to make Search even faster and more fluid on all devices.”

Google Instant was a response to the fact that a lot of users are perceived as slow typers. On a desktop, Google’s search engine would help users by sending out text suggestions in the below the search field as well as constantly refresh the page as you type additional information.  Faced with the fact that more people are using mobile as well as having to manage two search engines, Google decided to end the feature.  Although the feature will be terminated,  you will still be able to get search suggestions while you type and you can click on those suggestions to see the results. This means that pages will not load unless you click on the search or press enter.

http://falconconsultingandmarketing.com/google-dropped-instant-search/

New Jersey & New York Are Top States for Small Business Loan Approvals

According to a new report by Biz2Credit, New Jersey and New York are ranked the top 2 States for the approval of small business loans.  Biz2Credit which identifies itself as a leading online lending marketplace for small business owners analyzed over 50,000 loans over a 12 month period.  During that period, 23.4 percent of loans in New Jersey were approved.

Rohit Arora, CEO of Biz2Credit attributes New Jersey’s top spot on several factors.  He states “New Jersey business owners have the unique combination of high average annual revenues and credit scores with a close proximity to two of America’s biggest cities. Despite being sandwiched in between New York and Philadelphia, New Jersey-based businesses have much lower overhead costs while still enjoying the benefits of a high volumes of traffic.”

New York came in second in the report with loan approvals of 19 percent.  “The high operating costs of running a business in New York City, which had the lion’s share of loan requests on our platform, had an adverse effect on entrepreneurs seeking funding.  Businesses in New York City, however, typically have higher revenues, credit scores and are in business longer, which bodes well during the application process.”

The Top 10 States by loan approvals are the following according to the report:

1. New Jersey (23.4%)

2. New York (19%)

3. Illinois (15%)

4. California (14.2%)

5. Pennsylvania (12.9%)

6. Florida (11.1%)

7. Georgia (10.2%)

8. Texas (10%)

9. Ohio (8.8%)

10. North Carolina (7.9%)

For small businesses seeking financing and are not aware of where to seek information there are several options.  Here are the most popular ways to get financing for your small business:

(1) S.B.A. Loans- The U.S. Small Business Administration

Government loans are generally offered through banks and credit unions that work with the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA is a U.S. government entity, with the motive of providing economic support for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The loans can be applied to a number of uses, such as:

Purchase of new equipment, machinery, parts, supplies and ancillary items

Financing leasehold improvements

Commercial mortgage on buildings

Refinance existing debt

Establishing a line of credit

(2)  Non bank entities-  Known more commonly as alternative financing, they provide financing that do not have the stricter loan requirements than a traditional bank.  The benefits of this type of financing is that you have a higher chance of approval, however the terms of the loan such as interest rates and overall payments terms will be higher than a bank loan.  More of these companies have been popping up and there are many opportunities to obtain financing through this avenue.  Kabbage which extends businesses a line of credit have spent millions of dollars in advertising to bring awareness of their product.

(3)  Crowdfunding-  Small business in this instance gives the principals of a company the opportunity to raise capital through the collective effort of a large group of individuals, as opposed to a single entity.

http://falconconsultingandmarketing.com/new-jersey-new-york-top-states-small-business-loan-approvals/

Bill Introduced In New York State To Alleviate Small Businesses on First-Time Regulatory Violations

Many small businesses are confused about certain regulatory regulations they need to comply with when they are opening up.  The average amount of money small businesses spend in order to stay compliant with regulations in the first year of operation is roughly $83,000.  Also on average, many businesses spend an estimate $12,000 a year in regulatory costs whether they be directly or indirect.  Those include workplace upgrades, daily work routine changes and attorney fees, as well as time taken away from other business tasks to understand regulations and meet with specialists.  A new bill has now been introduced to the New York State Assembly seeks to assist the over 380,000 small businesses in New York State by providing relief to small businesses from regulatory fines for first-time offenses. A business will still be fined and not exempt if  the offense impacts health, public safety, or the environment.

The bill introduced by Assemblyman John T. McDonald can be read here in full.  Its goal according to McDonald is “to find a meaningful way to help reduce the burden on small businesses and to hopefully foster a more productive relationship between the State and business owners.”

Mr. McDonald goes on to say:

“As a small business owner, I can tell you first-hand that between local, county, state and federal entities as well as the day-to-day happenings in a business, it is not easy at times to keep up with all of the rules and regulations, especially the number of new ones that change procedures and are issued on a regular basis. I have found at times that even in my role in government where I have a better vantage point than most, all of the new regulations are difficult to track and keep up with. It is virtually impossible to keep track of all regulatory changes that occur within the state of New York and I am someone who lives and breathes it every day.  It is not unreasonable to assume that a business owner just starting out can make a good faith effort to stay up to date on regulatory changes but make an honest mistake or have a new guideline escape his or her attention while keeping up with the demands of running a business. This is the reasoning behind introducing this legislation.”

There is definitely truth to his statements and this can help businesses navigate the rough terrain of opening up a small business and not having to worry about making mistakes that can potentially close them down before they are able to make a name for themselves.  There is tremendous support for this bill from the business community as well.  The Business Council of New York State has heavily supported the bill.  Lev Ginsburg, Director of Government Affairs for the Business Council intimated:

“In our heavily regulated state, it is crucial that small businesses be given the ability and knowledge necessary to comply completely with all government regulations and that the regulatory scheme of the state not simply act as a “gotcha” regime. This legislation would not only ensure reasonable regulatory enforcement practices but would also guarantee that businesses be provided with materials necessary to comply with all regulations into the future.” According to CNBC, New York is currently ranked 29th when comparing the top business states across the country, according to a 2016 survey.  Hopefully this will assist New York achieve a higher ranking in the future.

http://falconconsultingandmarketing.com/bill-introduced-new-york-state-alleviate-small-businesses-first-time-regulatory-violations/