Tag: business: Page 77

Workers’ comp alternative eyed for public projects

The private sector has enjoyed some success with lowering the cost of workers’ compensation claims with the use of “alternative dispute resolution.” Now the public sector is getting interested. The pooled insurance agreements and multi-tiered dispute arrangements can save as much as 80 percent of court costs.

January 11, 2010

Health care and small businesses

According to this report from the Kaufman Foundation, a national health care plan is crucial to creating an entrepreneurial economy. A lack of portable health care plans, it seems, prevents a lot of people from starting their own business. A skilled and educated workforce, reduced government regulation and incentives for entrepreneurs are also needed. Sounds like the […]

January 10, 2010

What the monks would teach you about work

Forbes writer August Turak spent some time with a group of Trappist monks and came away with some very sound advice for businesspeople. A key quote: “Throughout my career I’ve listened as executives bemoaned shortages of talent in the workplace and the difficulty and cost involved in attracting and keeping talent. Talent is not in […]

January 10, 2010

Conserving cash flow in difficult times

The Wall Street Journal today has a good article on how small companies can conserve cash flow when things get tight. The key is to renegotiate and keep the lines of communication open with vendors.

January 7, 2010

Small business tip: credit unions still making loans

With the banking industry in turmoil, many contractors and small businesses are finding it hard to get credit or loans. That’s not the case with credit unions, which are doing just fine–business for them is up 18 percent over last year. One of the reasons is that federal law restricts the amount of loans a […]

January 6, 2010

Tax breaks for small businesses

In case you didn’t get around to reading the entire 407-page American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (don’t worry, your congressmen and senators didn’t either), you can still take advantage of some of the bill’s tax breaks for small businesses.

January 6, 2010

Voice recognition telephone tool

Contractor road-warriors will like this new telephone service from Google. Next time you need to call a business, but don’t have the number handy, dial the 800 number listed in the link. It will ask you say the state and city. Then it will ask you the name of the company or business you’re looking […]

January 6, 2010

Con Edison supervisors in NYC busted

Eleven of them in total. For bribes and kickbacks. The arrests came after the president of a construction company (unnamed in the article) wore a wire in cooperation with federal officials.

January 6, 2010

Tax proposals for next year full of surprises

If you’re a small business person, be advised. And make sure your accountant reads these too. These are still in the proposal stage, But because they involve business taxes much of this could fly under the radar of the mainstream media, make it into the tax code and substantially raise your tax bill.

January 6, 2010

Tax court rules in favor of LLPs, LLCs

Here’s something to discuss with your accountant before you settle up your taxes next go-around, especially if you own two businesses and one lost money. The Tax Court has ruled against the IRS and said that losses from one limited liability partnership or corporation can be deducted from your salary or investment income in the […]

January 6, 2010

“Lean” construction webinar offered

In the last 20 years there has been a ton of information, seminars, and books written about “lean manufacturing,” the Kaizen approach, the Toyota method. These process streamlining methods have revolutionized manufacturing, cut costs and improved project delivery, but alas nobody has ever applied these principles to construction. And as critics have pointed out, construction […]

January 6, 2010

Construction lawsuits dwindle

Well here’s some good news. The number of lawsuits involving construction projects is shrinking. Mediation, arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution are replacing the expensive and time consuming process of taking disagreements before a judge or jury.

January 5, 2010

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