Are you ready to expand your small business and start hiring employees to help your business grow? Be ready for the expense shock. The new employee you just agreed to pay $15 per hour will probably cost you about $21.
That’s right! Employees are a big investment for any business. It may seem like small change to pay someone $10 or $12 bucks an hour to help you cook your baked goods or assemble your products, but the hidden costs may add up to about 40% above the hourly rate. This extra cost can creep up and surprise many small business owners.
The Cost of Taxes
What are the extra costs? F
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There is a race that every small business owner must run – the 5 year anniversary. Less than 50% of all new small businesses ever make it to their 5th anniversary, and only about 31% make it to their seventh year. So how can a small business owner who is just trying to make the longevity cut make it to a million dollars in sales?
Small business owners have many obstacles after opening a new company. To increase revenues, a business must make more sales. That means hiring more employees, increasing market exposure, and delivering goods while experiencing growth pains. However, a savvy entrepreneur and small business owner can make the 5-year cut and even earn that $1 million sales barrier. H
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An award-winning shop is being forced to put its dreams of expansion on hold because banks won’t lend it any money.
Local Roots and Wellie Boots, based in Eastbourne, has just been named local retailer of the year in the 2010 Observer Ethical Awards – pipping Brighton’s Infinity Foods to the title.
The shop sells fresh produce supplied by farms in Sussex.
It has been a huge success in its first two years in business – with annual turnover growing from £77,000 to almost double that in the past financial year.
Despite this, owner Luke Randall says he is struggling to pay the bills and his dream of opening a second store looks unlikely.
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Forcing pubs and bars to pay a “law and order” tax to open later could devastate the Brighton and Hove night-time economy, it has been claimed.
The Government is reviewing licensing laws in a bid to tackle antisocial behaviour caused since roundthe- clock drinking was introduced.
It is understood Home Secretary Theresa May wants late-night bars to help pay for the cost of controlling alcohol-related violence, with councils given the power to charge premises additional fees for late-night licences.
However, many venues across Brighton and Hove are already struggling to stay in business because of plummeting consumer spending.
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Reams of books have been written about reducing and streamlining expenses for small business in order to increase net profits. However, staying solvent isn’t the only goal. Most small businesses overlook money-making opportunities that can be generated through their regular expenses. A creative and clever entrepreneur can find ways to make a profit and develop revenue streams that are outside the normal business paradigms. Here are a few examples.
Turn Your Rent Into Cash
Do you rent an office or warehouse? Do you use every square foot of it? Many small businesses have extra space that just goes wasted. T
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Fair Credit Act
Last year the FTC and federal banking agencies passed the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act Furnisher Rules which imposes major new responsibilities for lenders, servicers, collectors and other financial institutions that report information to credit bureaus like Transunion, Equifax and Experian. 
On July 1st, 2010 these new rules go into effect and needless to say they are long overdue. H
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