Greetings!
What crazy times we live in. Many business owners are dog paddling to stay afloat. Some tell me stories of current gross revenues that are 20% of 2006 levels. We’re all working longer hours, many for less pay. This issue explores how to get ahead in obtaining financing for your business, and how to avoid a nasty-gram from the NRLB. I hope you find these Tips From the Trenches helpful.
Sincerely,
Jeanette Bowers Weaver
Bowers Foreman, PLLC
Smart Money Access
Anyone in small business knows these are tough times. Efforts to get funding to small business by political forces have been anemic. Many of my clients are grasping for opportunities to do workouts, work-arounds, and prayer vigils. The latter is my weak attempt at humor, but you know what I’m talking about.
This summer I had the good fortune to hear a presentation by Michelle Goerdel of Biz Loan Link. I was thoroughly impressed and immediately got her info on my Client Business Resources page.
When the financial crisis hit this country, many banks shook off their experienced bankers, hired kids right out of college, and went back to business as usual. Unfortunately, the kids just out college have not been mentored how to make a loan application sing to underwriting. Thus, business loan applicants are hearing a lot of “no.”
Michelle is a veteran banker who left the lender side of the loan paradigm amid the financial crisis of the past few years. She put her deep business banking experience to work for business owners. Her services help loan applicants do the work of preparing their application in a manner that is most likely to resonate with loan underwriting.
She can be less or more hands on, depending on your budget. She is actively involved in helping businesses find “the money” – and she is successful at this. As a result, she knows who the banks are that are most likely to lend. If you’re in need of business financing and frustrated with your attempts to secure such funding, I recommend you give Michelle a call 425-681-1918.
NLRB After You!
“Huh? But I only have small work force.” Yes, I know. Reading the National Labor Relations Board’s most recent new power grab at small business caused me pause, as a small business owner. New poster rules reach right down to the heart of small business. Non-retail businesses generating $50K gross revenue, retail shops generating $500K gross revenue, construction companies generating $500K gross revenue, and virtually all other businesses except agricultural employers, airlines and railroads must post new NLRB posters as of November 14, 2011.
This is not just any mumbo-jumbo poster–it’s a poster that informs employees at the smallest businesses that they have a right to unionize. Download your free poster so that you can comply.
Many of the steps that employers may want to take to remain union free or to prevent its work force union from expanding must be taken before any union organizing occurs.
Read the FAQ at the NRLB’s website to learn more information about this important issue.
If you don’t comply with the posting requirements, you will be opening yourself up to the possibility of an unfair labor practice charge by employees, unions, or other persons. If an employer knowingly and willfully fails to post the Notice, that failure may be considered evidence of unlawful motive in an unfair labor practice case involving other alleged violations of the National Labor Relations Act.