In tough economic times, like these we have now, it is more critical than ever that a small business is covered by effective liability small business insurance that is comprehensive enough to provide for all likelihoods that may emerge. General liability is an important, even necessary, facet of the long term business plan for any small business.
The irony, however, is that many small businesses, and especially those in the service industry (painters, lawn services, plumbers, etc…) can many times view general liability insurance only through the filter of something that one company or another requires of them to be able to provide their respective service. The truth is quite different, and potentially deadly for such a business.
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If you are wondering about surety bonds and whether or not you are supposed to have one, that is a great question to be asking. The fact is, if you are supposed to have a surety bond in place (as per the federal or state government ) and don’t, you are in a very dangerous place as far as the government is concerned, because they have the ability and the power to come in and shut you down. See, if you are mandated to have a surety bond in place, that is because they have deemed the risk to the general public to be too great to not mandate that requirement upon persons in your line of work. As is similar in taxes, it is better that you do the legwork on the front end and get it in place, because if you have a surety bond already secured by the time the government finds you, you will probably be ok.
Businesses that typically are required to have a surety bond include but are not limited to car dealers, some insurance companies, some construction companies working in certain niche industries (depending on the local government many times), and the like.
These days, you can probably Google what you want to know about it and find it out there on the web. While that is true, I still recommend double checking with your local authorities (or as close to local as you can get), because, as they say, ignorance of the law is no excuse. IF you are in violation of a surety bond statute or code and your government officials find out, “the internet told me thus and so about surety bonds” isn’t going to get you very far.
Preparation is always a good idea, and in few cases more than surety bonds is it more important. While surety bonds are a good idea anyway, when they are mandated by the government it is a completely different ballgame.
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Surety bond information goes back further than many people think, even those who are familiar with them. The code of Hammarubi is known to have references to surety bonds, and that was back in the “pre-internet days” of 2700 B.C. Even back then, one party was hiring another to ensure that a third party kept their end of the bargain. So it is today, except that the government has stepped in and mandated that certain types of businesses have surety bonds in place for the protection of their clients. Usually, there is some sort of fiduciary element to the relationship between the business and the client, thus the reasoning for the surety bond.
The traditional process for securing this surety bond has been one filled with arduous paperwork, fretful waiting, and worrying about whether it would be granted or not. Remember, this is a mandated surety bond, so if it goes away, the business cannot function. This is the main source of the stress for the business owner, but there is a second main source of worry and fear when it comes to business owners and surety bonds. If a business owner has bad credit, regardless of whether or not they came into that state as a result of this economy or not, they are unable to get surety bonds in many cases.
In both instances, some companies have stepped into the breach. Offering a streamlined system, they remove two producers of angst in the first element; time and worry. Time that a business owner has to sit and wait for news he must have to operate his business is a very stressful process indeed. These companies remove that by using a internet-based instant approval process. This removes all the time element, and the instant part removes the waiting.
These companies, in most cases also offer programs for businesses with bad or not perfect credit, removing the fear that they would not get covered.
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Some people tend to be in denial about the importance of getting small business insurance. The people who seek small business insurance are using a preventive measure. The truth of the matter is that in theory so many people need small business insurance, but at times neglect opportunities to get it because they assume they cannot afford it. The people who seek small business insurance are more likely to see their businesses succeed however. The truth of the matter is that you can get deals on small business insurance if you look hard enough. A company like Sadler Insurance will do everything they can to make sure you can find affordable small business insurance when necessary. It does not matter which state you happen to live in. We can be talking about the state of Indiana or the state of New Mexico for example.
The Small Business Administration can even help someone purchase general contractor licensing requirements when necessary. Karen Mills, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration owned and operated several small businesses in the state of Maine so she understands the need to purchase small business insurance in most situations. It protects your assets within the business itself. You want to make sure that your business venture does not make you go bankrupt.
The hope is that all local officers in the Small Business Administration understand the need and the importance of helping people obtain small business insurance for people who seek it. Karen Mills would be disappointed if she found that there were people in the bureaucracy of the SBA who are not committed to this cause. Both of Karen Mills’ U.S. Senators from Maine understand the need for the SBA to work properly when people seek small business insurance.
There are non-government agencies such as the National Federation of Independent Businesses who can possibly help a small business owner find the insurance that they seek. The NFIB is a great organization and a lot of people understand that. The members of the NFIB can pull their ideas together on how to be able to obtain small business insurance. It is good to have people around and to know people who have faced the same issues that you face. The people who start small businesses are the life blood of the economy so if it truly helps them, they need insurance. Small business insurance can be good.
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When you are thinking about starting a business making concrete blocks, an important consideration is family. This may seem redundant or abundantly obvious, but I do not believe that to be the case. Especially since you are starting it in your garage, this is critical. If your spouse is not on board with the idea, this will be especially difficult.
Concrete block businesses have their own set of heartaches. There is no need to add to these by rashly pursuing a course of action that is doomed before it starts. If you start a concrete block business in the home, any person living in that home becomes a kind of defacto partner in that business, for this reason: they participate, willingly or unwillingly, in many of the pains associated with making the cement blocks. If you are a dad, and doing this business on the side after hours, your kids are robbed of some of that dad time they have come to expect, since you have to spend your time making the blocks that your customers have ordered. The same if you are a husband or wife. If, in addition to your normal job, you are taking on the concrete block orders, you have less time, but in many ways less mental and emotional energy, to devote to them. Now, every time your concrete block machine makes too much noise, or the neighbors complain, or the machine wakes the baby, this issue gets exacerbated. Now, instead of being an act of provision for your family’s future, it is a source of constant irritation.
Remember your partners, they will make or break your business.
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