Government, Politics and the Economy
Senate Considers Medicare Tax on Capital Gains to Fund Health Plan
According to insiders, the Senate Finance Committee is considering whether to apply Medicare taxes to capital gains and other non-wage income to help pay for healthcare reform. Bloomberg.com
Management and Operations
The Equity Factor
People try to keep a balance between what they contribute to a relationship and what they get back from it. When they feel little or no return on that investment, engagement slips dramatically. The employer-employee relationship is no different, and that can lead to problems. ManageSmarter.com
Motivate Your Team
For small businesses, the owner is the leader and many believe that money alone should inspire passion, productivity, and connectedness in employees. If that was true, you wouldn't hear people saying "They are well paid; I don’t understand why they won’t produce." BusinessWeek.com
Legal Issues
Defend Your Terminations with Performance Evaluations
If your firm doesn’t have a good performance evaluation system in place, it will be easier for discharged employees who sue to get a jury trial. You need to be able to produce performance evaluations that back up why you terminated them. BusinessManagementDaily.com
Taxes and Financial Issues
Online Sales Taxes: More Amazon Affiliates Dropped
Amazon.com has dropped their relationships with small businesses in North Carolina and Rhode Island as those states prepare to implement new laws compelling Amazon to collect online sales taxes. BusinessKnowHow.com
Technology Issues
Power Up Your PC Over the Internet
By using Wake-on-LAN, you can power down your remote PCs to save money and still be able to access them whenever you need them. SmallBusinessComputing.com
Help Your Customers Find You with New Google Gadget
There is a new Google directions gadget that allows business owners to pre-fill the direction “To” field with one or multiple addresses, while leaving open the “From” field so that customers can input their address or some other starting point. SmallBizTrends.com
Monitor Your Staff with GPS Phones
Small business owners need to save money whereever they can. Now, you can cut your payroll and logistics costs with these new, low-cost tracking tools. CNNMoney.com
Health, Benefits and Labor Issues
Senate Healthcare Refore Bill Could Rescue Employer-Provided Retiree Health Benefits
There is a provision in a Senate healthcare reform bill that could strengthen health benefits for retirees. Workforce.com
Cash-Balance Plans for Your Small Business
Large firms took an interest in the hybrid plans after the Pension Protection Act of 2006 clarified their legality, but now professional practices and small businesses are seeing these plans as a great way to cut taxes and boost retirement savings. WSJ.com
In the Dating Game, Employers Usually Lose
Office romances happen, it is a fact of life, but the resignation of World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz highlights the problems associated with them. Here are some ideas on how to deal with these relationships. Workforce.com
Branding, Sales and Marketing
ROI Marketing: Delight Your High-Value Customers
There are things you can learn from luxury brands that can help you keep your best customers. ClickZ.com
Building Trust with the Six-Minute Sales Call
There is a way to build initial trust in a potential client. It takes just six minutes and the results will shock you. BizJournals.com
Using Twitter to Attract Prospects and Engage Customers
Before you jump into social media marketing, you need a plan of action and you must understand that even though the costs are low, social media tools require extensive maintenance to live up to their promise. MarketingProfs.com