2010: IRS Lowers Standard Mileage Rates 10%

Beginning January 1st, 2010, the Internal Revenue Service will reduce the standard mileage rate for the use of a vehicle for business purposes to fifty (50) cents per mile, a ten percent (10%) reduction to the current allowance.

Radius Indiana Announces Its Leader

A few weeks back, Radius Indiana announced its leader for the newly-formed regional orgnaization: http://www.in.gov/portal/news_events/43412.htm Meanwhile, note the blurb at the end that SAIC announced plans to locate employees in the new East Gate facility. The BEdford facility is picking up steam, it appears.

Restaurants: 4,000 Fewer This Year

The economy is hurting everyone, including the 'mom-and-pop' diners and other independent eateries. If there's any silver lining, though, will the reported 4,000 fewer restaurants in the U.S. mean smaller waistlines for Americans too? Read more on recent restaurant closings within the United States here: http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_090727.html

Injunction Issued Against Misleading Companies

Here's the text from a recent newsletter from the Indiana Secretary of State:

"Indiana Corporate Compliance, International Corporate Compliance, Inc. and Papillon Global Marketing, LLC are no longer allowed to misrepresent themselves as a government agency to Indiana business owners thanks to an investigation conducted by the Indiana Secretary of State. The Marion County Superior Court issued a permanent injunction requiring the companies to immediately stop sending any written notices or transmissions that could reasonably be interpreted as a compliance notice from a government entity.
In May, the Indiana attorney general's office filed a complaint against the companies, most commonly known as Indiana Corporate Compliance, alleging multiple violations of Indiana's Deceptive Commercial Solicitation Act. Individuals Aaron V. Williams and Lisa Diane Brown, both of California, were also named in the lawsuit. Indiana Corporate Compliance had been sending letters to businesses all over Indiana under the guise of the Business Services Division of Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita's office, citing a fictitious state law implying businesses were required to send up to $150 for record keeping services.
"The permanent injunction is an important step forward in our ongoing efforts to prevent Indiana businesses from being deceived," said Secretary Rokita. "Obtaining this judgment is the direct result of the tireless work by my investigators and the cooperation of hundreds of businesses from around the state who were targeted by this scam. My office will continue to make businesses aware of these types of scams, and I thank Attorney General Zoeller and his team for working with us to bring justice through the legal system."
The Secretary of State's office, which registers and certifies Indiana businesses, began an investigation as a result of complaints it received from businesses. A hearing will be scheduled to determine the total amount of damages which could be awarded to those who fell victim to the scam. More than 150 Indiana businesses reported sending money in response to the letters from Indiana Corporate Compliance and its affiliates.
Recipients of the letters reported believing the compliance notices were generated by a government agency and were misleading and confusing. As a result, the court found it reasonable that business owners would be confused and would comply with the notice."

Lions & Tigers & Storms, Oh My!

The thunderstorms the other night made me think about computer files & paper records, for some reason. Perhaps, it’s because I work in risk management.

Natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, could teach us all something though. And I wonder if we really all got the message sometimes. Although we may never have a hurricane in southwestern Indiana, there are plenty of other perils that could have similar results.

So, here’s a thought for the weekend:

Do you have a routine in place at home & business that all of the computer info is backed up at certain intervals? How about records and documents on paper and not in ‘electron form’?

If so, are these back-ups kept off-premises? Disasters like tornados and fires may not be too kind even if you do have back-ups, but they’re on premises.

Thought of the Day: Auto Dealerships

Here's a thought for today:

With all the announcements of cutting the number of dealerships in the national news, particularly with GM & Chrysler, what will southwestern Indiana be left with in the end?

As for Chrysler, here's a website dedicated to their restructuring: http://www.chryslerrestructuring.com/

UPDATE: Asking Price Going Down

UPDATE:

Back around the first part of February 2009, there was a post about Stoll’s Country Inn being for sale: http://magiccoalcity.blogspot.com/2009/02/stolls-county-inn-for-sale.html Well, the asking price has went from over $1 million then down to $800,000:
http://www.commercialiq.com/jsp/listings/listing_overview.jsp?listingID=1876411

It Happened...

It happened, and it was more quickly than I thought too. The Watering Can Flower Shop moved to their new location on the former Happy Greek property. Or, as the sign reads on their now former door, “across from the fire station”.

As you’ll recall, the purchase was announced in February here: http://magiccoalcity.blogspot.com/2009/02/former-happy-greek-property-sold.html

The actual former Happy Greek restaurant is for sale though. Apparently, that lot is being sold off as part of the larger parcel there. The listing is here: http://hunleygmac.com/listing.php?listing=336

FOR SALE: Linton's DQ

The Dairy Queen in Linton is apparently for sale. Here's the listing:
http://www.loopnet.com/property/16007607/State-Road-54/

Employer Beware: Info Theft

If you’re an employer, you may find this article about employee theft of company records & information a little disturbing:
http://www.symantec.com/about/news/release/article.jsp?prid=20090223_01

Anderson Mayor: Opps...

I’m glad to see that Anderson reconsidered the appropriations for their business incubator:
http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/local/local_story_083222421.html

With Anderson’s 11.1% unemployment, as of January 2009, the 10 small businesses in this center are much more meaningful.

The line that made me chuckle was “tenants taking advantage of inexpensive rent” as one reason to cut funding. And the sky is blue. Perhaps, the whole point was previously missed by those that should understand the concept.

Oh, How the 'Net is Changing Things!

If you’ve ever been part of a charitable group or start-up company, you’ll know one of the first items of business is a name, a mission statement, and a logo design. They can all burn up hours-upon-hours of time, which some may even call a waste. Yet, they’re important to differentiate, communicate, and position in the marketplace.

While I can’t help you today with name or mission, I can suggest a very useful website to help you with the logo: http://logotournament.com/

As the name suggests, it is a tournament in which you submit a little bit of information and freelancers will submit entries. Contests start out for as little as $250 for the winning design. And once you pay for the logo, it’s complete and totally yours to use. They even allow the prize money can be paid through credit card, bank account, or PayPal for ease of use.

What if you don’t get any submissions? If you don’t receive at least 30 submissions, they’ll refund your money, the site purports.

All I can think now is: why didn't I think of this?!

Stoll's Country Inn - FOR SALE?

You never know what you’ll find on the ‘net. Today was no exception. To my surprise, I found that there’s a sales sheet for Stoll’s Country Inn in Linton.

With a price tag over a million dollars, I’m not sure how serious of an offer this is. At first blush, the price appears steep for the Linton market; however, I have no idea what type of revenues they do, so it could be a steal too.

Here’s the listing: http://www.commercialiq.com/listing/1876411

Soy-Doh vs. Play-Doh

A Greene County entrepreneur, Sawyer Sparks, has developed and begun selling a new soybean-based product dubbed ‘Soy-Doh’. It can be molded and played with just like your Play-Doh of yesteryear.

His website purports that the product is non-allergenic, gluten-free, and non-toxic. It even reportedly stays moist longer.

More info, including scents & colors available, as well as ordering info can be found on his website at: http://www.biogreene.com/soydoh/

At only $2 per container (plus S&H), check it out!

When I Grow Up, I Want to be a…

Sometimes it's not only what you want to do, but where you want to live that counts in a career. While home offices and the internet have broken down some geographic boundaries, there are still some jobs higher in demand in some regions than others.

It is with that said, high school and college students -- as well as those contemplating a second career -- may want to take a look at the "Hoosier Hot 50" list, which was developed by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. Of course, it comes with no surprise that demand is high in the medical and computer fields, but there are a few that may catch you off guard.

Here is the list of those and other top-ranking "in-demand" jobs, which is broken down by region here (Greene County is in Region 8 on page 8 of 11):
http://www.in.gov/dwd/files/Hoosier_Hot_50_2009_REGIONS_2008-Dec-12.pdf

For those more entrepreneurial, who may want to try their hand at self-employment, you may look at some of the bidding opportunities available. For example, here's the procurement area of INDOT: http://www.in.gov/serv/indot_bviewer Rest assured, they don't just need asphalt either. I've seen everything from port-a-pots to padlocks being bid out on this website.

Or, maybe you'd like to add an agricultural twist, as there's also been a recent announcement of an ag venture capital fund, which has a home base of Indianapolis, Indiana: http://www.midpointvc.com/ They describe themselves as, "A venture capital fund investing in promising venture stage companies that bring valuable innovations to growing segments of the food & agricultural industries."

There are a lot of opportunities outlined with these, and other websites out there, which may help finish the sentence, "When I Grow Up, I Want to be a…"

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This blog post by Chris Wathen was also published in his Linton, Indiana based Greene County Daily World blog entitled, "Riddle Me This".

Business Scam

Business owners should be on the look out for a new scam, which may present itself in your mailbox soon. The letter has the appearance of an official government request to handle certain business paperwork, citing fictitious laws and requesting a fee for these services. The Indiana Secretary of State issued the following 'Scam Alert' recently:
http://www.in.gov/sos/pdfs/ScamAlert.pdf

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This blog post by Chris Wathen was also published in his Linton, Indiana based Greene County Daily World blog entitled, "Riddle Me This".

Quickbooks & Your Business

I saw information on a local seminar earlier today, which I thought may be of use to many small business owners: The Community Learning Center is hosting an "Introduction to Quickbooks" workshop to introduce attendees to the many features of the Quickbooks bookkeeping program.

I can't say enough great things about Quickbooks. This is a very powerful and useful program for your small business. It will not only take away a lot of frustration around tax time, but will also allow you to actively manage your business; and being PRO-active is always better that being merely RE-active in business.

So, if your bookkeeping system consists of a shoebox, STOP! Instead, try this seminar on October 28th from 6:30-8:30PM to see how Quickbooks may help you in your business.
The cost is only $10, but the registration deadline is soon: October 24th.

For more information, including other offerings, see http://www.clcinfo.org/greene_schedule.php

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This blog post by Chris Wathen was also published in his Linton, Indiana based Greene County Daily World blog entitled, "Riddle Me This".

Starting a Specialty Food Business

Ever dream about starting your own business? If you own a small farm now, would like to add additional income?

Beginning or experienced entrepreneurs, as well as current farmers, may be interested in an upcoming seminar on October 9th at Apple Hill Orchard in nearby Bruceville, Indiana (about 5 miles north of Vincennes). Attendees will learn about beginning a specialty food or food ingredient business in Indiana.

The workshop costs only $75 per registrant, and it is sponsored by Purdue University's Department of Agricultural Economics & Department of Food Science, the Southeastern Indiana Small Business Development Center, and the Indiana State Department of Health.

For more information, including how to register, the brochure for this workshop may be seen here: http://www.foodsci.purdue.edu/Outreach/feep/brochure.pdf

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This blog post by Chris Wathen was also published in his Linton, Indiana based Greene County Daily World blog entitled, "Riddle Me This".

News with Regional Ties

I thought I'd comb through some recent business news columns and add some opinions & commentary to the stories with some local ties, so here goes:
If you've been to the mall lately, you may have shopped at a Steve & Barry's. There are a total of nine locations in the great state of Indiana.

Their philosophy has been to simply sell some nice clothes cheaply, but perhaps they've been selling them too cheaply because they're now filing bankruptcy.

Don't let that worry you about where to get your next deal on clothes, though, because there's some hope. A bankruptcy court judge recently approved another company's bid to acquire all of the assets of Steve & Barry's LLC. So, the majority of Steve & Barry's stores should continue to operate, and there are currently almost 300 of them in total to keep you occupied by looking for great deals.

Side note: It must be tough in the clothing industry right now because you'll recall that family-clothing retailer Goody's filed for bankruptcy a short while back, but the store in Linton appears safe from closing thus far. Not all locations fared so well.

Reportedly, in other recent news around the state, Bloomington-based Author Solutions was fined $50,000 for using unauthorized copies of various popular software programs.
As a company that provides self-publishing services to authors, those very people who depend on copyright protections, the company appears very hypocritical with this announcement; however, President and CEO Kevin Weiss said the infringement happened under prior ownership.

It seems to be an exceptionally damaging story, given they're in the copyright business, while infringing upon the copyrights of others, but we'll just have to see how this all unfolds -- and if it ultimately affects their own bottom-line more than just the $50,000 fine levied.
Will authors react or just keep busy writing?

Time will tell.

It comes as no surprise to small business owners that it can be costly to "follow the rules" of government regulations.

In fact, testimony given by Thomas M. Sullivan, who is the Chief Counsel for Advocacy for the U.S. Small Business Administration, to a U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee recently on July 30th, focused on the costs to businesses for "following the rules". These costs are higher for smaller firms than larger ones, too, he reported.

Here is an excerpt from the testimony, including some interesting tidbits on small business nationwide:

"Small businesses are extremely important to the U.S. economy. Economic data shows that 99.7% of firms that have employees are small businesses. Small businesses employ over half of the more than 145 million American workers. The small business sector is the primary engine of job creation, growth and innovation. Despite the importance of small business to our country's economic strength, the 2005 Advocacy-funded study by W. Mark Crain, The Impact of Regulatory Costs on Small Firms, found that, in general, small businesses are disproportionately impacted by the total federal regulatory burden. The overall regulatory burden was estimated by Crain to exceed $1.1 trillion in 2004. For small firms, employing fewer than 20 employees, the annual regulatory burden in 2004 was estimated to be $7,647 per employee -- which is 45 percent greater than the $5,282 per employee burden estimated for firms with more than 500 employees."

So, as most news articles would have it, there's a lot of negative stories.

Lastly, to end on a high note, there is one bright spot here in Indiana, and it's in forestry and hardwood sales. They are supposedly holding up pretty well in the midst of national recession. A lot of people may not realize but several trees are logged from Greene County land and "exported" out of the county ultimately. It's a pretty big crop for the area, and it provides several jobs to the community.

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This blog post by Chris Wathen was also published in his Linton, Indiana based Greene County Daily World blog entitled, "Riddle Me This".

Sunday Beer & Blue Laws

A group is currently lobbying for Sunday alcohol sales in Indiana, and they claim to have over 10,000 signatures on a petition thus far.

These Sunday no-no regulations, known as Indiana's blue laws, prohibit alcohol sales, as well as the sale of cold beer at drug, grocery, and convenience stores; however, the group, Hoosiers for Beverage Choices, believes they are unfair. Dollars from Sunday alcohol sales are currently being raked in by restaurants and sporting events, that are not affected by these laws, yet grocery stores and other retailers are denied entry to the game, they say.

Here's a sampling of three facts they provide on their website, which is located at http://www.beveragechoices.com/ :

*Indiana is one of only fifteen states that completely prohibits the carry-out sale of alcoholic beverages on Sundays.

*Since 2002, thirteen states have repealed laws restricting alcohol sales on Sundays.

*Indiana is one of only three states that prohibits retailers from selling alcohol on Sunday, yet allows restaurants, taverns, and numerous sports and community events to sell alcohol by the drink on Sunday.

(A little research showed that those three states are Connecticut, Georgia, and Indiana... an unlikely trio.)

So, this is an argument that is economically-driven. In fact, industry news reports that alcohol sales in general can account for between 10 to 20% of an average restaurant's annual revenue, as there's no denying that the mark-up on drinks is substantial. Certainly, other retailers are looking for some of those dollars to be spent in their own retail establishments.

But is it actually a better scenario to allow Sunday retail sales, or will there be other negative ramifications from it?

Blue laws have an interesting past, trying to "enforce moral standards, particularly the observance of Sunday as a day of worship or rest, and a restriction on Sunday shopping," as this Wiki entry states at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_law In an age of many retailers being open on Sundays, is it hypocritical to enforce no Sunday beer, while the Wal-Marts of the world in many rural areas appear to be the after-church gathering places for many shoppers?

All interesting questions, that's for sure.

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This blog post by Chris Wathen was also published in his Linton, Indiana based Greene County Daily World blog entitled, "Riddle Me This".