If you're a business owner, consider small business group health insurance plans to protect you and your employees. Health insurance and general health care prices have risen astronomically over the last few years. Prices for health care have risen and subsequently insurance prices have gone the same way. Because of these rise in prices people are finding it much more difficult to pay for the health coverage they require, regardless of whether they pay for it directly or through an insurance policy. The Skinny on Small Business Group Health Insurance One of the most effective ways of saving money on health insurance is by taking advantage of any group deals that employers have to offer. As an employer you can offer this benefit to your potential employees. A good health plan is seen as a very positive benefit to be offered as part of a remuneration package. So much so that you may find it could secure you the employee you want. Large companies are offered this opportunity because they have a large number of employees but the small business is not offered this same opportunity. To combat this small businesses have set up purchasing pools that allow them to combine with the result being much greater purchasing power. Purchasing Groups With the small business one of the most important factors to purchasing anything, including insurance policies is keeping the costs down as far as possible. When purchasing individually the small business will struggle to do this, if they can manage to purchase a policy at all. By joining a purchasing group, however, they are not only able to offer employees the advantages associated with small business group health insurance but can secure much more preferable rates. Also, this increased bargaining power brings another advantage; the purchasing group is able to secure better coverage for their employees. Previously the small business group health insurance plan would be very rigid and companies had very little in the way of choice over the coverage their employees received. The Summary The most important key, then, is trying to become part of a small business group health insurance. Chamber of commerce and other groups have details of such plans and if you're seriously considering a small business group health plan for your staff to take advantage of then it really is the best option for you. If it isn't an option or you would rather go it alone then talk to your own care providers about the health plan they would advise, they will undoubtedly have a fair idea of the good plans and the bad plans. Also, if you have regular contact with businesses in a similar industry to your own and of a similar size ask their opinion too. They will have dealt with care providers already so any information you can get from them will prove useful.
Posted on February 18

Working for a company that offers a small business health plan can be beneficial to attracting and retaining key employees. It will not be a deciding factor for them, but it certainly doesn't hurt. Unless you live in Hawaii, it's not required to give the health plan to your employees. However, it's a good business practice to show your employees that you care. Another benefit of having a small business health plan is it that you can save money on own health plan. You will also get a nice tax break. Further, you can prevent any future injuries to your workers. Any downtime caused by an injury to a worker will be reduced. It's a preventive measure that a lot of small business owners have been doing for their employees. When you do decide to have a small business health plan, make sure your okay with the costs and of the administrative hassles. Having a small business health plan can be of great benefit to your business.
Posted on February 18

Agonizing over terminating employees? You don't have to: usually, it's the best thing to happen for both parties. For you, you'll remove distractions that would otherwise lower morale among your better employees. For the terminating employees, you'll help them find better-fit positions where they could thrive and be more effective. The sooner you do it, the better it works out for you, your employees, and the ones given pink slips.

What Would've Happened to Edison?

What would happen to David Letterman of Late Night, Bernie Marcus of Home Depot, Tom Stemberg of Staples, Larry King, Joe Torre, and Michael Bloomberg if they weren't sent packing at previous jobs? Don't think of terminating unqualified employees as a conundrum. The quicker you do it, the better it works out for all those involved to move on to situations where they can be most effective.

Case: Terminating Employees Helps Coach Carroll

Simply look at Pete Carroll's fall from the NFL game, and then his rise to college football prominence. The coach at the University of Southern California took over the NFL's New York Jets and the New England Patriots from revered coaching legend, Bill Parcells. Too bad Caroll's philosophy couldn't live up to Parcells's standards. The fans booed him for his lighthearted character toward his players. They said he wasn't tough enough, and couldn't control million-dollar egos. After a couple years, he lost his NFL gig. Yet, despite the setback, what happened next was Cinderella-esque. Most who knew Carroll knew he had a great football mind, but his personality suited ego-less, impressionable, college-type players. Undeterred by being the fourth choice to coach USC, Carroll and his players instantly bonded. That set a string of successes: two national championships, three Heisman Trophy winners, and several first-round draft picks. According to ESPN, USC became one of the greatest college football group, ever. If Carroll had stayed with the NFL, he wouldn't thrive as he did in the college game.

When Do You Know Someone's Not the Right Fit?

If you've built good systems in place that keeps people who fit with your core values, and ejects quickly those who don't, you'll always know. They will normally quit on their own. If they don't, ask these two questions to determine if terminating employees is the right choice (courtesy of Good to Great's Jim Collins): Sometimes seemingly unqualified people may just hold the wrong positions. Find out where they will have more potential, and give them that chance. If you still feel it's not the right fit, let them go immediately. It'll not only improve your company, but it'll help terminating employees quickly find a place where they can succeed.
Posted on February 18

If you read this section carefully, this guide to personal development growth gives you all the tools you will need to build a great business, and live a great life. This guide is a culmination of everything we've learned from gurus such as Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie, other fabulous thinkers, and our own insights through the years. Among the ideas include:

Understand the purpose of your life.

You have a special ability that you were born to do, you're absolutely passionate about it, and you can contribute it to the world. Once you find out what this is, you'll understand your life's purpose.

Know what you want.

Without having a clear destination, you'll drift in and out of happiness. You'll be vulnerable to depression and failure. Be absolutely clear with what you want when your life is done. Imagine that you already have it. Attach a powerful, burning emotion.

Enjoy the destination.

As important as having a destination, it is equally important that you enjoy the ride there. You'll be as happy as you will when you get there.

School will not build you a great life.

The most influential business leaders, politicians, scientists, and philanthropists did not rely on formal education, but through their self-initiative.

Fail and fail some more. It will build you.

Most people are afraid of failure, but subconsciously, it makes you stronger if you persist through it. This is why you never hear of influential academic valedictorians and perfectionists; at the hint of failure, most run for the exits.

Fight until you get there.

You don't want to be the man that quits three feet from the gold. You may suffer from temporary defeat, but this is what distinguishes successful ones from non-successful ones: they stand by their goal and keep on fighting. Persistence, for one, is something you must learn to develop. In business, you will be confronted with several barriers. How you act around these obstacles will determine if you're a successful entrepreneur. Here are some other personal development growth tips we've learned.
Posted on February 18

Mahatma Ghandi. Martin Luther King, Jr. Abraham Lincoln. William Hewlett and David Packard. Thomas Edison. For these people, what did impossibility mean to them? The creation of a million innovations. The technological breakthroughs that moved the world. The needed peace for a billion people. The equality of all people. What did impossibility mean to them? As entrepreneurs, we often forget this concept. When the tough roads come, we look for safe exists. It's easy to run away because human nature gives us a sense of temporary relief. It takes us away from the problem. Yet, this defense mechanism will kill our entrepreneurial spirits in the long run. The solution? Keep on fighting until we reach our goals. And trust us, we will. For all of the successes you see on Forbes, there are a thousand others who didn't succeed. It wasn't because the former knew more. It wasn't because the latter knew less. It's for this simple reason: those who failed gave up too soon. Those who succeeded, as cliche as it sounds, believed they would. Henry Ford used to say, "Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right." Whatever you believe about your capabilities, folks, you're right. Do This To illustrate the power of persevering, try this: Get on the floor, and start counting the number of pushups you do. Done? Now, double the count. If you believe you will do it, you will. Pretty cool how your mind shapes your actions, huh?
Posted on February 18

When I was younger, I used to have a set of beliefs that I thought everyone had to have also. If they didn't conform to my views, I would think there was something wrong with them. Well, this caught up to me in life one day with my first business. Going into our fourth meeting, I had developed ideas I thought were great, and was sure my team would love them too. During the meeting, I presented them -- and to my surprise, it didn't go too well. The ideas, they said, were bizarre. Well, I fought, fought, and fought some more to show them that I was right -- and they were wrong. There was never a fifth meeting. Develop an open mind.
Posted on February 18

When you go into a supermarket, you're usually there for one thing. Sure you may pick up other things, but you have a purpose when you go into the store. In business, we need to find that purpose also. Where do you want to go? Once you have a destination figured out, your work becomes much more efficient and effective. Have a goal.
Posted on February 18

I used to believe I knew everything. Whenever somebody asked me a question, I would give a definitive and intelligent response -- or so I thought. A humbling point came after I met a CEO of a Fortune 500 company as a college student. At a meeting with him, he would ask me questions, and I would respond in my usual overconfident way. I thought I did great with the guy, and looked forward to more meetings with him. I had hopes of working in his company, and being a star there. He never contacted me again. I got in touch with his son a few months later. He said his dad, after a minute, could see right through me. Develop humility.
Posted on February 18

Get in the habit of setting goals, and then trying to accomplish them. I used to be a bad at keeping my goals. I found out that everything starts with gradual steps. So I started setting small five minute goals. For example, if I'm reading a book, I tell myself I will read three pages within five minutes. As your mind gets accustomed to goal setting with your smaller goals, you'll be on the verge of setting larger goals. Start with small goals.
Posted on February 18

A good leadership skill involves giving employees freedom within a framework. Former Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, was well-known among the business crowd for his micro-management. This probably led to a sharp decline in Disney in recent years. Human psychology says humans will work more productively and effectively if given freedom to do their work. Gain More Productivity Most small business owners, including ourselves when we started, are scared of handing over too much control. Yet, when we give people freedom within well-defined boundaries, we make our employees more productive by letting them choose their own path toward a completing a goal. Entrepreneurs must learn to give up control -- as much as that can hurt them. When you do this, you also send an implicit signal that you trust your employees, and have confidence in them to do the work. They will work more productively as a result.
Posted on February 18

WTH is Trizle?

Trizle helps you rock ___ with your business.

Subscribe

Get a complimentary subscription to our freshest articles through email or through your feed reader.

Don't Miss Out!

Subscribe to Trizle through email or through your feed reader.