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40Small Business Trends / by Annie Pilon / 9h

Fewer small businesses are offering healthcare coverage to their employees than have in recent years, according to recent research. Small Business Healthcare Coverage Trends The Kaiser Family Foundation found that only 50 percent of small businesses with between three and 49 employees offer healthcare coverage to employees. That’s down from 59 percent that offered coverage in 2012 and 66 percent

Shoppers Plan to Spend 25 Percent More at Small Businesses Next Year, New Study Finds

68Small Business Trends / by Annie Pilon / 2d

More than a quarter of U.S. consumers say that they’re likely to shop at small businesses more often in 2018 than they did in 2017, according to a recent survey from Vistaprint (NASDAQ:CMPR). Consumer Shopping Trends for 2018 The survey results, which the company released today, offer several takeaways that should have small business owners feeling optimistic about the future. In addition to just

11 Percent of Americans Think Bitcoin is Illegal, But Business Use Growing

61Small Business Trends / by Michael Guta / 2d

Close to 11 percent of Americans believe owning Bitcoin is illegal, but almost half or 47.71 percent are also not sure. This is according to a poll commissioned by LendEDU and carried out by polling company OnePoll. Are Bitcoins Legal? Bitcoins are legal, however, the perception that they’re not is slowing its use. From the $230 price in September 2015, Bitcoin has gone to the $4,000+ price of to

YESTERDAY

In the News: Salesforce Launches AI Fund, Apple Brings AR to iPhone

24Small Business Trends / by Small Business Editor / 11h

Startups that use artificial intelligence (AI) technology got some welcome news this week — Salesforce just launched a brand new venture fund to encourage AI innovation in startups. Additionally, any small business can now work on creating augmented reality (AR) experiences using the new iOS 11. Learn about these updates and more below in this week’s Small Business Trends news and information rou

John Lawson of Watching Amazon: Non-stop News from Amazon Provides Non-stop Lessons for SMBs

11Small Business Trends / by Brent Leary / 12h

I’ve been fascinated with Amazon ( and devices from them ) for years now. So much that I’ve been in the process (a long process …) of writing a book on how this one company has and continues to change the rules of customer engagement for almost every business. And as the years go by, maybe the most fascinating thing about Amazon is that the number of ways they are impacting customer expectations

SmartBiz Loans Hits $500 Million Mark in SBA Loans for Small Businesses

21Small Business Trends / by Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead / 13h

Small business lending platform SmartBiz Loans has announced surpassing $500 million in funded Small Business Administration loans . This milestone follows a series of recent successes for SmartBiz, including a fifth bank joining its software platform. The announcement also demonstrates the mainstreaming trend of such online lending marketplaces also including Biz2Credit, Fundera and others in th

4 Reasons Your Small Business Should Archive Text Messages (Infographic)

16Small Business Trends / by Shubhomita Bose / 15h

It may be tempting to delete all the text messages you’ve received in bulk to free up some space on your mobile device. But as a small business owner, you should think twice before hitting the delete button. According to a new data-based infographic created by software company, TeleMessage, businesses should consider archiving text messages instead. Wondering why? As it turns out, archiving text

Is Your Desk Work Killing You? New Medical Research Says — Maybe!

22Small Business Trends / by Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead / 16h

Do you run a small business which requires you to sit at a desk for long periods? Perhaps you’re a freelancer working from a desk at home, day in, day out? If you have a sedentary job, you may be working to the detriment of your health. This is the finding of a study by the Annals of Internal Medicine. The research examined the association between sedentary lifestyles and mortality. It focused on

Wondering How to Make Your PPC Rock? Read This

14Small Business Trends / by Itai Elizur / 17h

PPC — it’s a staple for most small and medium-sized businesses, in one form or another. And it’s no wonder: In their latest Economic Impact report , Google reports that “businesses generally make an average of $2 in revenue for every $1 they spend on AdWords.” The entire process is getting smarter, too. Google’s 2017 AdWords product roadmap heavily features AI and machine learning, which they say

Bringing the Team Up to Speed Proved a Constant Challenge

13Small Business Trends / by Mark Anderson / 18h

Cavemen are tricky. You need to balance the scraggly beard with the animal skin clothing. You need to get the extra body hair right, and they need to be just slightly thicker and shorter than the other characters. That being said, the absolute worst part is naming them. It needs to be short — one syllable if possible, and preferably not more than three letters. Here’s some choices I discarded bef

3 Tips to Remove a Negative Mark from Your Credit Report: A Business Owner’s Guide

23Small Business Trends / by NerdWallet / 19h

Your credit score takes a hit if you fall behind on payments to a creditor, and again if an account is sent to the creditor’s collection department or sold to a third-party collector. You may be able to repair some damage to your scores by resolving a collections account on your credit reports. Collections accounts generally stick to your credit reports for seven years from the point the account

SEP 21

16 Percent of Small Businesses Rely on a Single Customer

40Small Business Trends / by Rob Starr / 1d

New research shows some U.S. small businesses walking a tightrope by relying on one customer for half or more of their revenue. However, the ninth annual DNA of an entrepreneur report from Hiscox (LON:HSX) is mostly good news. Some Small Businesses Rely on a Single Customer The downside reports that one in six small businesses (16 percent) rely on one customer for the lion’s share of their revenu

50 Small Business Ideas for Those Who Love the Outdoors

34Small Business Trends / by Annie Pilon / 1d

There’s a common misconception that business owners are constantly glued to a computer screen and cooped up in an indoor office. But you shouldn’t let this notion hold you back from starting a business. In fact, even if you love spending all your time in the great outdoors, there are plenty of outdoor businesses you can start that let you enjoy entrepreneurship and fresh air at the same time. Her

10 Ways to Winterize Your Business to Manage Energy Costs

25Small Business Trends / by Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead / 1d

Sponsored Post Winter might be synonymous with cold weather and sky-high energy bills, but it’s not all doom and gloom. If you run a business and are determined to lower your bills this winter, take a look at the following 10 ways to winterize your business to help manage energy costs. Seal Any Leaks, Drafts and Gaps Around the Workplace As the Department of Energy notes , Americans spend on aver

A 10 Step Facebook Marketing Strategy

52Small Business Trends / by Rob Starr / 1d

There are 2 billion people connecting on Facebook every month. What’s more, 800 million people like something on the social media site monthly. Those are two good reasons to adopt this 10 step Facebook marketing strategy. Remember, your Facebook Ads will be the cornerstone of your small business campaign. Facebook Marketing Strategy Decide on Your Goals There are a lots of different tools to use

Salesforce Launches $50 Million Fund for AI Startups

21Small Business Trends / by Anita Campbell / 1d

Salesforce announced a new $50 million venture fund for startups to innovate with AI technology. The goal is to encourage AI startups to develop artificial intelligence solutions that work together with the Salesforce platform. The Salesforce AI Innovation Fund , part of Salesforce Ventures, has already made investments in three AI startups. Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) is placing big emphasis on AI an

Warning: Cyber Security Breach, Could Negligence be Responsible?

20Small Business Trends / by Michael Guta / 1d

What is the number one root cause behind data breaches across North America for small businesses? If you said negligent employees, you would be right. More than half, or 54 percent of respondents in the 2017 State of SMB Cybersecurity Report gave this very same reason. Top Causes of Data Breaches Third-party mistakes and errors in system or operating process rounded up the top three causes at 43

Believing These 3 Myths About Duplicate Content will Keep Your Business From Growing

29Small Business Trends / by Ann Smarty / 1d

You run a website and you are worried about duplicate content. Hey, everyone is. The rules are pretty clearly written in Google’s policy on the matter , yet the way those rules are enforced isn’t. No one is ever quite sure how far those guidelines go and how exactly the system for rule breaking is run. On this issue you have to look a bit more at precedent to understand what are myths and what ar

Brick and Mortar Business Failing? Here Are 4 Possible Reasons

19Small Business Trends / by Due / 1d

A major brick-and-mortar retail store closed recently in the town where I live. The problem for those of us who live here or in the surrounding area is that it was one of the few stores like it for over a hundred miles. If I want to buy any of the kinds of products they were selling I now have to either do it online, or jump in my car and drive at least an hour and a half. One way. That’s a lot o

SEP 20

Constellation Energy’s “Dimes to Dollars” Webinar Provides Energy Conservation Tips for SMB’s

38Small Business Trends / by Shawn Hessinger / 2d

From changing the light bulbs you use to choosing tools to help you win the thermostat wars in the office and more, there’s a wide range of options when trying to keep energy costs low for your business. That’s why Constellation Energy and Small Business Trends have teamed up to bring you this webinar, “ Dimes to Dollars: Use Apps, Conserve Energy and Recycle to Control Your Budget .” The webinar

Hobby Lobby Controversy Shows ANYTHING Can Cause a Crisis for Your Brand

29Small Business Trends / by Annie Pilon / 2d

Hobby Lobby has gained some viral attention recently — but not necessarily the right kind. A Facebook user named Daniell Rider posted a photo of a vase containing some decor resembling raw cotton stems being sold at a local Hobby Lobby. The caption to the photo read: “This decor is WRONG on SO many levels. There is nothing decorative about raw cotton … A commodity which was gained at the expense

Small Businesses Drop Healthcare Coverage with Cost, ACA Given as Reasons

40 Small Business Trends by Annie Pilon / 9h // keep unread // hide

Fewer small businesses are offering healthcare coverage to their employees than have in recent years, according to recent research.

Small Business Healthcare Coverage Trends

The Kaiser Family Foundation found that only 50 percent of small businesses with between three and 49 employees offer healthcare coverage to employees. That’s down from 59 percent that offered coverage in 2012 and 66 percent more than 10 years ago.

There are many potential reasons for this growing trend. But the biggest seems to be the cost involved. In the survey, 44 percent of businesses that don’t offer health benefits cited cost as the main reason why. Price hikes have become commonplace in recent years, especially since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. And those prices have simply climbed too fast for many small businesses to adapt.

Of course, businesses with less than 50 employees are not required by the ACA to provide health benefits to employees. But doing so can be a major draw or even a requirement for businesses looking to attract and retain great workers.

However, some small businesses are making up the difference by simply offering more monetary compensation to employees so they can go to the marketplace and pay for their own health coverage with the extra money. Others have found that their employees simply obtain health coverage through a spouse or, in the case of young workers under the age of 26, from their parents. This last option of staying on a parent’s plan is again due to changes ushered in with Obamacare.

Overall, this trend is a disturbing one for small businesses. Health benefits are often considered to be an important factor for job hunters. And since large companies with full time workers largely provide those benefits, the inability for some small businesses to do so can make them less competitive. Some small businesses are looking to make up for that in other ways. And doing so might become more and more important for small businesses struggling to navigate the complicated world of employer health coverage.

Obamacare Photo via Shutterstock

This article, "Small Businesses Drop Healthcare Coverage with Cost, ACA Given as Reasons" was first published on Small Business Trends

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