Market Watch

wx.jpg Big Country — Due to wintry weather, the schools and business will operate as such. Schools delayed: Cisco ISD, Hawley ISD, Jim Ned CISD, Winters ISD Schools closed: Breckenridge ISD, Abilene ISD, Clyde CISD, Dublin ISD, Eula ISD, Paint Rock ISD, Baird ISD, Wylie ISD, All God’s Children CDC, Eastland ISD, Glo Day Care, Midway ISD, Hardin-Simmons University Universities delayed: Abilene Christian University Businesses closed: Callahan County Offices, Betty Hardwick Center, Alliance for Women and Children, Texas Tech University HSC, Baird and Clyde Meals on Wheels (no delivery) and Senior Centers, Regional Victim Crisis Center, Taylor County Offices, Big Country Aids Resources, Beltway Park Church Business delays: Christian Service Center, Betty Hardwick Center, Abilene Housing Authority

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getty As we enter tax season, business leaders may feel uneasy—this year in particular. With the IRS adding more resources for audit enforcement and planning to double the number of audits , you may wonder if your business will face more scrutiny than in previous years. You may also wonder if taking advantage of legitimate business tax credits will put you at greater risk for an audit. As we approach April 18, how can you best prepare your tax returns—and your business as a whole—to stand up to the IRS? At the same time, how do you turn in a timely, well-executed tax return that maximizes available credits? The answer is deceptively simple: Keep calm, and get organized. The Importance Of Organization As with many things, sooner is better. If you’re a business owner, you should start reconciling all your bank accounts as soon as possible. You also should start working with your accounting team, or with a CPA—and make sure that they have everything they need from you. There are no special hoops to jump through; rather, you need to take the (not particularly exciting, but absolutely necessary) steps to make sure all of your financial documents and […]

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Deepali Vyas is the founder of Fearless+ , which connects teens with college & career opps and a new resume format building soft skills. getty How can young folks find mentors? The way we think about connection is different now than ever before as our world—from classroom to C-suite—has become increasingly virtual. This can lead to more accessible but also, occasionally, less personal connections. What does this mean for mentorship? Accessibility For Youth I’ve watched the benefits of mentorship with my own eyes. I was on a video call with Bob Iger a few years ago during his first tenure as the CEO of Disney. Bob had written a book, The Ride of a Lifetime , which my son happened to have read. During the early months of the pandemic when we were all working and learning at home, my son walked past my office while I was on that video call and asked if he could ask Bob a few questions. Bob kindly agreed, and the two of them spoke for a short while. My son, who, to be clear does not usually read CEO’s memoirs, was immediately inspired and motivated. His eyes lit up and I could […]

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YouTube will likely be a weak spot again when Google-parent Alphabet ( GOOGL ) reports fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday, analysts say. YouTube’s slowing ad revenue growth is one issue for Google stock, while the subscription side of its business remains opaque to investors. When Alphabet reported Google earnings for the September quarter, YouTube ad revenues shrank for the first time. YouTube ad revenue slipped 2% to $7.07 billion, missing estimates of $7.5 billion. Google began reporting some YouTube financial metrics separately in the fourth quarter of 2019. For this December quarter, analysts estimate YouTube revenue of $8.2 billion, down nearly 5%. YouTube revenue boomed during the coronavirus emergency, so the company faces tough year-over-year comparisons, according to some Google stock analysts. But other factors also are at work. YouTube "is being squeezed on one side by restrictions on consumer data in the wake of Apple ‘s ( AAPL ) privacy changes and on the other side by increased competition from streaming and short video platforms," said Evelyn Mitchell, analyst at Insider Intelligence, in a preview of Google earnings. Google Stock: Slowing Down TikTok Google aims to slow down the growth of TikTok with its own short video platform. How […]

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Two years from now, small businesses could add over $2 trillion to global GDP growth. After the pandemic cleared nearly 30% of small businesses from the field, many wondered what would happen next. It’s true that 2020 was a hard year for businesses of any size, but small enterprises faced the worst. Then in 2021, the global small business closure rate fell from 24% to 18%. That’s a noticeable decline, but still a high number. In the United States particularly, closure rates fell to 16%. Small Businesses Thrive Online As we rounded out 2022, the future started to look brighter. Over the past couple of years, Americans created millions of new businesses to fill gaps the pandemic left. Many of these businesses operate exclusively (or almost exclusively) online . After laying the foundations of their operation while working a day job, 67% of new small business owners are planning to grow their businesses full time. If they weren’t already online pre-pandemic, 62% of businesses that shifted to digital plan to expand digital operations going forward. Almost half of small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are ready to start planning for a digital future. Just over a quarter are already working […]

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The company which runs non-casino businesses for the Forest County Potawatomi Community tribe is expanding its operations to a downtown Milwaukee office tower. Potawatomi Business Development Corp. has signed a new lease for 18,357 square feet at the 833 East building, 833 E. Michigan St. The new space will accommodate the growth of PBDC subsidiary companies. PBDC employs more than 1,000 people and is the economic development and income diversification unit for the tribe, which operates Potawatomi Hotel and Casino, 1721 W. Canal St. PBDC is now based at the Bgemagen Building, 3215 W. State St. That building is part of Wgema Campus, PBDC’s redevelopment of the former Concordia University-Wisconsin campus on Milwaukee’s near west side. PBDC will keep an office at the Bgemagen Building, where it has been headquartered since 2011. Those operations include Greenfire Management Services LLC , which provides construction management services. The space at 833 East will house PBDC’s new real estate group, Sagewind Development; PBDC’s retail operations that include the development of travel centers throughout Wisconsin, and the company’s electric vehicle business unit. “This office expansion prepares us for expected growth among several of our subsidiary companies, while also representing a significant milestone for […]

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No matter the industry or size of the business, scaling is a critical component of achieving success. Many of the most successful companies in the world have developed swiftly by doing so—think Amazon, Uber and Airbnb. Scaling can take different forms, including expanding services and products, increasing resources such as personnel or funding, and enhancing marketing efforts. Each option requires careful planning and implementation to achieve success. This is why, according to France’s NEOMA Business School professor Vijay Pereira, “The ability to scale rapidly is a key factor in determining the success of any business venture.” After all, if you don’t scale, you don’t grow. When scaling, think of it like climbing a mountain—start with small steps. Don’t rush into anything without doing your due diligence first. Collect data and use it to inform your decisions, manage your resources effectively, get the right advice from experienced professionals and ensure that you have a solid strategy in place. Then, with the proper foundation, you can scale your business towards success. That said, the process can be both exciting and daunting because it requires careful planning, strategy and execution to ensure that you don’t overextend and become overwhelmed. Bare in mind […]

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KNOW YOUR ASSETS: Cows often hold a sentimental place in a farmer’s heart. Taking time to study each cow on what they bring to the beef business may determine if they are profit-makers or keepers. Business Basics: Beef #herd managers need to know their cow performance and profitability. Do you have a favorite cow or two or three? Maybe she greets you each morning and waits to be scratched behind the ears. Maybe she looks picture perfect like she just stepped off a glossy magazine cover, or consistently raises the biggest calf each year. Maybe it’s sentimental. My favorite is my daughter’s very first bucket calf she showed at the county fair. I’ll bet if we are honest, we all have a few favorite cows. But which cows in your herd are the most profitable? Can you identify them? Years ago, while visiting one of my local dairies, the producer commented how his “anonymous cows” were the key to the operation. For instance, his father asked, “Who is cow 215?” After thinking about it, he responded, “I don’t really know. I know she’s not one of our top producers, but looking back at the records, I can’t see where […]

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LONDON and BOSTON, Jan. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — ESG and sustainability continue to remain top of mind for both business leaders and consumers. And survey research conducted by global strategy consultancy L.E.K. Consulting indicates both groups are committed to becoming more sustainable – and are willing to pay a price and make trade-offs for it. In fact, according to an L.E.K. Consulting survey of over 2,700 consumers in the UK, U.S. and Australia, more than half report they’re turning their backs on unsustainable products and services – while 55% report they may change brands due to ESG considerations and 56% said they’re willing to pay up to 40% more for sustainable products. And the hunger for sustainability is the same inside organizations. The majority of large companies around the world have made net-zero carbon emissions commitments, and 54% of executives say their companies should address ESG issues – even if doing so reduces short-term financial performance, according to an L.E.K. survey of 400 C-suite global leaders. But there’s also a large gap between the desire for progress and the capacity to make it happen, says John Goddard, Partner at L.E.K. Consulting and Vice Chair, Sustainability. "Unless the disconnect can […]

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Email, voice calling, webchat: today’s businesses need them all in order to stay connected with their customers. The always-on modern world has seen a rapid and far-ranging evolution of the powerful, cloud-based technology upon which it all depends. However, simple SMS is fast becoming the channel of choice — and smarter businesses are rightly putting it at the heart of their customer service strategy by deploying a communication platform as a service (CPaaS) that has messaging fully covered. CPaaS provides an easy way for businesses to add new communication capabilities to existing applications without having to build those capabilities from scratch. This can save businesses time and money, while also providing them with more flexibility in how they communicate with customers and employees. In a recent survey, 85% of smartphone owners said they prefer texts to calls or emails — a reflection on how much we all look to our mobile phones to help us run pretty much every aspect of our lives. Speed and convenience, it seems, are more important to us than pretty much anything else. In the hospitality and travel sector — where those two imperatives are perhaps most at play — the ability to communicate […]

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