Posts Tagged ‘Businesses’

Commuting to Work Can Be a Pain

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Posted 13 Aug 2011 — by admin
Category Automobiles

Commuting to work is usually not a problem for some people. However, for other people, commuting to work can be a real pain and can ultimately ruin what would have been otherwise a bright, chipper start to their day.

I work from home, but when I used to commute to work, it was almost always a nightmare. The only times when I wouldn’t hit traffic was when I would leave super early in the morning to get to the office by 7 a.m. However, now that I don’t have to go to work, I have still seen the wrath of the morning commute when I go for runs or when I run out to complete errands. Miles and miles of traffic backed up on the highway is not an unusual sight to see when you are on the road. Things only feel worse when you know that you have to be somewhere at a certain time and you can’t get there because of traffic.

Recently, I had a doctor’s appointment. Because I had just moved into a new apartment, I was unsure of what time to leave in order to avoid traffic. I totally miscalculated the time that I should have left. Because there was construction going on right outside of my apartment complex, and because the road right outside of my apartment complex was sort of a major through way for morning commuters (which at the time, I did not know but I know now), it was backed up. In fact, it was so incredibly backed up, that I couldn’t even get out of my apartment complex! I wound up exiting my apartment complex via the second entrance in the back.

Things were going well for about a minute until I hit the other part of the morning rush hour traffic. Geez! I couldn’t even catch a break. I finally managed to make my way through most of the morning rush hour traffic and was approximately five minutes away from the doctor’s office when they called to tell me that I was running too late. The next appointment had already arrived, and they were going to have to cancel my appointment. Frustrated and angry, I conceded. I had spent almost an hour sitting in rush hour traffic for an appointment that normally would have taken me ten to fifteen minutes to get to. Needless to say, I was going to make sure that all of my future appointments for anything were going to be scheduled during non-rush hour times.

Commuting is not just a problem during designated rush hour times, though. In fact, because of the huge population boom in the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill area, I have found that traffic starting to become just as bad at any time of the day (save for between midnight and 3 a.m.). The most that we can do as drivers during this time is just be patient, take deep breaths, and most of all: make sure that we leave ourselves plenty of time to get to wherever it is we’re going!

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The Voice of Small Business: It’s a Start, But Small Businesses Need to Hear More

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Posted 14 Jan 2011 — by admin
Category Uncategorized

When Sen. John McCain delivered the keynote address at the National Federation of Independent Business 2008 National Small Business Summit last month, he did much more than speak to several hundred interested small business owners. He pushed the concerns of a significant voting bloc to the forefront of the presidential campaigns. In fact, both Sens. McCain and Barack Obama have spent much time specifically addressing the No. 1 issue among small businesses — healthcare. And it’s about time.

Recognizing that healthcare costs have become unmanageable for many entrepreneurs, Sen. McCain said, if elected, his administration would introduce healthcare reform that would provide hardworking Americans more options and expand portability of coverage.

Sen. Obama, who was invited to speak at the Summit but did not attend, responded to Sen. McCain’s remarks by reiterating that small businesses need more options to access quality, affordable healthcare coverage. We also know both candidates recognize that implementing health information technology and addressing an inequitable tax structure should play a part in any comprehensive reform package.

Over the past few weeks, it’s been encouraging to see the candidates discuss the issues facing the small business, especially the rising cost of healthcare. But they — and all of our country’s leaders — must realize that entrepreneurs deserve more than just discussions. Because the truth is, these job creators, those on the front lines of the healthcare crisis, are the voters who will be electing the next president, and they are demanding the next administration and Congress implement real change that makes healthcare more affordable for working Americans.

According to a recent NFIB survey, 81 percent of small business owners and 52 percent of employees do not feel the presidential candidates are adequately addressing issues that are important to them, specifically healthcare. In fact, nearly three-quarters of those polled say fixing healthcare should be a top priority for the next president, and nearly 80 percent agree that “it is important to me to vote for a presidential candidate whose healthcare plan makes sense for small business.”

A similar survey showed that the small business community comprised 43 percent of U.S. registered voters and nearly 32 percent of the electorate on Super Tuesday. These numbers prove that small business is a powerful, motivated group in a position to demand substantial solutions to the healthcare crisis from their candidates.

Both candidates are focused on reforming our ailing healthcare system and have begun to recognize that small business must be considered in any proposed legislation. The National Small Business Summit may have ended, but small business’ commitment to achieving quality, affordable healthcare has not.

We’re at the beginning of long and productive discussions with both candidates to ensure the needs of small businesses remain at the forefront of the healthcare debate. Because we know that solutions to America’s healthcare crisis must start with small businesses, the backbone of the U.S. economy. When healthcare is fixed for small business, it will be fixed for America.

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Facts About Small Businesses in Ireland During 2008

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Posted 26 Oct 2010 — by admin
Category Uncategorized

This report presents a comprehensive picture of the contribution of small enterprises in Ireland. The report contains data on the contribution of small businesses in industry, services and construction, as well as statistics on the labor, the knowledge-based economy and workforce. It also includes international comparisons. In the report, a small business is defined as an enterprise which employs fewer than 50 people. Statistics on medium (50-249 persons) and large enterprises (250 or more people) are included for comparison. Highlights of the report are: Industry: Production and employment dominated by medium and large enterprises * In 2005, four of the five industrial companies (81%) were small businesses with fewer than 50 employees. This company employs 50,000 people, slightly more than one fifth of total industrial employment. * The larger companies (50 or more persons) employed 181,100 people in 2005 and generated 93% of the total turnover in the industry. * The vast majority of small industrial firms were Irish owned (95%). Nearly 42% of larger companies are foreign-owned. Services: More than 380,000 employees of small businesses in the service sector * In the service sector, almost all companies (98%) were small. There were 82,100 small businesses, employing over 380,000 people in the service sector in 2005. That was more than half of total employment in this sector. * Small businesses account for nearly half (49%) of total turnover in the services sector, and generates a turnover of nearly ? 81.6bn in 2005. * Nearly half of small businesses in the service sector are the property of the family (47%). The vast majority of these family businesses employed fewer than 10 people. Construction: Small businesses occupied two thirds of all people who work in construction * According to the Quarterly National Household Survey, there were 253,200 employed in construction in the fourth quarter of 2005. Of these, 211,000 have indicated that they worked in small businesses (fewer than 50 employees), while 24,500 have indicated that they worked in large enterprises (50 or more employees). A further 17,600 not specify the number of employees to their jobs. * Among the 253,200 people employed in the construction industry, more than 65% worked for very small concerns employing less tha ten people. Salaries and wages: 54% of private sector employees in small firms earned between ? 10 – ? 20 per hour in 2006 * The average hourly wage in small businesses were ? 15.22 in 2006 compared to ? 19.38 in companies with 50 or more workers in 2006. * The average annual salary for employees in a small business amounted to ? 32,453 in 2006. The average wage in large enterprises was ? 44,794 per year. Knowledge-based economy: the larger companies have shown higher levels of e-government activities * Small businesses generally not more modern information and communication technology than larger companies. * Almost all companies with 10 or more employees were connected to the Internet that two-thirds of businesses with fewer than 10 employees to use the Internet. Size of work: almost 56% of employment in small workplaces * In all areas, 56% of jobs in workplaces where fewer than 50 persons were employed in the second quarter of 2007. A total of 1175800 people worked in small workplaces. Of these, 839,300 were employees, 216,600 are self-employed and 107,900 are self-employed with employees. These figures include agriculture and the public sector and the economy. * Among the 316,300 non-Irish nationals in employment in the second quarter of 2007, less than half (47%) worked in small workplaces. EU comparison, the value added in small construction firms in Ireland was three times the EU average in 2005 * Almost three-quarters of production in Ireland turnover was generated by large companies, while the EU average was 60%. * In 2005, Ireland is recorded but the gross value added per employee of ? 51,600 in the distribution of services. The EU average was ? 33,000 per employee. * The gross value added per employee in the construction industry in Ireland was significantly higher than the EU average for all types of employment dimension.

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