“Stocks buckled Thursday under the growing belief that the global economy is weaker…the Dow Jones industrials briefly traded below 10,000 for the first time in three months.”

Granted, it all sounds very scary and dramatic but what does it mean?

The Dow Jones is an economic indicator.  A fairly complex index of 30 publicly traded companies based in the U.S. that measures their trades in the stock market during a single session.  Self explanatory right?

As business owners, it’s not the value of this economic indicator that is so important but the cause of the over all change.  It’s sometimes hard to read between the lines of these financial reports but that is exactly what needs to happen in order to judge the effects this may have on our business and view that information objectively.

The report continues as follows:

“A flood of bad news, including rising debt levels in European nations and an unexpected jump in the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits, had investors pulling money out of assets like stocks and commodities that look increasingly risky. Fears of more disappointing news Friday, when the government issues its January employment report, contributed to the slide.”

While the Dow is based on U.S. companies, it is known to be influenced by foreign politics and events which accounts for the mention of European debt, but as business owners, our focus should lay on the second subject of unemployment.  We’ve all seen the reports about the decrease in new jobs and the increase in unemployment. This has an adverse effect on our current economy, but what does it mean for our businesses?

It means that the market is inundated with skilled and experienced people eager to put their best attributes to work for your business.  We all know the difficulties that come with hiring the right people to work in our business and yet, even in these times when companies are receiving hundreds of applications for a single open position, they’re still finding it hard to find the right people. 

As business owners, we need to take advantage of this unique climate to better ourselves and our position in this market.  Many times we find ourselves so wrapped up in day to day operations that it’s hard to step back and take an objective look at our business to see how we can make it more efficient and profitable.  Right now I think one of the most effective things we can do is to develop the policies and procedures of our human resources to maximize the efficiency of our workforce. 

Often times wages are a companies largest expense.  What are you doing in order to get the most from your employees?

Credit for the quotes and information go to Associated Press Business and Yahoo Finance.

As business owners, do you think something like this would truly motivate you to hire additional employees?

As potential employees, do you think this is the best the government could do on your behalf to promote additional hiring?

Tell me what you think.  Is this a good idea or a bad idea? Will it make any difference at all? Is it a long term solution or is it just one more meaningless tax incentive offering a short term solution with not enough real benefits on either side of wall?

Here is a short description of the story by The Slatest

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Momentum Grows for a Job-Creation Tax Credit    

It’s a tool that was last tried in 1977, but now there seems to be growing support for awarding a tax credit to businesses that create new jobs. The measure was actually included in the stimulus package, but it was jettisoned before it was approved due to concerns that companies could exploit the system. Now, more politicians seem to believe that while a little abuse might be inevitable, it could still be a good, and relatively cheap, way to create jobs at a time when the unemployment rate is inching closer to 10 percent. When the same system was tried in the late 1970s, there were questions about whether the jobs that were created were permanent, and many doubted that the companies would have created the new jobs eventually without the credit. Now advocates of the system say that they can learn from the mistakes of three decades ago to make sure a job-creation tax credit has a bigger bang this time around. But, of course, it seems inevitable that the credit would help companies that would be hiring whether there’s a tax break or not. Whatever ends up happening, lawmakers need to either pass the measure quickly or drop it completely because companies might delay hiring if they think the tax break is in the pipeline.

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Read a full article on the subject at NYTIMES.COM.  One important issue from the report is a description of the actual benefits that will be seen by businesses in one of the proposals currently being reviewed by the legislature:

Under the proposal from Mr. Bartik and Mr. Bishop, the credit in the first year would equal 15.3 percent of the cost of adding an employee. In the second year, it would fall to about 10.2 percent.

For example, hiring a worker might cost a small business $50,000 annually. But with the tax credit, the cost would fall to $42,350 in the first year, and then be $44,900 the next year. After that, the cost would return to $50,000.

The credit would apply only to the portion of an employee’s salary under $106,800. Lowering the cap further, however, could provide an even greater benefit to low-wage, unskilled workers.

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That is the thinking of many business owners, small or large, but it seems that along with the times changing so are the minds of business executives.  An article over at Mashable.com called, Execs and Social Media: Why they Love It, Why They Fear It, examines a recent survey that shows that even though many executives still have concerns about its usefulness, the majority are embracing this new marketing medium.

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Out of 438 management, marketing and human resources executives polled, 81% saw social media as being useful for both brand-building and enhancing customer or client relationships. Just under 70% see it as a valuable recruitment tool, 64% think social media is useful for customer service, and a lower sampling at 46% saw it as improving employee morale.

Asked how they actually used social media in the workplace, respondents listed brand-building as their top goal (82%), followed by networking (60%), and a long tail of other reasons including customer service, sharing project information, monitoring their competitors, prospecting for sales, research, and other.

Yet many executives still appear to have concerns about using social media in the workplace. Of those in the survey who reported not using social media, over one half listed the reason as not knowing enough about it.

Read the entire article at Mashable.com

While change is a scary monster to some, it is unavoidable and must be faced or you may risk falling behind; and playing catch up isn’t a fun game to play in the business world. 

Ok, let’s do it, let’s change!  Right?  But the key to making the right change lies within the minds of one group of people: Your Customers!

-What do they want?  Why do they want it?
-What do they need?  Why do they need it?
-How do they perceive your company?
-What do they think of your products and services?
-What do they think of your competition?
-How do they distinguish between you and your competition?

All of these things and more need to be considered when making the right changes in your company.  In business, the need for change is controlled by the customer.  In fact, it is demanded by the customer because they will take their business and money elsewhere if their needs can’t be met.

So, how do we tell our customers that we’ve heard their voices? Through advertising!  You must promote your business in a way that highlights the best and brightest aspects of your company in order to keep customers coming back and bring new customers in.

There are many ways to advertise and multiple mediums through which to do so.  You must research to figure out which form of advertising is best for your company; that will reach your customers, highlight your qualities and express your unique selling advantage in an efficient and effective way.

Click Here, Magazines Turn to New Strategies for Revenue, to read about advertising companies making changes in order to fit an always changing market.