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Why is small business failing?
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coboardhead



Joined: 26 Oct 2009
Posts: 4303

PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2014 11:44 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think one of the major changes over the last twenty years in the employment and small business climate is the increase in productivity, and the outsourcing of jobs, in the manufacturing sector. These advances have benefited the upper and upper middle class. But, where does that leave the, relatively, unskilled, but hard working class? The service industries.

So, small, upstart manufacturing businesses need to immediately compete with large corporations unless they find some niche. How many niches are there out there? Many of us blame the un and underemployed lower income classes for their plight. But, in truth, the economy has left them behind.

Stevenbard, yes there are a lot of regulations in setting up a business. But, I do not find them overwhelming. With employees, I simply, hire a bookkeeping firm to do the various payroll taxes etc. I hardly notice the cost. Other regulations, such as OSHA, protect workers. Some of the rules border on ridiculous, but in a way they favor the sole proprietor over the large contractor. Environmental regulations are a mixed blessing. They increases the costs of goods, but also provides jobs.

Reiner, Good description of owning a small business. I can relate.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2014 4:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

coboardhead wrote:
there are a lot of regulations in setting up a business. But, I do not find them overwhelming.

Bernie Marcus says they are. Perhaps you should advise him or start up a competitor for Home Depot.
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uwindsurf



Joined: 18 Aug 2012
Posts: 968
Location: Classified

PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2014 4:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

isobars wrote:
coboardhead wrote:
there are a lot of regulations in setting up a business. But, I do not find them overwhelming.

Bernie Marcus says they are. Perhaps you should advise him or start up a competitor for Home Depot.


Maybe you missed the fact that this thread is about small business.
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MalibuGuru



Joined: 11 Nov 1993
Posts: 9293

PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2014 5:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bernie Marcus will be the 1st to tell you he started as a small businessman. That was the point.

Knowing what I know now, I would not have started my business. I was young and dumb, so didn't even know some of the rules I needed to follow. Happily the statute of limitations favors us older wiser guys.... Laughing

C'mon coboardhead, there are hundreds of thousands of rules to follow. I could follow you around for a week and write up dozens of violations....really? Why would a middle age man do anything but buy Real Estate? We know too much.
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coboardhead



Joined: 26 Oct 2009
Posts: 4303

PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2014 6:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sure, there are hundreds of thousands of regulations. But, they do not apply to all businesses. A lot of this is common sense. If you are going to run a car wash and let the water run down a drain or out into the streets, wouldn't it make sense to know those specific rules?

Some of these regulations do keep wages up in small businesses. My specialized expertise would not be very special without the building codes (regulations) that I design by. These regs can prevent the inexperienced and incompetent from putting the health and safety of others in jeopardy.

I do feel that many of the regulations are not as clear, or as available as they should be. More homework is involved. But, I still do not believe anyone intent on starting a LEGITIMATE small business will be thwarted by the regulations.

A lot of opinions on this are based on politics. A good friend, who does contract work for me, is further right than you are, SB...and pretty bright too...He complains constantly about how the regulations are affecting construction costs. His job is enforcing some of the regulations...the good ones!
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coboardhead



Joined: 26 Oct 2009
Posts: 4303

PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2014 6:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sure, there are hundreds of thousands of regulations. But, they do not apply to all businesses. A lot of this is common sense. If you are going to run a car wash and let the water run down a drain or out into the streets, wouldn't it make sense to know those specific rules?

Some of these regulations do keep wages up in small businesses. My specialized expertise would not be very special without the building codes (regulations) that I design by. These regs can prevent the inexperienced and incompetent from putting the health and safety of others in jeopardy.

I do feel that many of the regulations are not as clear, or as available as they should be. More homework is involved. But, I still do not believe anyone intent on starting a LEGITIMATE small business will be thwarted by the regulations.

A lot of opinions on this are based on politics. A good friend, who does contract work for me, is further right than you are, SB...and pretty bright too...He complains constantly about how the regulations are affecting construction costs. His job is enforcing some of the regulations...the good ones!
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uwindsurf



Joined: 18 Aug 2012
Posts: 968
Location: Classified

PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2014 6:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

stevenbard wrote:
Bernie Marcus will be the 1st to tell you he started as a small businessman. That was the point.


So, there were fewer impediments to success when he started?
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KGB-NP



Joined: 25 Jul 2001
Posts: 2856

PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2014 6:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

CB,
Your friend is right. Worker's Comp. could bone over even the safest most stringent of businesses in a heart beat. Just ask your friend how responsible he is for other's stupidity and his potential liability and risk just because he hired someone. It is freaking scary stuff to say the least. It is probably the most abused system involved in the industry, and the people who work there are borderline retarded.
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coboardhead



Joined: 26 Oct 2009
Posts: 4303

PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2014 7:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Reiner

My friend works for me as a contract engineering consultant so his job is enforcing, mostly, land use and environmental regulations on the job site.

I have worked with dozens of different contractors and do not know any one that has gone out of business due to workers compensation claims. The rates in construction are high. And, those rates are reflected in the price of construction. But, those rates are a function of fraud, the legal environment here and high medical costs. The regulation is that insurance is required. If anything, some of the safety regs should reduce comp claims.

In construction, OSHA (safety) regulations are the ones that get tough to keep up on. Some of these rules are really poorly defined and some are nearly impossible to comply with. I had lunch last week with a contractor. We talked about the old days in construction in Telluride when enforcement of the safety of deep excavations was nonexistent. He likes it better now. He never would send someone into an unsafe situation. Now, neither can his competitors.

Last Friday evening, I got a call to look at a Nursing Home that was struck by a car and had partially collapsed. Their management was required, by regulation, to have a licensed Engineer assess the damage. I was able to analyze the extent of the damage and advise them on the extent of evacuation of the residents. Because the REGULATION provided a method to avoid full evacuation, the facility was able to avoid the huge costs, and potential dangers, required in relocating the patients.
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KGB-NP



Joined: 25 Jul 2001
Posts: 2856

PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2014 7:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

CB,

I'm not saying I'm going out of bus. because of it, but hell, it will eat a hole through your stomach wall when someone does get hurt. I take it personally when that sort of crap hits the fan, even if it their direct fault. I care about my guys since they've been with me a long time.

There are fines that can sink you pretty damn quick but they are usually rare and applied to the true bozos out there.

Hey, I'm happy for the safety codes but I don't see how I have to have my rates go up because someone can't wear the appropriate safety device provided. I'm supposed to hover over them and make sure it's happening? Screw that plan! These are adults we're talking about.

What about work place sexual harassment? That's another one from bizzaro world that the business owner can get fined for if Bob decides to squeeze Jane's butt.

Did a workman's comp. training course last spring.....it was like entering the "Twilight Zone of the absurd crap you didn't know could screw you over in the blink of an eye. There were lots of WTF moments in that class for all of us enrolled.
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