Of all the different expenses a business must pay, employee health care continues to be one of the highest. While there’s the direct cost of contributions toward employee health care coverage that most employers make, there’s also the indirect cost of sick workers.

Many employers include dental insurance in their benefits packages. Why? Because employees want it. According to a survey of employees published in Harvard Business Review, better health, dental and vision insurance are the benefits most valued by employees, with such perks as more flexible hours, more vacation time and work-from-home options all trailing behind.

The end of 2017 is rapidly approaching, and many employers will be handing out year-end bonuses or other perks and presents. But will a bonus bestowed at the dawn of a new year really keep an employee happy, satisfied, and ready to settle in for another 12 months of productive work?

Personally, I haven’t made any New Year’s resolutions since I was about 13 and determined to get onto the school soccer team. As you get older, you realize that choosing January 1st to change yourself or the world is a little restricting.

As a small-business owner, I recognize the importance of rewarding employees who perform well and exceed expectations. I appreciate their contributions and want them to know I’m grateful. Here are inexpensive ways I came up with. 

We all know good marketing is essential for small businesses, but it’s something that all too many owners (including myself sometimes) put to one side because we simply don’t have the budget.

Your potential employees are becoming more demanding in what they look for in a job, and are happy to go elsewhere if they feel the company doesn’t offer them the benefits that they’re looking for. It’s therefore important to think about what your business could offer in order to make sure that you appeal to those top candidates.

Whether you’re starting a new initiative or taking advantage of a growth opportunity, you’ll probably find yourself needing a little extra capital at some point. But with access to capital still a challenge for many business owners, what can you do to try to maximize your chances of successfully applying for more funding?

Customer loyalty is something that’s always really interested me – as both a business owner and a consumer myself. We have so much choice now, where’s the incentive to stick with one brand or product?

Football, Basketball, Ice Hockey, you name it and I'll probably watch it. So it goes without saying that I'm a huge fan of the Olympics. The U.S. has a great record and I'm always proud to watch our Olympians battle for the ultimate glory of winning a gold medal. I know it must take some serious work and more than a little talent to get to the podium.