Welcome back to another edition of This Week in Small Business.
This is where I look at the week that was in small business news as it appeared on Small Business Trends and offer some more insight.
Online Sales Tax Ruling
And this week, it’s hard to ignore the Supreme Court ruling that now allows states to enact sales taxes on online sales.
This will likely increase the cost of items bought and sold online. If you buy supplies online for your business, you’ll likely see a spike as states approve these taxes. If you’re an online seller, this could complicate matters when it comes to who you tax and how much you’re to collect. This may be a matter of which ecommerce platform best adapts to the changes to make the transition easier on its sellers.
In other news this week, one of the most popular ecommerce platforms, Etsy, announced it was raising seller fees — including shipping charges! That’s a double-whammy that may make some sellers re-consider their plans.
I also took some time this week to discuss productivity hacks, as provided by Larry Kim. And I also looked a little deeper at a piece that published this week on potential reasons why your small business is struggling.
These articles were just a sample of what was happening for small businesses this week. For the rest, check out this roundup from Small Business Trends.
In case you’ve missed any of the previous editions of This Week in Small Business, be sure to check them out at the Small Business Trends YouTube channel. And be sure not to miss future This Week in Small Business videos. Subscribe to the Small Business Trends YouTube channel today.
Employment
BambooHR Releases Mobile App Aimed at Speeding Up Your Recruiting Process
Today’s job market is extremely tight, and qualified candidates are being snatched up faster than ever. The new applicant tracking system (ATS) mobile app from BambooHR Hiring was developed to quickly and efficiently let you evaluate the best candidates from your mobile device. According to Officevibe, the best candidates can be off the market in as little as 10 days.
Finance
Student Loan Crisis: Are Small Businesses Impacted?
Massive student loan debt is having a crippling effect on the U.S. economy. According to the United States Federal Reserve, 44.2 million students owe $1.52 trillion . This amount is growing by $29 billion a quarter. Student loan debt now surpasses all other forms of debt except mortgages. College debt exceeds what is owed for vehicle loans and on credit cards.
Management
Small Businesses Streamline Recruiting with New Google Hire
When Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) launched Hire almost a year ago, the company wanted to simplify the hiring process. And now it has improved the platform by making it smarter and faster to recruit your next hire. The new Hire has integrated Google AI to deliver one-click functionalities to hire help for time-consuming tasks and repetitive chores.
Give Your Employees Kudos on LinkedIn
Recognizing your employees for what they do has a bigger impact than most owners or managers may realize. LinkedIn is addressing this very issue with a new feature it calls Kudos so you can show your appreciation to everyone with whom you work.
Marketing Tips
These States Have the Most Loyal Customers in the U.S.
Customer loyalty is one of the main goals of any business, achieving it will ensure long-term success for your company. Square has used the data from the 14 million customers who have enrolled in its Square Loyalty solution to come up with some interesting findings, including which states have the most loyal customers.
Small Businesses Know Marketing is Important but Continue to Under Invest, Survey Says
Small business owners consider finding new customers to be their biggest challenge and consequently label deploying new marketing strategies to reach out to prospective customers as their primary focus to ensure business growth. Despite being most important for small business growth, marketing remains the most underinvested area among small business owners.
eRelevance Releases New Services to Gauge ROI in Advertising and Business Communications
If you’re a small business owner who feels overwhelmed by technology but lured by its promise, there’s a new idea being floated specifically for you. eRelevance has announced a new suite of tech services flipping the old model of offering small businesses software they can buy and run themselves on its head.
Retail Trends
Could Mastercard Smart Mirror Boost Retail Sales for Your Small Business?
Removing the pain point of the payment process is one of the best ways to improve the customer experience for small and large retailers. The new Mastercard Smart Mirror will be the first of its kind to include a payment function while the customer is trying different outfits using Augmented Reality (AR).
Small Business Loans
Small Business Loan Approval Rates Hit Record High, Biz2Credit Reports
The Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index for May 2018 is reporting record highs of loan approval from banks and institutional lenders. Biz2Credit Lending Index May 2018 The record highs reflect a strong US economy and job growth. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the unemployment rate is currently at 3.8%.
Small Business Operations
Restaurant POS Lightspeed Announces iOS Integrations
Lightspeed has announced it is integrating Intuit QuickBooks Online and Planday so retailers and restaurateurs can efficiently manage their finances and workforce within the iOS ecosystem. Lightspeed iOS Integration Intuit is going to bring its payroll solution, while Planday will provide a workforce management platform.
Social Media
Expert Advice: How to Use Social Media Video Ads Effectively
According to the IAB Digital Video Center of Excellence, brands and agencies saw how valuable digital marketing was in 2017 for targeting and connecting to niche audiences. And this was especially the case with video ads.
Startup
20 Amazing Stats on Women Entrepreneurs from SCORE
SCORE just announced the results of a report on female entrepreneurs. “The Megaphone of Main Street: Women’s Entrepreneurship” features a number of interesting stats on the state of business ownership among women.
More Than Half of Small Business Buyers are Under 50
If you’re looking to sell a business this may be the time — and you may want to look for buyers under the age of 50. The 2018 Small Business Owner & Buyer Demographics study by BizBuySell has revealed 53% of small business buyers are under the age of 50.
Technology Trends
New Orderly Restaurant Food Index Arms Restaurants with Data to Control Food Costs
Controlling food cost in a restaurant is a challenge because it is one of the largest expenses of the business. In order to manage this expenditure more effectively, online restaurant management tool Orderly has launched a Restaurant Food Index (RFI) with a comprehensive directory of prices restaurants pay for their ingredients.
Android Messages Introduces PC Texting for Small Businesses
When it comes to being able to chat on an entire ecosystem, Apple delivers. With iMessage, you can chat on the iPhone, iPad and Mac. Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is looking to do the same with the rollout of Android Messages to run on your computer.
Zelle Forecasted to Soon Be Most Popular P2P Payments App, But Can It Help Your Business?
According to eMarketer’s latest US mobile payment forecast, Zelle will be surpassing Venmo as the most popular peer-to-peer (P2P) mobile payment app in 2018. But will the new app be useful to your small business? As one of the newest P2P mobile payment platforms, Zelle has made some impressive gains in a short time.
Zoho Show Aims to Provide Intuitive Presentation Tool for Small Business
When you’re making a dynamic presentation for a client, you need software tools to help you express your ideas simply without the need for a lot of technical expertise. The new Zoho Show has been designed to simplify this process with an intuitive interface allowing you to create your content simply instead of spending your time trying to master the software.