As small business owners, we have the obligation to do business with other small business owners. Don't expect other small businesses to bring their business to you, if you don't bring your business to them! Tune in to see what we present as your small business challenge this week! Comment below with your accepted challenge to hold yourself accountable.

In order to be eligible for your 2014 deductible to decrease by 20%, policies must be active in June. Last day to apply for a June 1 effective date is Tuesday 5/28.

In this video, Kandi Mensing, SPHR, MBA, describes her reason for starting her company. Small businesses and main street communities are the key to the success of our Country and local economies. How do we bring jobs back to our Country; START A BUSINESS and employ people. Everyone was meant to be an entrepreneur. You see this shift happening in our economy.

Posted on May 16, 2013 by [email protected] 
Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr once famously observed, “Time takes time.” While I’m sure that Ringo Starr wasn’t talking specifically about health insurance as far as I know, his keen observation remains a timely one as we witness the gradual unfolding of health care reform. It makes you think doesn’t it??

The Affordable Care Act is now just five months away from the historic first open enrollment period of the new federal-state health exchanges. It is supposed to provide a simplified, one-stop online source for affordable health insurance for individuals and small businesses. But the on-line 21 page application has our federal government scrambling to find a more “stream-lined” version that will be less demonstrative for the many people that cannot maneuver around a computer let alone a complicated website and application process with no help.

The individual mandate portion of the law, of course, requires all Americans to obtain health insurance or face a penalty on their federal income tax. But many are in the dark and will have to pay more for their coverage through the exchange verses if they would contact us at “Healthcare Solutions team” for the help that they so badly need.

Unfortunately, a health tracking poll done in April by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 4 in 10 of us (42 percent) still don’t know that the Affordable Care Act is the law of the land. Why? Well, 12 percent think Congress repealed it, 7 percent think the Supreme Court overturned it, and the other 23 percent are just plain confused about it. And because our species tends to be change-averse, more of us (40 percent) have an unfavorable rather than a favorable view (35 percent) of the law just now. With that in mind our insurance agents are ready and able to help all of you face your fear with the change that is looming in the very near future!

Health care reform is a huge change that’s been surrounded by a lot of noise and will take, yes, some time for people to become comfortable with it. President Barack Obama acknowledged as much in a press conference last week, calling health care reform “a big undertaking” with many “glitches and bumps” ahead.

What do we think about this quandary? Most Americans haven’t digested health care reform because it’s not likely to affect them initially. That’s because they now have health insurance through their individual plan that offers all the same benefits as the new exchange plans, is theirs to control and they will still save money!

Oh sure, you all will try to understand the process and the concept of the new exchange plans…or not!

But as Ringo observed, that’s gonna take some time.

Do not sell yourself short on your resume. You only have 20-30 seconds to catch a recruiters attention before they move on to the next resume. In this video we give you a quick tip about listing your education on your resume. We hope you enjoy.

By: Kandi Mensing

We talked with a local business this morning that is being sued for 'wrongful termination' after they fired a new-hire that was still in their probationary period. The former employee is claiming that they were fired because of their sexual orientation. The ex-employee has a good case because of the absence of good documentation and processes in the Company. We try to help businesses BEFORE this happens, and avoid this for our clients. Sometimes, though, it takes the business being exposed to the harsh reality that is workplace compliance before they realize they need us. The average defense costs for wrongful termination are $85,000 and the jury verdict averages $500,000.

Our marketing firm, Design 5, out of Lebanon, IL is amazing! We highly recommend them. We met at a networking event and began working together immediately. It all started with the need for them to design an open house invitation for an upcoming MCS event. They did such a good job that we also asked for them to work on the MCS brand. We were in desperate need of a consistent brand, creativity, and color. Design 5 learned about our operations and worked hard to create a brand that was appropriate. Our brand is now distinct, consistent, and absolutely beautiful thanks to Design 5.
Click the picture to go to their website.