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Enterprising Women is offering WE Inc. Journal readers a FREE issue of their magazine.Every issue is packed with valuable articles and insights. and Enterprising Women is the only national magazine exclusively for women business owners. It inspires, motivates, informs, and entertains, with fascinating stories of women entrepreneurs like you who have taken the risks of business ownership and reaped the rewards of success.
Small business health insurance costs continue to skyrocket, forcing many owners to cut back or eliminate their payment of employee health coverage. According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, fewer than half of small businesses with up to nine employees now offer any coverage. One alternative that small businesses have now to help employees with affordable coverage is the Health Savings Account or HSA. This plan combines a high deductible health plan (HDHP) with a savings account.
Mary Cantando
WE Inc. Business Growth Advisor
June 1, 2009
Tough economic times require you to be even more creative to ensure the success of your business. And they can also take a toll on your psyche, as well as that of your employees. So how do you deal with "Recession Depression"? Here are five ideas...
Please join the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau for the next Flex Options teleconference on June 24, 2009 - 2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. EDT. Updates will be provided in key areas related to workplace flexibility including public policy, and the findings of a new study on flexibility for hourly workers. Guest experts include Elizabeth Watson, Legislative Counsel, Workplace Flexibility 2010, and John Wilcox, Deputy Director, Corporate Voices for Working Families. During this teleconference, you'll have an opportunity to join the discussion, ask questions, share best practices, and learn from other participants from across the nation. For more information, or to register, please click here.
Small businesses suffering financial hardship as a result of the slow economy may be eligible to receive temporary relief through a new loan program announced by the SBA on May 18. Beginning on June 15, SBA will start guaranteeing deferred-payment loans of up to $35,000 available to established, viable, for-profit small businesses that need short-term help to make their principal and interest payments on existing qualifying debt. ARC loans are interest-free to the borrower, 100 percent guaranteed by the SBA, and have no SBA fees associated with them. For more information, please click here.
SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" unveiled a new toolkit aimed at helping entrepreneurs start up and make it through the recession, keep Americans employed and create new jobs. It includes a Quick Start Business Plan, business planning tools, a Quick eGuide to choosing an advisory board, getting funding and promoting your business. There is also a podcast to "Building a Million Dollar Biz," and a SCORE locator to find a SCORE office for free and confidential business mentoring.
How do you go about implementing workplace flexibility? Where do you go to learn about creating a flexible workplace culture, or developing policies and procedures? This document was developed by Linda Rountree, Roundtree Consulting, LLC and Karen Kerrigan, Women Entrepreneur's, Inc. under a contract with the U. S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau for its Flex-Options Project. The updated guide includes the latest information about workplace flexibility, and new model practices to help business leaders, managers and employees develop and implement flexible workplace solutions. The Flex-Options Guide spells out flexibility definitions, benefits and common approaches; shares tools to "get started"; and includes helpful templates.
The Flex-Options editorial staff is solely responsible for the content of the up-dated Version 2: April 2009
Menlo Innovations LLC has been selected as a winner of the 2006 Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility in the greater Detroit area.
This prestigious award recognizes employers that are successfully using workplace flexibility to meet both business and employee goals. Menlo Innovations LLC is a Michigan participant in the Women’s Bureau Flex Options project.
The awards scoring process is rigorous! First, employer responses are measured against national data from Families and Work Institute’s National Study of Employers. As a winner, Menlo Innovations ranks in the top 20% -- the 80th percentile -- of employers nationally in terms of flexible work programs, policies and culture. In addition, what makes this honor so special, according to the Families and Work Institute, is that Menlo Innovations’ employer responses have also been corroborated by employees. Where the rubber meets the road, it is having an impact.
For more information about the award, winners throughout the country or the Families and Work Institute, please visit: www.whenworkworks.org.
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