Self Made: NASE's Blog

NASE Calls on Congress to Act

Earlier this week, the NASE submitted a statement for the record to the House Ways and Means Committee in response to the committee’s hearing on the status of the ACA enrollment. In the NASE statement, we expressed our concerns that leading up to the October 1st launch, the administration was not providing sufficient details and answers regarding the Exchange Marketplace. With the lackluster launch, we are now asking congress to eliminate the open enrollment deadlines for the 2014 calendar year and to delay the individual mandate penalty for one tax-filing year.

The Government Shutdown & Reopening

As many of you already know, starting at the beginning of the month, the Government shut down for 16 days. Standard & Poor estimates that the shutdown cost the U.S. economy $24 billion during that span. While many government employees were directly affected, they were not the only ones. Many small businesses felt the effects of the shutdown in every corner of the country.

The More You Know Infographic

Last week, we released an infographic to increase awareness about the upcoming changes to Health Care and how it relates to the twenty three million self-employed in this country. Next week, on October 1st, national and state health care Exchanges will begin open enrollment. Currently, the federal government has provided limited details and incomplete information which makes it difficult to plan and make decisions regarding your health care in the future.

Crowdfunding Contest Winner Announced

Earlier this year, we here at the NASE announced a partnership with the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) and Fundable to launch a crowdfunding contest. The contest was a great success for many small businesses and the winner that emerged was The Cookie Bar from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Who is Financing Small Businesses?

The SBA’s Office of Advocacy annually publishes a report that tracks lending to small businesses. The report shows how small businesses are financed, or in the worst case, denied the financing they need. This could be the banking industry’s worst nightmare. Small businesses are too important to the economy to be heckled by lenders. This analysis provides the critical answers on how much they are heckled and why.

Catching up with a Future Entrepreneur

Joe Pielago of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. received the NASE Future Entrepreneur award in 2009. After four years at the University of San Francisco, he recently graduated with a BS in Business Administration. Read on to join us in catching up with Joe.

Employer Mandate: Let’s Push it Back a Year

The Obama administration took some muscle out of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by pushing the Employer Mandate implementation to 2015. The administration has started marketing efforts, but this mandate must be a hard sell. The policy calls for any business that employs over 50 full time workers (30 hours per week) to provide insurance for their employees.

New NASE Affordable Care Act Brief

The NASE has created to two page brief that highlights the Affordable Care Act and its impact on America's smallest Businesses. It is a great tool that breaks down the complicated legislation and makes it easier to understand.

NASE, SBE Council, and Fundable Launch $10K Crowdfunding Project #RYouFundable

Last week, the National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE), the nation’s leading resource for the self-employed and micro-businesses, and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council), an advocacy and research organization for entrepreneurs, partnered with Fundable, a crowdfunding platform partner focused exclusively on startup companies, to launch a contest helping startups and existing business fundraise to start or grow their company.

Safeguarding Computers From Power Surges and Outages [Guest Post]

Irregular power surges, voltage drops (brown outs), and outages can all cause irrevocable damage the internal components of your computer - find out how you can protect yourself.