Category: business

Businesses today are under increased pressure to fully understand and thoroughly respond to the issue of pay equity. And neither of these two broad undertakings is particularly easy. First, fully understanding what pay equity is and whether and how it’s played out at your company calls for research, analysis and perhaps some difficult discussions. The second…

As individuals, we’re warned repeatedly about the dangers of online identity theft. Well, as a business owner, you’re in double jeopardy because a hacker might not only steal your personal identity, but also — or alternatively — hijack your company’s brand. It’s sometimes called “brandjacking.” Essentially, a fraudster copies or recreates a business’s digital assets and then…

Recently, the IRS announced 2024 indexing adjustments to the applicable dollar amount used to calculate employer shared responsibility penalties under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Although next year might seem a long way off, it’s best to get an early start on determining whether your business is an applicable large employer (ALE) under the ACA. If…

As a business owner, you’ll likely need to have your company appraised at some point. An appraisal is essential in the event of a business sale, merger or acquisition. It’s also important when creating or updating a buy-sell agreement or doing estate planning. You can even use a business valuation to help kickstart or support…

Every business wants to find them, but they sure don’t make it easy. We’re talking about cost cuts: clear and substantial ways to lower expenses, thereby strengthening cash flow and giving you a better shot at strong profitability. Obvious places to slash costs — such as wages, benefits and overhead — often aren’t a viable…

Most companies today have some sort of presence on social media as part of their marketing efforts. If you’ve spent any time online as a business owner, you’d probably agree that building a following and getting meaningful reactions to your posts isn’t easy. One way that some companies rise above the din is to not only…

If you were told someone earns more than $200,000 annually, you might assume the person is a salaried employee who’s ineligible for overtime pay. However, as demonstrated in the recent U.S. Supreme Court case of Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. v. Hewitt, this isn’t always a safe assumption. The FLSA rules Under the Fair Labor…

Business owners are often warned about silos. Not the tall, cylindrical structures typically seen on farms or at grain processing facilities. Rather, the insular nature of many departments that results in the hoarding of information and a distinct lack of companywide communication. Among the most damaging effects of having silos within a business is poor…

Business owners: If you’re having trouble reading the U.S. economy, you’re not alone. On the one hand, the January 2023 jobs report revealed that the unemployment rate had fallen to 3.4%, its lowest level in 54 years. And inflation, while still a concern, has moderated in most sectors — staving off fears of a recession in the…

A new year has arrived. For many businesses, this means employees’ paid time off (PTO) arrangements have reset. And at companies with “use it or lose it” policies, workers have likely left a few or perhaps many unused hours on the table. It’s a growing problem. A July 2022 survey conducted by Sorbet, a provider of…