Whether you believe we’re in a recession or not, the economy is on shaky ground right now. And if things continue to spiral downward, is your business ready to weather a recession?

Here are 10 tips on dealing with a recession for your business:

1) Cut costs cautiously. As soon as the economy starts slowing down, many business owners think they must cut costs. But this is a short-term solution. Only cut costs or decrease your prices if it won’t harm your business later. You can always lower your price – but you can’t always raise your price.

2) Think Sub- contractors – especially if health care costs are putting a strain on your budget. If you have employees, consider turning them into sub-contractors. There are very affordable, month-to-month video web conferencing services that allow you to still be in close daily contact.

3) Advertise, Advertise, & Advertise! During the last recession, McDonald’s almost tripled their advertising campaign at a time when their competitors, namely Burger King, were cutting back. So even though this may seem counter-intuitive, a recession may be the time to increase your marketing. Hard economic times weeds out your competition, leaving the field wide open for you.

4) Plan Long term: The Japanese are famous for planning out their strategy 15 to 20 years in advance. They follow the way of the turtle to win the race. And it works! Remember, marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep marketing every month, month in and month out, not stopping and starting on a whim.

5)Choose your marketing techniques wisely. You should be keeping track of which marketing venues brings you the most business. Reduce or eliminate those marketing techniques that aren’t paying off for you, or fix them so that they do increase leads and sales. And consider a form of direct marketing where you can specifically test target markets without blowing your hard earned budget.

6) Revamp your marketing tools. For those marketing techniques that are working for you, this might be the time to revamp your marketing tools. Could your sales people use more training to close the deal? Online training cuts costs and time.

7) Automate wherever you can. Find ways to automate any tasks to reduce the workload on yourself and your staff. What have you been doing manually that a computer system can do for you? Take a look at all your daily tasks and see if there is a computer solution to these time-wasters.

8) Spend your time on what really matters. Have you ever heard of the 80/20 rule? It’s a proven fact that 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers. So treat your best customers like royalty. Spend 80% of your time focusing on marketing and delivering your product or service.

9) Make do and mend. Because raw materials were in short supply during World War II, people were encouraged to “make do and mend” an item instead of simply replacing it. Consider your own expenditures: do you really need a new computer, or could you somehow upgrade your existing one for less money? Do you need a new telephone or can you get by with the old one for a while longer?

10) Reduce inventories. If you sell a product, and you believe your sales are going to decrease, this might be a good idea to reduce inventories and not restock to the same level. This is a risky strategy (what if the recession only lasts 6 months?), so be sure you know exactly how long it will take to replenish inventories once the economy picks back up.

Now is the time to have a plan for dealing with a recession. It doesn’t matter if we are in a recession now or not. These 10 tips will prepare your business for both good times and not so good times.

A leading Social Media Optimization and Marketing company that helps businesses grow online. We are trying to increase word-of-mouth referrals through our SMO Experts.

Venture-Care can help you to execute your business plan and launch the company. At Venture-Care we have the team of dedicated, experienced and skilled professionals who have made the Launchpad a one-stop solution to execute your business plan. The services under Launchpad are execution consultancy inclusive of company registration services, registration services, digital enterprise solutions, Logo and Cards designing, roc filing procedure, Marketing and Branding, alliances, partnerships and other required business services to launch your business in operation.

Our team has the chartered accountants, company secretaries, corporate financial advisors, corporate lawyers, business and tax consultants to cater to all the legal, financial and administrative services requirements in India and abroad. Our digital enterprise strategy and advanced analytics systems help us to administer the all-inclusive range of quality services for your business, at the lowest cost possible and with complete transparency. We aim to tailor our services to serve the specific requirements of each client, rather than going for the one-model-that-fits-all policy.

Our Services

Our wide spectrum of services ensures a comprehensive package to service all your company registration needs along with providing financial and legal services.

• online services tax registration

Small-scale service providers who provide taxable services of less than Rs.10 lakhs in a year is wholly exempted from service tax and service tax registration.

• fssai online registration

Obtaining an FSSAI certificate has now become mandatory for all manufacturers, traders, restaurants and all those involved in the food business, commonly known as Food Business Operators (FBOs). At Venture Care, we offer complete end-to-end support to FBOs in obtaining food service license in the minimum time frame so that they can start their business endeavor comfortably. From filling the FSSAI application form to obtaining the right license, our FSSAI experts will guide you on the Licensing procedures & provide solutions to all your queries.

• Professional tax registration

Professional Tax is a tax levied on professions and trades in India. It is a state-level tax and has to be compulsorily paid by every member of staff employed in private companies. The owner of a business is responsible to deduct professional tax from the salaries of his employees and pay the amount so collected to the appropriate government department.

• GST registration online

Get one tax (GST) for your business.GST company Registration is mandatory for all Service providers, buyers, sellers. Get to know about gst registration fees.

Get know more about legal services click here.

Small business needs SEO especially at the local level. For example, if someone is searching for a restaurant, they are going to look in their local area first. Local listings improve your visibility and help you rank higher in the search engines even if your main business can appeal to larger searches.

Do you have your business listed with local online search engines?

You should be listed in the following directories: Yellow Pages Online, Yahoo Local, Bing, Google+ and your Cities local online directories. When your business is linked to local directories, it is much easier for people to find you. You can increase your rankings on these sites by asking satisfied customers to post reviews underneath your business listing and click the thumbs up, like +1 etc.

Link Building is another way to get your business ranked in the search engines.

You can do this by adding comments and links to other businesses that are similar to yours. You can also cross promote with other businesses and offer to swap links. Make sure that you build your links slowly and naturally. Regulate them by doing a few one-day and a couple the next. This way the search engines won’t penalize you and think you are spamming.

Promote Your Business on social media platforms.

Use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ and they should reflect the location of your business. It is nice to have lots of followers, but they mean nothing if these people don’t become customers. Target your posts towards your local community. You can post specials, video and images to grab the attention of your followers.

It could be something as simple as, mention you saw this post or tweet today and get a 20% discount off your next purchase. You increase the reach of your business and encourage more customers to visit. It is a great way to get re-peat business and build relationships with your customers.

Online advertising

Pay per Click advertising is one of the most powerful ways to target your local community. Use geo-targeted PPC for your online campaigns. For example, your business is in Denver, Colorado. You may run ads that target specific areas of Denver. People who aren’t in this geographic area should be excluded.

It’s all about getting the right kind of traffic to boost your sales and get your customers to come back again and again. These are just few ways that you can use local SEO for small business to boost your online presence.

Do you feel bored with your regular nine to five job and looking for starting a business? Are you looking for starting an extra earning source? Or, do you want to start a small business in full swing eyeing to make it your career?

The idea of starting a business can be exciting and all it requires is time, effort, money, and a fresh idea. We can definitely help you with the ‘idea’ part.

Let’s get started with 10 small business ideas of 2020 that can get you started.

Cooking/Baking: This doesn’t need a huge capital. If you already have the skills, you are good to go. Make a slow start. If necessary, work from home. Select your preferred arena such as Braising, Stewing, Steaming, Baking, Roasting, Grilling, etc. Start with 2/3 items and start delivering. Everyone likes a nicely cooked home meal. Advertise within your known area and let your cooking do the rest.

Tutoring: This is probably the most known source of earning, though most of us don’t try to take this on another level. Tutoring is not limited to teaching academics. It can be a huge business opportunity with these extra steps:

– Know how to play a musical instrument? Teach your dexterity.

– Can make small yet handy crafts? Teach your techniques.

– Good at editing or designing? Teach your skills.

– Able to sing, dance, art, cook, or anything as such? Teach your expertise.

– Confident in applying your makeup just right? People always asking, how are your attire always so perfect? Teach your mastery.

– Know how to click the perfect picture? Teach your knowledge.

To summarize, find out what you know because there is a huge number of potential students out there searching for your service. Remember, learning will never go out of fashion.

Babysitting: Bet you have spent a fair share of time taking care of your baby nephew and nieces. Now is the time to use that experience. Watch the kids when their working parents are too busy to do so. Make your family and friends your brand ambassador in this case.

Interior Designer: Have a fascination with a beautifully organized home? Then start learning of course! Online courses about the basic interior are not very hard to find. After gathering enough knowledge start doing small projects, take pictures, make a portfolio, and open a website or online page or hand out flyers if needed. The want of virtual assistants is huge in rate.

Break the norm saying, Interior Designers are only for the riches. Provide your service in all possible ranges and see your business booming. Due to growing demand, you may count interior design as one of the best among 10 small business ideas of 2020.

Customized Jewelry: Have a thing for jewelry? In that case, this business is for you. The opportunity in this field is huge with its growth projected at 5-6% per year. From golden to wooden, no jewelry will ever be old-fashioned. This is perfect for a small capital side business. Due to the rising popularity of customized jewelry among fashioned seeker women, this can be considered as one of the best among 10 small business ideas of 2020.

Develop an app: There are apps for anything and everything these days. From finding all your essential files to finding a good night’s sleep, there is an app to the rescue. Coding skills or no coding skills, learning how to develop an app will only bring you potential business opportunities. Start with some marketing research and you are off to a great start.

Translator: Now will be the time to put your language skills in use.

Employment of translators is projected to grow 19 percent from 2018 to 2028 which is much faster than the average for all occupations. If you know more than one 2nd languages then you’re in luck and in great demand.

Create your channel: A YouTube channel can earn around $3 to $5 per 1000 views. A successful YouTuber can earn millions by a single video. If you are up for it, this can be your only earning source as well. Hence this idea can be considered as demanding ideas among 10 small business ideas of 2020.

If you have a passion for travel, standup comedy, music, dance, animation, teaching, creating, or anything of such sort, start sharing with the world.

Learn about YouTube guidelines and know your tools. A decent location and a good camera can increase your chances of income.

Ghostwriting: All ‘BoJack Horseman’ fans know about Diane and how she was a successful ghostwriter. She was never out of work and nor will you be if you have a passion for writing. A ghostwriter may not get credit for their work but it’s a lot of money.

Many started as a normal ghostwriter and ended up having an influential career out of it. Averagely, an adept ghostwriter can net $20,000 per project and over $50,000 if the client is a celebrity. Beginners on average earn around $5,000 depending on the topic and length of any text.

Freelance Content Writing: Content writing is undoubtedly one of the best among 10 small business ideas of 2020. In this age of digital marketing, content writers have their fair share of demands. If you have skill in formulating a well-structured story or article, this startup is for you.

One can write content for a variety of things like Web content, Blogging, Social media, ad and sales copy, Expert, or industry writing, Journalistic/news writing, Creative writing, etc. An experienced content writer can earn up to $1000 to $5000 a month.

If you already made up your mind to start a small business, that’s great! Don’t make a delay, pick up one from 10 small business ideas of 2020 above, and get prepared for a jump in the big space of business!

With all of the attention being paid to undeserved bonuses for Wall Street execs it seems fitting to revisit The Peter Principle. It’s hard to believe it has been forty years since Laurence Peter and Raymond Hill penned what was then considered to be a business satire. The principle basically states that employees in a hierarchy are rewarded for competence by being shoved up the ladder until they reach a position that overwhelms their ability to function in that job. “In time, every post tends to be occupied by an employee who is incompetent to carry out its duties,” wrote the authors in 1969.

Although, the principle when carried to extremes, can cause a certain cynicism about business in general. We know that not every CEO on Wall Street is or was incompetent but there definitely was and, quite frankly, still is an overabundance of people leading companies who are either incompetent or too far removed from the trenches to truly understand what their companies are doing day to day. We see the principle at work in the sports world as assistant coaches are promoted to head coach only to fall on their faces because they don’t have the necessary leadership skills. Just because someone is excelling their current role doesn’t mean they are ready to be promoted. It always comes back to the question of readiness. Is Joe ready to take on a leadership role? If so, why? If not, what are his weaknesses that need to be strengthened before he takes on the new role.

Jack Welch of GE fame said it best of leadership, “Genuine leadership comes from the quality of your vision and your ability to spark others to extraordinary performance.” Being a top salesperson doesn’t make you qualified to lead the sales department. Being a top lawyer doesn’t mean you will have equal success running the firm.

As a business grows the important of leadership becomes critical. This is why we see many entrepreneurs hire professional CEOs once the company grows beyond the capability of the founder. On the other hand the stories of founders who refused to hire people who knew more about leadership than they did are almost proverb as the companies crashed and burned as a result.

For small businesses the Peter Principle also has implications, especially when it comes to service. Having a brilliant idea and starting a business or having an expertise and then buying a business in that field doesn’t guarantee success. You could be brilliant in that field but if you don’t understand how to deliver your product or service with world class service the Peter Principle is at work. Successful business owners own up to their weaknesses and shore them up with people who are better at delivering competency in a particular area in the business.

Being “competent” seems like such a low expectation. We are in a world that demands excellence. The Wall Street mess has brought us down to earth somewhat but shouldn’t lower our expectations when it comes to business excellence. In big business, the shareholders will vote how they feel about the company’s leadership and the stock price will often reflect the dissatisfaction or satisfaction with current leadership. In the small business world your clients will vote with their purchasing dollars.

Here are some things small business owners can do to avoid succumbing to The Peter Principle:

1. Own up to your personal weaknesses as a manager and those of others in your company.

2. Take steps to gain the necessary know-how or hire someone who already has it. Isolate skills that need to be developed in your employees.

3. Have a performance standard in your company and make sure everyone in the organization embraces it.

4. If you are in over your head, get help!

Be the anti-Peter Principle. Rise above competency to excellence. That’s what will lead us out of these challenging times and will capture market share for those who are willing to understand their weaknesses and take steps today to strengthen them.

Before getting into tips and tricks, here is some background information about SEO for small business owners.

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a strategy in web development or design that usually includes post-design promotional activity intended to enhance recognition of a site by search engines. The goal is having your small business website appear on or close to page one in Google, Yahoo, MSN, and the other major search engines. The result, especially being listed #1 on page one, may mean more traffic driven to your website with the ultimate goal of visitors converted to buying customers.

SEO may also mean a person, or Search Engine Optimizer, who is a direct employee or outside contractor with the responsibility of adjusting your small business website programming code, site content, and promotional activities to achieve page one with search engines. Like any profession, the performance level may vary widely from one to another.

Brick and mortar small business owners often launch a new website and expect the site to take over as the front line of marketing their product or service. This can be a mistake. Others just want to enhance their image by showing sophistication with a www domain that presents more content than will fit on a business card or brochure.

The first group wants traffic driven to their site, yet few small business owners truly understand Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, so some fall victim to persons offering SEO services for a fee. For the second group, just being online with a website that never changes meets their expectations, and they realize success depends on direct customer contact and marketing. A third group is similar to this last group, except they expect that just having a website will magically bring instant fortunes.

If you didn’t guess by now, there are no tricks to search engine optimization. Tips for SEO success should be based on proven techniques with long term positive results. Tricks that try to manipulate results by deceptive means, may succeed short term but will eventually fail.

Search engine algorithms for establishing ranking like Google’s PageRank are secret. The best one can do is guess how and why they change by tracking each quarterly update. Most watchers of PageRank, or PR for short, are trying to unravel what Google finds important and then manipulate their strategy to improve their ranking in search results. That could be a mistake. If adjusting strategy means manipulating what some think is important, too often they resort to deceptive means with short term gains.

I’ve written many times that deceptive practices will backfire. You will be punished. If you track PR, or follow the advice of SEO gurus, then you’ve heard the cliche “Content is King”. My position continues to be that the secret to search engine optimization is designing sites for visitors first, and then adding original quality content often to get noticed by people, and search engines.

“Content is King” needs to be changed to “Original Quality Content is King”. Traffic is meaningless if visitors don’t stick around long enough to be converted to paying customers. I believe that the tweaking of algorithms in 2007 and the downward shift in overall PR for so many sites is more than a temporary adjustment. Furthermore, I do not believe that Google is punishing website owners who provide original quality content. Instead, I believe that millions of websites set up and tweaked just to trick search engines are being caught and punished, and the PR scale in 2007 has shifted downward for quality site owners to fill in that void and redefine the PageRank range.

Small business website owners need to understand best practice SEO strategies. Here’s some search engine optimization advice that I published on my website in 2007. First is the main course from my menu to feed search engines that used an analogy comparing search engines to restaurants. Following that list are practices to avoid from that same article on my site.

Positive Search Engine Optimization practices to consider:

1. Keywords in the Page Title

2. Keywords in the H Tags

3. The Age of Your WWW Domain

4. The Size of Your Website

5. Backlinks (inbound links to your pages)

6. Keywords in Text Links

7. High Quality, Original Content

Negative or deceptive SEO practices you should avoid:

1. Do not have affiliate only advertising pages. You need original content.

2. Do not have over optimized pages. It won’t help SEO and may confuse your visitors.

3. Do not have link schemes, inbound or outbound. Deceptive practices will backfire.

4. Do not have identical content hosted on two separate domains (mirror sites).

5. Do not have plagiarized content. It is illegal, and search engines can tell.

6. Do not have foul language as in cursing, or content that is hateful or racist.

In conclusion, continue to evaluate your small business website strategy for SEO. Take advantage of the best practices and avoid the negative or deceptive methods, and you can succeed. The majority of small business entrepreneurs service a local market, so the ranking of your pages compared to the world could mean that very high PageRank is impossible. By following the tips given here, you may have enough to edge out your local competition, and that’s probably all that matters.

Finding the right group health plan for your business can be downright intimidating: sorting through lists of insurance companies and plans; checking and re-checking the dollars and totals for deductibles and co-pays; making sense of plan limitations and exclusions; deciphering a dictionary’s worth of insurance-speak. It’s enough to make anyone feel like a high-school freshman again.

Texas insurance law allows a wide array of health care coverage plans and packages. All group health insurance has its limitations and finding the right employee health plan at the right price can be challenging.

In Texas, the term “small employer” is a special insurance designation reserved for businesses with two to 50 eligible employees. The law provides some added protections to these businesses, including a 15 percent annual cap on rate increases due to health factors, a state-enforced guarantee that carriers cannot arbitrarily discontinue coverage, and a cooperative purchasing provision that lets small employers pool their purchasing clout to negotiate lower rates.

For employees of small businesses in Dallas, Houston and throughout Texas, the law provides several ways to maintain benefits after leaving a job and limits the waiting period before pre-existing conditions are covered.

Beyond these requirements, small-employer carriers may offer a wide variety of plans, with virtually any combination of features and benefits.

Small-Business Coverage Eligibility

Texas businesses with two to 50 eligible employees may obtain small-employer coverage from either a traditional insurance company or a health maintenance organization (HMO). Eligible employees are defined as those who usually work at least 30 hours per week; are not classified as temporary, part-time, or seasonal; and are not already covered by another group health plan. A business’ owners count toward the employee total.

The number of eligible employees — not total employees — determines whether a business is considered a small employer under Texas insurance law. For example, if your business has 60 total employees, it could still qualify if six of the workers are part-time and four have coverage through some other source, such as a spouse’s plan.

If you decide to offer a group health plan to your employees, you must make it equally available to all of your eligible employees and their dependents.

Coverage is available under a small employer health benefit plan if at least 75 percent of a small employer’s eligible employees elect to be covered. Carriers must always “round up” when calculating the percentage. For example, a five-person business with only three employees wanting to participate satisfies a 75 percent requirement by rounding up.

However, in the case of a business with only two eligible employees, the law requires 100 percent participation. A husband and wife working in a business must be counted as two separate employees. Neither of the employees is eligible for coverage as a dependent of the other.

If you provide a health plan, state regulations and a federal law called COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) allow employees to maintain benefits for a period of time after separation from the job. It is your legal responsibility to inform employees of their rights to continue coverage. Former employees who choose to continue their coverage through COBRA or state continuation must pay the full cost of the plan. You are not obligated to contribute toward their premiums, even if you previously paid a share. Ask your carrier for details about your responsibility toward former employees.

Types of Plans Offered

Health plans are classified as either “state-mandated plans” or “consumer choice plans.” A state-mandated plan provides certain required minimum features and coverages. A consumer choice plan is any plan developed by a carrier that excludes some state-mandated benefits. Generally, consumer choice plans that do not include all the state-mandated coverages will save you money on your monthly premium.

Although consumer choice plans are sometimes called “standard plans,” be careful not to interpret the term to mean that the coverages provided are “standardized.” Each carrier’s consumer choice plan may be different, and a carrier may offer several different consumer choice plans.

Some state-mandated benefits continue to be required for consumer choice plans, including coverages for:

* Phenylketonuria treatment, if prescription drugs are covered.

* Complications of pregnancy.

* Minimum hospital stay after childbirth (federally mandated).

* Reconstruction surgery following a mastectomy (federally mandated).

Consumer choice plans may vary depending on the type of carrier offering the plan. For example, HMO consumer choice plans must pay for 20 outpatient mental health visits per enrollee per year, but that’s not a requirement in indemnity plans. In addition, unlike insurance companies, HMO consumer choice plans must include basic health care services, such as inpatient, outpatient, and preventative services. Carriers may offer optional benefits that vary widely from plan to plan.

You don’t have the time for all this research and number crunching. But can you really afford to leave it on your “maybe someday” list? As the cost of medical care rises, the risks of not having health insurance are more apparent than ever. Today a single injury or illness –if uninsured– can leave a family in financial ruin. Moreover, health coverage is a key benefit of employment. You may not be able to hire and keep the best employees without offering it.

Another alternative to group health insurance plans, which can be unaffordable for many small businesses, is to offer individual health insurance options to your employees. By law, an employer is not allowed to contribute to these plans, or that would be treated as group insurance under Texas state law. But you can still help your employees become insured in a good plan and improve their health and well-being and also improve employee retention in the process. If you’re a small business owner who would like to offer affordable health insurance plans to your employees, but can’t afford group health insurance, you should consider offering your employees the revolutionary, comprehensive individual health insurance solutions created by Precedent specifically for young, healthy individuals.

Precedent offers affordable, individual health plans with catastrophic coverage, but without a high deductible, and we’ll offer these plans to your employees at a discount. For more information, visit us at our website, [http://www.precedent.com]. We offer a unique and innovative suite of individual health insurance solutions, including highly competitive HSA-qualified plans, and an unparalleled “real time” application and acceptance experience.

Whether you are the owner of a new business or an established company, you may be confronted with the challenge of equipment financing. Should you purchase new equipment or get bank business loan? Better yet, should you apply for equipment lease financing?

What advantages can leasing equipment bring to a small business? In this article, lets talk about the main reasons why you should consider business equipment leasing.

Save Your Business Budget.

Having a steady cash flow is important for any business. When you lease equipment, you can use your available cash for other expenses and save the rest for emergency purposes.

100% Financing.

Yes, no down payment is required to lease equipment. Unlike bank equipment loan where you need to pay for the cost of taxes, shipping, and installation separately, leasing is 100% financing, meaning everything else is included with your payment.

Get Access to the Latest Equipment.

As technology continues to go forward, new and better models of equipment are constantly introduced in the market. Obviously, latest models would cost more than older ones. The price of equipment may not give you the option to buy state-of-the-art equipment. On the contrary, when you lease, you can choose any type of equipment you want without worrying about the high price.

No To Obsolescence.

Consequently, the equipment you buy this year could be obsolete by the next few years. Purchasing limits your options since you have invested your money on the equipment you bought. By leasing business equipment, you can always have the choice whether to retain or replace the equipment for better ones.

Frees Up Your Business’ Line Of Credit.

If you are going to obtain a bank loan and use the money for purchasing equipment, the high price of equipment can eat up your business line of credit. When you lease equipment, there is no need to use up your business line of credit. If needed, you can still apply for a loan and use the money for buying more supplies, for marketing purposes, or for hiring more workers.

Pay In Installments.

Only equipment lease financing allows you to pay for the equipment as you get to use it. There is no need to shell out a large amount of cash right away. You can even choose an installment plan (monthly, quarterly, annually, etc) that is most suitable to your financial capability as most leasing companies offer flexible repayment terms.

Enjoy Tax Benefits.

Unlike purchased equipment, leased equipment is 100% tax deductible. Imagine how much money you can save from the tax benefits alone. Every cent that you can save counts a lot especially if you are just starting up the business.

Never Complicated.

The process of applying for a business equipment lease is much simpler than applying for a bank loan or equipment loan. You can shop around and compare leasing companies from the internet and submit your application online as well. Most leasing companies grant approval in 24 to 48 hours. As soon as you are approved, you can expect to get the equipment you ordered within the next 3 to 4 weeks.

Every builder has been there. You visit a big box store to purchase an item for a few dollars less than your local construction supply store. It breaks immediately or is deficient in some way and you want to return it. This is where the headache begins. Often lines are very long at the customer service desk. When you finally reach the counter, the employee tells you that the window of opportunity to return the product has closed. The store offers a credit rather than a refund. You call the customer complaint line and are greeted with an endless series of automated prompts that may not even ultimately connect you to a human. You have to ask yourself: “Was saving a couple bucks really worth it?”

Small businesses are different than large multinational chains in a number of ways. First and foremost, customer service is a major priority. Small businesses are eager to help and often form lasting personal relationships with loyal customers. From knowing the regulars’ names to asking how the project is coming along, small family-owned businesses care about their customers. They do not have tens of thousands of patrons and so must impress visitors with extraordinary customer service. Unlike employees at large box stores, small business owners take pride in the products they offer and are highly knowledgeable. They know the construction business and provide accurate recommendations for products that work best for specific job site needs. Many businesses provide samples and follow up with customers to make sure products are working well. When problems arise, it is not uncommon for small business owners to go above and beyond helping customers solve problems.

From an economic perspective, supporting small businesses helps communities by stimulating the local economy. Greater demand for local goods and services means more jobs and a more robust economic climate. According to several studies, when people buy from small businesses there is a much greater investment into the local economy than if they purchased from large box stores. The increased demand for local goods and services serves as a reinvestment in the community that may result in more jobs, higher wages, and fewer small business closures.

There is also something to be said about the quality of supplies purchased from local stores vs. large box stores. For example, the San Diego-based surface protection company Builders Site Protection offers carpet film that is 3.0mils thick. It looks similar to the 2.0mils thick film found at Home Depot, but it is actually a more durable, puncture-resistant high quality product. In many instances and with many products, large box stores buy in bulk from China or other countries and secure highly discounted, lower quality products than small businesses. Small business owners know where to source for the highest quality inventory and are committed to selling products that will last longer than a cheaply made comparable product. This discrepancy can be found at local businesses throughout the country. Even though a large box store may be less expensive in the short-term, in the long run an inferior product can end up costing builders more.

The quality of customer service, beneficial impact on the local economy, and superior product quality are just a few reasons to consider purchasing construction supplies from small businesses.

Why should anyone be interested in helping you for free?

The government benefits if it gives small business start up loans and that is why it helps.

o Statistics show that small businesses number more than the big businesses.

o Small businesses employ more than 50 percent of the work force.

o Small businesses contribute to more than 50 percent of the nation’s GDP-Gross Domestic Product.

o Small businesses are the principal source of new jobs.

Starting a small business or expanding your small business is not easy. Expert guidance and help is given to you for free by SBA. The US Small Business Administration was established in 1953 and has business offices in every state. SBA works with thousands of lending, educational and training institutions nationwide. It does not provide grants but offers counseling. Government small business loans are offered to many entrepreneurs. Look up the web sites of the state economic development agencies to know if it is available in your state.

SBA is only a guarantor of loans offered by banks and other private financial institutions. The lending institutions that agree to terms of the SBA provide loans to small businesses through SBA. In case of inability of repayment of loan within the stipulated time; the SBA pays the lender the agreed upon guarantee amount, and the borrower has to pay the SBA the entire amount.

Can the SBA help you?

Small business is one that is independently owned and operated and is not dominant in its field of operation. SBA has regulations to determine whether your business qualifies as a small business. You could look up the SBA website or federal government regulations to find out if your small business startup loan or small business loan for expansion qualifies. Your business has qualified then the next question that any lender would ask you, is: Do you have a business plan?

Most lenders would require a detailed description of the business you are going to start up or expand. Look up the SBA site http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/index.html for planning options and counseling. The many things that SBA helps you is

o Writing a business plan

o Getting the loan

o Marketing

o Licenses and Laws

o Patents and copyrights

o Selling to government and abroad

o Hiring employees

o Buying the right equipment.

Notable among it various programs are Small business loans for minorities, Small business loans for Women, Small business loans for veterans and young entrepreneurs. The various small business loan programs offered by SBA are.

Basic 7(a) Loan Guaranty

This is the primary business loan program. It is offered to those who do not qualify for loans through the normal lending channels. The terms offered by SBA are more flexible. Valid loans are those where the proceeds of the loan are used for sound business purposes. The maturity is 10 to 25 years depending upon working capital and fixed assets. http://www.sba.gov/financing/sbaloan/7a.htm

Loan Prequalification

Low income borrowers, disabled business owners, exporters, rural and specialized industries are the target for this program. Bad credit small business loans do not fall in this category. The applicant has a credit merit then it is easier to secure the loan. http://www.sba.gov/financing/sbaloan/prequalification.htm

Certified Development Company (CDC), a 504 Loan Program

This is a variant of the Basic 7(a) loan to obtain real estate or equipment for expansion or modernization. http://www.sba.gov/financing/sbaloan/cdc504.htm

Micro Loan, a 7(m) Loan Program

This is available in selected locations in most states. The SBA stand as guarantor to organizations that provided the loans, technical assistance and management for small scale financing. Not-for-profit child-care centers can also avail these loans for working capital or purchase of inventory or supplies. http://www.sba.gov/financing/sbaloan/microloans.htm

Disaster Recovery

Home owners, Property owners in disaster areas qualify for this loan program. Term of the loan is 30 year and the rate of interest is below 8 percent for those who can obtain credit elsewhere and below 4 percent for those who cannot obtain credit elsewhere. http://www.sba.gov/disaster_recov/loaninfo/property.html