Posts Tagged ‘entrepreneurs’
Wednesday, March 31, 2010 | Written by Erik Rostad
Posted under: General Thoughts, Health Insurance |
Tags: entrepreneurs, job opportunities, obama and entrepreneurs, obamacare |
1 Comment
The relative merits of ObamaCare for entrepreneurs & small business owners is a heated topic right now, even on this blog. At this point, some people predict the bill to be a huge success in covering uninsured people and falling within a budget. Others believe and predict that this bill will cost drastically more than what is budgeted and that it will lead to much bigger problems in the near future.
What we do know right now is that the following companies have stated they expect the listed charges below due to a law in ObamaCare that eliminates tax breaks on prescription-drug coverage to retirees:
- AT&T – $1 billion
- John Deere – $150 million
- Caterpillar – $100 million
- 3M – $85 Million
- AK Steel Holding – $31 Million
Based upon the fact that companies are already preparing for tax hikes, this presents an incredible opportunity for Entrepreneurs, but not in the way that the administration is touting. My prediction is that as companies look at the rising cost of providing health insurance to employees, they will begin to look outside the company to fulfill a number of roles. This will be realized in hiring contractors and in outsourcing other jobs.
Does a company need to pay a full team of web developers or can they hire your local team of designers & developers? Does a firm need a department dedicated to marketing, or can they hire your marketing & advertising agency? Does an accounting firm need to pay overtime during tax season, or can they outsource the work to local entrepreneurs or even BPO (business process outsourcing) firms in India?
These are the decisions that companies have been making for many years and will continue to make if costs increase dramatically due to ObamaCare.
Remember that most employers know the 3 to 1 rule. That an employee must generate 3 times as much income as they are paid to pay for office supplies, healthcare, etc. If that ratio increases, it will be harder for companies to justify keeping entire departments of their company when the work can be outsourced to small business owners, entrepreneurs, and BPO’s.
Tags: entrepreneurs, job opportunities, obama and entrepreneurs, obamacare | Posted under General Thoughts, Health Insurance | 1 Comment
Thursday, December 10, 2009 | Written by Jim Beach
Posted under: Business Ownership |
Tags: entrepreneurs, small business etiquette |
No Comments
I was married. She moved in, and brought lots of stuff with her. I was prepared for her to bring 2-3 pairs of shoes, a coat, some shirts, underwear, some pants. But, she brought LOTS of stuff. So we are building shelves. Lots of shelves.
She does not paint. I do not paint. There was a guy working on the condo unit across the hall, so I asked him if he’d paint my shelves. He promised to send me an estimate that day. That was 4 days ago. I have seen him twice since then and he promised the estimate was coming. Still no estimate.
So, today, I hired a guy off the street to do the work. He is halfway done.
If you are going to be a small business owner, YOU CAN’T BE LAZY!!!!! Good grief. I was begging him to work, and he was too lazy to send an estimate.
Tags: entrepreneurs, small business etiquette | Posted under Business Ownership | No Comments
Tuesday, August 11, 2009 | Written by Erik Rostad
Posted under: Website Design |
Tags: above the fold, entrepreneurs, search engine optimization, Website Design |
7 Comments
Above the Fold
I recently attended a 3-day conference dealing with Search Engine Optimization, Internet Marketing, and Website Design techniques. One thing that struck me the most was how much the professionals concentrated on what was above the fold of a website.
What does above the fold mean? When you look at the front page of a newspaper, whatever is show on the top fold, as in, what is seen at a newsstand, is referred to as above the fold. For websites, this is what shows on the computer screen without the user moving down the home page.
So, why is this important? Because you have about 3 seconds to capture a web user’s attention. That’s the average time someone spends on your site before they ‘bounce’ and go elsewhere. That’s the average of course, unless they see something they like.
The professionals at this conference concentrated on the website ‘above the fold’ because the main point and call to action for your business must be in that area.
What are the other implications of this?
- People don’t have time to read extensive text copy in 3 seconds. Have images, or short quips above the fold that entice someone to click to the page that contains more information.
- The function of your business must be apparent to someone in 3 seconds. Also, remember that more and more people in the future will be looking at your site on their small-screened mobile device.
- What is your call to action? Are you trying to sell something? Are you trying to gather emails? Are these options available in your ‘above the fold’ area?
When these professionals were working with site designers, the professionals would ask where such and such was on the website. The designer would say – “well, if you click here and scroll down and then click there…..” If you are saying that and having to justify where your most important information lies on your website, that should tell you something.
Keep your most important information short, have your call to action clear, and keep the design clean, all above the fold.
Tags: above the fold, entrepreneurs, search engine optimization, Website Design | Posted under Website Design | 7 Comments
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