Small Business Boomers

We Baby Boomer business owners have been hiring people for a long time.  Many of us now use the Internet to hire and we have found some great employees, and some not-so-great.  Today’s cautionary tale is about using Craigslist to hire Gen X’ers and Millenials.
What is Craigslist. First, in case you haven’t heard, Craigslist is a free service that allows you to post ads for all kinds of products and services, or to read and respond to ads; it is city-centered, meaning you focus on one city, where you live.  Craigslist has become a popular place to post ads, and …read more

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Here is the story, as reported by Sean Kelly over at Franchise Pick:
The Pizza Time owner in Lacy, Washington, found that employees had left the heat on overnight, so the next day when they came in, there was no heat. Sean’s original post included the note posted by the Pizza Time owner:
“If you don’t want to work here quit, otherwise shut up and do your job. The next person I hear complaining is off for two weeks. We don’t have heat!! You guys screwed up, not us. You want to blame someone, look in the mirror.”
The Pizza Time employees …read more

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Some business owners need a sharp kick in the pants before they start paying attention to their business. Case in point: I recently saw an article in a local newspaper (online) in Fort Wayne, Indiana, about an employee in a dental office who embezzled over $200,000 from the doctor.

The two biggest losses any small business faces are customers shoplifting and employee theft. And employee theft is by far the largest. It often goes undetected until too late, as with the case above. Why too late? Well, if the dentist had caught the employee when …read more

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This weekend, a couple of questions for you.  Today,  a pro-and-con about the possible bailout of the top U.S. automakers.  Tomorrow, a discussion of flu vaccines and why people don’t get them.
First, the auto maker bailout:
Two articles in Harvard Business Publishing debated the issue of whether GM/Chryslter/Ford  should be bailed out.
David Silverman says we should bail out GM/Chrysler/Ford and not worry about “survival of the fittest.”  In other words,  he says, if you see a dog get hit by a truck, you don’t say, “tough,” you help the dog. If a company is in trouble, you help first, and ask …read more

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If you have a business, you probably have encountered some of the new generation of employees – the Millenials.  These young people are just entering the workplace, and they are causing all kinds of problems for Baby Boomer employers.
These new employees feel a sense of entitlement and self-worth that gets them little praise from their employers.  For example, a large company in our area hired a bunch of Millenials over the past few years.  This new group lobbied for a “kinder, gentler” workplace, with new values, like more “flexible hours,” (read: not having to show up on time), and having …read more

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Hiring your children is a good way to help your Baby Boomer business:

You can get some needed part-time jobs done that it would be difficult to hire someone else to do
You can save on taxes
Your child can spend the money or build up money in a college fund.

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If you have children between 7 and 18, you can hire them to do necessary and useful work in your business and you can save money on business and personal taxes.  Notice I highlighted “necessary and useful.”  The work they do has to be of benefit to your …read more

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A big factor in success is asking the right questions. This principle works particularly in business negotiations. If you are a baby boomer buying a business, or if you are buying a boomer business (or both), carefully evaluate the business by asking the right questions.
A young friend of mine told me a story about a business he bought(a professional practice). Before he bought, he had several conversations with the seller, and he said he even asked, “Why are you selling this practice?” But he didn’t ask another important question: “Who knows you are selling the practice?” …read more

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A PizzaWorld franchise opened near us, so my husband and I started eating there.  We found the owners friendly and the food excellent, if slightly overpriced.  They were in a good location in a growing area of town, and we were thrilled to find a good pizza place, particulary at lunchtime.  If you go to the PizzaWorld website, you’ll see the owners  giving one of the tesimonials for the franchise (she is the lady in the blue sweater).
Sadly, yesterday my husband went there for lunch and found only the realtor sign …read more

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When my husband retired a few months ago he said he was disheartened by the way his company treated him and other older employees.  He said it seemed as if the company was trying to get rid of him so they could hire younger, cheaper employees.  But he said that they didn’t know anything, and the company wasn’t willing to train them.  He spent most of his last 5 years training new employees (unofficially, of course).  By shoving out the older employees, the company was losing valuable institutional memory and knowledge.  But were these older workers really that costly to …read more

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Many business owners have said they are being affected by the credit crunch in two ways:
1.  They are unable to borrow money to pay their bills.
2.  Their customers are taking longer to pay.
The availability of credit is a serious problem for any small business.  It’s about survival.  Believe me, I’ve been there.  The problem may start out as a small amount that you need, “just to make payroll,” and it grows.  Pretty soon, you’re using your credit cards to put money into your company to pay your business bills and pay employees.  And it gets worse. If your business has …read more

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