Small businesses, which are still the feeling of 'fiscal Cliff' pinch

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SIA wee, CNBC.com - 5 days

Small business confidence was virtually flat in January as the contractor failed to recoup losses from the in the December hysteria over the so-called "fiscal cliff."

This is the finding of a monthly survey by the National Federation of independent business. The group said on Tuesday that its small business optimism index only 0.9 points to 88.9 last month from 88 points in December 2012 lined.

Although a tax deal was reached in January of tax increases and spending cuts, the benefits are hard for a large part of the main road remained - a traditional driver of new jobs in the last economic downturn. (Read more: in the middle of 'Fiscal Cliff' deteriorating stalemate, main street)


"The only good news is that it ', moves not down'." If small businesses publicly traded companies, the stock market in a shambles,"said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Darling. "While the corporate profits as share of GDP at record levels, small businesses fight make still make a profit" he sadly prepared statement in one.

The current monthly reading among small business owners showed kick-off also low expectations for future growth - clearly no good way, 2013.

Expectations for improved terms and conditions remained generally low. Create actual creation of jobs and job wasn't enough to keep pace with population growth improved nominally, but plans yet.

The NFIB also noted that sales trends, reporting declining sales mostly remain negative for small employers with more owners.

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Small businesses are tax security, political uncertainty

11:00 AM businesses, political, security, Small, uncertainty No Comments

Allison Linn, NBC News

Shouted Jeff Schneider ever recently its busiest November and December, as the tax preparer small business information, such as the fiscal Cliff negotiations could affect their taxes.

"It was incredible," said Schneider, who directs SFS taxes and accounting in Port St. Lucie, Florida

The last minute offer to avert the fiscal cliff of left clients at least to know what their tax bills would look like.

But Schneider said that he will stop some gripes in the midst of the ongoing political bickering over the debt ceiling, spending cuts and other issues. This is despite the fact that some speak even about their business expand or the opening of new locations.

"If you speak they tell the people face to face, that the economy stinks, but they're talking about as economically, politically", said Schneider, whose kunden include doctors, dentists, a pawn shop, and even an oxygen bar.

It is no secret that the Americans fed up with all the political squabbling over taxes, spending and debt of the Federal Republic. For some small business owners, the frustration with fear is whether or not coloured: they are concerned that the Congress will hurt the economic recovery the inability to find common ground, and cut into their business.

Bill Darling, Chief Economist, who said the National Federation of independent businesses, one of four companies the small business trade group in December said that it was a bad time to expand because of the political uncertainty. This is despite other signs that the economy is slowly better in areas such as housing and employment.

He said that many small businesses also reported that issues such as insecurity, Government, politics, and health costs involved their top issues.

He said "things, which you think, that companies make, was way down on the list". "Government dominates the top of the list."

Taxes are not the only problem it says has the potential to hurt small businesses. The small business trade group has been an outspoken opponent of President Barack Obama health care plan, the affordable care Act. The Group was a lead plaintiff in the proceedings of the Supreme Court, which tries to stop the plan.

Dark mountain said that it is too early to say whether political concerns and Government bonds ease in January, now that the fiscal Cliff problems are fixed. Congress is still on other issues such as the nation of credit recording limit and possible federal spending cuts scramble. Both could rely with the Government or else small business owners damage, the agreement on government spending.

But some say that for many small business owners with whom they work together, the fiscal Cliff negotiations were the major possible distraction, because it directly affects their taxes.

"When finally made the compromise, I think a general sigh of relief, at least something was, what had happened there", said Kim Loewer, a tax practitioner, operates Lower and employees in Weyridge, VT. "The uncertainty was gone away."

Now, many of the MOM and pop shops he works with know what are their tax liabilities, said Lower, that they can better plan for things like hiring and expansion.

In General, Lower, said that his customers that the entire spectrum of advisers to retailers lead - usually reports that business is going well.

"I don't hear as much about the economy not more where is", he said. "I think that right now, from the point of view of my clients, we have seen, to do better this year, an uptick in the economy (and) their business."

Schneider, the tax preparer in Florida, said that he will be expanded advertising efforts and social media for its own accounting and bookkeeping for small businesses. This is on the theory that more money for marketing draw in more customers, even if the economy is not so strong.

He is even in his wife, interior designer, to combat the effects of the recession and the weak economic recovery.

He said 'I your Feng Shui my Office made so that I could get rid of the bad mood'.

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Businesses added 215,000 jobs in Dec.

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NBC News staff and wire reports

The jobs picture looked a bit brighter Thursday after two pieces of data showed businesses picked up hiring and cut back on layoffs in December.

U.S. private-sector employers added 215,000 jobs last month, well above economists' expectations, a report by payrolls processor ADP showed. And planned layoffs dropped for the first time in four months, according to a separate report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

Jobless claims bucked the trend by rising in the latest week, but the data was distorted by the holidays.

"All the labor market data….has held up very, very well so (there is) no sign of the fiscal cliff impact on the job market," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 133,000 jobs.

November's private payrolls were revised upward to show a gain of 148,000 from the previously reported 118,000.

The report is jointly developed with Moody's Analytics.

Separately, employers announced 32,556 job cuts last month, the second lowest monthly total of 2012 and down 43 percent from 57,081 in November, according to the report from Challenger. In 2012, the only month with a lower job-cuts tally was August, with 32,239.

December's job cuts were also down 22 percent from the 41,785 seen a year ago.

During 2012, employers announced 523,362 cuts, down 14 percent from the 606,082 job cuts announced in 2011 and the lowest level since 1997 when employers announced 434,350 cuts.

"We saw a few spikes in monthly job cuts in 2012 and there were some significant mass layoffs that definitely reminded us that not every industry is enjoying the fruits of recovery. However, the overall pace of downsizing was at its slowest since the end of the recession," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

"In fact, we have not seen this level of job cutting since before the dot-com collapse and subsequent 2001 recession," Challenger said in a statement.

The Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 372,000. The prior week's figure was revised to show 12,000 more applications than previously reported.

Claims data reported for the week ended December 22 had been artificially depressed by the holidays, which resulted in data for 19 states being estimated.

The four-week moving average for new claims, a better measure of labor market trends, rose 250 to 360,000. The claims data has no bearing on December's employment report, scheduled for release on Friday.

Employers are expected to have added 150,000 jobs to their payrolls last month, little changed from 146,000 in November, according to a Reuters survey of economists.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Small businesses struggling to recover from Sandy

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Reuters
After filling trays with ruined inventory, advised many owners of New York City shops and restaurants wait for emergency loans and insurance or to try to finance their recovery by Sandy Superstorm personally.

Progress is uneven on lower Manhattan's trendy Avenue C, which was heavily flooded the historic storm over the past week.

Demand was a still unheated hardware store doing a cleanup and busy trade but a supermarket on the next block equipment was still closed and in disarray, one and one half week after Sandy flooded their basement and selling floor. A bar and a beer shopping on the other side of the road was open, but serve a limited menu for less than the usual customers.

"We have not the product to sell and we have to sell, not the people," said Zach Mack, co-owner of ABC beer co., which last week flooded for days save power.

The massive storm lashed ashore Oct. 29 and caused widespread flooding in New York and New Jersey, to more than 50 billion $ results in economic losses. The recovery effort, already by hindered sustained power outages and fuel shortages, was dealt another setback this week when a nor blew through Easter, provides the range of the first snow of the season.

With PSTN always still down, companies lose they say potential sales because they accept non credit card payments and insist on cash.

Recovery of the destroyed camps and equipment is slow because many suppliers were lost in flooded halls have and deliveries have been stopped if truck is either damaged or were not gas found after the crippling storm.

"It is by the fact, people here get so their own lives in order, they are not go out again put together," Mack said, though election night drew a decent crowd for his company.

How other entrepreneurs neighborhood told Mack that he was for emergency loans from the Federal Administration for small businesses and the city of the application.

The emergency increases Mayor Michael Bloomberg loans for small and medium-sized businesses by Sandy on $25,000 affected, and they are interest-free for the first six months. Around 1,000 companies have asked about the loan, said a spokeswoman for the Mayor.

On Friday morning low-interest loan of up to $2 million crowded more than 200 entrepreneurs Community Center neighborhood learn more about the loan request a gymnasium of the city and the SBA, offers. Many had complaints about utilities and grants referred to rather than loans should be.

After a weekend, filling a dumpster with flood damaged goods, hardware store owner Monica Pedreros said she would rather plunge into their savings as an emergency loan to take, they say new debt could not afford.

Laura Tribuno, co-owner of a nearby restaurant of Austrian cuisine, with a scaled-down menu again manufactured, said that it had requested in order to determine whether it was for the emergency loans but was undecided are, whether they were created in the value of interest.

C Avenue entrepreneurs say they have begun, claims file, but some are paralyzed by everything from telephone and Internet outages of the absence of an accounting staff still dealing with their own personal crises of the deadly storm.

For now, companies rely on their customers and the generosity of others. Many entrepreneurs said providers have offered, give them more time to pay bills, and some already wearing gloves, masks and boots strangers on their doorstep, and helps to drain basements and ruined the roadside equipment arriving towing.

"they made, what seemed like an insurmountable task of much go faster," Mack said.

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Tips to help small businesses survive hard times

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There are over 27 million small businesses operating around the country, so how do you grow your company? msnbc's J.J. Ramberg, author of "It's Your Business," shares tips to give you a leg up on the competition.

Unlike Humpty Dumpty who took a fall and couldn’t be put back together again, there are a lot of small business owners out there who seem to have a sixth sense about how to take a fall without breaking!

Either through good luck or good sense, some entrepreneurs seem to have a knack for making the right moves at the right time to keep their businesses solvent.

TV news reporter JJ Ramberg, and two of her producers, Lisa Everson and Frank Silverstein, have been keeping track of these so-called "naturals" ever since the economy went south more than four years ago. They’ve just published a book of practical advice and usable wisdom from these natural born survivors called: "It’s Your Business: 183 Essential Tips that Will Transform Your Business."

BOOK EXCERPT: ‘It's Your Business’: Getting your company off the ground

Here’s a few of the survival stories from those who’ve learned from the school of hard knocks.

The soft touch

Meet Paige Arnof-Fenn (Tip No.108), owner of the Boston-based marketing company Maven’s & Moguls. When the work dried up, Paige went on a "listening tour." Instead of pitching new business to people who couldn’t afford it, she offered to meet former clients to talk about their current problems and long-term plans, with no strings attached. Now that the economy is showing some small signs of life, Arnof-Fenn reports that many of those same people are now hiring her.

The sharp elbows

Mike Michalowicz (Tip No.104), founder of New Jersey-based Obsidian Launch, took a more aggressive stand. “When a competitor goes out of business, immediately call the phone company and ask to have their number redirected to yours.” He told us. “You’ll have to train your staff to politely explain that the company they intended to reach has gone out of business, and you can provide them with excellent service.” Same goes for URLs as well. You might have to call the business and persuade them to sell you the Web address, but it might well be worth it.

The fancy dance

Juliea Kushnir (Tip No.84), owner of New Jersey-based Tax Solutions, kept herself afloat not by offering profit-killing discounts and price reductions, but by increasing "value" instead. She says she offered packages of services with a few extra bells and whistles (that didn’t actually cost her much to add) but made her services stand out from the crowd while keeping her fees at the same level.

The modern David and Goliath

Tom Egelhoff (Tip No.142), owner of smalltownmarketing.com, says one of his clients didn’t throw in the towel when the big box stores came to town. Instead, he beat them at their own game. How? By charging less for popular products than the big guys did. Are you wondering how he still turned a profit? While a small company can’t compete with a big chain on price for every product every day, it can beat them on price for a few hours on a few products on a given day. “Once you’ve got them into your small town store,” Tom said “then you can get them to return by showing off your better customer service, your more convenient location and the other competitive advantages that make small-business shopping more enjoyable.”

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Small businesses back leading labour market

4:44 PM businesses, labour, leading, market, Small No Comments

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

A "now setting" characters and job applications will be outside of the soon to-be-open ACE hardware store in San Rafael, Marin booked California

By John W. Schoen, senior producer

Small businesses are kind of mood in a setting.

Take Tammy Krings, owner of the travel solutions agency based in Columbus, Ohio. To their employees from 125 from 65 more people boost because large companies chasing higher growth markets outside the United States.

"Where they have consolidated their travel in the United States or North America, they now say we want to search for opportunities in these other markets," Krings said.

How the labour market back is slow on the track, comes much of the setting of small businesses that have survived the storm of the past four years. Job offers and setting plans in December meeting of the second-highest level since the recession of 2007 December survey of the National Federation of independent businesses.

A number of strong signals might be translated in a positive surprise Friday, when the Government in one of the most closely watched December publishes economic reports of the month employment figures. On average, analysts estimate that the economy added 155,000 jobs last month from 120,000 in November. But this is unlikely to move the unemployed rate much of currently 8.6 percent, according to briefing.com.

"Large enterprises are not growing employment;" is it all during the recession small businesses, "said NFIB Chief Economist William dark mountain." "The orders now come back." The hairdresser, five chairs have to work and dropped to three, if people spending-cut now again and again to five.

The pick-up in hiring shows the unemployment rate to 8.6% of 9.0 percent in a series of economic reports, starting with last month's decline. On Thursday reported payroll processor ADP payroll, that a net gain of 325,000 jobs showed his monthly economic survey of enterprises in December, about twice as what to expect economists 204.000 private jobs were added in November after reporting.

Large companies (with 500 or more employees) 37,000 jobs, survey, added to so was most of the setting of small to medium-sized companies.

Many economists sound caution on the ADP data say that the number of seasonal factors have distorted. But with other data, that on a positive job Outlook added.

In a separate report said on Thursday, the Ministry of labour of the applications for unemployment benefits fell last week to a seasonally adjusted 372.000. That's 11 percent lower than the same period last year and the lowest level since June 2008. is generally A pace of new applications under 375,000 considered setting is strong enough to reduce the unemployment rate.

There were other signs a pick up the setting in the service sector. An index of the Institute for supply management-order group tracked rose to 49,4 of 48.9 in November. A reading below 50 means total employment, the levels over 50 shrink, which extend they are. In the ADP report, created by small businesses 148.000 jobs, 130,000 of them in the service sector.

As the job market improves, it takes some time, rent again the large pool of workers after the biggest financial collapse since the great depression. Despite the sharp decline in the unemployment rate last month report is hardly strong enough the current speed of growth, with the growth of employees to keep.

The recovery of the market place will remain likely to unequal on the various regions of the country and industry. The two sectors, the most job losses in 2011--Government and financial services - suffered are expected to continue in this year again, according to John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, gray & Christmas, the consulting firm fight, that tracks mass redundancies.

Setting also received a boost in the year 2012 of new small businesses have even created. As she took recession 2007 small businesses at a rate were not faster as new were created. This trend reversed in the spring of 2010: Companies are now started at a rate that exceeds the error is.

Many of these old jobs, but replaced require quite different skills through new positions. This is, why many laid-off workers have a hard time finding work.

Krings, applied, for example, new technology, service to customers around the world outside of normal office hours in Ohio. This has meant for workers with a new set of skills search.

"We need talent, but had a very difficult time trying to secure it," she said. "We need multilingual people." We need people who have traveled the world, but also understand the the technical side of what we are doing. "These kind of people are hard to find."

Insight into some much promising employment reports with CNBC's Steve Liesman.

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