Running a seasonal business has its upsides: for some small business owners, it offers a revenue stream that comes with built-in flexibility and work-life balance as you can plan for and take advantage of cyclical business shifts. But, as with all things, there can be drawbacks to seasonal small business, not least of which are: getting the maximum return out of the busy season, and ramping down costs during the off-season.

As many in impacted areas across Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and parts of Texas focus on rebuilding after widespread damage from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, the prospect of their 2016 tax-filing extension running out on October 16, 2017 is an added cause of stress.

An appealing aspect of becoming a small business owner is the ability to be your own boss and run things the way you want. While this is exciting, it can become overwhelming fast when you realize how many tasks are on your to-do list. When you are the one running the show, how do you prioritize all of your tasks to be your most productive self? 

When it comes to starting and running a small business, there are a million moving parts, to say the least. Keeping track of rent, utilities, insurance, inventory, recruiting and staffing, payroll…the list goes on and on. And when you are that close to the trees, it can be hard to see the forest—your overall business cash flow.

Managing and predicting cash flow as a small business owner can be very challenging. Especially when you’re starting out, you might find yourself in a situation of having committed sales, but unpaid invoices. Or, as you expand, you might have some growing costs that are higher than projected or coincide with a slow month.

Each new season brings some type of change and seasonal specialties to look forward to. For fall, you might think of pumpkin spice, sweaters, trips to look at changing foliage and pick apples, and getting closer to year end holidays. For some, September comes, you blink, and it’s suddenly December 31. 

How Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Can Inform Small Business Expense Priorities

Opening a small business is no small feat. But beyond getting the lights on and the company off the ground, actually keeping a small business in business is where the rubber meets the road. Especially in the early days, you might not have the data you need to effectively predict sales and map projected revenue to actual expense. This brings us to the question: if forced to choose, what expenses are absolutely non-negotiable when it comes to staying in business?

Depending on where you live, natural disasters might be a more common occurrence or possibility than in other areas. But even if you are used to the cadence of hurricane season, or live in an area that has seen more than its fair share of tornados, for example, it’s hard to be 100% prepared, especially when you are likely preparing on both the home and business fronts as a small business owner.

This week is National Payroll Week. As a small business owner, you might not think of payroll as something to celebrate—but it is a necessary and important part of running your business. Adding new employees is a critical step in most small business growth, and ensuring employees are paid according to your employment agreement, on time, and in compliance with federal, state, and local tax and regulatory compliance will help you sustain your business growth. But we realize that payroll is not a simple task for many small business owners, especially when you look at everything else on your plate.

On August 23, we presented a webinar called Strategies to Maximize Your Retirement and Tax Savings in 2017, hosted by 401(k) consultant David Bass. With over 20 years of experience related to 401(k) plans specifically designed for small businesses, David has spent most of his career focused on breaking down the different retirement plan options available to small business owners so they can choose the right approach for themselves and their employees. This webinar outlined 401(k) basics, the differences between the plans available, and how Sure401(k) can help you and your small business. 

With the gig economy making up 34 percent of the workforce in the United States, things are changing quickly both for workers and employers. The gig economy refers to the labor market made up of short-term contracts or freelance work versus a permanent job. 

The end of summer brings a lot of things – cooler temperatures, final cookouts, one last pool day, and, for some seasonally staffed businesses, lost employees. As a small business owner, you likely employ high school and college students during the summer months. When they head back to school, what are you supposed to do?

With only half of all Americans set to meet their retirement savings goals, it stands to reason that the earlier you start planning for retirement, the better. But when it comes to small business owners and employees, planning and saving for retirement might at first seem like a bigger challenge.

As a small business owner, there are many legal requirements that you cannot afford to overlook, some of which may be more obvious than others. One which may not come immediately to mind is accurately displaying the employee posters that apply to your business.

Earlier this week we covered some of the most common myths about small businesses and retirement planning, in order to correct misconceptions that might be preventing some small business owners from offering a company-sponsored retirement plan.

Last week we covered steps being taken by large organizations in response to a growing trend of employees not planning or saving for retirement. Our post also discussed why this trend is impacting small businesses, and how small business owners can close the retirement gap without spending big business dollars and breaking the bank.

Are you in the 2/3 of Americans who are NOT saving for retirement?

A recent Wall Street Journal article discussed how major players like Microsoft Corp. and Host Hotels & Resorts are taking steps to boost contributions to company 401(k) plans, because some workers aren’t saving enough. While many organizations have resisted such a move, there is renewed interest as a means of attracting talent, motivating the current workforce, and helping aging workers to retire on time. 

Being a small business owner in a small town can be a very different experience from owning a business in a bigger city. While there may be less overall competition in a small town, chances are there are already solid and long-standing relationships between your competitors and your target consumers in the community. 

Technology has made, and continues to make, an impact in every sector of business, and the retail industry is no different. While some may say that the retail industry has been the most resistant to the technology evolution, others say that it’s leading the way. Whatever side of the argument you are on, the reality is that the technology used in retail stores has undergone a significant transformation in the last ten years for both the customer and the business owner. 

Retail store management software has come a long way in the past decade. It’s now more affordable, scalable, and efficient than ever before. Advances in hardware technology, data communication technology, software development, cloud computing, and the widely accepted “Software-as-a-Service” (SaaS) business model have created the perfect storm and paved the way to change the way retailers do retail.