September 28, 2022
Go look up âDART missionâ on Google. Youâll be glad you did.
Hot off the SMB press this week:
TL;DR
ALL IN THE FAMILY
In short: Yes.
Hey, there are plenty of mutually exclusive situations out there (see: drinking a PSL and not having someone joke about it being âbasicâ). But, entrepreneurship and family arenât on that list.
In fact, there are plenty of SMBs that make their biz a full-on family affair. Just ask the 77% of new U.S. businesses established with significant involvement from their fam. And if youâre still worried about the impact entrepreneurship is having on your children, business-owning moms say that itâs made them a better parent despite the workload. (Donât argue with mom. She always knows best.)
Thanks for the pep talk. But I donât think I can do it.
âŚyet. Getting into a nice business-family rhythm takes time, but itâs not impossible. Here are some tips for taming your hustle so that it leaves time for the people you love:
đ More tips on raising a fam while running your SMB.
ON THE GO
Chances are you have a smartphone in your pocket, purse, or within reaching distance. You might even be holding it to read this.
Smartphones have changed the way we do everything â including business. The convenience of mobile devices makes it easier than ever to stay connected and do what we need to do. In fact, 60% of employees use their phones for work-related purposes.
Why restrict yourself (and your employees) to a desk?
Maybe you work in an industry that requires employees to be out and about, like trucking or landscaping. When your employees are on the go, go, go, a mobile learning platform will help keep them plugged in. And with the right tools, they can instantly access your businessâ processes and procedures wherever, whenever.
Hereâs what to look for:
First, find something thatâs easy for everyone to use. Not everyone can figure out apps intuitively, so use something simple that makes information easy to find.
Next, youâll want an app with attention-grabbing features that keep employees engaged and training sticky. (No one wants to read a 100-page manual off their phone. Snore.)
Youâll also want a mobile app that can integrate across the platforms you use. Thisâll help you avoid the headache of reworking your learning strategies for mobile and make it easy to manage all of your learning material from one spot.
đ Find the best mobile platform for your SMB.
MY MONEY DONâT JIGGLE, JIGGLE. IT SWIPES.
Letâs play a game.
Guess how much U.S. merchants and consumers paid on credit card swipe fees in 2021. (Wait for it...)
Nearly $138B. Oof.
And where did that money go? Right in the pockets of big wigs at card-issuing companies and the payment processing company.
Interchange and assessment fees result in an average of 2.25% in added expenses per transaction. As you might imagine, this adds up pretty quickly for whoeverâs getting hit with the charges (the businesses or consumers).
But hereâs the good (or bad?) news: The federal governmentâs stepping in.
The big solution:
Congress proposed the Credit Card Competition Act, where banks with more than $100B in assets would have to use an outside network to process credit card transactions.
The theory is that this will end Visa and Mastercardâs domination of the U.S. credit card market (the banks currently account for over 83% of U.S. credit card market share). In turn, itâll lower transaction fees for merchants and consumers. (Holla.)
But Visa and Mastercard are pushing back big time (shocker). Their argument: Using external networks may compromise the safety of routing transactions, as external networks may have diminished security measures compared to larger companies.
On the other hand, plenty of companies have already backed the bill â including Walmart, Target, and Kroger. Plus, if passed, it could especially help small businesses thrive. So keep this one on your radar.
WE HAVE A PODCAST
Ah, fall. The season when leaves start a-changinâ and we cozy up by a fire with a nice warm cup of Organize Chaos (you should really try it). âCause every weekday, founder and CEO of Trainual, Chris Ronzio, hosts our favorite SMB podcast, offering up entrepreneurial and small business leadership advice that covers everything from people to processes to productivity â and how to organize your life around it all.
What ROI should you expect from investing in your teamâs professional development? How about nurturing leaders? Chris tackles those very questions with the help of Luke Owings, VP of product at Abilitie, a leadership development company. If youâve ever wondered how you should think about the expenses associated with investing in your team, listen to Luke and Chris talk about how you can create a culture of professional development while weighing the financial costs.
Only have 10 minutes to spare? Check out these mini episodes: