What is the Best Way to Celebrate Labor Day? Learn to Avoid Burnout

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Labor Day is for celebrating the American worker, and of course, there are few Americans who work harder or devote more hours to work than small business owners. Although small businesses account for roughly 61% of America’s workforce, many owners of small businesses – such as restaurants or car dealerships – won’t be getting the day off this weekend because of the nature of being a small business owner.

Ironically, many people become small business owners because they want to set their own hours and be their own bosses. Most of them, however, are hit with a harsh reality when they set their dreams into motion – although their intention was to run a business, the business soon begins to run them. 

While the work ethic of the average small business owner is commendable, it can be extremely unhealthy, as it can lead to emotional distress, poor sleep habits, obesity, poor eating habits, mental and physical exhaustion, and frayed relationships with family members and loved ones, among other things.

So how do people cope with the long hours and stress of running their own successful enterprise while keeping their sanity, as well as their personal lives, together? This Labor Day, Kapitus reached out to everyday small business owners for answers and tips. 

Develop a ‘Work/Life Balance’ Mindset

Before a small business owner can even embark on setting a plan to balance work and personal life, they must adopt a certain mindset that there’s time for work, and time for play. Separating the two can be extremely difficult – after all, your small business is the way you make a living and support your family. 

Much like giving up a bad habit, however, obtaining the discipline to mentally check out of work during non-work hours is hard and may take months or years to develop, but it will be well worth it for your physical and mental well-being. 

“You need to make it an intention to change your role and your involvement in your business,” says Paul Cantrell, CEO of consulting firm The Business Superstars. “Set a goal that in one year you want to be working an X amount of hours per week, for example. Then figure out what you will need to do to help make that happen. If you don’t work toward that, nothing will ever change.” 

Viktoria Krusenvald, co-founder of health and lifestyle website www.zerxza.com, told Kapitus that she began to burn out from the work of creating and operating her site, and had to train her mind to “shut off” from work.  

“Due to health concerns, I started forcing myself into creating healthy habits – and yes, I’m saying ‘forcing’ myself because it took a lot of effort to actually convince my mind to NOT focus on work all the time,” says Krusenvald. “The first step to create a healthy work/life balance is to calm your mind and convince yourself to let go of work a bit – to take some distance.”

Just Say No to New Business

Some small business owners told Kapitus that one of the keys to achieving work/life balance and avoiding burnout is saying no to new business. Of course, that’s usually the antithesis of the mindset of most small business owners, who are often always thinking that they need more business. No matter what type of business you are in, however, bringing on new business when times are busy may cause you to take on an unrealistic workload, which can lead to burnout. 

“With the mental health awareness going around, people have started using the tag of ‘fully booked’ at times when they feel they might not keep up with the orders,” says Leonardo Gomez, founder of dog toy maker Try Runball. “This has also helped them produce quality products and services for they had enough time to dedicate to each order. You can always close the shop for a couple of days and take a break as well.”

Catherine Nguyen, who runs her own photography business, says that sometimes saying “no” to new business is a good way to avoid burnout.

Catherine Nguyen, who owns her own photography business, adds, “As your business grows, you will find that customers start coming to you rather than you having to chase them down. When this happens, your instinct will be to say yes. After all, you’ve worked hard to get new business. Learn to say no when you are overextended. People who really want to work with you will wait for your next available time. If you say yes to everyone, you are doing yourself and your clients a disservice. Things will inevitably start falling through the cracks and become even more stressful.”

Set Boundaries Between Work and Life

One of the most difficult things to do for small business owners is setting firm boundaries between work and non-work time, as smartphones, tablets and other devices can constantly keep us plugged in wherever we go. Therefore, small business owners need to do for themselves what most parents do for their children: block out periods when it’s time for work and when it’s time for play. Unlike children, however, it’s the work time that small business owners need to pry themselves away from. 

One way to set firm boundaries between work and rest time is to turn off electronic work devices so that you’re not finding yourself checking your email or working on a document on your phone or tablet. 

Sam Dolbel, co-founder of Sinc Business, says it’s important to turn off your electronic gadgets when you’re not working.

“I always make it a habit to steer away from my work cell phone and laptop during off-work hours,” says Sam Dolbel, co-founder of Sinc Business. “Because when I do, I tend to check and respond to work emails, read industry and business trends on LinkedIn, and think about work instead of rest. Those practices could eventually lead to work stress and burnout, and being burned out isn’t helpful when you’re running a business. What’s also good about steering away from those gadgets is that it grants me more time to focus on my physical health and social relationships.”

Some small business owners warn that you need to be firm in sticking to your non-work hours. “I create arbitrary walls based on time with my family that cannot be breached apart from exceptional circumstances,” says Patrick Devaney, editor-in-chief of Helpful Chef. “For example, my wife works on Saturdays, which means Sundays for me are non-negotiable. If there are tasks that need doing on a Sunday they need to be delegated or delayed, unless it is an emergency.” 

Delegate, Create Physical Spaces

During the pandemic, working from home became the norm, and while this arrangement made it easier for American workers in many regards, it can also blur the line between work and off-hours because you are literally living where you work. 

Tim Sutton, founder of Coffee Geek TV, suggests physically separating work and non-work spaces in your home. 

“Since your workspace and living space are essentially the same, your mind can’t turn off as the sign isn’t as clear as leaving the office,” says Sutton. “The best practice is to create a designated workspace and break area to separate them mentally as well. For example, the desk is for work and the bed is for rest, so do not bring work to bed.”

Lauri Kinkar, CEO of Messente, emphasizes that it’s important to delegate tasks to trusted employees so you, as the business owner, don’t get swamped. 

“It is also essential to set clearly defined work hours per day,” says Kinkar. “Determine which days are your day-offs and stick to them. Having a schedule and adhering to it will help you have boundaries between your work life and personal life…Give yourself a break and remember that taking care of your well-being is essential in making your business successful.”

Take Daily Breaks, Maximize Time With Family

Other small business owners stressed the need to make time each day to exercise, taking breaks and spending quality time with your loved ones. 

“I make it a point to step outside multiple times a day to take in some fresh air. Whether it takes the form of meditation, reading, or simply setting my phone on silent,,” says Benjamin Farber, president of Bristol Associates. “I also schedule designated ‘quiet’ time as a form of self-care.” 

Jaclyn Strauss, founder of My Macro Memoir, emphasizes the importance of maximizing family time as a way to avoid burnout.

Jaclyn Strauss, founder of My Macro Memoir, stresses daily meditation and being there for family as a way to avoid burnout.

“Every night, I am deliberate around being present at bedtime with both of my children,” says Strauss. “My son is nine years old, and my daughter is six. My son and I reflect on our days as we lay in bed together and talk about the highs from the day. With my daughter, we play a game called I LOVE. We take turns sharing the things we love most about each other until she is ready to drift off to sleep. Also, every night, I use a meditation app to unwind and clear my mind, and most nights do fall asleep before the guided meditation is over.”

In all, running your own successful business can be the most rewarding professional challenge of your life, but it’s important not to allow your business to consume you. In order to prevent yourself from having a stress-related breakdown, make sure you’re scheduling some time off for yourself; take breaks during the day; set boundaries between your work and personal life, and make sure to set aside time for family members and loved ones.

What Independent Medical Practices Need to do to Survive

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Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, independent medical practices were in critical condition as large hospital systems implemented cost-effective, value-based care systems and hoarded patients’ medical histories – moves that forced many independent physicians who couldn’t compete to give up their practices and join them.

Contrary to popular opinion, independent medical practices were not immune to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, as patient visits and needs for services plummeted. According to the American Medical Association, 2% of primary care practices closed and another 2% considered bankruptcy at the end of August 2020.

So how are independent physicians supposed to prevent themselves from becoming W-2 employees in the wake of competitive challenges posed by large hospital systems, as well as the task of finding new patients as the pandemic winds down? Here are some tips for survival, based on our conversation with Marni Jameson Carey, executive director of the Association of Independent Doctors, and data from the AMA. 

Merge Your Practice Due to the Threat of Value-Based Care

  • Perhaps the most important action an independent medical practice can take is to merge or form a strategic alliance with other independent practitioners in order to spread the risk posed by value-based care – a system designed to lower the cost of healthcare by charging patients for outcomes rather than service. 
  • In such a system, insurance companies as well as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) set standards of payments to doctors to incentivize them to keep costs down by cutting redundancies in treatment, offering pre-paid bundled services packages to patients for cancer care and surgical procedures, and focusing on preventative care. If doctors go over the stated annual amount, then the cost of treatment must come out of their pockets. In short, doctors are rewarded and paid to keep patients healthy year-over-year, rather than paid for services rendered. 
  • The Healthcare Payment Learning & Action Network, which was established by the CMS in 2015, aims to have 100% of providers in the US participating in value-based contracts by 2025. While value-based care has become the wave of the future in medical care, it has become the biggest threat to the existence of independent doctors, who may not be able to afford to offer discounted services, said Carey.
  • Large hospital systems that own a network of salaried physicians are in a better position to offer value-based care because of their economies-of-scale, said Carey, and that makes it harder for independent practitioners to keep up.

Marni Jameson Carey, executive director of the Association of Independent Doctors, says that independent doctors should band together to offer value-based care.

“I have a problem with value-based care philosophically because smaller practices tend to have established patients, and as doctors get older, their patient bases tend to get older and sicker, not younger and better,” she said. “So, as a doctor, I’m now being measured against my prior year, even though my patients are getting older and sicker, and I’m doing my best. Value-based care goes against the grain of the idea that every year you have to do better than the year before, when natural evolution tells us that people get older and eventually die.” 

The answer, she said, is for independent practitioners, be it primary care physicians or specialists to “Ally with other independent doctors and share risk as a consortium, but still stay independent,” she said. 

According to a recent article from the Advisory Board, a physician advocacy group that promotes equity in healthcare practices, “As care delivery becomes more complex and value-based arrangements require more upfront resources, very small practices are more likely to struggle financially and be aggregated by larger entities. This may mean hospitals, yes, but it doesn’t only mean hospitals. In fact, many independent physicians are acting as aggregators themselves—buying up struggling practices and offering models that appeal to these fiercely independent shareholders.”

Independent doctors should know that acquiring another practice in order to scale up business may require financing. In such a case, physicians should consult with their accountants as well as seek financing from either traditional lenders or alternative lenders such as Kapitus, which offers Helix Healthcare Financing – lending specially tailored for independent healthcare practices. 

Make Healthcare Records Portable 

Electronically Updating the medical history of patients is the bane of most doctors’ existence, because it involves hours of tedious paperwork and filling out forms. To add to that frustration, independent doctors often have to deal with the fact that their expensive electronic health records (HER) systems are not compatible with those of the hospitals to which they refer their patients. As a result, hospitals don’t know their patients’ medical histories and order duplicate tests and perform redundant procedures. 

“This is one of the ways hospital systems try to encourage independent doctors to join them and become employed physicians, so that they don’t have to invest in electronic health record systems that may become obsolete,” said Carey. “Hospitals like to own patient data and freeze out other providers not within their system so that they capture patient share and make it hard to share the data with doctors who might take business from them.” 

The answer to this, she said, is for independent doctors to adopt an EHR policy that makes it easy for patients to have access to their own medical history – something many doctors are afraid of doing out of fear of violating the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). 

“If you look up the HIPAA laws, it’s not about patient privacy, it’s about the patient’s access to information,” said Carey. “The law has been misconstrued to mean that patients can’t even have access to their own information, and that isn’t true. The patient should be able to have the data, so when the patient goes to the hospital or a specialist the patient has the information with him or her, whether it’s on a thumb drive or on a smart phone. So, the answer to this is to make sure patients have access to their own records and to sure information isn’t siloed by hospitals.”

AthenaOne Electronic Health Records Software

For independent doctors who are still using paper files to store patient records, adopting EHR software should not be a difficult task. Some of the most popular EHR software systems out there include AthenaOne and RXNT.

Make Telehealth a Featured Part of Your Business

Even before the nation went on lockdown due to the coronavirus, health insurance giant Kaiser Permanente revealed in 2018 that slightly more than 50% of doctor visits by its participants were through telehealth, and that the number of telehealth appointments shot up by 3700% from 2019 to 2020. The bottom line is that telehealth is here to stay, especially in rural parts of the country where a trip to the doctor’s office may require a long drive. 

“I’ve been told by our doctors that they are doing telehealth visits over their phones and over Zoom, and that they bill for the service and it isn’t complicated,” said Carey. “I know there are companies out there that want to make it complicated and want to sell expensive services, but this really isn’t a technology issue. I do know that you can’t just run around doing telehealth visits, that you need to be an established patient with a practice before that provider can do a telehealth visit with you and determine whether a telehealth visit would be appropriate.”

Make Prices Transparent

Several states have passed laws requiring medical practices to inform patients of the price of their services before they are rendered. This prevents patients from receiving billing surprises after undergoing surgery or another medical procedure. The patient may believe that the surgery is covered by insurance, only to find out afterwards that one of the specialists involved in the surgery, such as the anesthesiologist, for example, may not accept insurance and receive a bill for thousands of dollars for that service. 

States such as New Jersey, for example, have passed the Out-of-network Consumer Protection, Transparency, Cost Containment and Accountability Act in 2018, a law that independent New Jersey doctors claimed threatened their survival because it allows consumers to also seek an outside arbitrator to determine whether the cost of medical services are reasonable. 

Carey said that despite the initial objections to these laws, price transparency among independent physicians – even ones that do not accept insurance – is necessary to ensure their survival because it encourages competition among physicians as well as hospital systems, which inevitably will drive down prices of medical services. 

Automate Where you can 

Some independent physicians are still stuck in the dark ages when it comes to technology but should automate some of their systems with software to make their lives easier and give them more time to spend with patients. These systems include automated appointment reminders, patient intake forms and billing – systems that large hospital systems already automate themselves. 

In summary, survival may not be easy for independent medical practices going forward, as large healthcare systems continue to gobble up small practices. Following steps for survival such as partnering with other independent doctors and keeping up with technology can prevent an independent doctor from becoming a W-2 employee.

Why Building A Healthcare Branding Strategy Is Crucial For Your Medical Practice

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As an independent healthcare practitioner, 100% of your focus is, of course, on providing your patients with excellent, personable care. 

While you are taking care of your patients, however, how will new patients learn who you are or what makes you special as a practitioner? In other words, if you’re not focused on the healthcare branding for your practice, how do you expect it to survive going forward? Given that the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over and the Delta variant is on the rise, how will you convey your expertise to current and potential patients on how to best protect themselves and get vaccinated? 

“Independent practitioners typically need healthcare branding the most, yet they are historically the least likely to engage in it,” said Mark Macias, founder of New York-based MACIAS PR, a  public relations firm specializing in healthcare. “More than likely, I suspect it’s because they don’t have the time to devote to this side of the business practice.”

What is Healthcare Branding?

Essentially, healthcare branding is the message that your practice delivers to new and existing patients telling them what differentiates your practice from others. Without this message, new patients won’t have a reason to choose you as their medical practitioner. Web-based testimonials and media interviews, for example, can help spread your message and showcase you as an expert in your field.

“Healthcare branding is a type of marketing approach that gets your product and services directly in front of patients,” said Macias. “It doesn’t matter if you’re selling a service directly to patients or providers, creating a brand is critical to business growth. Without it, patients have no way of finding you.”

Fabiana Melendez Ruiz, a senior publicist at Austin, Texas-based marketing and branding firm Zilker Media added, “Healthcare branding is essentially the same as any other kind of branding. You want to OWN your image so have a website that delves into what you, as a practitioner, can offer in addition to your practice.”

Why Do You Need Healthcare Branding?

Essentially, you need branding so that existing patients keep coming back and new patients have a reason to choose you over other doctors. 

A critical component in branding for your practice is having a web presence, say healthcare PR professionals, as most consumers will initially search online when they need a doctor. It is important that your practice has a robust, user friendly website, and that your site will appear in searches. 

“Here’s why you can’t overlook healthcare branding and digital marketing,” said Macias. “If you’re a patient and need to see a specific physician or dentist, you’re probably going to search online for help. Gone are the days when you ask a neighbor or friend for a reference. 

“Instead, most of us go to Google or another favorite search engine. If you don’t appear in that search engine, your brand effectively doesn’t exist. That is why it’s so crucial to engage in healthcare branding, and digital marketing. You need to make sure the name of your company appears in front of patients as they are looking for a physician or other healthcare practitioner.”

What are the Components of Healthcare Branding?

Macias said that media interviews, a blog and promoting your practice on social media are crucial elements in differentiating your practice from competitors. Additionally, public service announcements (PSAs), especially surrounding the pandemic, are especially important in letting your patients know that you are on top of the current trends in medicine.

“There are many aspects to building a brand on the web,” said Macias. “Today, you can build a brand much faster on the web. Gone are the days when you would publish an advertisement in the local newspaper or monthly magazine and hope the ads would deliver new phone calls. Today, you can get in front of patients and consumers who are directly researching services that you provide by leveraging the media, blogs, editorials and social media.”

Ruiz said that healthcare branding should consist of a website “that includes a media-friendly bio for the practitioner that offers credentialing information, a list of services, a media page with any earned media and a PR contact and then a general contact page with ways patients can reach the practitioner.

“For medical professionals it is important to stick to facts, but the delivery may be different. As a marketer I always recommend a blog to drive SEO to the website, but other practitioners may be more interested in Instagram and Tik Tok so they may include a feed that updates when they upload to these sites.”

How do I Execute a Healthcare Branding Strategy?

Both Macias and Ruize agree that there are several steps to executing a successful branding strategy, but they all center around storytelling. What is the story of your practice? What makes it unique? Why should patients choose your practice over others?

“This is where healthcare branding gets a little more nuanced,” said Macias. “The initial step for me involves story telling. What is your story and why are you the best healthcare practitioner in your space? It might sound like bragging, but it’s not. 

“Healthcare is a cluttered space and to gain media traction, you need to understand how you are different from others. What is your specialty that should drive patients to you? That should be a component of any healthcare branding campaign. 

“Location also matters. If you want to drive patients to your physical office, that requires a different approach than a practitioner who can work virtually or remotely with patients. But at the root, storytelling is the key to any successful healthcare branding campaign.”

While branding may not be at the forefront of your priorities as a healthcare practitioner, a strong branding campaign is important to your survival. It is critical for your current and potential patients to know and understand what makes you the best doctor for them, and what makes your practice special. Not engaging in healthcare branding could very well leave your practice in critical condition down the road.

What Kind of Website Do I Need, Are Websites Worth It?

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Now that you’ve decided to build a website for your small business – congratulations. Your company will receive more visibility, better branding, and eventually more sales.

Before you build your site however, there are several questions you’ll need to answer in order to to determine if you should build a site through a low cost, do-it-yourself website platforms such as Wix, SQUARESPACE or GoDaddy, or make the significant investment in building your own robust website:

  • What products are you looking to sell on your site, and how do you plan on selling them?
  • Are you selling subscriptions? Will the purpose of your site be to make appointments for people to come into your brick and mortar business to buy products or services? 
  • Are you seeking to sell products directly through your websites via online payments?
  • Do you plan to feature industry content or a blog on your site?
  • How will your site stand Apart From Competitors?
  • What Actions Do You Want Site Visitors to Take?

What Should Your Site Accomplish?

Now that you’ve answered those questions, you essentially have two choices: You can use a DIY website platform, which does have its advantages – most of them charge a low monthly fee; provide an easy-to-use website template, and provide web security and basic analytics. This may be the best option to choose if you’re simply looking to expand your presence and just check off the “web presence” box for your business. 

For example, if you’re an independent restaurant owner who wants visitors to use your site to make reservations, or a car dealership owner who wants your site visitors to make appointments for test drives of your vehicles, then a DIY site may be the best choice for you.

DIY platforms do have their drawbacks, though. Almost all of them charge additional fees if you look to add features to your site, and many of them will ask for a large percentage of your revenue if you are seeking to use your site for direct sales. Additionally, the web template that you choose may be being used by other customers, so your website may not look unique.

If you want your website to do more, however, such as accommodate direct sales of your products, offer sales or discounts, or generate industry buzz through a blog page, then building your own website is probably the best bet for you. 

Be warned, however: while building your own site will be well worth the effort from a sales and marketing standpoint, it will be a long, arduous, and expensive process, and one that will require you to first analyze whether it will be worth the money to do so. 

Figuring Out if it’s Worth it

Now the question becomes: based on your wishlist for a website, is building a site worth the money? The answer to this question is paramount in deciding whether to invest capital into building your own site. The process of answering this question is also a bit complicated and may require you to hire an outside web consulting firm to assist you. 

 

The first thing to do is to figure out the cost of building a website. A basic laundry list of things you will likely need to spend money on in order to create your own site can include:

Do some research to find out the fees of website consulting firms and the market price for a web designer/programmer, if you choose to hire those. In order to house your website and make it available to the public via the world wide web, you can either purchase your own server – the machine that will house your site and may cost upwards of $1,000 – or hire a website hosting platform such as Bluehost or HostGator for a low monthly fee to house your website for you. 

There are many advantages to using a web hosting service – you won’t have to pony up the cash for your own server, and they provide web security for your site. Keep in mind, however, that a hosting platform will charge you the monthly fee for as long as your business’ website exists (which could be up to $60 per year), and there could be add-on charges if you look to make changes to your site.

In addition to hosting costs, leasing an original domain name through services such as GoDaddy, Domain.com or Name.com can cost anywhere between $20 to $50 per year, on average; and purchasing a domain name outright could cost you thousands of dollars.

Other costs to consider: If you do not have expertise in building a website, you may want to hire an experienced web designer/programmer to help you. Hiring an outside firm or an internal employee to do this may be expensive but making a mistake in building your site could be even costlier. Also, you will need a payment processing app to enable your customers to purchase items from your site. Apps such as Merchant One, Clover or ProMerchant will enable them to do that.

Estimating Your Site’s future Revenue

Now that you have an idea of the cost, the next thing you should do is have your website consulting firm assist you in creating a general, one-year projection of revenue for your site, since the process can be complicated. Some lenders may ask for this if you look for financing to build your site.

Of course, we all know that a general calculation of ROI is income minus cost divided by cost, but how do you calculate that if you don’t know what the actual revenue of your site will be? 

While it is impossible to calculate exactly what the revenue will be, you can make a rough estimation by examining the benchmark for similar-sized companies in your industry. The web consulting firm you hire should have data on this, or you can use an online tool called Similarweb, which tracks that. You can also use a web service called Unbounce, which can give you a benchmark conversion rate – the percentage of visitors of an ecommerce site who end up becoming customers. 

“This way, you’ll have an idea of what to expect in terms of revenue,” said Lucie Loubet, director of digital marketing at web design firm DesignWare. “Just remember to look at the paid vs. organic traffic breakdown in Similarweb to understand how much additional money you will have to invest in customer acquisition.”

Dawid Zimney, product manager at web consulting agency NerdCow, added “Your web agency needs to know your conversion rate, your market and your audience. They need to benchmark this against the historical improvements of the conversion rate on their clients’ websites.”

Another marketing term to know is customer lifetime value (CLV) – the estimated value of a return customer. For example, if you own a restaurant and you see certain customers coming back because they love your food, or a retail clothing store and you see customers returning for the service, you can calculate the average amount they spend per visit and multiply that by the number of times they visit your business. 

The website firm you hire can help you estimate the percentage of customers who will become repeat customers, as well calculate their CLV.

 

Final Calculation

Nikita Chen, founder and CEO of item authentication firm LegitRails, said the final step in calculating your website’s future ROI is to multiply the number of estimated customers with the CLV, and then determine whether that number is greater than the cost of building the website. The web marketing firm you hire should help you with that. 

“If the number is higher, you are in profit, and it is, therefore, a good idea to create the website,” she said. “If the number is lower (which could be the case if you’re running excessive ads) it might not be in your best interest. The figure you come up with at this stage will also determine your ROI,” said Chen.

Financing Options to Pay for Your Site

If you’ve realized that your needs require you to build a custom website but you don’t have the cash on hand to pay for it, that’s okay. There are several financing options you can choose from. 

A business line of credit may be a good option for you since building a website will not be a one-off expenditure. A business line of credit – much like a personal credit card – will give you the flexibility to spend as you go along in the process of building your site, and you will only be charged interest on what you borrow. You can also pay it down as you go along.

If you’ve predetermined a budget for building your site and plan to stick to it, then a business loan may be right for you. If you go to a traditional lender, they may ask you for a business plan or projected ROI on your website. Alternative lenders such as Kapitus will generally just ask to see your company’s revenue history and approve you for financing more quickly than a traditional lender.

Test Your Site First

Now that you’ve decided to go ahead with your site, you should have your web designer/programmer build a test site, typically referred to as a beta site. Pick the top functionality of your site, have your programmer design and build it, and release it online. The beta site should be a limited release of your website with the goal of gauging audience reaction a nd finding bugs before the final release of your site. 

The site is usually opened up to a limited number of users, such as employees of your company or friends or family. The idea of the beta site is to listen to their feedback and use that to make improvements or adjustments to your final website. 

Next Up

“If you build it, they will come…”

Now that you’ve done the calculations and figured out that building your own site is worth it, how do you build a site that is visually appealing, user friendly and will generate additional sales? In the next article, we will discuss what your site should look like to make that happen.

Does My Small Business Need a Website?

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Small Business Loans NYC: Your 2019 Guide To Local Lending

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Small Business Loans NYC: Your 2019 Guide To Local Lending

When you decided to launch your small business in New York City, you were likely drawn to the city’s vibrant energy, exciting communities, and world-class workforce. You were probably less enthusiastic when you realized everything operating a business in the City entails: insurance policies, unexpected expenses at every turn, and oh-so-many regulations.

Getting a business off the ground — and then keeping it running — can be daunting for even the most seasoned business owners. For first-time owner, it can be even tougher: sometimes it feels like the deck is stacked against you.

The good news is that even though starting a business can be an isolating experience, there are countless financial institutions and programs that exist solely to help business owners thrive. Many of them are based right here in New York City, meaning you get to have a face-to-face relationship with someone who is (quite literally) invested in your success!

The following report explains some of the best local loan options available for New York City business owners in 2019. The best part? It’s written in plain English… from one NYC business owner to another! No advanced degree or knowledge of financial jargon required. (After all, you’re probably paying your CPA or CFO a pretty good chunk of change… leave the jargon to them!)

Small Business Loans NYC: Top Lenders for NYC Small Business Loans

Just like there’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to loans, there’s no one right lender, either. Big, national banks are a great fit for some businesses, while smaller, local banks make perfect partners for others. Still other business owners find that credit unions, government programs, or non-profits are best aligned with their needs. Here’s a list of a few of New York City’s top lenders for small businesses.

1. Chase Bank

Chase Bank is based in New York City, but it also happens to be the largest bank in the country. The bank is one of the top financiers of small-business loans nationwide: In 2018 alone, Chase’s SBA-backed business loans totaled $68 million to more than 550 small businesses across the five boroughs. In addition to SBA loans, the bank offers flexible financing and business lines of credits for qualifying businesses.

2. Cross River

Cross River describes itself as a “trusted financial services organization that merges the established expertise of a bank, with the innovation and product offering of a technology company.” Founded in 2008, the company’s home office is just outside the City in Fort Lee, New Jersey. They’ve earned rave reviews from their small-business clients for competitive rates and terms, especially for SBA-backed loans. Customers can borrow up to $5 million on a 7(a) SBA-backed loan and up to $18 million for 504 loans with repayment periods of up to 25 years.

3. Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union

Brooklyn Coop is one of the city’s top small-business lenders. It’s a credit union, not a bank — which means it’s a non-profit institution. It considers loan applications “from any business regardless of its history,” offering flexible repayment terms of up to 12 years. Its startup loans start at $500 and go up to $15,000, while established companies can borrow up to $50,000.

4. NYC Capital Access Loan Guaranty Program

The NYC Capital Access Loan Guaranty Program is a public-private partnership that helps micro and small businesses who have been unable to access conventional bank loans get up to $250,000 to be used for working capital, leasehold improvements, and equipment purchases.

5. Nonprofit Finance Fund

If you’re a nonprofit or social-enterprise startup looking for funding, the Nonprofit Finance Fund’s New York office is an option to investigate. NFF currently manages over $347 million in assets and has provided $875 million in financing over the past 40 years. It’s a US Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), meaning its focus is on making affordable loans available to help a community’s least-advantaged citizens.

Small Business Loans NYC: Top Traditional Lenders for NYC Small Business Loans

Looking for a traditional lender in NYC? Here’s where to start. The banks and credit unions below all offer favorable terms for SBA-backed loans, bank-term loans, and various other types of small-business lending.

1. Bank of America

Bank of America offers several types of loans to business owners. Most require a business to have been operating for two years and generating $250,000 in annual revenue.

2. Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo is another national bank with many loan choices. It offers loans as small as $10,000 for qualifying businesses.

3. TD Bank

TD Bank calls itself “America’s most convenient bank,” in part because it’s open seven days a week. Its direct loans offer up to $1,000,000 to entrepreneurs for expenses ranging from manufacturing to equipment to real estate.

4. Empire State Bank

Empire State Bank is a full-service, community-oriented bank that opened in 2004 to help serve the needs of all New Yorkers, including small-business owners. It offers various loan and lending options.

5. New York University Federal Credit Union

The New York University Federal Credit Union offers loans of up to $250,000 to help with everything from inventory and working capital to housing needs, plus various micro-loans. In order to join, you or an immediate family member must be an NYU alum, student, or an active or retired employee, faculty member, or staff member.

Small Business Loans NYC: Top Government Programs for NYC Small Business Loans

Various programs exist to help small businesses thrive in the boroughs. Here are a few examples.

1. Contract Financing Loan Fund

If you’re hoping to get a contract as a contractor or subcontractor with a New York City entity or agency but need working capital to do so, NYC’s Contract Financing Loan might be for you. It offers qualifying business owners up to $500,000 at an annual interest rate of 3% to help kickstart contract work.

2. M/WBE Opportunities

If you’re a minority or woman business owner, you may qualify for various incentives from the City. The Office of Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises was established in 2016 to help level the playing field for diverse founders. Its initiatives include awarding $20 billion to M/WBEs by 2025 and ensuring 30% of City contracts go to M/WBEs by 2021.

3. Veteran Institute for Procurement

If you’re a veteran, the Veteran Institute for Procurement is a resource dedicated to helping you secure federal contracts and navigate lending options available to you.

4. Business Center for New Americans

The Business Center for New Americans offers small business loans ranging from $75,000 to $250,000 to small businesses in Queens and Staten Island, and to specifically immigrant, refugee or women-owned businesses in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Manhattan.

5. SBA Loans

The SBA guarantees loans of virtually every amount from $500 to $5.5 million. There are SBA offices in every borough that can help you identify what loan is right for your business and find the right lending partner. You can even get matched with a mentor to help you as you grow.

Small Business Loans NYC: Top Funds/Non-profit programs for NYC Small Business Loans

Many funds and non-profit lending programs exist to help entrepreneurs. These options don’t go through traditional banks, although investment criteria and repayment terms can be similar. Here are a few of the top options.

1. Innovation Venture Capital Fund

New York State operates its own $100 million venture capital fund to invest in early-stage startups. It is mainly focused on companies developing new technologies that are aiding job creation and driving economic growth. Its direct-equity investments typically range from $500,000 to $1.5 million.

2. Accion

Accion is a non-profit lender that offers highly-customized loans to business owners of every type. It has special programs for women, veterans, Native Americans, and minority business owners looking to grow their organizations.

3. TruFund

TruFund is a non-profit financial institution that provides financing and business services to “small businesses that cannot access affordable financing through traditional sources.”

4. Grameen America

Grameen America has invested more than $1.2 billion to women entrepreneurs via microloans. Their focus is on serving current and aspiring female business owners living at or below the federal poverty line.

5. Excelsior Growth Fund

Excelsior Growth Fund offers various types of loans to businesses that have been operating for two years that have at least two employees. Their focus is on spurring economic development and job creation.

Small Business Loans NYC: Online Small Business Loan Options

You can get just about anything online these days, so it should come as no surprise that online small business loans exist, too. Various lenders, like Kapitus, offer loans of all types and sizes. Each institution sets its own requirements, and they can vary greatly from lender to lender. If you’re considering an online small business loan, make sure to read — really read — all the fine print. It’s paramount that you understand all the terms and conditions of the agreement you’re entering. The last thing you want to do is get into a long-term partnership with a lender that may not provide the flexibility your business needs.

Grants for NYC Small Business Owners

Many entrepreneurs think grants are the Holy Grail of funding options, likening them to “free money.” While that may be true in theory, it’s important to note that most grants come with very specific conditions for how money can — and can’t — be spent. They’re also hard to come by since competition is tough.

Many grants are industry-specific; come with employee-hiring stipulations; or are offered only to entrepreneurs of a certain background, race, ethnicity, or gender. If you meet the criteria, here are five annual grants for which your business may want to consider applying.

1. FedEx Small Business Grant Contest

Every year, FedEx awards grants to 10 or more entrepreneurs to help their businesses grow. In 2019, the company awarded business services and $50,000 to a grand-prize winner, $30,000 to a runner-up, and $15,000 each to eight third-place small businesses

2. Citizens Committee for New York City

The Citizens Committee for New York City offers micro-grants (usually under $5,000) on a rolling basis for specific projects to help beautify specific neighborhoods, schools, and/or blocks.

3. Office of Mental Health: Forensic Homeless Intensive Case Management Program

Each year, the State grants $338,000 to businesses that assist mentally ill homeless individuals returning to New York City from New York State prisons with accessing housing and developing skills to remain independent and in stable housing.

4. Visa Everywhere Initiative

Visa is one of literally dozens of corporations with grant programs and contests. Like FedEx, it launched a corporate grant program several years ago aimed at helping entrepreneurs. Each year, the company awards a $50,000 grant to the startup that best demonstrates an ability to “solve payment challenges of tomorrow.”

5. Economic Development Grants

If your business needs to purchase land, equipment, or even fixtures for a new office, you may qualify for one of many economic development grants available through the State of New York.

For more grants, visit the New York State Grants Gateway portal.

As Frank Sinatra so famously put it, if you can make it here, you really can make it anywhere. The most important thing is not to be afraid to ask for help: after all, New Yorkers are well known for looking after our own.

Did you know that, according to a state report, more than 98% of New York’s businesses employ less than 100 people? Almost half (45%) of the state’s businesses have sought financing in the past 12 months, and 70% have annual revenues of less than $1 million.

Let Kapitus help you find the perfect local loan solution to help you and your business grow. Get simple, personalized, no-pressure information on the best options for your business today.

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