Business

Spring has sprung — and summer isn’t far off. If your business typically hires minors for summer jobs, now’s a good time to brush up on child labor laws. In News Release No. 22-546-DEN, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently announced that it’s stepping up efforts to identify child labor […]

Artificial intelligence (AI) has made great inroads into certain sectors of the U.S. economy. However, it hasn’t reached many small to midsize businesses (SMBs) in a major way … yet. In 2021, AI analysis firm Unsupervised published a survey of 520 SMB owners that found 48% of them still found AI too cost prohibitive. Forty […]

Pay equity is both required by law and a sound business practice. However, providing equitable compensation to employees who perform the same or similar jobs, while accounting for differences in experience and tenure, isn’t easy. That’s why every company should at least consider undertaking a pay equity audit to assess its compensation philosophy and approach. […]

In recent years, more and more businesses have increased efforts to support the well-being of their employees. This means not only providing health care benefits, but also offering other initiatives designed to help workers cope with challenges such as substance dependence, financial planning, legal woes and mental health issues. Among the options usually considered is […]

Business owners are regularly urged to “see the big picture.” In many cases, this imperative applies to a pricing adjustment or some other strategic planning idea. However, seeing the big picture also matters when it comes to managing the performance of your staff. Perhaps the best way to get a fully rounded perspective on how […]

Although there have been some positive signs for the U.S. economy thus far in 2022, many businesses are still reeling from last year’s “Great Resignation.” This trend of a historic number of workers voluntarily leaving their jobs, combined with the difficulty of hiring new employees, didn’t spare sales staff teams. However, one could say that […]

In today’s economy, many small businesses are strapped for cash. They may find it beneficial to barter or trade for goods and services instead of paying cash for them. Bartering is the oldest form of trade and the internet has made it easier to engage with other businesses. But if your business gets involved in […]

Common sense dictates that every company, no matter how small, should carry various forms of business insurance. But that doesn’t mean you should pay unnecessarily high premiums just to retain the coverage you need. Here are five ways to better control your insurance costs without sacrificing the quality of your policies: 1. Review coverage periodically. Make […]

Under just about any circumstances, the word “leakage” has negative connotations. And so it follows that this indeed holds true for retirement planning as well. In this context, leakage refers to early, pre-retirement withdrawals from an account. Now, as a business owner who sponsors a qualified retirement plan, you might say, “Well, that’s my participants’ […]

By now, most business owners view technology upgrades as inevitable. Whether hardware or software, the tech your company relies on to operate will need to change slightly or even drastically for you to stay competitive. Strange as it may sound, technology upgrades demand a bit of soul searching. That is, before spending the money, you […]