Our family has recently moved from Oregon to Washington state. This caused great stress for my 16 year old son who was weeks away from getting his Oregon driver’s license. The Washington State rules are different and the driver education book and web site seemed unclear as to what my boy’s next step was so I went looking for answers. I was referred to Nicole Bisconer owner of Driving 101(www.drvn101.com). The one person, I was told, who knew everything about helping kids get drivers licenses.

I arrived at the driving school and found a young woman manning the place by herself. She was on a client call, her cell was ringing and I wasn’t the only person coming through the doors. As soon as she hung up she greeted me with a friendly and confident handshake. This was Nikki, the owner of the school. She explained that it didn’t make sense to have her employees come in too early and so she was working the first part of the day on her own.

As we talked I found out that she had successfully established her business with all of the local high schools. She had built a relationship with the local Small Business Administration Rep and had even been named the “…best driving school in the state of Washington” by Inc. Magazine. I left knowing my son would be in good hands with Nikki. But there was something more.

Nikki reminded me of thousands of my clients. Smart, hardworking, risk taking, community minded entrepreneurs who are willing to show up every day and put in the time to make their business dreams into realities. The fact that she had just gotten national press didn’t mean that she could hire a personal assistant. Instead while proudly displaying the Inc. article on the wall, she was working alone juggling phone calls and visitors and students and doing it all with grace and a big smile.

The week of May 16-20 is Small Business Week. A time to celebrate you. The small business leader. The backbone of our economy and the true hero of American Business. It is for people like you and Nikki that we at Laughlin Associates have put together an exciting week full of education, contests, prizes and discussion all aimed at helping you build your business, increase your wealth, and enjoy your life more fully. Throughout Laughlin’s 39 years in business we have consistently observed that owners who invest time in practical, applicable education are the same owners who survive and thrive. I hope that you will take a little time out of working IN your business that week and spend some time with us working ON your business.  

Please join me and our special guest during Small Business Week.

The other day as I was having a conversation with my friend who is a hair stylist and she was telling me how she pays to rent the space she uses to cut hair.  She also has to pay for her own supplies and pays a percentage of her services to the owner of the salon. She was a little surprised when I said, “Congratulations on running your own business.” She never made the connection between her work and being a business owner. She was so focused on the service that she never took the time to understand what being a business owner could mean to her.

In our business, we talk to many people in the same situation.  They don’t give themselves credit for running their own business. They work in a variety of professions; independent contractors, consultants, day care providers, technicians, multilevel marketers, or they might even work for someone else but also run a part-time business.  Well, if you have income coming from other sources beside W-2 income, you might be a business owner with all the benefits that come with it.

“You would be brain dead not to start your own business,” says Sandy Botkin, CPA, Esq.

The IRS wants to give you credit for running your own business. As a business owner you get all sorts of tax deductible benefits from the government.  If you take it one step further and incorporate your business, then you really start to see some savings…no more self-employment tax, 100% tax deductible medical reimbursement plans, paid life insurance, not to mention the liability protection a corporation can provide you.

So go ahead…admit you’re a business owner. Now take the time and really understand what that means to you and the best way to structure your business to take the greatest advantage of being a business owner.

In celebrating you as the business owner that you are, we will be offering special prizes, exclusive webinars, and business success tips during National Small Business Week this May 16-20, 2011. Stay tuned on our website and the blog as we will have new postings each and every day for this special event that honors those that we feel deserve the most recognition…you!

Consider where you want to take your business and what is it that you want most from your success. Is it more time with family? More flexibility in your day-to-day priorities? Extra time to pursue hobbies and interests outside of your company? These are all totally valid and we want to help you get there through our “Getting Down to Business: Be the Entrepreneur You Know You Can Be” Small Business Week Celebration. The kickoff for this event starts May 9, 2011 so start thinking about yourself as a business owner and the areas you really want to improve upon this year. We’re excited to become part of your journey as an entrepreneur now and in years to come!

Email me at sjohn@laughlinusa.com with what you would like to see from us during Small Business Week.

CNNMoney.com recently contacted Laughlin Associates’ VP, Meghan Cole, for a story that reported the 6 states with the highest start-up rates. As no surprise to the team at Laughlin, Nevada tops the list with 510 start-ups per 100,000 adults in the state’s population.

The article continues on with help from Cole. 

“Nevada is one of the best places to start and run a business,” said Meghan Cole, a vice president at Laughlin Associates, a small business consulting firm in Carson City, Nev. The state “has passed some of the most aggressive pro-business legislation in the country,” she said. Startup fees are low and Nevada has no personal or business income tax, which means business owners save a bundle, she added.

Read the rest of the article here. Or if you have questions about starting a business or incorporating in Nevada for tax and liability benefits talk to a Laughlin Associates business consultant today by calling 1-800-648-0966 or visiting us online.

A San Francisco woman has decided to sue Mc Donald’s for enticing her kids to eat unhealthy food by putting toys in their Happy Meals.  The woman believes McDonald’s should be held responsible for their marketing ploys and intentional targeting of children by dangling toys in front of small children on a regular basis.

In fact, Michael Jacobson, executive director at the Center of Science of Public Interest (CSPI) stated, “The food industry has a responsibility not to intrude into families by using sleazy marketing techniques getting kids to pester their parents.” CSPI is seeking court approval to proceed as a class action. Jacobson continued to elaborate on the foundation of this case calling McDonald’s marketing practices “unfair, deceptive and illegal’ in California and many other states.

While most of us would agree this is a ridiculous lawsuit it still doesn’t negate the fact that McDonald’s will have to spend a great deal of time and money fighting this lawsuit.

CSPI is hoping to turn this into a class action lawsuit which means every parent across America who can’t tell their child “no” will be joining the suit in hopes of making a few bucks. I’m not knocking the good things CSPI has done. CSPI has done great things in fighting for safe foods and healthy lunches for our kids. But instead of pointing the finger at corporate America maybe the focus should be on educating parents who still might not be aware that fast food isn’t an appropriate meal choice for kids on a regular basis.

 As a subscriber to “The Action Newsletter” published by CSPI, I believe as a parent, I have to provide my children with healthy choices but I also believe Americans as a nation have to take responsibility in providing options for kids and showing them what a balanced diet is all about.

 When it’s all said and done I wonder what message this sends to our kids when the only solution we can find to a problem is to “sue” someone? Where will the finger pointing end and responsibility begin?

To read more on this issue see the full article here.

Hello Everyone,                                                                                    

Last week I was invited on as a guest of the Big Biz Show, heard on both the Fox Business Network and CBS Business Network. Currently this program is heard on approximately 150 stations around the country. They have a listenership of more than 1.4 million people with an obvious leaning toward small business owners and investors.

The hosts, Sully and Rusty, were hilarious and a little tough to keep up with, but I did my best and had a lot of fun. Take a minute and please check out  Aaron Young on the Big Biz Show!