TheStreet Search RSS Feed: Laurie Kulikowski

5 Tips For Businesses Eyeing Worker Benefits

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 07:45:00 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- How often do large employers offer free waffle breakfasts to employees?

Probably not that often, but it's something a small employer could give at minimal cost that can go a long way toward keeping morale high -- a "benefit" enhancing workplace fun, excitement and joy. That can cross over into productivity.

It's an example of a benefit raised by Derek Winn, a consultant at Business Benefits Group in Fairfax, Va....

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BP Oil Spill Fuels Government Contracting

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 06:00:00 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The BP oil spill last year took its toll on small businesses along the Gulf Coast, but the federal government is also looking to increase contracting opportunities that could balance out the damage to some.

Exactly one year ago, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig used by BP exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, ultimately leaking some 5 billion barrels of oil into the surrounding waters, harming the ecosystem and the businesses and residents making their living off the waters. The befouling of the Gulf Coast by last year's BP oil spill opened opportunities for small businesses to contract with the U.S. government.

According to the Small Business Administration, the disaster was a good reason to remind local businesses of the large amount of government contracting work in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. ...

Hidden Dangers of Business Credit Cards

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 07:35:24 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Small-business owners should take precautions when using a business-specific credit card. Understanding personal liabilities and avoiding monthly balances are crucial.

That's the theme emerging from a new report by CardHub.com, a credit-card comparison Web site.

...

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Small-Company Optimism Falls in March

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 14:55:23 EDT

WASHINGTON (TheStreet) -- Small-business optimism fell to its lowest level in five months, hurt by weak sales and shrinking profit, according to a survey by the National Federation of Independent Business.

The NFIB Small-Business Optimism index fell 2.6 points in March to 91.9, ending its five-month upward trend. Still, hiring continued to increase.

Weaker expectations for "real sales gains" and business conditions as well as a "marked deterioration" in profit fueled the decline in optimism, the NFIB says. ...

What to Do When Your Brother Is Your Boss

Tue, 12 Apr 2011 07:45:00 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Ben Cimino has been working in his family's Syracuse, N.Y.-based fresh produce business for most of his post-college life.

But Cimino, 34, has been frustrated for years with the dynamics of working with his father and two brothers. (Cimino also has a sister, who does not work for the company.) According to Cimino, the lack of praise for being dependable, and in general for his hard work, has taken its toll. Island Buggies on Nantucket Island, Mass., is like any family-owned business: It benefits from being run less like a family and more like a business.

"It was as if the opportunity to share the business was privilege enough," he writes in an email. ...

How Beer Sellers Decide What's On Tap

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 08:29:00 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The owners of Swingbellys BBQ, a small barbecue joint in the beach town of Long Beach, N.Y., like to drink beer.

That helps when it comes to choosing the hops, ales, stouts and lagers the 55-seat restaurant prides itself on offering on eight routinely changed taps.

For many small restaurants and bars, deciding on a beer menu is part of making smart business decisions. ...

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Government Shutdown: Small Contractors to Suffer

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:38:17 EDT

WASHINGTON (TheStreet) - Todd Flemming, President & CEO of Infrasafe and a member of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council, is one of many small federal contractors who worries how a government shutdown could affect his business.

About 90% of the work done by the nine-year-old company, through its Advantor Systems Corp. subsidiary, which provides electronic security products and services, is for government work, primarily for the U.S. Department of Defense. Small firm government contractors will likely suffer if the shutdown occurs.

Flemming worries how long it would take the government to pay the company for work already done if it came down to a standstill on the budget. ...

Think Your IT Is Secure? Think Again.

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:21:08 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The data breach last week at email service provider Epsilon affecting large firms including Verizon, Capital One, Best Buy, Citigroup , and Target should have small-business owners reassessing their own strategies to keep customer information, employee records and other confidential information safe.

TheStreet interviewed Sarah Fender, vice president of marketing and product management at PhoneFactor, the Overland Park, Kan., company providing phone-based authentication solutions to small and large companies. Additional comments came via email from PhoneFactor co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Steve Dispensa.

Workers checking email and logging onto networks remotely can spread viruses. PhoneFactor is among companies providing security such as phone-based identification systems to limit data breaches. ...

Senate Passes 1099-Repeal Act

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:01:34 EDT

WASHINGTON (TheStreet) -- Small businesses will soon be free of the onerous 1099-reporting mandate expanded in last year's health care reform legislation.

The U.S. Senate passed The Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act, H.R. 4, by a vote of 87-12 on Tuesday.

The bill, now been passed by House and Senate, will go to President Barack Obama to be signed. With Tuesday's passage in the Senate, President Barack Obama can sign The Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act into law. ...

5 (Other) Reasons Small Businesses Fail

Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:13:04 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- There are many reasons why startups never get to reap the riches of a Google , Amazon , Chipotle or Starbucks .

An estimated 627,200 companies big enough to hire began operations in 2008, and 595,600 closed the same year, according to data collected by the Small Business Administration. This amounts to an annual turnover of about 10%. Companies without employees have turnover rates three times as high, mostly because they're easier to start and shut down.

The recession added to the problem, with failures at small companies -- according to the Small Business Administration, those with fewer than 500 employees -- accounting for roughly 60% of job losses in 2009. ...

Gilt Groupe Brings Insiders Online To Shop

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- I'm an insider. An email has arrived with an exclusive deal on some fine jewelry by Movado and reduced-price handbags and shoes from rock star Gwen Stefani's line, L.A.M.B. (It stands for Love Angel Music Baby, in case you didn't know.)

I can also buy Tateossian cufflinks for my man at lower-than-normal prices or reduced-price travel to San Diego and the Hard Rock Hotel -- if I act fast enough. The sales expire in a few short days, and there are a limited number of items.

These are the kind of perks you can get when you know somebody, and that somebody vouches for you to Gilt Groupe. ...

6 Reasons to Work for a Small Company

Wed, 30 Mar 2011 07:00:00 EDT

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Some people may think small firms really only benefit their owners. After all, they get the freedom to be their own boss and create and control a service or product as they see fit.

But whether it's working for a coffee shop, a florist or a dentist, there are multiple advantages for small-firm employees. ...

Small-Firm Hiring Fell Flat In March

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:54:12 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Businesses with fewer than 20 employees added 50,000 jobs in March, falling short of the prior two months' totals, according to the Intuit Small Business Employment Index.

Small-business employment as measured by the Index, published today, rose 0.2% for March, equating to an annual growth rate of 3%, Intuit says.

Intuit's monthly index measures hiring at roughly 64,000 small firms that use the company's Intuit Online Payroll services. Small businesses added 50,000 jobs in March, falling short of employment numbers in the prior two months. ...

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Small-Firm Owners Still Waiting For Recovery

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:02:39 EDT

RIVERWOODS, ILL. (TheStreet) -- Small-business owners have yet to experience the recovery some experts are pointing to this year, according to results from Discover Financial's Small Business Watch.

Three months into year, some small-business owners see the direction of the economy worsening and the climate for their businesses declining over the past two months.

Discover's monthly index, which gauges economic confidence, dropped to 86.5 in March, down from 90.2 in February. ...

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Site Lets Small Firms Hedge Fuel Costs

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EDT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Small businesses hurt by rising fuel prices can follow a risk-management strategy once available only large companies.

Pricelock offers fuel price protection through what is essentially an insurance policy. It is able to offer the strategy by grouping small businesses, cutting costs -- it is done entirely online -- and working with investment banks. The Pricelock website lets business owners hedge against rising fuel costs; clients pay a fee that protects them when prices rise above the maximum they're willing to pay.

"Essentially we actually aggregate demand from small customers," says Naveen Agarwal, Pricelock's chief operating officer. ...