NFIB Weekly News
Leading the News
ICYMI: NFIB’s Beth Milito in The Washington Times (03/19/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 19, 2024) – Today, The Washington Times published an editorial from Beth Milito, Executive Director of NFIB’s Small Business Legal Center on the proposed regulations that will affect small businesses this year and the impact of onerous red-tape, costly mandates, and paperwork burdens on Main Streets nationwide.
Read the full article here
Small businesses benefit from Scope 3 removal (03/08/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 8, 2024) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, issued the following statement regarding the SEC removing the Scope 3 requirements from its final rule:
Read the statement here
NFIB calls on President Biden, Congress to make the Small Business Deduction permanent (03/07/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 7, 2024) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, issued the following statement in response to President Biden’s State of the Union address:
Read the statement here
Small Businesses File Lawsuit Challenging DOL’s Independent Contractor Rule (03/05/2024)
BEAUMONT, Texas (March 5, 2024) – NFIB joined a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas concerning the Department of Labor’s (DOL) independent contractor rule. The case is Coalition for Workforce Innovation, et al. v. Julie Su.
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Small Businesses Ask Supreme Court to Clarify NLRB’s Injunction Standard (02/28/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 28, 2024) – NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case Starbucks Corporation v. M. Kathleen McKinney at the United States Supreme Court. The case concerns the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) requests for injunctions under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) using the traditional four-factor test for preliminary injunctions or a more lenient standard. NFIB filed the brief with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers.
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Small businesses urge Congress to reject Julie Su’s nomination (02/27/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 27, 2024) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, sent a letter of opposition to members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions opposing the nomination of Acting Secretary Julie Su for Secretary of Labor.
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Business Climate
Stop a Massive Tax Hike (03/14/2024)
Small businesses will face a massive tax increase in 2025 if Congress fails to act. Three out of four of America’s millions of small employers benefit from the 20% Small Business Deduction created in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
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NFIB’s Optimism Index stays below 50-year average in February (03/12/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 12, 2024) – The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index decreased in February to 89.4, marking the 26th consecutive month below the 50-year average of 98. Twenty-three percent of small business owners reported that inflation was their single most important business problem in operating their business, up three points from last month and replacing labor quality as the top problem.
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Small Businesses Challenge OSHA’s Safety Standards in Latest Brief (03/01/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 1, 2024) – NFIB filed an amicus brief in the case Allstates Refractory Contractors, LLC, v. Julie Su at the United States Supreme Court. The case questions whether Congress’s delegation of authority in the Occupational Safety and Health Act to write “reasonably necessary or appropriate” standards for a “safe” workplace violates the Constitution. NFIB argues OSHA’s statutory power to issue those safety standards is unconstitutional.
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NFIB highlights top legislative priorities for small businesses in 2024 (02/21/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 21, 2024) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, released its “Top 10 Policy Priorities for 2024.” From burdensome reporting requirements to detrimental tax hikes, this list outlines the key legislative issues that will impact small businesses nationwide in the coming year.
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Small Business Coalition Urges Congress to Reduce Red Tape (02/02/2024)
“Small businesses continue to be disproportionately impacted by federal regulations. Now is the time for Congress to address the loopholes that enable federal agencies to underreport, minimize, or ignore the impact of regulations on small businesses,” said NFIB Director of Government Relations Josh McLeod. “On behalf of small businesses across the country, NFIB urges Congress to prioritize legislation that reinforces the intent of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) and encourages an environment where Main Street businesses can grow and thrive.”
Read the full article here
NFIB's Holly Wade Discusses Small Business Optimism on Yahoo! Finance (01/29/2024)
Wade shares data from NFIB’s December SBET survey as she highlights how inflationary pressures, the ongoing labor shortage, and increasing financing costs are impacting small businesses nationwide.
Read the full article here
Small Business Marketing
Expert Criticizes Email For Customer Communication, Says Texting Is Superior (04/19/2022)
In a USA Today (4/14, Deerwester) column, lawyer, speaker, and author Steve Strauss wrote that “email is actually a fairly horrible way for business generally, and small business, in particular, to communicate with customers. Unopened and unwanted, ignored and abandoned, emails simply don’t get through anymore.” Strauss went on to argue that texting is superior to emailing.
Marketing Challenges Facing Small Business Owners Highlighted (04/19/2022)
Startup. Info (4/15) highlighted marketing challenges small business owners find themselves confronted with as well as how to deal with said challenges. One of these challenges is content distribution, with Startup. Info saying that content distribution “entails the practice of spreading your content far and wide. But we must state that it’s also a very challenging aspect of marketing.” With regard to how to deal with this challenge, Startup. Info says, in part, “Have a detailed content calendar that shows when, where, and how you spread your content.”
Tips Offered For Small Business To Craft Effective Brand Experience (04/19/2022)
Small Business Trends (4/9, Pilon) provided “10 tips for creating an effective small business brand experience.” Among the areas small business owners should consider are creating an appealing logo, crafting a brand voice, and improving website design.
Commentary: QR Codes Can Help Business Owners “Bridge The Gap” Between Traditional, Digital Marketing (04/12/2022)
Michael Plummer, Jr., president of “premier New Mover Marketing franchise” Our Town America, wrote in Forbes (3/30, Plummer) that businesses should “bridge the gap between traditional and digital marketing by learning how to use QR codes as part of your print marketing strategy.” Plummer wrote, “Using QR codes in your marketing materials can help your business connect with customers and drive traffic to your website,” as well as help build an email database to “stay in touch with your loyal customers” and boost customer feedback.
SBA’s National Small Business Week Set For May 1-7 (04/05/2022)
The Lower Bucks (NJ) Times (3/28) said the Small Business Administration’s “National Small Business Week: Building a Better America Through Entrepreneurship is set for May 1-7.” SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said the virtual event “celebrates the resiliency and tenacity of America’s entrepreneurs who are doing their part to power our nation’s historic economic comeback.”
Small Businesses Advised To Shift Social Media Strategy To Cope With Instagram Priority Change (04/05/2022)
Insider (3/28, York) reported that in late 2021, Instagram “announced a shift to prioritizing video-focused content over photo-focused content,” and “small businesses and creators [said] that the frequent updates and changes make it difficult to grow their accounts, especially those rooted in photo content.” Social media coach Kar Brulhart “add[ed] that Instagram’s algorithm is prioritizing video and reels to compete with YouTube and TikTok,” and advised entrepreneurs to “create stop-motion reels to showcase their products in various frames or film clips to compile into a montage.” Amanda Teo, a director of marketing at the sustainable-packaging company Noissue, “add[ed] that video content produced in-house shouldn’t feel overly produced,” and was quoted saying, “We’ve tested more-produced videos versus more-authentic videos, and the authentic videos that look like you just filmed it off your phone with minimal editing performed really well.”
Wages and Benefits
NFIB Jobs Report: Small Business Employment Slows (03/07/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 7, 2024) – According to NFIB’s monthly jobs report, 37% (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reported jobs openings they could not fill in the current period, down two points from January and the lowest reading since January 2021. The percent of small business owners reporting labor quality as their top small business operating problem declined five points from January to 16%, the lowest reading since April 2020.
Read the full article here
Increasing access to affordable child care is a huge piece of the workforce puzzle. (02/08/2024)
Small Business Owners Urge Missouri Lawmakers to Bolster Workforce, Increase Access to Affordable Child Care
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NFIB Jobs Report: Labor Quality Remains Top Concern for Small Business Owners (01/04/2024)
The percent of small business owners reporting labor quality as their top small business operating problem remains elevated at 20%, according to NFIB’s monthly jobs report.
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NFIB Jobs Report: Tight Labor Market Continues to Hinder Main Street (11/02/2023)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nov. 2, 2023) – In October, 43% (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, according to NFIB’s monthly jobs report. The percent of small business owners reporting labor quality as their top small business operating problem remains elevated at 23%.
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HSA Expansion Legislation Benefits Small Businesses (09/28/2023)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Sept. 28, 2023) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, issued the following statement regarding the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee legislation on expanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
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NFIB Jobs Report: Small Business Owners Look to Raise Compensation in Coming Months (08/31/2023)
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Aug. 31, 2023) – According to NFIB’s monthly jobs report, 40% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, down two points from last month and the lowest level since February 2021. Seasonally adjusted, a net 36% of owners reported raising compensation in August, tying June’s reading, and marking the lowest reading since May 2021. A net 26% of owners plan to raise compensation in the next three months, up five points from July.
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