Small Biz Flash

FEATURE
If you don’t have systems, you won’t be efficient and you won’t be able to scale.
SOPs keep your employees on the same page and promote quality, efficiency, and smoother operations.
SOPs are especially important to small businesses that have few employees.
Also avoid directions or language that is unclear or could be misinterpreted.
Get an employee who is very good at the task in question to help you write the SOP.
You should highly consider software to help you construct, update, and distribute SOPs. There are numerous platforms out there, including Scribe, Trainual, and SwipeGuide.
Someone must have ultimate responsibility for the SOP, because it will need to be evaluated on a regular basis for updates or adjustments.
Scribe
https://scribehow.com/
SwipeGuide
https://www.swipeguide.com/
Trainual
https://trainual.com/
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NEWS ROUNDUP
1
Small businesses’ perceptions of the economy dimmed slightly during the first quarter of this year.
https://www.uschamber.com/sbindex/summary
2
The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalized a rule last week to increase transparency in small business lending.
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-finalizes-rule-to-create-a-new-data-set-on-small-business-lending-in-america/
3
A number of small business groups are throwing their support behind the Lower Energy Costs Act.
https://www.nfib.com/content/press-release/energy/lower-energy-costs-act-benefits-main-street/
https://sbecouncil.org/2023/03/27/sbe-council-support-statement-h-r-1-the-lower-energy-costs-act/
https://www.jobcreatorsnetwork.com/press_releases/job-creators-network-applauds-h-r-1-to-reduce-the-biden-administrations-crushing-energy-costs/
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This podcast is sponsored by SBS Accounting & Advisors. Use the promo code FLASH and get 20% off your set up fee! https://sbsaccountants.com/.
👀 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmFHZqDGRbOHXjhpicWuqhg.
📧 I would love to hear from you! Please email me at [email protected].
🖥️ Learn how I can help your small business at https://eraynay.com/.

FEATURE
The Department of Homeland Security issued a new Form I-9, also known as the Employment Eligibility Form, on August 1. If you have employees, you need to be completing an I-9 on every new hire and should have already completed an I-9 for every existing employee. Penalties for non-compliance are stiff.
Today’s guest is Karen Moss, of Innovative Outsourcing:
Karen’s email: [email protected]
Karen’s LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenemoss/
Innovative Outsourcing web page: https://www.innovative-outsourcing.com/
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NEWS ROUNDUP
1 - The Department of Labor has proposed a rule that could significantly increase the overtime costs for small businesses.
https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/legal-and-compliance/employment-law/pages/proposed-overtime-rule-2023.aspx
https://www.wsj.com/articles/julie-su-labor-department-overtime-pay-biden-administration-b314387c
2 - The Department of Treasury will begin requiring tens of millions of small companies to hand over details about their ownership via a new rule on beneficial ownership reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act.
https://sbecouncil.org/2023/08/15/new-federal-reporting-requirement-for-small-businesses/
https://www.nfib.com/content/analysis/national/the-upcoming-regulation-change-every-small-business-owner-should-know/
3 - Excessive borrowing costs continue to frustrate small businesses seeking access to capital, according to a new survey.
https://www.nfib.com/content/press-release/economy/new-nfib-survey-increased-financing-costs-tops-the-list-of-credit-concerns-for-small-business-owners/
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This podcast is sponsored by SBS Accounting & Advisors. Use the promo code FLASH and get 20% off your set up fee! https://sbsaccountants.com/.
👀 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmFHZqDGRbOHXjhpicWuqhg.
📧 Do you want to grow your business? I help small business owners succeed with their strategy, marketing, and operations. Email me today at [email protected] and let me help you grow your small business.

FEATURE
Ranking high in search engines results, especially on Google, is a concern of most small businesses. There are a few basic things you can do to help your site be found, like consistently creating good content (but you don’t have to write a blog post every day or even every week) and fully utilizing Google Business Profile.
ChatGPT can help you create content, but don’t depend on it to get you 100% of the way there.
We also discuss:
* How to account for the numerous updates to Google’s algorithm each year.
* How to think about search metrics.
* Why you should start using Google Search Console.
Google Search Console: https://search.google.com/search-console/about
Today’s guest is Mickey Mellen, of GreenMellen:
Mickey’s email: [email protected]
Mickey’s LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickmel/
GreenMellen’s web page: https://www.greenmellenmedia.com/
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NEWS ROUNDUP
1 - Though most small business owners are generally positive about the current business environment, they have heartburn over the direction of the economy, according to the 3Q2023 Small Business Check Up Survey.
https://sbecouncil.org/2023/09/12/new-check-up-survey-for-q3-small-business-owners-foresee-deteriorating-economic-conditions/
2 - The IRS recently announced a moratorium through at least the end of the year on processing new claims for the Employee Retention Credit, a highly popular COVID-era relief program designed to help small businesses keep their employees on payroll.
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/to-protect-taxpayers-from-scams-irs-orders-immediate-stop-to-new-employee-retention-credit-processing-amid-surge-of-questionable-claims-concerns-from-tax-pros
3 - Entrepreneurs who choose to re-enter the traditional workforce are 30% less likely to get job interviews than applicants with only traditional experience, according to research conducted by two professors of management.
https://fortune.com/2023/09/06/entrepreneurs-founders-get-fewer-job-interviews-research-survey-management/
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This podcast is sponsored by SBS Accounting & Advisors. Use the promo code FLASH and get 20% off your set up fee! https://sbsaccountants.com/.
👀 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmFHZqDGRbOHXjhpicWuqhg.
📧 Do you want to grow your business? I help small business owners succeed with their strategy, marketing, and operations. Email me today at [email protected] and let me help you grow your small business.

FEATURE
The balanced scorecard is a tool that any small business can use to focus on the important areas of operations, as well as finances, linking them to specific goals to generate better outcomes. The scorecard moves beyond just the typical financial metrics and aligns daily activities with the company’s overall strategy.
https://hbr.org/1992/01/the-balanced-scorecard-measures-that-drive-performance-2
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NEWS ROUNDUP
1
Small businesses are hiring only temporary, part-time workers and contractors at a record high rate of 25%.
https://www.alignable.com/forum/smbs-hedge-bets-on-recession-contract-part-time-hiring-up-to-new?from_topic=polls
2
The Small Business Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act would force federal regulators to more accurately disclose the total impact of all new rules on small businesses.
https://cei.org/blog/regulatory-reform-in-the-118th-congress-small-business-regulatory-flexibility-improvements-act/
3
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has reduced fees for small and micro entity patent applicants as part of a Congressional effort to lower the barriers to obtaining patents.
https://www.natlawreview.com/article/2023-patent-fee-reductions-and-trademark-response-period-changes
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This podcast is sponsored by SBS Accounting & Advisors. Use the promo code FLASH and get 20% off your set up fee! https://sbsaccountants.com/.
👀 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmFHZqDGRbOHXjhpicWuqhg.
📧 I would love to hear from you! Please email me at [email protected].
🖥️ Learn how I can help your small business at https://eraynay.com/.

FEATURE
Sales is a foundational to the success of your small business. No sales means no revenue, which means no business. But many small businesses struggle to get sales right. And as they scale, they make costly mistakes, like hiring just one heavy hitter or promoting a hire performer into the sales manager role just because he/she has good numbers. Today, we talk to expert about how a fractional sales approach can help.
Today’s guest is David Lusk, of Evergreen Sales Group:
David’s email: [email protected]
David’s LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlusk/
Evergreen Sales Group web page: evergreensales.group
Listeners of the show will get free access to the sales personnel assessment tool Willset Core Motivation Analysis, just by contacting David.
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NEWS ROUNDUP
1
As negotiations continue in Washington over raising the national debt ceiling, there are fears about the fallout to small businesses if a deal isn’t reached.
https://www.uschamber.com/small-business/the-debt-limit-stalemate-and-your-small-business-everything-you-need-to-know
2
Small businesses are slowing down their hiring.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/workers-are-still-needed-but-many-small-businesses-have-slowed-hiring-dfa30be6
3
Despite the challenging times, or perhaps because of them, small business owners are looking for growth opportunities. A poll found that 51% of owners have growth-oriented objectives.
https://www.truist.com/resources/small-business/annual-small-business-survey-results
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This podcast is sponsored by SBS Accounting & Advisors. Use the promo code FLASH and get 20% off your set up fee! https://sbsaccountants.com/.
👀 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmFHZqDGRbOHXjhpicWuqhg.
📧 I would love to hear from you! Please email me at [email protected].
🖥️ Learn how I can help your small business at https://eraynay.com/.