Operation Jump Start

Even Small Business Owners Can Use These Tax Breaks

By Steve Parish / Forbes Two recent news clips caught my attention. One involved a company trying to avoid the IRS. The other involved the IRS trying to avoid trouble. Taken together, I can see how a small business owner might cynically ask if a small business has a fighting chance as far as taxes. The first news item was about the latest rage in large company tax planning: “tax inversions.” U.S. companies seek to sidestep U.S. corporate taxes by relocatin... Read More

Looking for Some Good Advice

By Jean Card / US News U.S. Small Business Administration head Maria Contreras-Sweet recently made news when she dared to say that counseling services might be more important than SBA’s lending programs. I’ve spent about half of my career in the small-business policy and advocacy sector (including one year at SBA and nine years at the National Federation of Independent Business), so my initial reaction to what Administrator Contreras-Sweet said was &ldqu... Read More

2 Steps to a Great Small Business 401(k) Plan

By Greg Carpenter / Market Watch I get frustrated when I read that high quality, low cost 401(k) plans aren't the norm for small businesses. I think this opinion is the result of too many small-business owners who don't know how to shop the market for 401(k) plans. Let me show you how to shop. First, you need to be aware of two key issues that complicate the 401(k) plan market. Conflicts of interest The people you turn to for advice may have hidde... Read More

What Makes Small Businesses Successful?

Ty Kiisel / Forbes The first week of June, Mike Glauser, Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University and Co-Founder of My New Enterprise, and his team set off on a cross-country bicycle tour with the goal of interviewing and documenting the stories of 100 small business owners in 100 cities across the country. They started in Florence, Oregon and will end up in Washington D.C. on July 28th. When I spoke with Professo... Read More

Starting a Small Business Begins with Overcoming Your Fears

Norton / NBC News Many of us dream of starting a small business. Whether it’s the romantic ideal of being your own boss, or the desire to build something from nothing, having a dream is different than actualizing it. Often, it’s the fear of failure or the daunting amount of work that keeps us from being bold enough to launch that next brilliant startup. START SMALL An effective way to build confidence and remove the fear of failure i... Read More