Small Business Toolbox

A library of business management info


MyVoice from MyBusiness Magazine
  • Find NFIB Media Polls: Visit 411SmallBusinessFacts.com
    06/03/2008
    When it comes to naming important sources of news and information about current events and public affairs, three forms of mass media rise to the top, according to the new NFIB National Small Business Poll: Media as an Information Source.
  • NFIB Endorses Healthcare Reform Bill
    06/03/2008
    SHOP helpful to small businesses looking for affordable healthcare
  • NFIB Weighs in on Supreme Court Cases
    06/03/2008
    Arbitration and tax rulings disappoint small business community
  • Tolls Can Save Our Road System
    06/03/2008

    Editor's note: Whenever Congress examines ways to repair and improve our nation's roadways, NFIB steadfastly opposes any increase in the gas tax to pay for new highway spending. However, the list of repairs to outdated infrastructure is growing longer, and congestion is worse each year, so policymakers are looking at various ways to address the problems. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters advocates tolling, and we invited her to share the administration's ideas.

  • YEF Tops Record for 2008 Scholarships
    06/03/2008
    Nearly 8,000 students applied for a YEF Award
  • Get Involved in This Election
    06/03/2008
    The 2008 elections are already getting people to the polls, and the most exciting moments are still months away. An electrifying presidential race has sparked new curiosity in politics in a way not seen in recent years, which leads us to ask: What better time is there to become politically involved?
  • Extreme Entrepreneurship Bus Visits Washington, D.C.
    04/02/2008
  • Introducing Johnny Money
    04/02/2008
    Online game presented by NFIB's Young Entrepreneur Foundation
  • NFIB Wins for Small Business
    04/02/2008
    Small Business Legal Center Scores Key Victories in New Jersey and Florida
  • New Poll Measures Small Business IT Usage
    04/02/2008
    NFIB's Research Foundation surveyed small business owners about their use of information technology for the latest Small Business Poll. Here are some of the poll's key findings.
  • NFIB Following Key U.S. Senate Races
    04/02/2008
    The U.S. Senate has been the place where pro-small business legislators have successfully thwarted the efforts of special interests to pass card check legislation and other anti-business initiatives. With its arcane rules and procedures, some of small business' best supporters have stood tall against organized labor and the trial bar. NFIB has focused much of its legislative efforts on the Senate, and the 2008 Senate elections are shaping up to be crucial for small business.
  • NFIB Wins With Economic Stimulus
    04/02/2008
    Expanded expense limits and bonus depreciation key victories for small business
  • Fighting Taxes That Hurt Economic Growth
    04/02/2008
    NFIB knows a tax by any other name is still an increase in your cost of doing business
  • NFIB Fights for Bipartisan Approach
    02/11/2008
    As members of Congress from different political parties, we do not always agree on fiscal policy. But we do agree on this: Our nation will soon confront one of its greatest fiscal challenges, and it is our responsibility as elected leaders to work together on a solution that will best serve American citizens and the long-term health of the economy.
  • Difficult Election Ahead for Small Business?
    02/11/2008
    While it's still early in the election cycle, a wave of retirements coupled with an anti-incumbent electorate is beginning to shape what may be a difficult 2008 election for friends of small business.
  • NFIB Fights Eminent Domain
    02/11/2008
    NFIB Urges Missouri Supreme Court to Curb Eminent Domain Uses And Protect Members' Private Property Rights
  • NFIB Leads Immigration Reform
    02/11/2008
    To address our members' overwhelming concerns with illegal immigration, NFIB recently worked with U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler (N.C.) to draft and introduce H.R. 4088, the SAVE Act (Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement Act of 2007). In fact, NFIB was the only business group to work on this legislation. The SAVE Act addresses two of the biggest immigration problems NFIB members have said they want action on--securing our borders and creating a workable employee verification system.
  • YEF Forms New Partnership
    02/11/2008
    The McKelvey Foundation, which was created to offer scholarships to young people with entrepreneurial talents, has joined forces with NFIB's Young Entrepreneur Foundation. Together the foundations plan to fund 25 NFIB/McKelvey scholarships valued at $2,000 per award, as part of the 2008 YEF Awards program.
  • Polls Offer Marketing Help
    02/11/2008
    NFIB Research Uncovers Facts on Small-Business Marketing Practices
  • What's the 411?
    11/30/2007
    NFIB announces new online source for facts and figures about American small businessesNFIB announces new online source for facts and figures about American small businesses
  • NFIB Insists Congress Provide Small-Business Tax Relief
    11/30/2007
    Congress is once again considering comprehensive tax reform. A number of proposals, including those summarized below, will directly affect small businesses and offer an opportunity to provide some much-needed tax relief.
  • NFIB: Your 2008 Elections Information Source
    11/30/2007
    NFIB works to keep you informed heading into the 2008 elections, providing various ways to get involved, take political action and follow the candidates' campaigns and stances on issues important to small business.
  • NFIB Launches New Daily e-Newsletter
    11/30/2007
    NFIB has partnered with SmartBrief Inc. to publish a daily electronic newsletter, NFIB SmartBrief. This is a new free service for members and other small- and independent-business owners who want to be in-the-know on issues, trends and other information critical to helping them run their business.
  • Stalled Gas Tax Good News for NFIB Members
    11/30/2007
    NFIB led a lobbying effort on Capitol Hill to block a proposed 5 cents per gallon increase in the federal gas tax. In September, U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chair James Oberstar proposed the hike, and NFIB delivered the message that increasing the tax would hurt many American consumers and small businesses.
  • Immigration Update
    11/30/2007
    Court orders injunction against Homeland Security's no-match rules
  • Self-Employed Tax Equity Bill Introduced in U.S. House
    11/30/2007
    The Equity for Our Nation's Self-Employed Act (H.R. 3660) was recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Ron Kind and Wally Herger to help put self-employed businesses on equal footing with large corporations by allowing health-insurance premiums to be deducted from both their income and payroll taxes.
  • NFIB Offers Members Free Employment Law Webinars
    11/30/2007
    To help you stay out of legal hot water, the NFIB Legal Foundation teamed up with Ogletree Deakins—recently named the nation's No. 1 employment litigation firm—for a three-part interactive Web presentation and teleconference covering the essentials of employment law and human resources management from hiring to firing.
  • Small Business Wins in Supreme Court
    09/26/2007
    NFIB Legal Foundation played key role in important victories
  • Crack Down on Illegal Hiring
    09/26/2007
    NFIB Won Concessions on New Rules
  • NFIB Opposes House-Passed Ledbetter Bill
    09/26/2007
    Bill would reverse Supreme Court ruling and force small-business owners to defend past employment decisions
  • NFIB Active in Immigration Debate
    09/26/2007
    Issue moves to states
  • New Political Activism Site Launched
    09/26/2007
    Protect Free Enterprise campaign helps small business get involved
  • NFIB Provides Health-Care Reform Insight
    09/26/2007
    Two Maryland members attended a roundtable discussion on health-care reform with President Bush
  • States Side With NFIB Legal Foundation
    09/26/2007
    >This summer influential state supreme courts sided with NFIB's Legal Foundation on key issues important to small-business owners. These legal wins are significant victories and prove that judges are considering small-business interests when deliberating and deciding key cases.
  • NFIB Monitors 2007 Political Races
    07/25/2007
    With five states holding elections this fall, NFIB will have an opportunity to strengthen its influence by taking an active role in representing small-business interests at the ballot box. In the coming months, we'll evaluate and monitor several campaigns to identify the best opportunities for political involvement.
  • NFIB Presses for AMT Reform
    07/25/2007
    The Alternative Minimum Tax is a provision in the federal tax code that is fast becoming an issue for small-business owners. It requires taxpayers to calculate their taxes twice, and then pay the larger amount. Originally designed to ensure that wealthy Americans pay a reasonable level of tax, because of the effects of inflation and individual rate cuts, the AMT is now reaching the middle class.
  • NFIB Efforts Halt Card-Check Bill
    07/25/2007
    In a 51–48 vote, the U.S. Senate voted against consideration of the "Employee Free Choice Act," H.R. 800/S.1041, also known as card-check legislation (which passed the U.S. House in March). This motion required 60 votes to pass.
  • NFIB Helps Protect Your Business Data
    07/25/2007
    New guide to data security available to NFIB members
  • NFIB Defends Employer Rights
    07/25/2007
    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed with NFIB's Small Business Legal Center and delivered an important decision for small-business owners that will spare employers from the burdensome task of defending against an alleged discrimination claim that occurred years in the past. The center filed an amicus brief asking the justices to strictly enforce the law and require workers to follow procedures designed to uphold an employer's right to defend themselves against alleged claims.
  • MyBusiness Guest Column: Health Care--Applying Innovation, Competition and Personal Choice
    07/25/2007
    We believe that it's important for our members to hear a variety of viewpoints on important small-business concerns. In this issue, Oklahoma's Sen. Tom Coburn discusses his plan to improve access to health care for all.
  • New NFIB Health-Care Study Released
    07/25/2007
    At a briefing for Congressional staff in May, NFIB's Research Foundation released the results of its Small Business Health-Care Survey. The survey once again identified cost as the single most important problem facing small-business owners.
  • NFIB Monitors Immigration Debate
    07/25/2007
    The U.S. Senate, by a vote of 46–53, failed to vote to end debate on major legislative overhauls of our nation's immigration policy, effectively killing the measure for the foreseeable future.
  • Foundation Has a New Name
    07/25/2007
    NFIB's Legal Foundation has changed its name to the NFIB Small Business Legal Center.
  • NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation Thanks This Year's Scholarship Participants
    05/30/2007
    The Young Entrepreneur Foundation offers an opportunity for individuals, businesses or NFIB-member companies to establish a Follow Your Dream Scholarship, creating a permanent legacy award at the college of their choice. Donations are tax-deductible and provide future entrepreneurs the opportunity to pursue their dreams.
  • Paid-Sick-Leave Mandates Loom
    05/30/2007
    The introduction of federal paid-sick-leave legislation offers further proof of an aggressive legislative campaign by pro-union forces, while an initiative in Ohio gives an early glimpse of the 2008 election strategy of those same groups.
  • The Power of Your Vote
    05/30/2007
    Voting the NFIB Member Ballot is an exclusive member benefit that helps shape the organization's advocacy, messaging and political impact at the state and federal levels
  • The Small-Business Health-Care Cure
    05/30/2007
    Cut the link between employment and health insurance
  • Legal Foundation Takes on Unions in Court
    05/30/2007
    Faced with declining membership, unions are aggressively trying to find ways to expand their influence. We're working hard to defeat pro-union legislation that would burden small business, but the battle doesn't end if a bill becomes a law.
  • New NFIB Poll Finds Small Employers Frustrated by Complexity of Tax Code
    05/30/2007
    Due to the complexity of tax law, 88 percent of small-employer taxpayers used a tax professional to prepare their most recent federal tax return, according to an NFIB Research Foundation Small-Business Poll on tax complexity and the Internal Revenue Service. For those employers who employ 20 or more people, the percentage who used a tax professional increased to 95 percent.
  • Small-Business Tax Cuts Caught in the Cross Fire
    05/30/2007
    The U.S. Congress approved a supplemental Iraq spending bill that included legislation to increase the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour, as well as a $4.8 billion tax-relief package. Unfortunately, this package offered little for the small businesses most impacted by the mandated wage hike.
  • Want to Be Elected?
    05/30/2007
    As the already-extensive coverage of the presidential campaigns has demonstrated, it's not too early to think about running for office in 2008.
  • A Seat at the Table
    04/02/2007
    NFIB members participate in roundtables with President Bush about health-insurance costs, attend State of the Union
  • NFIB Forms Tax Advisory Board
    04/02/2007
    Board members will help NFIB develop ideas to fix the nation's complex tax system
  • NFIB Helps Get Small-Business Tax Breaks
    04/02/2007
    NFIB supports small-business incentives included in Senate bill and continues to work with lawmakers to ensure similar measures are included in compromise bill.
  • NFIB Fights Costly Labor Proposals
    04/02/2007
    With state proposals on minimum wage, paid family leave and other issues surfacing across the country, NFIB fights for small business in each state capital
  • VISA USA Provides Grant to NFIB YEF
    04/02/2007
    Grant will sponsor three YEF programs and student scholarships
  • NFIB Legal Hotline Celebrates One Year
    04/02/2007
    In the year since NFIB's Legal Foundation launched the Employment Law Hotline, this unique service has logged more than 600 calls from NFIB members. In addition, a poll of callers indicated that 80 percent were satisfied with the advice they received, and 82 percent would refer the service to other members.
  • Top Dollar
    04/02/2007
    Nearly one in five small-business owners report that wages, salaries and commissions are the single largest expense they have, according to the most recent NFIB National Small-Business Poll.
  • NFIB Welcomes Small-Business Friend
    02/04/2007
    A longtime NFIB member himself, newly elected U.S. Rep. David Davis understands the needs of small business.
  • NFIB Fights the IRS Tax-Gap Hunt
    02/04/2007
    As budget deficits mount, the Internal Revenue Service looks to small-business owners to close the tax gap.
  • 2007 YEF Award Applications Now Online
    02/04/2007
    Know high-school seniors with a knack for entrepreneurship? Encourage them to apply for an NFIB Young Entrepreneur Award.
  • NFIB Fights for a Fair Shake
    02/02/2007
    State debates expected this year as the energy industry finally becomes deregulated
  • NFIB Takes on Big Labor
    02/02/2007
    Threats on Capitol Hill and in the U.S. Supreme Court could add strength to organized labor movements
  • NFIB Opposes FMLA Expansion
    02/02/2007
    NFIB stands in firm opposition of new government mandates
  • NFIB Helps Pass New HSA Legislation
    02/02/2007
    Just as many small-business owners were making plans for 2007 benefits, President Bush signed a law passed just before the 109th Congress adjourned that provides significant enhancements to health savings accounts. NFIB supported the bill, a role recognized in a Washington Post story about "The Tax Relief and Health Care Act."
  • Fixing a Broken System
    11/21/2006
    Mike Leavitt, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, talks about what NFIB members can expect as government officials tackle the rising cost of health insurance for small business.
  • Key Victories in 2006
    11/21/2006
    NFIB Legal Foundation Scores Three Key Victories in 2006
  • NFIB Prepares to Work With New Congress
    11/21/2006
    While the composition of Congress has changed, the obstacles that threaten small-business owners, their employees and their families have not.
  • NFIB Defends Property Rights
    11/21/2006
    Some NFIB-supported initiatives passed, while work remains to protect property owners across the country.
  • NFIB Helps SBA Launch New Resource Site
    11/21/2006
    The Small Business Administration launched its new Business.gov Web site, which is designed to be an online compliance tool. The site is a one-stop shop to locate compliance information, government resources and federal forms.
  • NFIB's Pilot Program Enters Schools
    11/21/2006
    Nineteen schools nationwide will use NFIB's Entrepreneur-in-the-Classroom curriculum to teach entrepreneurship skills.
  • Protecting the Flag--One Vote at a Time
    10/02/2006
    How one NFIB member made it his mission to increase voter turnout in this year's midterm elections
  • NFIB Targets Key Races
    09/20/2006
    NFIB Safe Trust lends its support to pro-small-business candidates
  • NFIB Helps Negotiate Compromises to Achieve Permanent Death-Tax Repeal
    09/20/2006
    Senate effort likely to continue
  • NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation Launches Entrepreneur-in-the-Classroom Curriculum
    09/20/2006
    Starting in the 2006-07 school year, teachers have a new way to teach and encourage entrepreneurship among students. Sponsored by VISA USA, the NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation created the Entrepreneur-in-the-Classroom curriculum to raise awareness among the nation's youth of the critical role that private enterprise and entrepreneurship play in strengthening America's economy.
  • NFIB Legal Foundation Helps Secure Eminent-Domain Victory in Ohio
    09/20/2006
    The NFIB Legal Foundation has been working nonstop to fix a problem started by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. In Kelo vs. the City of New London, the court said local governments have the right to condemn and seize private property for other private developers. Since then, some city officials across the country have had dollar signs in their eyes--at the expense of small-business owners.
  • NFIB Members' Get-Out-the-Vote Efforts This Fall Can Make a Huge Difference to the Future of Your Business
    09/20/2006
    Here are a few ways to make a difference among people you know
  • Three Ways NFIB Can Help You Make a Difference Before Nov. 7
    09/20/2006
    It's not too late to become politically active and make a difference at the ballot box. Small-business owners can do their part by voting for pro–small-business candidates and encouraging employees, friends and family to do the same. Here are just a few of the resources NFIB has to offer small- and independent-business owners who are eager to make a difference in this year's election.
  • NFIB Praises Court's Rejection of Maryland's Health-Insurance Law
    09/20/2006
    In July, a federal judge overruled Maryland's Fair Share Health Care law, which required large employers to pay for health insurance for employees.
  • Back to the Basics
    07/25/2006
    NFIB's Young Entrepreneur Foundation, in partnership with Visa USA, announced a new online curriculum to teach budding entrepreneurs the basics of how to start a business.
  • Death-Tax Bill Dies in Senate
    07/25/2006
    Early in June, the Senate considered legislation to permanently repeal the death tax, but failed, 57 – 41, to get the 60 votes needed to proceed under Senate rules.
  • Most-Watched Campaigns in the U.S. House
    07/25/2006
    A handful of competitive seats will determin whether we maintain the narrow pro-small-business majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Here are five of the most-watched campaigns.
  • Line-Item Veto Passes House
    07/25/2006
    The House OKed bipartisan legislation allowing presidential line-item veto authority. The bill, which passed 247 – 172, would permit the president, within 45 days of enactment of any spending or tax legislation, to veto earmarks for individual interests.
  • States Debate Minimum Wage
    07/25/2006
    The minimum-wage debate reemerged on Capitol Hill when the House Appropriations committee approved a $2.10-an-hour increase—an increase that small-business proponents in Congress were able to reverse when House Majority Leader John Boehner (Ohio) vowed to block any floor vote on a minimum-wage increase.
  • Members Make It Personal on Capitol Hill
    07/25/2006
    Hundreds of delegates to the 2006 NFIB National Small-Business Summit blanketed the U.S. Capitol to "Take it to the Hill," making a point with their lawmakers that government actions affect the way they run their businesses back home.
  • MyVoice: Killing the Death Tax
    05/26/2006
    In 2001, Congress set the death tax on a path to total repeal in 2010. However, the tax returns to its full 55 percent in 2011 if the law isn't made permanent.
  • MyVoice: Hotline for Help
    05/26/2006
    NFIB Legal Foundation's new hotline provides answers to questions on employment law.
  • MyVoice: The State of Health Care
    05/26/2006
    State legislatures search for a cure for our nation's health-insurance system.
  • MyVoice: How Tech Savvy Are You?
    05/26/2006
    New NFIB Research Foundation poll finds that small businesses have a lot of room to grow in adopting technology.
  • MyVoice: The Fight Continues
    05/26/2006
    Small-Business Health Plan vote blocked in Senate; NFIB vows to keep working.
  • MyVoice: Tax Cuts Extended
    05/26/2006
    Increased expensing limits and the AMT patch extended until 2009.
  • MyVoice: When He Talks, Lawmakers Listen
    05/25/2006
    How one business owner uses NFIB's clout to make his voice heard.
  • Gearing Up: NFIB prepares for 2006 elections
    01/23/2006
    With mid-term elections just nine months away, NFIB is busy preparing for Election Day 2006. With the pro–small-business margin so thin in the U.S. House and Senate, it’s more important than ever for small business to mobilize before and on Election Day.
  • Keeping Small Business Safe
    01/23/2006
    Do legal issues make you nervous? Make sure you’re always in compliance with the NFIB Legal Foundation’s new e-newsletter.
  • What Your Mechanic Doesn’t Know Can Hurt You
    01/23/2006
    Bob Everett, owner of Bayville Auto Care in Bayville, N.J., has a policy of not turning customers away. But when he and other small-business owners like him can’t get the information they need to fix technical malfunctions in their customers’ cars, many see no other choice.
  • New Year, Renewed Hope: NFIB is working to make 2006 the year small business gets a break on health insurance
    01/23/2006
    Desperate for affordable health insurance for your small business? You (and your employees) may not have to go another year without it.
  • Rewarding Work
    01/23/2006
    Sponsored by the NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation, the $1,000 awards are given to high-school seniors who have shown an interest in entrepreneurship. Help from sponsors like Visa USA and groups of NFIB members around the country enable the Foundation to offer a few larger awards, too.
  • Tax Issues Loom in 2006: NFIB works to protect your bottom line
    01/23/2006
    Making plans for an unpredictable future is hard. That’s why NFIB is working nonstop to pass permanent tax relief at the federal level. The House and Senate both passed expensing and alternative minimum tax bills at the end of 2005, but both issues await final resolution in conference.
  • Working on the Web
    01/23/2006
    3 online tools to help you make a difference in 2006
  • A Critical NFIB Voice: Bill LaGuardia increases the clout of NFIB through Area Action Councils
    01/20/2006
    Bill LaGuardia doesn’t believe in taking a backseat approach when it comes to running his business. And he’s the same way when it comes to being a member of NFIB.