The U.S. economy is thriving. The latest jobs report shows 100 straight months of increased employment—and while this is great news, it presents unique challenges for small business owners (SBOs), especially when it comes to hiring new employees and retaining current team members. While many small businesses are poised to grow as a result of the economy, only 29 percent are looking to hire, according to Capital One’s latest Small Business Growth Index. That’s down from 33 percent six months ago, and SBOs who aren’t looking to hire say it is…
Read MoreCategory: Finance
Want to Retire Rich? Don’t Make This Common Mistake.
I talk to the authors of non-fiction books and learn how they apply their books’ lessons in their own lives. For this article, I talked to David Bach, author of The Latte Factor. As entrepreneurs, we like to see ourselves as financially savvy. Starting a business — and keeping it growing — requires the ability to work with money successfully. But here’s a fact that might surprise you: More than a third of entrepreneurs have no retirement plan. How is this possible? According to a report by Manta Trends, many entrepreneurs cite insufficient income…
Read MoreSmall Business Week Is Here, So Turn Your Idea Into Reality With This Starter Kit
With Small Business Week 2019 upon us, now is as good a time as any to begin making that idea you can’t stop thinking about a reality. As of last year, there were 30.2 million small businesses in the United States — and you could join their ranks. Don’t let a fear of failure hold you back. If it doesn’t work out like you think, learning from those mistakes will only help pave the way to something great. It’s important to remember that there is no one right way to succeed, but you won’t get anywhere unless you start.…
Read MorePresident Trump Threatens More Tariffs and Spooks the Stock Market
President Trump’s saber rattling in trade negotiations with China scared investors this morning, but cooler heads prevailed and stock prices recovered most of their early losses. The President threatened to increase the current ten percent tariff on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25 percent by Friday if no deal is reached. He suggested the tariffs might soon apply to the rest of Chinese exports — some $325 billion — as well. Stock prices plunged with the Dow falling by nearly two percent in early trading. Stock prices recovered through…
Read MoreWarren Buffett Boosts Amazon and the Rest of the Tech Sector
The U.S. economy added 263,000 jobs last month, topping expectations by a wide margin, and the unemployment rate dropped to 3.6 percent, its lowest level since 1969. That strong showing, coupled with good (but not too good) wage growth of 3.2 percent, sent the stock market back towards the record highs set last Friday. Technology stocks led the way. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index was up 1.58 percent while the S&P 500 and Dow indexes were up 0.96 percent and 0.75 percent respectively. The Entrepreneur Index™ posted a gain of 1.33 percent on the day.…
Read More