Small businesses are still struggling to fill open positions ahead of the holiday rush, reports NPR.

Holiday shopping season is always high-stakes for Saxon Shoes in Virginia — a time when people shop for several pairs at once and splurge on pricy winter boots. 

Read the article NPR

Small Businesses should see a boost on Small Business Saturday as 34% of Americans say they plan on shopping locally this year, reports CNBC.

Over one-third of Americans (34%) say they plan to shop on Small Business Saturday, a rebound from 2020, but spending during the holiday promotional day has not returned to the levels seen before the pandemic, according to a new CNBC|Momentive Small Business Survey

Read the article CNBC

According to Forbes, there are several ways to keep your business afloat during difficult times. 

Keeping your small business afloat during the best of times can be challenging. But when you hit a difficult season in your business, it can feel downright impossible.

Read the article Forbes

Biz2Credit reports that finance and retail businesses that took Paycheck Protection Program loans fared better during the pandemic, reports Small Business Trends.

A new report by Biz2Credit reveals that among small businesses who took Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans those in finance and retail had done well in recovering from the effects of the pandemic.

Read the article Small Business Trends

The coronavirus pandemic has indeed subjected many businesses to untold suffering and losses. If your business is struggling, now is not the time to give up. Instead, you should think of ways to remain afloat during these difficult moments. For a small business, there is a lot of pressure to perform after launch. This often leads to the failure of roughly 20% of small businesses. On the contrary, as many as 45% fail within their first five years. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, their chances of remaining afloat have become slimmer. As such, the number of bankruptcies has risen more than ever before, with Bloomberg's report showing that bankruptcies have increased by over 36%. While bankruptcies cannot be overstated, there are many ways for small business owners to safeguard against the folding over. Here are a few of them.

• Take advantage of the existing government programs

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is one of the programs that have assisted many businesses to remain afloat during the pandemic. The program, which was created through the Coronavirus AID, Relief, and Economic Security Act, has assisted more than 800,000 businesses distributing more than $210 billion in loans. Although the PPP ended in May, you can look for other similar opportunities provided by other agencies or institutions. These loans will keep you going until things return to normal. If one institution fails to consider your loan request, try another. Start by looking at the banks that you have a higher chance of getting a loan and go for it.

• Renegotiate the existing contracts and loans

Payment terms and timelines might be affected substantially by the pandemic. This might leave your small business unable to repay its loans or complete all the contracts due to financial constraints. However, you can avoid problems with your financiers or clients by renegotiating the loans or contracts that you currently have. Look at your account payable and find how you can renegotiate them to favor your current situation. Although some of your clients might not agree, others will understand your situation. You can also talk to your property owner regarding rent payment.

• Minimize staff costs

Although it may be a painful decision, you should consider reducing your staff as much as possible. Try furloughing or layoffs to reduce the amount of money you spend on employees. This is often the most sensitive area that needs to be handled with care considering its effects on the future of your organization.  For those who remain, consider pay cuts until things improve. 

• Collect the debts

Money that people or companies owe you can save your business from going under. Although the time is difficult for everybody, some of those who owe you may have the ability to pay. Therefore, you should reach out to them and collect this cash. If there is an invoice you have been holding until work is completed, do not wait any further—Bill for the portion that has been completed. You can also ask your customers for prepayment for a service. This strategy will allow your business to stay alive. Consider giving those who pay upfront a discount to attract them.

If you feel that you have done all it takes but are still unable to pay your bills, seek advice from an attorney. They might have a word or two on how you should move ahead. Some of the advice from your attorney may turn things around and shed more light on what you should or should not do or the procedure of filing for bankruptcy. The good news is that businesses will recover soon, and you will embark on normal service provision.

It is now more than a year since the coronavirus pandemic brought the world's economy almost to a standstill, and we are witnessing changes in businesses that we have never seen before. As the Small Business Administration (SBA) rolled out a massive lending program ever seen in the United States history, fraudsters saw a potential area to exploit, which is the reason for the rising cases of COVID-19-related fraud. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has termed the high levels of fraud as “historic” and focuses on taking a high level of enforcement action to counter the threat. 

The DOJ has in within a year after Congress passed the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, managed to criminally charge over 474 people for allegedly obtaining $569 million fraudulently through COVID-19-related schemes since banks started processing Paycheck Protection Program loans on behalf of the SBA. Among the problems that SBA cites are forged companies receiving thousands of dollars, businesses getting money even if their payrolls is more than the 500-employee caps, and others receiving money even when the law prohibits them due to existing government debts.   

Most cases are perpetrated by people who see the economic intervention by the government as a way of making quick money. While these individuals are now focused on the PPP loans, DOJ notes that the fraud will likely turn into something more complex and more significant in the coming months if not addressed now. Due to the sensitivity and possibility of the matter getting out of hand if left unchecked, sweeping investigations by the DOJ have commenced with the law enforcement now pursuing charges against large companies that received millions of dollars in PPP loans and individuals who are accused of fraudulently receiving PPP loans to finance their lavish personal lifestyles.

DOJ is responding to this in a variety of ways. Recently, it advertised a vacancy for a trial attorney whose work will be to prosecute cases under the CARES Act, including PPP fraud. This adds to the DOJ’s Market Integrity and Major Funds (MIMF) Unit that prosecutes cases involving government procured fraud and stopping fraud in the SBA COVID-19 disaster relief programs such as the PPP and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL). 

Fraud liability comes in a variety of ways. The first one is from the certifications that companies need to have before participating in the CIVID-19 relief programs. For instance, to participate in the PPP, companies must have multiple certifications on their loans and forgiveness applications. This is where the fraud begins. Some companies obtain false certificates that show that they have no other government loans or are not involved in any bankruptcy proceedings when the facts are different. This increases the risk of companies falling victim to more sophisticated fraud. 

As the rate of fraud continues increasing during this season of COVD-19, several companies will soon find themselves subject to government investigation related to the PPP loans. This is shown by the number of whistleblower reports and lawsuits under the FCA (False Claims Act), that has been on the rise, the cooperation among several law enforcement agencies at local and federal levels and internationally, and the audits being conducted on all companies that borrowed more than $2 million under the PPP. Businesses with foreign affiliates or operations are equally at risk due to footprints and the cooperation between the US agencies and their international counterparts. 

While the companies that did not take advantage of COVID-19 relief have nothing to worry about, they sometimes get asked questions by the regulators and law enforcers. This can be avoided by maintaining robust files that will support presentations and answer all questions that law enforcers might want to know. 

As a small business owner, every penny always counts, and 2021 is an extraordinary year that every income must be secured than ever. As the pandemic-related challenges continue mounting, you must optimize your revenue and income sources, minimize your expenses and reduce your tax liability. Sadly, many entrepreneurs lack adequate knowledge of tricks and tools that can help them achieve this. They, in most cases, end up spending more money than they should. Although some may see taxation and setting up strategies as a challenging undertaking, the truth is that you don’t need to be a professional accountant to understand it and take advantage of the accounting tips. Here are a few strategies that you should consider in 2021.

• Understand your tax planning

The tax planning process is a critical aspect that helps your business reduce the amount of taxes that need to be paid at the end of the year. Although some business owners wait until the last minute to find out taxation regimes, the secret to this is that the earlier you start, the better the chances of receiving a tax refund. Although there are various strategies to approach tax planning, the main ones are; increasing tax deductions, utilizing tax credits, and reducing your income. While relying on certified public accountants can be helpful, it is often important to have a concrete tax planning strategy in place. Doing so saves money and helps you avoid paying unnecessary taxes. Furthermore, understanding your tax planning gives you an overview of things you are spending on each year. 

• Consider changing to a different tax structure.

When starting a business, the first thing you do is specify whether your business is a sole proprietorship of a partnership. However, things may change midway, and the changes and restructuring can impact the business structure. As you re-strategize, perhaps changing the tax structure in your business can help as well. By choosing to be taxed as corporations, businesses can save a lot of money in tax cuts. Before changing your tax structure, make sure the tax cuts you will realize make sense in the new structure. 

• Know your tax payment plan

Although having a business might be your lifetime dream, generating revenue and paying taxes is a different ballgame that can make your dream a nightmare. This can be made worse by the “pay as you go” tax system, which requires businesses to make estimated quarterly tax payments. This payment plan presents a temptation for businesses in paying taxes as they seek to maintain liquidity. Delaying tax payments “as you go” can put you in an awkward position and present a challenge of penalties and interests that occurs due to delays. Ensure that you have a tax plan and money is always set aside to save yourself from the burden of penalties from the IRS.

• Carefully choose your accounting method.

There are different ways that small businesses calculate their revenue. However, most of them use cash method accounting methods. These methods that are based on the time the money is received instead of when an order was placed. This approach also counts the day the expenses were paid instead of the item or service ordered. Regardless of the accounting method you choose, adjust the approach strategically and report income based on the cash receipts if you want to reduce your end year revenues, mainly if you believe there is a possibility that the income for the coming year will be lower and you expect to be in a lower tax project. A proper accounting method allows you to know the possible tax cuts and anticipate the upcoming tax bracket, which helps you devise a proper tax payment strategy for your business. 

The federal government is in its final stages of a program that will help small businesses remain operational during the coronavirus pandemic. With the coronavirus pandemic posing eral challenges to businesses, the government is looking for ways to support small businesses. President Biden announced various revisions to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) approved by Congress last year. The new tweaks put in place by the Biden administration gives exclusive access to the loans to the smallest of small businesses in the US.

Beginning on Wednesday, companies with no more than 20 employees will be the only ones that are legally allowed to apply for the PPP loans. This exclusive access will, however, last for only two weeks. This was done to enable small businesses that have been kept off the PPP loan process during the peak of the pandemic access funds. Since the program launched in 2020, more than 5 million small businesses have benefited from these loans. Companies with less than 20 employees make up 98 percent of small businesses.

According to Biden, small businesses are the drivers of the US economy. They are the soul of the community, which many people depend on for survival. However, with the pandemic now on sight, they are now being crushed. According to statistics, more than 400,000 small businesses have been severely impacted by the pandemic. Apart from the 2-week window that has been added in the second round of loan applications, other rules allow a larger number of business owners to access PPP loans.

The loan calculation formula is also under review. This will give a better chance to the independent contractors, self-employed persons, and sole proprietors in access to the loans. Unlike the current formula, which eliminates home repair contractors, small independent retailers, and beauticians, the new program seeks to eliminate provisions that bar small business owners under the above categories and others from participating in the loan application process. The new provisions also remove the restrictions that deny PPP loans to business owners if they are convicted felons, are delinquent, or default on their student loans in the past seven years. Furthermore, the loan can be forgiven if a small business spends more than 60% of the money on payroll expenses.

Another crucial change is the access to loans by non-US citizen small business owners. Unlike the past regulations that strictly allowed access to loans only by documented US citizens, the amendments now give small business owners who are not US citizens but documented, access loans. With their individual taxpayer ID, any small business owner residing in the US can now apply for the loans. Backers of these new regulations believe that the amendment is long overdue because it will be of significant benefit to small businesses in the US,  regardless of whether the owner is a citizen or not. According to Biden, the new regulations are just the beginning but not the end. Currently, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package has been passed by Congress.

While it appears as a good gesture, the timing of the new changes will confuse small business owners, more so concerning pending applications. First, the loan, although helpful, might not be enough for businesses that have lost a lot due to the pandemic. No matter the challenges, experts see this as a great chance to fund small businesses that have had difficulty accessing loans, including those owned by women and minorities. Professionals see the new changes as a move by Biden-Harris’ administration to make things right. The program will end in March.

As a small business owner, the past two years threw many things your way, and you are now healing from the problems you faced. However, as the year comes to an end, it is no time to get relaxed. Pick whatever is left of 2021 and start planning early what you will do next year. As we begin a new year, it is time to reflect on what this year has brought and what you have learned and prepare your business accordingly for the new challenge in 2022. Here are some strategies that you need to consider for your business to succeed next year.

1. Use hybrid audience engagement methods

Even with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, hybrid experiences will continue being adopted widely across the industries. Apart from enabling a safe return to the new normal, they are sustainable and less costly because less travel is involved. Additionally, virtual events can result in greater brand awareness, increase leads and sales. As we move closer to a new year, look into the existing virtual event hosting platforms and how you can change your organization to accommodate hybrid audience engagement methods.

2. Write down your 2022 goals

Although you might have heard this a thousand and one times, I will repeat it here again. Write down your new year’s goals. The New Year gives you a new blank canvas and an opportunity to improve. You can plan by first writing down your goals and how you intend to move your small business in the coming year. Writing down your goals helps set things in motion.

3. Sit down with your team

Regardless of the size of an organization, employees are the backbone of operations. However, there are some challenges in the relationship between the employer and the employees that may often derail the smooth running of operations. Therefore, schedule a meeting with your staff and inform them about their performance and areas that they need to improve. Let them know what they did well and congratulate them because this improves their morale. Let your employees know that they are doing well and encourage them to keep up the good work in the New Year.

4. Plan for your goals

Writing down what you want to achieve in the New Year is not the end of the road. You must develop an action plan for every key goal you want to achieve. With the uncertainty expected to continue in 2022, develop one or more backup plans for your small business. As of now, you must have learned from the experiences of the past two years. Using your experiences, you now know that no business is entirely foolproof. A comprehensive plan will allow you to develop key tactics.

5. Plan your marketing campaigns

Now is the right time to plan your marketing campaigns for the coming year instead of waiting for the year to start. A marketing plan should outline your marketing strategy and actions necessary to reach your objectives. A good marketing plan should help you achieve your financial objectives and targets in the coming year.

6. Plan vacations

After a challenging year’s work, you will want to have a quiet time to unwind and relax. Your employees will also need a vacation to rest and take it easy after work. This is the reason why you must plan vacation time for your employees and yourself. For you, plan what you would like to do and how such actions will help your small business. You can go on vacation when you are not busy. For your employees, plan their vacation well and ensure there is no shortage of workers when some of them are on vacation. Proper planning of vacation ensures efficiency in the delivery of service.

With cyberattacks on the rise, many are looking to cybersecurity professionals to identify and combat malicious attacks. However, there are also deep-rooted, foundational issues that need to be addressed in order to combat today’s cyberthreats and weak spots. As an example, countless vulnerabilities arise during application development that could be avoided by properly training software developers who churn out code day in and day out. 

After all, recent reports indicate there are roughly 500 software developers for every one cybersecurity professional in the market today. Furthermore, it costs six times more to fix code than it does to create good code later in the secure software development life cycle (S-SDLC).

Like many elements of business, a culture of robust cybersecurity hygiene starts at the top with C-level company leadership. For secure code training to be a high priority, leaders must invest their time and energy into advocating for proper, ongoing software development education for relevant employees. This idea seems to be trending in a positive direction, as 70% of organizations acknowledge the significance of secure coding training.

To create action from intent, companies should embrace and encourage security champions within their organization. Security champions can be developers at the expert level who display a passion for high standards and cybersecurity – offering to serve as a friendly, effective bridge between developers and security personnel. This is for a few reasons: 

• As a volunteer, they will see championing security as a high profile company mission.
• As a senior developer, they will more likely have an impact on junior developers who trust their expertise and can rely on their established company connections. 
• They will be able to grasp how secure coding fits into the larger picture of the development team’s duties – and be able to translate complex related concepts into terms that could be more easily comprehended and accepted by their peers.

Once a company realizes that education is the solution to better security, it will organically become more of a priority to train their developers. None of the top Computer Science education programs in the United States or globally insist on a secure coding or secure application design classes, so the pressure is on for developers to receive comprehensive on-the-job training. While 74-90% of students who attend a coding bootcamp get a job nearly right away, a coding bootcamp alone is not a sufficient amount of education to deal with the intricacies of software coding. Because new vulnerabilities arise all the time, developers need to receive education on a regular basis, not just as a one time event.

There is a high rate of cybercrime and an inadequate supply of professionals who are equally as skilled as the criminals. Fortunately, there are plenty of software developers who can be trained to create vital code that will be less vulnerable to cyberattacks. A regularly trained development team decreases the risks associated with industry expectations that software features or updates are released on a daily basis. Thus, to nurture a culture of cybersecurity awareness, organizations must recognize the importance of secure code training, find software developers within their organization to serve as security champions and properly train their developers on an ongoing schedule. 

Training must be continuous, and relatable for developers to successfully retain knowledge and properly apply it to their everyday software development tasks. The process to adequately train developers will bring about more secure software that is at pace with technological breakthroughs.

Jared Ablon is President and co-founder of Santa Monica, California-based HackEDU (www.hackedu.com). 

What current problem should you work on next? While you decide, three new problems likely showed up in your inbox. Managing and prioritizing problems can quickly become your full-time job, and you haven’t even gotten around to solving them. While this will never be inherently easy, there are better ways to ensure effectiveness and efficiency.

First, understand your landscape of problems. What do you want to pay attention to as potential sources of problems? Consider what you do when you drive your car. You pay attention to the road in front of you as the primary source of potential problems. However, you also pay some attention to your rearview mirror, your instrument panel, and the sides of the road or cross streets. For your work, the landscape could include anything from metrics and standards to meetings and your email inbox. Just as when you are driving, you have to understand the context of how all of these things relate to each other, and how much to pay attention to each potential source. Getting stuck in your inbox when you should be looking at your metrics is just as dangerous as paying attention to the wrong things while driving.

Second, you need to have clear definitions of what is a problem, and what problems matter the most. Without a clear delineation between what is normal and abnormal, you may spend all of your energy arguing about whether something is worth solving. For example, if you think it is problem if I show up for dinner after the food is on the table, and I don’t think I’m late until the food gets cold, then in between those points we will have quite a bit of conflict.

The clarity of problem definition should also include some rules or heuristics about how to determine the relative priority between problems. For example, over 20 years ago when I worked for an electric and gas utility, any outage was a priority for everyone in the company, no matter if your job was in engineering or accounting. The prioritizing rules could be team-specific or organizational-wide, establish a clear ranking of priorities or a means to figure that out on the fly, or be tied to strategy or shift with the times. There is no one right way to do this, but if you ask people how they prioritize what problems to work on and there isn’t a consistent answer to that question, then you lack clarity.

Third, you need a way to prioritize working on solving problems within the broader context of all the other work that has to be done. Too many organizations think of problem solving they do in addition to their “day job”, instead of as a core piece of their work. I was working with a team and on Monday one of the leaders said that solving a particular problem was his top priority of the week. On Wednesday, he then said there as a risk of not getting it done. We asked how long it would take, and he said 4 hours. Surely, if this is your #1 priority, there are 4 hours left in the week. He said he was too busy going to meetings. Clearly, solving this problem was not seen as his number one priority. It was only something to squeeze in if he could. Problem solving has to be its own priority in your overall scheme of work.

These three elements are all contextual. What specifically works for one organization will not necessarily work for another. However, you must ensure that all three are in place. Otherwise, you are just depending on the will of the individual to overcome the organization to drive improvement.

Jamie Flinchbaugh, author of People Solve Problems: The Power of Every Person, Every Day, Every Problem, is an accomplished Entrepreneur, Senior Executive, Consultant, and Board Member with 30 years of learning-oriented experience. As the Founder of JFlinch, he helps teams accelerate their journey by solving their challenging problems and providing the resources, education, and tools needed to make lean leaders successful. He is the co-author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean: Lessons from the Road.

Despite having the best small business ideas, you must have a concrete plan to run them. Regardless of the size of your business, operating it is not all about mixing up stuff and expecting it to work. Rather, it requires continuous and evolving processes that are flexible and can be tweaked to make it work. Furthermore, you need to have strong leadership to run your business. This may include pulling together a competent board of directors and advisors. First, identify the gaps and bring together people you believe will help turn the fortunes of your business around by filling these gaps. You will realize a strong return on investment by letting professionals advise you in different areas that you may lack knowledge of. Here are other things you need to keep in mind about the board of directors.

Never be intimidated by the idea of a board

The word Boards of Directors is often intimidating and makes people think it is a collection of highly successful business moguls. Although that is the case sometimes, you can put together a group that you can work with and people you can learn from. You don’t have to formalize your board. Instead, you can have a small group of people who are willing to guide you and share their wisdom on how to run a business with you. Whatever the name you decide to call them, they can help you achieve your objectives and be successful.

Mentors who have been there may offer valuable insights

As a new person to the business landscape, you need people who have been there to give you insights on how to make it. This is where experienced mentors come in handy. They can advise on the business principles that have been tried and tested so that you will not have to use the trial and error method to do certain things. Regardless of the industry you operate in, there are certain business lessons that can help you if done correctly. You can only get this knowledge by developing relationships with mentors willing to offer you help and listen to you. This can prevent you from making mistakes, and you can learn from the challenges they faced. Although they might not have been successful as you are, they have a wealth of experience that can help you move forward.

Choose people with diverse skills

Your team must be large enough to accommodate diverse skills and experience. However, it should be small enough to operate cohesively and efficiently. The size of your board must be appropriate and articulated and should be flexible to be altered if the company needs to change over time.  Your board should consist of at least one non-executive or external director. These individuals are influential because they have independent judgment, which is of great importance to the company. Non-executive directors often have a different view of things and can guide the board by offering an impartial view. They cool things down during a discussion.

Generally, the people you settle on to advise your business should be independent and should not have a financial relationship with you- your business or personal. This will make the board bold because the members will give you an honest opinion without being afraid of the implications their opinions will have on their financial relationship. This is a good thing because you do not need a rubber stamp board, but instead, you need a collection of people willing to tell you as it is. On top of it, select people who understand your company's direction and who buy into your vision. This will make things easy for you.

An ever-changing economy creates new opportunities for entrepreneurs, even during these rocky times that COVID-19 has caused.

Whether people are looking for a better work-life balance, a new job after having lost one, or an extra source of income, opening a seasonal business is one strategy that fits those goals, says Chris Buitron, president of Mosquito Authority® (www.mosquito-authority.com).

“Many people are taking this route as a reliable way to generate income,” Buitron says, “because although the economy is changing dramatically in some ways, seasonal businesses still fulfill annual consumer needs.

“The benefits for a seasonal business owner are attractive: more freedom, both in running a business and having the ability to take a few months off; the satisfaction of providing a service or product to which customers stay loyal; lower overhead costs than a year-round business; a solid second income; or, if done right, a sufficient income by itself.”

Buitron offers these tips on how to run a seasonal business successfully:

• Carefully construct your business model. Since you won’t be open year-round, it’s important to account for downtime in your cash flow. “If the seasonal business is your main or only source of income, you’ll need to put in extra work during the season in order to make it through your off-season,” Buitron says. “Make sure you have access to credit and plan your budget very specifically. It’s a bonus if you can find ways to diversify income streams for your seasonal business in the off-season. Determine the other needs of your customers and how you can fulfill them.”
• Evaluate the past season and plan accordingly for the next season. “Analyze your successes and shortcomings from the previous season,” Buitron says. “Seek customer feedback to assist your evaluation. Overall, determine why some things worked and others didn’t. The analysis will help you build a solid plan for the next season. Look at areas such as staffing, inventory, and other expenses. Did you have enough employees and how did they perform? Which products or services weren’t successful? Should you introduce new ones? Would it be cheaper in the long run to buy your equipment rather than lease it?”
• Connect with the public year-round to build your brand. Social media allows a seasonal business owner to build their business, their authority and strengthen their place in the community. “Your target audience is just as accessible in the offseason,” Buitron says. “You can reach out to them and offer exclusive pricing, or create a rewards program. Publish blogs and post updates on the sites your customers follow. Give them content that can educate them beyond the reach of your business’ services. Showing you care about their lives and the community helps them remember you.”
• Attend networking events and workshops. The off-season is the time for self-improvement that leads to business improvement. “Learning and networking opportunities help you and your business grow,” Buitron says. “Local business events, trade shows and conferences are great ways to gain new partnerships and skills.”

“A seasonal business comes with an array of unique demands,” Buitron says. “But with the right combination of good business practices and the passion to make it a way to enhance others’ lives, it can be a profitable and enjoyable experience for the seasonal business owner.”

Chris Buitron is president of Mosquito Authority® (www.mosquito-authority.com), a nationwide leader in mosquito control with franchises serving communities across the U.S. and Canada. Buitron has an extensive background in franchise industries. He was chief marketing officer for Senior Helpers, vice president of marketing for Direct Energy (home services division), and director of marketing for Sunoco Inc., where he supported the company’s 4,700 franchised and company-owned rental facilities across 23 states (over $15B in annual revenues).

Running your own business can be hectic for many business owners. For small business owners, however, having all the responsibility to all operations, including successes and failures, can be detrimental to one’s health. Sadly, health among small business owners has not been taken seriously as it should despite the economic significance of such businesses to society and the economy. The mental health of small business leaders leads to a healthy working environment. It also leads to effective teams that are characterized by respect and trust in one another.

Large corporations with complex and well-structured succession plans can hardly be affected by health issues that may affect their leaders. The well-laid down succession plan ensures that in the absence of the CEO, operations run without hitches. Unlike big multinationals whose operations cannot be affected by the health issues among those in the high offices, poor health among the leaders of small businesses can end operations and render employees jobless. The simple structure of a small business is risky, and the impact of the demise of a CEO is unimaginable. With an instant disease or a condition such as a heart attack, everything can go down the drain since everything revolves around an individual. From this, it is evident that health is the greatest capital of small business owners. The smaller the firm, the higher the vulnerability in case the owner develops health complications, either physical or mental.

The health of such business owners may have damaging consequences not only for those that have been employed but can also impact those that depend on them entirely. For example, the family members who rely on the owners can also be significantly impacted. Similarly, health problems among the personnel and family members can destabilize operations and how the business runs. Small business owners face many challenges that often affect their mental wellbeing. According to a Danish study, there is a significant link between entering entrepreneurship and receiving prescriptions for sedative or hypnotics and/or their spouses. This is a clear suggestion that entering entrepreneurship is a health risk as it is a potential source of stress for entrepreneurs and their family members.

Many studies have found out that stress level among the business owners is higher than those of the employed. The always conflicting issues such as ambiguity in the business environment, lack of adequate resources, and daily hassles as well as failure to clarify roles increase stress and the possibility of health complications. Work overload is another factor that many small business owners face and may result in a complication. Entrepreneurs often work for more than 50 hours a week. Working for long hours, including weekends doing intensive tasks, is a potential cause of stress. 

Uncertainty is often identified as another factor that can cause health problems among self-employed individuals. The fast-changing business environment is always a concern for entrepreneurs who are always worried about their businesses in case things do not go as planned. These owners have many things to worry about, including their employees, government regulations, and reduction in profits, all of which determines the success of their businesses.  Loneliness of business owners also results in burnouts, which in itself is a potential contributor to mental health. Loneliness can be harmful in an environment where difficult decisions are to be taken, such as firing or hiring employees.

As seen above, health issues among the small business owners have severe spillover effects on those they employ and their families. Unlike CEOs of large companies that have a proper succession plan, health challenges among small business owners can cripple operations. As such, it is crucial to always stay ahead by addressing potential causes of health problems before they manifest into catastrophes.

In a world where working from home, family, recreation, faith and other factors compete for our time, people speak about the need to seek a “balanced life.” But maybe “balance” is the wrong goal.

“The concept of being in ‘balance’ has the potential to set us up for immediate failure,” says Michael Sipe, author of The AVADA Principle and founder of the consulting firm 10x Catalyst Groups (www.10xgroups.com).

“We talk about work/life balance as if work and the rest of our lives are separate things. But in reality, work and everything else are all part of one life.”

Instead of balance, Sipe suggests seeking an “integrated life,” where the integral parts of life are combined into a fully functioning whole. He acknowledges that’s easier said than done.

“It’s a challenge to determine what the integral parts of human life are, how to integrate them, and what a fully functioning and completely whole life would be like,” he says.

For Sipe, a major part of that integration involves faith. But his suggestions on how to approach your job so that it is integrated into the rest of your life are relevant regardless of spiritual views.

In Sipe’s view, work often gets a bad rap. Work is actually a neutral concept, he says,  and the larger evaluation is not that we “have” to work, or how much we work. Instead the key is to look at the purposes toward which our work is directed and to be intentional about how we allocate our energy.

In managing your attitude about work, Sipe recommends that you:

• Focus on purpose. “One definition of work is energy directed toward a purpose,” Sipe says. “If you find yourself holding a detrimental attitude about your work, take a look at your purpose. Perhaps you simply are not directing your energy toward a purpose you care about.” If so, he says, consider changing your work so that you can invest your energy toward a purpose that matters to you. Alternatively, perhaps you have not connected your work to your purpose, and thus, your motivation to work is suffering.
• Avoid griping. The more you declare that work is hard, bad, unpleasant, a waste of time, and a drag, the more it will be all those things for you, Sipe says. “Reframe work as good, as a joy, a blessing, a challenge, an opportunity, a privilege, an investment,” he says. “Loving your work is a choice – your choice.”
• Take responsibility and take charge. If you don’t like your work, Sipe says, then change it. “You are not a tree rooted in place; you can move,” he says. “You are not a victim or a slave. If you are blessed to live in the Western world, and especially if you are blessed to live in America, you are free to do the work you love toward purposes you desire”
• Ask yourself better questions. When things aren’t working out as you hoped you might be inclined to ask yourself, “Why me? Why is this so hard? What did I do to deserve this?” Instead, Sipe says, ask yourself: “What am I supposed to learn here?” He says you could also do as the late Jim Rohn, a motivational speaker, instructed: “Don’t ask why things are so hard; ask how you can get better.”

“The concept of work is simple, but we tend to complicate it,” Sipe says. “And work really does apply to everything we do. Yes, we can work at a job, but we also work on our health, work on our education, work on our marriage, work on our friendships, and work on our faith. It’s all energy applied toward a purpose.”

Michael Sipe, author of The AVADA Principle, is the founder of 10x Catalyst Groups (www.10xgroups.com), which helps entrepreneurs grow profitable and thriving businesses organized on a foundation of Biblical principles. Sipe has also enjoyed a successful 30-plus year career in mergers, acquisitions, and business development as the founder of CrossPointe Capital, a middle market investment-banking firm. In that capacity, he consulted with and evaluated over 5,000 companies and has provided advisory services for approximately a half-billion dollars in business sales involving hundreds of companies. He remains active in transactional work and has been a key advisor in mergers and acquisitions projects covering a multitude of industry sectors.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic struck and sank the world’s economy, retiring at the age of 65 was already becoming a hot topic among many professionals. Now that the pandemic has impaired many businesses, both small and large plans of many organizations are in shambles. One of the areas that have been significantly affected is retirement. Business owners that were planning to retire are now forced to rethink. This could mean that the retirement age is likely to fall further as employees try to pick up from where they left once the economy reopens and the pandemic eases.

Although the recovery is expected to happen sooner or later, it may take some time. This is if the 2007-2009 recession is an example to go by. The recovery time can even be longer considering the severity of COVID-19 compared to the recession witnessed in 2009. As such, many small business owners may be tempted to consider selling their businesses rather than waiting for things to get better.

A study by StreetWise Retirement Confidence Index in May indicated that 26% of those interviewed stated that they would postpone their retirement plans after the coronavirus. Their decision is due to the economic conditions that the virus has caused. As damaging as they may seem, the decision is not surprising, given the uncertainty and fear that the pandemic has caused in many industries in different countries. The uncertainties have had an impact on the financial strategies of organizations and have forced many businesses to change their priorities. Another study by Allianz Life Insurance Company found out that almost half of Americans interviewed went into early retirement for reasons beyond their control. One of the reasons that were cited in the research is job loss. This was cited by 34% of the respondents, while 25% cited health challenges as their primary reason for retiring early. As an entrepreneur or employee who is willing to persevere and try their best to achieve their dreams, all is not lost. Taking some steps can enhance value and build your business so that you can sell more and retire as you planned or even early.

Creativity is one of the ways that can help you remain open in the current era of uncertainty. As a business owner, try your best to find creative ways that can adapt to the changes in the business environment. One way you can do this is by adding other services that will replace the revenue that has been lost. For example, as a restaurant owner, you can supplement the revenue lot by ordering food and selling them. This will create a new stream of income and increase profits even when other sources of revenue are not doing well enough.

A good rapport with banks is also crucial to businesses. Regardless of the size of your organization, always ensure that you have a good relationship with financial institutions. Having a wrong sense of security will only deceive you, and you will not have anyone to turn to in case things become tough. With the right relationship, you will have someone to run to for loans when the revenue stream dries up, and you need additional funds to keep running. Always ask yourself, is my bank relationship stable? If the answer is yes, then you are in the right place.

Coming up with a transition plan is another approach that you must consider. Just because you are delaying your retirement plans does not mean that you should not establish a transition plan. Take time to build a working transition plan that will not leave your organization in chaos when the right time comes. Most business owners lack a proper transition plan. This leads to a lack of focus on what is needed for a business to operate successfully.