Click here to print
Recent Press Releases (U.S. and international) for magazine issues and staff changes may be found below. Please note that for many issues there exists only a highlights sheet, while for others there may also be a full press release. The cover of FSB's current issue is pictured at right. Please contact the appropriate communications staff member with any questions.
|
Highlights of the February 2008 Issue of FSB: FORTUNE Small Business
The Overtime Bomb, by Mina Kimes, page 18 Wage-and-hour lawsuits are exploding. Plaintiffs attorneys are soliciting your employees. And everything you thought you knew about overtime may be wrong. The number of small businesses facing wage-and-hour lawsuits has exploded since 2004, when the U.S. Department of Labor revised the FLSA to clarify which workers are exempt from overtime laws. In doing so, it boosted the number of protected employees. Some companies now would rather avoid hiring remote employees than take the measures to micromanage their time. To the surprise of many business owners, discerning who is and is not exempt from overtime requires a lot more effort than just figuring out who is salaried. PLUS: Wage-and-Hour Pitfalls, by Todd Stauffer, page 20
Small Company, Big Tax Savings, by Jeanne Lee, page 59 Are you missing out on federal tax credits? Many small-business owners engaged in engineering, manufacturing, software, chemicals, defense, and other sectors that the government considers essential to American innovation are unaware that they could be eligible for the U.S. Research and Development Tax Credit Program. Tax consultants at Houston's FortisTCS specialize in helping small and midsized companies get their share of tax credits that Fortune 500 companies routinely secure. To encourage small companies to undertake the burden — some paperwork required to claim the credits, Fortis offers free feasibility studies and a contingent-fee structure, in which it is paid — typically around 30% of the savings — only if the client collects a check. Today Fortis has assembled a team of 44 CPAs and 12 tax attorneys who work with a client's CFO or CPA to determine eligibility and then do the legwork.
COVER STORY PACKAGE: Sleeping with the Boss, by Phaedra Hise and Joanne Chen, page 68 Love is hard. Entrepreneurship is harder. Yet more couples are running businesses together. Are they nuts? Some men and women are meant to be just friends; others inexplicably click, fall in love, and become couples for life. Among those, a rare few know where their other half is at all times, they're as likely to have lunch together as dinner, and they poke their noses into each other's business, literally: They're entrepreneurial couples — partners who share a home and also a company — and they make up one of the most dynamic and unexpected forces in small business today. FSB profiles five couples — and one former couple — to hear their stories and strategies.
Tech to Boost Teamwork, by Evelyn Nussenbaum, page 51 It's not just for online encyclopedias; smart business owners use the new wiki software to encourage collaboration and save money. At its simplest, a wiki is software that lets users work together to create and edit a collection of linked web pages. Like Wikipedia, all wikis benefit from the network effect: The more people who use it, the theory goes, the better the quality of the information. Small-business owners can visit Wikimatrix.org, a free site that suggests which wiki service might best suit your needs. Many firms are keeping secure wikis for purely internal affairs. But others are finding that opening them up to customers saves a surprising amount of time, energy, and money — and offers other benefits as well. Wikis, however, do not function well in every situation, as FSB discovered with further investigation. PLUS:
Radio Head, by Mina Kimes, page 63 A startup uses RFID technology to better train show riders. The systems that help drivers pay for their gas with the wave of a key fob and pass through toll booths without fumbling for change have made RFID, or radio-frequency identification, familiar to millions of consumers. Businesses and entrepreneurs are figuring out new ways to put RFID to work. For example, Integrated Equine Technologies has used RFID to create an automated system for stables that offers clear video footage of rides from multiple angles. RF Surgical, based in Bellevue, Wash., sells sponges that sound a warning to surgeons if they are being sewn inside patients. The company will add RFID to scalpels, forceps, and other surgical tools in mid-2008.
New Savings Through Pensions, by Jeanne Lee, page 66 Classic retirement plans are better than ever for shielding small-business income from the IRS. Recent regulatory changes have made defined-benefit pension plans much friendlier for the small-business owner. And here's the kicker: High earners who are 45 and older are often able to sock away much larger sums than with defined-contribution plans such as IRAs, and SEPs, or solo 401(k)s. When you open a defined-benefit plan, you must be able to fund it for at least three years, but you have the option to front-load the plan. Whatever formula you choose, a defined-benefit plan can leave you with more and the taxman with less.
A Little Visit to Salt Lake City, by Skip Knowles, page 88 Where to drink, eat, sleep, and ski. As your business flight descends and you see the steep white mountains that loom over Salt Lake, it's obvious that your work trip can serve as a thinly veiled ski vacation. Business and pleasure blend effortlessly at these indie hot spots. FSB lays out what to see and do and also makes a stop in Park City.
Love on the Half Shell, by Brandi Stewart, page 90 Romantic food made by small companies.
FSB is available in digital format. To access this version go to: http://digital.fsb.com
For further information please contact:
|