Owner's Manual

THIS ISSUE IN OWNER'S MANUAL:

America's Changing Demographics Mean Opportunities for Small Biz

Feds Release Final Rule on 'Essential Health Benefits'

 Small Business 'Checks In' With Foursquare

America's Changing Demographics Mean Opportunities for Small Biz

If dramatic demographic shifts in the United States weren’t already apparent, the 2012 election brought these changes into stark relief. Only 72 percent of those who voted last November were white—the lowest percentage for that group in U.S. history—mirroring demographic shifts in the population at large that small business owners should pay attention to.

About 20 years ago, whites comprised 74.5 percent of the U.S. population, according to Esri, a mapping and research company in Redlands, Calif. Last year, that number was down to 63 percent. And, by 2035, Esri predicts minorities will outnumber whites in the United States. All of this makes for a changing workforce and customer base in every corner of the nation.

“People need to be aware that the Hispanic market is exploding,” said Kristen Brown, a best-selling author and founder of Happy Hour Effect, a Minneapolis-based company that helps business owners achieve work-life balance.

Indeed, Hispanic-American purchasing power has grown to $1 trillion, and other minority groups’ purchasing power is also increasing. Depending on a business’ location and customer base, it might make sense to produce marketing materials in Spanish. “It’s a tech-savvy group, and you can get your product in front of them by [marketing and advertising in] blogs and niche magazines read by this target market,” Brown said.

Sheldon Ohringer is a small business owner who’s already taking advantage of the growing Hispanic market. (Latinos grew by 15.2 million people between 2000 and 2010.) Ohringer owns Caleris, a company in West Des Moines, Iowa, that provides tech support, help-desk operations and social media monitoring services. The company recently announced plans to open a fourth call center, this one in Marshalltown, Iowa. According to the 2010 census, Marshalltown’s population is 24.1 percent Latino, nearly double what it was in 2000.

“That was part of the motivation for opening a center there,” Ohringer said. “Because of the changing demographics nationwide and in Iowa, we have to offer bilingual support for virtually all of our clients.”

Offering bilingual services has become a central part of the company’s strategy. It is now able to offer at least one bilingual support person 100 percent of the time. “If I can’t do that, then I wouldn’t even have the ability to bid on that contract. It is a requirement,” Ohringer said.

Meeting that requirement has benefited Caleris. The company has grown to 350 employees from 25 in nine years, and will add another 100 at its new call center in Marshalltown.

“We’ve experienced good growth by serving the niche,” Ohringer said. “To get to the next level, we need to meet, if not exceed, any bilingual requirements [of prospective clients].” 

– Michael Beller

Feds Release Final Rule on 'Essential Health Benefits'

The Department of Health and Human Services has unveiled the final rule regarding essential health benefits, a key requirement of Obamacare that dictates the required components of all individual and small-group health insurance plans. (EHBs do not apply to large group plans.) The final rule gives insurers and states the information they need to determine the cost of premiums for individual and small group health insurance plans for 2014.

The final rule looks very similar to the proposed rule released in November, and executes a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires plans to cover a package of services and benefits across 10 categories of healthcare. Since EHBs generally cover the entirety of a plan—everything from preventive care to emergency services—premiums will most likely increase.

“It’s good that we’re finally getting some certainty and some of the details filled in on what the product will look like,” NFIB’s Manager of Legislative Affairs Kevin Kuhlman said. However, small businesses are still in the dark when it comes to the cost of their insurance plans. “We’ve got hundreds of pages [in rules], but these are just instructions for insurers. NFIB members care about the price,” Kuhlman said.

Small business owners will most likely have to wait until later this summer for insurance providers to explain exactly how the rule will affect their healthcare costs. Kuhlman said the next step is for insurers to “translate what [the rule] means and figure out how they have to augment their plans.” That will likely require expanding coverage of mental health services, prescription drugs and habilitative services.

Coverage of EHBs could eventually change. The administration refers to 2014 and 2015, the first two years when coverage for EHBs is mandated, as “transition years.” Coverage will be revisited by the federal government in 2016.

– M.B.

 Small Business 'Checks In' With Foursquare

Foursquare, the social website and app best known for encouraging customers to “check in” at local businesses, recently expanded its tools for small business owners.

In January, it released an app called “Foursquare for Business” that allows owners and employees to update customers on special deals, discounts and company news right through their mobile device. Here are a few ways to make the new app work for your business:

• Create and share updates simultaneously with Facebook and Twitter from your phone or tablet, and turn specials on and off.
• View recent check-ins and check customer data on the go.
• Use free analytics to learn more about your customers.

Find and download Foursquare in Apple’s App Store and Google Play, or get started by claiming your business’ location at business.foursquare.com.

– Liz Boyd