Small Business News

The current rate of inflation and all-around high prices is affecting small business owners disproportionately across the nation and indeed globally. And finding the funding to continue their operations is becoming more difficult as government-run programs no longer provide the same level of support. This is where grants, public and private, are able to help small business owners cope with the current economic climate. From Comcast to Famous Amos and others, there are numerous grants available now from private as well as public organizations you can apply for.

Comcast is providing grants to 500 businesses with $10,000 for each recipient along with creative and marketing consulting and tech upgrades. This will not only provide needed funds but also skillsets to ensure the long-term success of the business. Other grants are also available in several states and specific counties in the U.S. from public organizations. Find out where in the link below:

Famous Amos is providing three $50,000 grants for a total of $150,000 with a nationwide search to find three deserving entrepreneurs. This grant has a process, so make sure to follow the instructions and the dates to give yourself a better chance to win this hefty grant. Read more for details:

Speaking of inflation and high prices, here is a timely article that answers how raising prices at your place of business impacts your taxes. With 70% of businesses having raised their prices to deal with inflation, knowing how it affects tax liabilities is a must.

A recent survey by Tribes.AI has found that missing or inaccurate timesheets cost businesses $63,807 per employee per year or $7.49 billion daily for the professional services sector providers in the US. Management Perception of Lost Billable Time by Industry The survey was based on government figures combined with a recent Tribes.AI survey of over 1,200 managers in the sector.

Coinbase NFT, a Web3 social marketplace for the cryptographic tokens NFTs, has gone live in beta. Anyone can now check out the first version of Coinbase NFT at nft.coinbase.com and browse the vast collection of NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. Coinbase NFT Goes Live in Beta Beta testers are now able to create a Coinbase NFT profile to buy and sell NFTs using a self-custody wallet.

The Small Business Administrator (SBA) has announced the opening of five new Women’s Business Centers (WBCs). On May 23, Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the SBA, announced the selection of the new resource centers for women entrepreneurs and business owners. The announcement was made during National Small Business Week.

House Democrats are calling on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to boost drivers’ mileage deduction benefits. Bloomberg reports that Democrats are urging the IRS to increase the tax break to help small businesses that rely on heavy mileage, including truckers, drivers and other transportation-related businesses with soaring costs.

As a small business owner, your time is valuable. To find out helpful facts about hiring virtual assistants and their benefits, you will not want to miss watching this video.

Tourists and business travelers need ways to save money; small business owners need ways to make money. Where’s the common ground? How can you turn tourists and business travelers into customers? Attracting Tourists to Your Small Business We asked Dave Charest, Director of Small Business Success for Constant Contact, for his best ideas.

Key players in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) met to beef up small business trade opportunities among those entities. The USMCA was enacted on July 1, 2020 and substituted the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). For the USMCA Dialogue Session, trade leaders, and hundreds of representatives from small businesses, met by webinar.

Gas prices in the US continue to rise and break records. On May 23, the national average for a gallon of gasoline was $4.596. In California, the average price of gas has surpassed $6 a gallon for the first time, currently standing at $6.069.

Austin St. John, 47, McKinney, TX, is one of 18 people charged in a Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) fraud scheme that allegedly involved 16 loans and $3.5 million. St. John is best known as the original Red Power Ranger in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers television series. The series launched in 1993. Former Mighty Morphin Power Ranger Austin St. John Charged with PPP Loan Fraud St.

Americans spend a significant amount of time working and looking at screens, but the majority don’t take enough time off. Are You Achieving a Work-Life Balance? Not Even Close Over the course of their lifetime, Americans spend, on average, 13.2 years working, and just 328 days socializing. The average worker in the US spends 5.3 hours per week checking work emails at home.

This month there are some great online businesses available for sale that are established, proven, and innovative. Some of them also have a physical presence that seamlessly combine the digital world to ensure the future viability of their operations. If you want to be part of the cryptocurrency world, one of the businesses that are for sale is a cryptocurrency mining farm.

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This article, "In the News: Get From Up to $50,000 in Grants From Public and Private Organizations" was first published on Small Business Trends

Read more: https://smallbiztrends.com/2022/05/small-business-news-roundup-may-27-2022.html

Today, many businesses are not tied to a physical location. Technology and flexible work environments allow entrepreneurs and their teams to run operations from anywhere.

If you plan to run a business on the go, you first need the right tools. For businesses with teams, that means utilizing apps that foster collaboration. This post includes several that may work for your team.

12 Collaboration Apps for Your Business

Reading is another important element of running a business. You can read to build your knowledge about a particular subject. And it’s a perfect activity to do in airports, busses, or trains. If you’re ready to expand your worldview while traveling, try the following book apps to access tons of titles from anywhere.

18 Best Book Apps for Reading on the Go

Travel days are often packed with activities. And when you’re home, meetings and tasks may fill up your work days. Busy entrepreneurs need a calendar they can access and edit from anywhere. So try the following apps to make both travel and work life easier.

18 Calendar Apps to Help Organize Your Busy Days

If you like to travel light, you may not want a bulky wallet with tons of different cards. Luckily, mobile payment technology has improved dramatically in recent years. So you can easily store card information on your mobile device, giving you an easy and secure way to cover travel and business expenses. Here are some top mobile payment apps that may help your business stay nimble.

16 Mobile Payment Apps

Running an on-the-go business isn’t always about sitting on a laptop at the beach. Some entrepreneurs need nimble solutions out of necessity, since they work with customers at their homes or out in the field. Service providers in particular require solutions that let them manage customer interactions all from a mobile platform. These field service management software solutions do just that.

15 Field Service Management Software Solutions

If you run a business on the go, we’d love to hear your story. Reach out here to share your company’s history and experience running a business from unique locations.

We’re also always open to featuring businesses and solutions that may help mobile businesses succeed. If you offer an app, software, or service that may be relevant to on-the-go business owners, contact us for consideration. You can also reach out to learn more about advertising opportunities to reach our small business audience.

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This article, "Get Out of the Office This June Using These Resources for On-the-Go Businesses" was first published on Small Business Trends

Read more: https://smallbiztrends.com/2022/05/resources-for-on-the-go-businesses.html

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the 10 startups selected to participate in the 2022 AWS Space Accelerator. The customer-focused accelerator is aimed at helping space startups accelerate growth by using AWS.

The startups were chosen for their inspiring and innovative vision on how to transform the global space industry across different mission areas. These areas range from space exploration and earth observation to space situational awareness and launch and propulsion.

The 10 selected startups will receive business development and strategy support from AlchemistX, the corporate services division of Alchemist Accelerator.

The startups will also receive specialized AWS training, mentoring from AWS space domain and technical subject matter experts. They will be provided with up to $100,000 in AWS Promotional Credit through AWS Activate, and support on building and scaling their solution around the world.

The space startups selected for the AWS program can provide valuable lessons for small businesses of all industries, on the importance of innovating and thinking ‘outside the box’.

The accelerator also highlights the value of training, mentoring, support from experts, particularly in areas like technology and software which many businesses can find challenging, and other business resources in helping startups get off the ground, grow and succeed.

As AWS says in a statement on the announcement: “These 10 organizations are thinking big about how to transform the future of the global aerospace industry. The accelerator provides an opportunity for them to receive personalized recommendations on how to integrate AWS Cloud technologies into their unique missions.”

The startups selected for the 2022 AWS Space Accelerator are:

Albedo is building low-orbit satellites that capture both visible and thermal imagery at the highest resolution commercially available. Albedo’s data is a key input for industries such as mapping, insurance, agriculture, and climate applications.

Blue Sky Analytics is a climate-tech startup, which uses satellite-derived climate intelligence to power financial decisions.

EOS Data Analytics (EOSDA) is a global provider of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered satellite imagery analytics.

Epsilon3 specializes in software for managing complex aerospace operations and procedures, from test and design through major operations.

Kayhan Space is developing next- generation electric propulsion solutions for spacecraft and satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO).

Mission Space focused on providing highly accurate space weather radiation intelligence using a combination of data sources and own detectors launched on to LEO.

Terradepth is an ocean data-as-a-service business that has built a cloud-based, browser-accessible, ocean data management platform and marketplace.

The Exploration Company provides various in-orbit services to LEO and in a later stage to the Moon.

ZaiNar specializes in positioning, navigation, and timing solutions as an alternative to traditional GPS.

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This article, "10 Startups Chosen for AWS Space Accelerator" was first published on Small Business Trends

Read more: https://smallbiztrends.com/2022/05/startups-chosen-for-aws-space-accelerator.html

In this inflationary environment, many businesses must raise their prices to continue paying higher wages, taxes, and expenses and at least stay even in terms of profitability. NFIB reports that 70% of small businesses have raised prices, especially in such industries as wholesale, construction, retail trades, and manufacturing. And 46% of owners plan on implementing price hikes (which include some that have already raised prices). When raising prices, businesses primarily focus on how this affects customers…will higher prices discourage sales? But don’t overlook the impact that higher prices have on taxes.

Raising prices may be a wash in terms of profits; more revenue but greater deductions for expenses may cancel each other out. But one of the reasons for raising prices is to increase profits. If price hikes bring in more revenue than the total increase in expenses, it means higher profits. NFIB reported that among owners reporting higher profits, nearly one in five 19%) attributed this to higher prices. When profits increase, expect to pay more in federal (and where applicable, state and local) income taxes.

For owners of pass-through entities, the tax on their share of profits depends on their tax bracket. More profits may push owners into a higher tax bracket, resulting in a higher tax rate on the portion of taxable income that falls within a higher tax bracket.

For self-employed business owners, greater profits translate into higher net earnings, on which self-employment tax is based. Higher net earnings…higher self-employment tax.

The Social Security portion of self-employment tax, which is 12.4% of 92.35% of net earnings, is capped (net earnings in 2022 of up to $147,000). There’s no cap on the Medicare portion, which is 2.9% of 92.35% of net earnings. Yes, one half of self-employment tax is deductible as a personal deduction of the owner, but the deduction doesn’t wipe out the tax increase.

There are two additional Medicare taxes: one based on earned income and another on investment income. Both taxes have a threshold that isn’t adjusted annually for inflation: $200,000 for singles and $250,000 for married persons filing jointly.

Sales tax obligations depend not only on what you sell, but where and how much. Five states—Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon—have no sales tax. Even where there is a sales tax, some goods and services may be exempt, so sellers don’t have to collect the tax. But most locations require sellers to register, collect sales tax, remit collections to the state, and file returns (typically quarterly). These obligations don’t depend on how much you charge or what revenue is received.

But if you are a remote seller (i.e., you sell online to customers in another state), your sales tax obligations to collect, remit, and report to that other state are triggered if sales exceed a threshold amount. States have different thresholds, but typically this means sales of $100,000 or more. Raising prices may cause a remote seller to cross the threshold. In some states there is an alternative threshold based on the number of transactions (e.g., 200 or more); it’s hard to say whether price increases would impact this alternative threshold.

Raising prices may be desirable or necessary, and tax results may not be a big part of a decision on price hikes. Just be sure to factor in additional taxes and tax responsibilities that may result from higher revenue that is derived from raising prices. Work with your CPA or other tax adviser to know what tax impact any price increases may have on your business and you.

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This article, "How Does Raising Your Company’s Prices Impact Your Taxes" was first published on Small Business Trends

Read more: https://smallbiztrends.com/2022/05/raising-your-companys-prices.html