Small Business Survey Déjà vu
The start of 2013 is a lot like the last few years, says SurePayroll's Michael Alter. Among business owners, optimism remains low and hiring has plateaued. Read story
TRADE SECRETS 
Michael Alter
Small Business Survey: Best Ideas, Biggest Challenges, and New Year Resolutions
SurePayroll president Michael Alter writes about small business sentiment as we turned the corner into 2013. Read story
SurePayroll's Michael Alter: 'Operate for a Slowdown Going-Forward'
Michael Alter, president of SurePayroll, explains how you can prepare for the so-called fiscal cliff, the combination of automatic tax increases and budget c... Watch video
Get Ready to Go Over the Cliff
A slew of tax hikes and spending cuts are still scheduled to go into effect January 1. With no 'fiscal cliff' deal in sight, you'll need a plan. Read story
3 Smart Ways to Set Sales Quotas for Next Year
Michael Alter, president of SurePayroll, explains exactly how to incent your sales team. Watch video
What to Do Now About the Fiscal Cliff
Michael Alter, CEO of SurePayroll, explains how you should prepare for the looming fiscal cliff. Watch video
Counting Down to the Cliff
Small business owners seek long-term direction as the fiscal cliff looms in Washington. Read story
Let's Make Small Business Heard on Tuesday
Entrepreneurs need to influence the election by voting. Read story
Temper Excitement Over Recent Positive Economic Indicators
The recent series of positive economic reports could be misleading. Here's why. Read story
Small Business Optimism Dropped Sharply Last Month
Small business owners say the Presidential election is weighing heavily on their minds, according to a SurePayroll survey. Read story
Giving Back Is (Really) Good for Business
Does charity start at the office? Sometimes. Let me explain. Read story
Small Business Owners Not Looking to Borrow
Don't blame the banks. While it can be difficult to get loans, the SurePayroll survey of small business owners finds most are not trying to. Read story
Jobs Are Available; Workers Aren't Trained
Let's do whatever it takes to create a better pool of qualified candidates, and get around this "Catch-22." Read story
3 Hurdles to Getting the Small Business Economy Running
We need Olympic-style excitement to get the small business economy off and running again. Here's what else. Read story
Unemployment: Don't Blame Small Business
One author suggests companies should do more employee training. But competition is too fierce to give away at-bats to inexperienced hitters. Read story
Storm Brewing? Owners Remain Cautious
Small business owners express concern about turmoil in Europe and slow growth in the U.S., according to the June SurePayroll small business survey. Read story
When to Outsource: 5 Decisions
It's easier than ever before to outsource services. Here's how to find out if you should do it. Read story
Small Business Productivity Surges in May
Small businesses are growing, but hiring is not keeping pace. Increased efficiency is the reason, says SurePayroll's Michael Alter. Read story
Facebook IPO Got You Eyeing Entrepreneurship?
Some guidelines to help you decide if this is the time to jumpstart your new venture. Read story
Small Business Optimism Endures
Firms that held up through the Great Recession are stable, but that hasn't inspired an uptick in hiring or paychecks yet. Read story
How to Become Digitally Literate Today
Entrepreneurs are divided into digital natives and digital immigrants. If you don't go native in a hurry, you will be left behind. Read story
Small Business Optimism Up, Hiring Not
While entrepreneurs had an increasingly positive outlook about the future last month, SurePayroll's president says they're not yet acting on it. Read story
Now's a Good Time to Reward Employees
If the economy gets better and job prospects improve, you may need to offer more incentives to keep your best employees. Read story
Economic Groundhog Day for Small Business
An economic indicator that tracks tens of thousands of small businesses looks a lot like it did last month. Want more clarity? Maybe in 60 days. Read story
Why Small Businesses Should Be Early Adopters
In a fast-changing world, get ahead by upgrading your technology for these four processes. Read story
2012 Small Business Hiring Starts Slow
January disappoints, according to one tracker of small business hiring, but the movie is not over--not by a long shot. Read story
5 Steps To Drive Your Business, and the Economy
I have a positive outlook for 2012. But it's more important than ever to map out the goals you want to stick to. Read story
Small Business Owners Optimistic As We Start 2012
The sun is on the horizon. SurePayroll reports entrepreneurs had a positive outlook in December, and plan to hire, increase wages in 2012. Read story
Don't Forget These Year-End Tasks
Before you ring in 2012, you'll want to get a head start on taxes, insurance, suppliers, among other things. Read story
Small Business Hiring Fell a Bit in November
The U.S. labor market added 120,000 jobs in November, but one survey found hiring among small businesses dropped slightly. Watch video
No Excuses, Not Even in this Economy
Don't be like your teenager. Take responsibility for your business' ups and downs. Read story
Small Business Optimism is Back
The SurePayroll October survey of U.S. small businesses found entrepreneurs are feeling positive about the economy. Read story
Two Words Matter -- Make Them Count!
As the boss, you don't get much applause on a day-to-day basis. Unless you've hired a circle of yes men to sing your praises, life as an entrepreneur mean... Read story
Why Business Owners Are Less Optimistic than Meatloaf
More than 30 years ago, Meatloaf sang that two out of three ain't bad. Sure, it was a hokey and over-the-top love song, but it contains an important... Read story
3 Reasons to Take a Vacation
If there's one thing entrepreneurs have to work harder for than winning business, it's some well-deserved time off. As mobile technology has made it easie... Read story
How you Play the Game
I like to look at most areas of life as a game. If I didn't think it were fun to navigate the challenges of the game called "business," I wouldn't have ta... Read story
Government Could Point Way for SBOs
Historically, small business owners (SBO) have proven to be a fairly resilient bunch. However, this perseverance has been severely tested in recent years ... Read story
Economy in Reverse
For the last several months I’ve talked about our economy being in neutral and teetering on the brink of improvement or downturn. With results in fo... Read story
The Skinny on Monthly Economic Reports
We all know it’s a bad economy, so why pay attention to monthly economic reports? It’s a fair question, and one that a lot of small business o... Read story
My Customers’ 3 Most Valuable Learning Experiences
One of the reasons I love my job is having access to so many customers who are bright entrepreneurs. When you treat your customers like the gifted b... Read story
