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3 Keys to Running a Sounder Business

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How good of a job would you say you are doing when it comes to running your business?

No matter the length of time you have been a business owner, it is important to be doing all you can for your business. If you are not, you could be on the outside looking in before you know it.

So, what steps do you need to take to run a sounder business?

Protect Yourself So You Can Remain in Business

In looking at the keys to keeping your business plugging along, remember these things:

  1. Protect yourself – You will not be much good to consumers if you are not taking care of you. This means not only physically but also financially. That said make sure you have protection in place should something happen to you. As an example, if you run a medical practice, keep in mind all the people depending on you for medical needs. As such, you can’t afford to miss a large amount of work. If you were to suffer a serious medical issue or injury, how would you support yourself and your practice? By having the best disability insurance for physicians, you are in a better position. That coverage allows you to protect all you have invested in. This becomes especially important when a notable illness or injury impacts your world. The last thing you want is to watch all you have worked for go by the wayside. Shop around for the right protection and get it today.
  2. Take care of customers – It goes without saying that taking care of customers goes a long way. That is in determining how long you will remain in business. With that in mind, are you doing enough to show customers you care? No matter the type of business you have, it is important for customers to know they can count on you. Not only is service key, but also rewarding those loyal customers who have been by your side for a while now. Do all you can to show them that you are there for them. From discounts to answering questions they have, taking care of them is a priority.
  3. Stay up on technology – Last, how good of a job are you doing when it comes to staying on top of technology? As technology grows and improves, it is important for you to grow along with it. Some businesses are more focused on the tech world than others are. If technology plays a big role in your business world, be sure you are staying on top of it. If you are not technologically sound, hire one or more individuals who are. Their experience can play a key role in helping you provide customers with the tech they expect from you. You can also attend some tech events during the year. That is to gain more insight in the role technology is playing in the business world.

When it comes right down to it, you have to do all you can to run a sound business.

If you are not doing so, chances are good your competitors will reap the rewards.

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

 

Are Your Employees Insured Against Disaster?

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adoccFor those who own their own small business, decisions must be made on a daily basis.

One of the big decisions that can weigh on the shoulders of small business owners is the one of whether to offer group health insurance or not.

For those owners trying to decide one way or another, check out the following FAQ’s for some answers:

Group Health Insurance FAQ

  1. Does a small business have to offer health insurance to its employees?

No. Unless a small business has 50 or more employees, group health insurance is completely optional.

  1. Why should small businesses offer health insurance to their employees?

If a small business owner does decide to offer group health insurance, his or her employees may seek health assistance quicker if a health issue arises and less work and time may be missed. Though health insurance is an expense to the employer, the goal is to save money in the long run by providing good health care options to employee so they can stay healthier and miss less work. If a serious illness or health condition arises, they’ll have security in getting the proper care they need.

Also, some employees may have benefits as one of their own job requirements. A small business owner can miss out on an excellent employee if they do not offer group health insurance. Many employees feel that if their employer cannot provide health insurance, the loyalty of the company is lacking and they may choose to go elsewhere, where insurance is covered.

  1. Should employees have a say in deciding on group insurance?

That would really be up to the employer, but usually it is better if the employer just makes these choices.

Employees have enough to choose from within the given plan; it’s probably best for the owner to go ahead and choose the best health insurance company to fit the needs of the small business and then offer the plan to the employees.

  1. How does an employer/small business owner go about choosing the best company to provide coverage?

The best way to narrow down the different providers is to begin with research. Employers should research online, make some phone calls and have a list ready with questions they have and whatever requirements they have for their company and employees.

Yes, it’s tough for a business owner to make so many decisions every day.

Figuring out his or her employee’s health care is not an easy one.

But if it is a possibility to offer the option of group health insurance, it’s a great way for a small business owner to make employees feel well taken care of.

As a small business owner, how have you gone about covering your employees?

Photo credit: Image courtesy of photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Heather Legg is a writer who covers topics on small business, social media and mindful living.

Making a Healthy Choice When It Comes to Insurance Plans

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ahealthcheckSmall business owners wrestling with the decision of whether to offer group health coverage to their employees have several more months before Obamacare’s small business insurance marketplace is fully operational.

Under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, businesses with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees, or FTEs, are not obligated to provide such coverage for their workers.

However, many companies, both large and small, find they can better attract — and keep — top-quality employees if they offer health coverage as a benefit.

SHOP Postponed

The multiple problems following last fall’s launch of open enrollment for individual health coverage prompted the federal government to postpone for a year the opening of SHOP, known officially as the Small Business Health Options Program.

In the meantime, small businesses that want to move ahead with group health coverage can continue to purchase health plans that meet Obamacare standards from insurance brokers.

Also, businesses in states that have their own Obamacare exchanges can buy coverage in those marketplaces.

Guidelines for Eligibility

If you’re among the small business owners who are opting to wait until SHOP is fully operational, here’s what you need to know about the qualifications necessary for participation in the marketplace:

  • You must have a principal business address within the state where you’re seeking to buy coverage or have an eligible employee with a primary worksite within the state where you’re buying coverage;
  • You must have at least one common-law employee on your payroll other than the business owner, sole proprietor, or their spouses. A common-law employee is defined as anyone who performs services for you wherein you can control what will be done and how it will be done;
  • Your business must have 50 or fewer FTEs, including part-time employees, in order to be eligible to purchase health plans within the small business marketplace. Two part-time employees are equal to one FTE. A couple of years down the road, SHOP eligibility will be expanded to include businesses with 100 or fewer FTEs.

Pay o to 100% of Premium

Interestingly, small businesses that purchase health insurance plans through SHOP are not required to pay any of the premiums for such coverage, according to a Forbes analysis of small business options under Obamacare.

Employers can pay anywhere from 0 to 100 percent of the plan’s premium, and employees must pay the rest. This rule applies only to health insurance plans purchased through SHOP, which is the federal marketplace for small businesses, and is not necessarily applicable to coverage purchased through state-operated exchanges.

For example, employers purchasing coverage through California’s state-operated exchange must pay at least 50 percent of the premiums for such coverage.

No matter whether you plan to pay 100 percent, 50 percent, or none of the premiums for health coverage offered to your employees, there’s a significant tax benefit to buying through SHOP.

Premiums for all such plans are paid with pre-tax dollars. This means that whoever pays the premium — employer, employees, or both — gets a nice tax break.

Control the Coverage

Choosing a health insurance plan from SHOP allows the small business owner to control the coverage that is offered to employees and, as we’ve already seen, to decide how much, if any, to pay toward employee premiums.

If your small business has 25 or fewer FTEs and you decide to pay 50 percent or more of the premiums for health plans purchased from SHOP, you may be eligible for a small business tax credit for the premiums paid.

In order to be eligible for this tax credit, your employees must average less than $50,000 per year in annual wages. Forbes reports that many employers that are eligible for this tax credit are forgoing it because the calculations involved are “slightly cumbersome.”

4 Levels of Coverage

As a small business owner, you can select the level of coverage that will be available to your employees.

As for individual health plans, the four main levels of coverage are Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

According to HealthCare.gov, these categories have nothing to do with quality of care but rather describe “the way your employees and the plan can expect to share costs for health care.” In other words, bronze plan coverage would require a higher copay for health services than would be charged under the other metal categories.

HealthCare.gov points out, however, that all plans available through SHOP must provide a set of essential health benefits.

Such benefits include ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, prescription drugs, rehabilitative services, laboratory services, preventive and wellness services, and pediatric services.

When evaluating health insurance plans in SHOP, you can compare side by side what services are available under the four levels of coverage.

As noted above, all must provide for the essential health benefits, but higher level plans are likely to have additional benefits.

And, of course, higher level plans cover more of the costs of services and thus have lower copays, if any.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Don Amerman is a freelance author who writes extensively about a wide array of business and personal finance topics.

Keeping Your Employees and Budget Healthy

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asuccessHealth insurance can turn into a crazy puzzle for small business owners.

Where larger companies, by law, must provide health insurance to their employees, small businesses have more leeway; however, this sometimes can just add to the confusion.

The bottom line, if you can afford to offer good medical coverage and health insurance to your employees, no matter how many you have – do it.

What if it’s a financial struggle?

There are instances where offering health insurance may not be feasible to your company financially.

If your company is small, you may not legally have to offer health insurance so you can consider these things in deciding to offer or not….

• Longevity of employees – It’s rare that part-time, independent or short term employees will receive medical coverage, and you’re not obligated to do so. Save the insurance benefits for your full time, permanent employees.

• If you have a tiny company, say just a handful of employees, you are not legally in a place to provide health insurance. If it’s financially not possible, you may choose to wait until your company grows financially and physically to offer health coverage.

• With the new laws in place under Obamacare, many small businesses can qualify for tax incentives by providing health coverage to their employees. Before writing it off as not possible, take a look into what you may gain by offering health insurance.

How does offering health insurance to your employees help you?

If you can, it will pay off in the long run if you provide health benefits to your employees….

• For one, some possible great employees may pass you up for a company that can provide health coverage for them. You don’t want to risk not getting the best because you don’t offer health care plans.

• Your employees may be more apt to stay for the long haul if they feel comfortable with the health care plan you can offer. People will shift companies depending on health care these days, as it a big expense to pay for it on your own. If you can offer it, do so.

• You can help your employees by avoiding lapses in health insurance coverage. When they come on board, you can have your plan go right into effect rather than having your employees search out medical insurance in the midst of taking on a new job.

• Employees with an insurance tie will feel more invested in the company itself and this can improve their satisfaction, engagement and overall well-being with your company and their job.

• You’ll save on sick days and illness within the work place. Those with medical coverage are more apt to visit a doctor than those without. Though you may lose a few hours or a day to a doctor visit, it beats a week or more for those who don’t get the needed medical care. It also can prevent sickness from spreading in the office, like strep throat or the flu – two things which can really take an office down.

No one likes to talk about medical coverage – it’s a big expense and a lot to think about it.

But if you want happy, healthy employees, you probably need to consider it.

Photo credit: hipstercrite.com

About the Author: Heather Legg is a writer covering topics related to small business, health and well-being, and social media.

Made It Your Business to be Insured?

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For many men and women, opening and running a small business is a lifelong dream.

According to the Small Business Administration (SBA) there are some 27 million small businesses scattered across the nation, with anywhere from 60 to 80 percent of all new jobs created nationwide tied to small business.

Whether it is a company one has started fresh off the ground, inherited from a family member or purchased from someone else, their blood, sweat and tears will likely be poured into it over time.

But what happens if they do not have the proper small business insurance in place?

In what can seem like the blink of an eye, all those dreams of being their own boss and making a go of it as a business owner can be wiped out.

In order to avoid such a scenario, ask yourself a very simple question. Am I properly insured to the point where my small business could withstand even the smallest of claims? If the answer is no, make it your business to get properly insured.

It all starts with preparing for the everyday risk that something could go wrong, meaning you could end up on the wrong end of a claim, a claim that has the potential to be quite expensive for you and your business.

 

Do You Know All the Things That Can Go Wrong?

While the possible scenarios are just about endless, some of them include:

  • The work you do for a client ends up causing them a business interruption and/or loss of money;
  • Someone comes to your business for a consultation, product or service. While there, they are injured in a fall or other accident;
  • One of your employees is attacked in your office parking lot while going to their car. You were told several times that the area had little or no lighting and was unsafe, yet you never did anything to correct the problem. In turn, the employee sues you to cover their medical bills and emotional suffering;
  • You or one of your employees are driving to meet with a client or make a delivery. During the time, you are involved in a vehicle accident and the other party is injured;
  • The legal or financial advice that you provided a client does not work for them, meaning they may turn around and sue you and your business;
  • A fire or storm causes major damage to your office space and equipment. As a result, you lose the ability to work for days, weeks or maybe even longer. Can you survive financially with your small business in limbo?

No matter what the potential claim may be, it has the makings of putting you and your business at risk of going under should someone be successful in a court judgment. Without small business coverage, you risk losing everything.

As you may or may not imagine, there are a number of coverage types available for your company, including:

  1. Business property insurance (covers the business property you rent or own, including the equipment inside);
  2. Liability insurance (protects you and your business against accidents to third parties, including personal injuries and should a fire break out in your business and damage nearby properties);
  3. Home-based insurance (provides you with coverage should you run your business from home; most homeowners policies do not protect you against home-based business losses);
  4. Commercial auto insurance (offers you protection when you have any business vehicles that are used on a regular basis to go meet with clients and/or deliver goods and services).

There is little to no doubt that some small business owners will feel paying premiums for insurance is cutting into their revenue, so why have it in the first place?

Keep in mind that an uninsured loss can be much more expensive to your small business over time than paying a monthly, quarterly or yearly payment for small business insurance.

At the end of the day, are you willing to take the risk of not being insured?

Dave Thomas has more than 20 years’ experience as a writer, covering a variety of topics to help your small business succeed.