Success story: Trux Trailer Repair Inc.
Dedication to customers and staff keeps business rolling for young Springfield entrepreneur
Traveling south from I-44 on North West Bypass, visitors to Springfield, Mo., encounter a bevy of businesses devoted to tractor-trailer service and repair. But one of those businesses — Trux Trailer Repair Inc. — stands above all the others in appearance and performance.
"We put a lot of emphasis on keeping the place running smoothly," says owner and President Scott Coleman. "Every afternoon when 4:15 rolls around it's clean-up time. I get out there with everyone on the crew to make sure everything is in good shape for the next day. I don't ask my employees to do anything I wouldn't do."
That daily ritual lets his staff know he cares about them, their performance and the way things get done for the customers at Trux.
The 38-year-old entrepreneur exudes energy and enthusiasm. He bought the business in January 2009, from previous owner Darrell Kays. But the business didn't change hands until Scott had finished a lot of homework.
Originally from Potosi, with an interest in a dump trucking business started by his father, Scott and his wife, Mary, decided to explore new horizons. They targeted Springfield, Mo., and engaged a business broker in 2008 to scout existing businesses for sale in the area. After months of serious looking the broker introduced Scott to Kays, who was seeking a buyer for his 36-year-old tractor-trailer service firm.
"We started serious negotiations in June 2008," recalls Scott. "Darryl was ready to retire and I remember him saying at the time, 'We'll make it happen no matter what.'"
Read this complete story with additional photos and a video.
University of Missouri Extension's Business Development Program crosses $1 billion milestone in economic impact for Missouri firms
For the first time since the program's inception, clients of MU Extension's Business Development Program achieved more than $1.19 billion in economic impact for the state of Missouri in fiscal year 2010.
Specifically the BDP, through its programs the Missouri Small Business & Technology Development Centers and Missouri Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, assisted its clients in attaining the following:
- Increase in sales: $515,105,270
- Investments: $203,972,794
- Government contracts: $467,710,068
- Research grants funded: $8,457,408
In addition, the MO SBTDC and MO PTAC programs assisted clients in:
- Creating or retaining 16,143 jobs and
- Starting 265 businesses statewide
"Small businesses are the job creators in our state and nation, creating investments, sales and quality of life in our communities," says Mary Paulsell, director of communications for the BDP. "These results validate what economic development research has said for some time — that small, innovative and entrepreneurial companies hold the key to economic recovery."
The MO SBTDC and MO PTAC programs work with a variety of companies each year. The economic impact many of those firms realize is self-reported by the business owners through a verifiable process that guarantees their accuracy.
"This year, we are particularly pleased that our assistance has resulted in more than $1.19 billion in economic impact collectively for these client firms," Paulsell adds. "These results demonstrate not only the ingenuity, determination and skill of the state's businesses, but also the power of our technical assistance and education in creating healthy and sustainable Missouri companies.
"Investments, sales increases, research awards and government contracts alone total $1.19 billion," Paulsell says. "And that figure does not include the value of the thousands of jobs created or the new companies started."
Business going green
Green supply chain requirements mean major changes for small Missouri businesses
Businesses resisting the notion that they may someday have to monitor their greenhouse gases, water use, packaging and product toxicity may be handing over business to those who embrace going green. The two largest buyers of products in the United States, the federal government and Walmart, are beginning to require their suppliers to track and reduce environmental impacts.
The federal supply chain turned a deeper shade of green when President Obama signed Executive Order 13514 in October 2009. EO 13514 requires that 95 percent of all new government purchasing contracts seek products and services that are energy and water-efficient, non-toxic or less-toxic, contain no ozone depleting chemicals and are made from plant-based or recycled materials. The executive order also mandates that federal agencies work with existing vendors and contractors to reduce the environmental impacts throughout the supply chain.
The General Services Administration, the government agency that oversees billions of dollars of federal procurement annually, issued a 65-page report in April in response to EO 13514. In July, a Federal Times article summarized the key components of the report, which will have far reaching implications for government contractors:
- Government contractors will have to track their greenhouse gas emissions or risk losing new contracts. This policy could take effect in 2011 or 2012.
- Vendors that create an inventory of their overall greenhouse gas emissions could get preferential treatment when bidding on contracts, and companies could get extra credit for tracking emissions throughout their supply chains and getting third-party verification of their findings.
- Contractors demonstrating low emissions could also be given set-aside contracts in the same way that small and disadvantaged businesses are today.
Read this complete story.
Small business support organizations initiate movement to champion Missouri's entrepreneurs
Several Missouri business support organizations have joined together recently to create legislative and public awareness about the importance of entrepreneurship and the need to foster its creation and success within the state.
The Missouri Opportunities and Resources for Entrepreneurs — MORE — initiative was created as a result of discussions among Associated Industries of Missouri; the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Missouri Economic Development Council; Missouri Enterprise; the Missouri Small Business & Technology Development Centers; the Missouri Technology Corporation; and the Missouri Chapter of the National Federation for Independent Businesses.
"Together, along with the state's colleges and universities, these groups form the most comprehensive outreach network in our state," says Max Summers, interim director of the University of Missouri Business Development Program, which houses the MO SBTDC. "We believe the time has come for us to coordinate our efforts in creating public awareness, conducting legislative outreach and providing resources and assistance to entrepreneurs. There is no duplication in what we each bring to this effort; rather, we complement one another in our support of Missouri business, and we want to communicate that to policymakers and the state. Entrepreneurship and small business are the keys to our economic recovery."
Summers cites a March 2010 finding by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which used U.S. Census Bureau data to conclude that between 1999 and 2008 the median household income in Missouri dropped 14.6 percent, the steepest drop among all 50 states. He sees small business playing a major role in reversing that finding.
Brad Jones, NFIB state director for Missouri, agrees.
"Entrepreneurs are the job creators," Jones says. "Small businesses and the self-employed are responsible for all of the net job creation not only in Missouri, but nationwide. We in Missouri need to seize the opportunity to better support those companies and create an environment in which they can thrive. Eighty-eight percent of the firms in this state have fewer than 10 employees."
Read this complete story.
SBA news:
SBA to expand access to federal contracting opportunities for WOSBs
WASHINGTON, D.C. - With the recent publication of a final rule in the Federal Register, the U.S. Small Business Administration has begun implementing its women-owned small business contracting program. The agency expects the program to be available for WOSBs in early 2011.
The rule is part of the Obama administration's overall commitment to expanding opportunities for small businesses (in particular those owned by women, socially and economically disadvantaged persons and veterans) to compete for federal contracts. This rule identifies 83 industries in which WOSBs are under-represented or substantially under-represented in the federal contract marketplace. In addition to opening up more opportunities for WOSBs, the rule is also another tool to help achieve the statutory goal that 5 percent of federal contracting dollars go to women-owned small businesses.
"Women-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing sectors of our nation's economy, and even during the economic downturn of the last few years, have been one of the key job creation engines in communities across the country," says Karen Mills, SBA administrator. "Federal contracts provide critical opportunities for owners of small firms to take their business to the next level and create good-paying jobs. Despite their growth and the fact that women lead some of the strongest and most innovative companies, women-owned firms continue to be under-represented in the federal contracting marketplace. This rule will be a platform for changing that by providing greater opportunities for women-owned small businesses to compete for and win federal contracts."
Some of the components of the WOSB rule include:
- To be eligible, a firm must be 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more women, and primarily managed by one or more women. The women must be U.S. citizens. The firm must be "small" in its primary industry in accordance with SBA's size standards for that industry. In order for a WOSB to be deemed "economically disadvantaged," its owners must demonstrate economic disadvantage in accordance with the requirements set forth in the final rule.
- Based upon the analysis in a study commissioned by the SBA from the Kauffman-RAND Institute, the final rule identifies 83 industries (identified by "NAICS" codes) in which women-owned small businesses are under-represented or substantially under-represented in federal procurements.
- In accordance with the statute, the final rule authorizes a set-aside of federal contracts for WOSBs where the anticipated contract price does not exceed $5 million in the case of manufacturing contracts and $3 million in the case of other contracts. Contracts with values in excess of these limits are not subject to set-aside under this program.
- The final rule removes the requirement, set forth in a prior proposed version, that each federal agency certify that it had engaged in discrimination against women-owned small businesses in order for the program to apply to contracting by that agency.
- The rule allows women-owned small businesses to self-certify as "WOSBs" or to be certified by third-party certifiers, including government entities and private certification groups. It requires WOSBs that self-certify to submit a robust certification verification, to complete the certifications at the federal Online Representation and Certification Application website, and also to submit a core set of eligibility-related documents to an online "document repository" to be maintained by the SBA. (Note: The SBA plans to monitor applicant eligibility and to pursue vigorously punitive action against ineligible firms that seek to take advantage of the program and in so doing to deny its benefits to the intended legitimate WOSBs.)
IRS roundup
IRS forms, additional guidance now available on new small business health care tax credit
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Internal Revenue Service in early December released final guidance for small employers eligible to claim the new small business health care tax credit for the 2010 tax year.
New Form 8941, Credit for Small Employer Health Insurance Premiums and newly revised Form 990-T are now available on IRS.gov. The IRS also posted on its website the instructions to Form 8941 and Notice 2010-82, both of which are designed to help small employers correctly figure and claim the credit.
Included in the Affordable Care Act enacted in March, the small business health care tax credit is designed to encourage both small businesses and small tax-exempt organizations to offer health insurance coverage to their employees for the first time or maintain coverage they already have.
The new guidance addresses small business questions about which firms qualify for the credit by clarifying that a broad range of employers meet the eligibility requirements, including religious institutions that provide coverage through denominational organizations, small employers that cover their workers through insured multi-employer health and welfare plans, and employers that subsidize their employees' health care costs through a broad range of contribution arrangements.
In general, the credit is available to small employers that pay at least half of the premiums for single health insurance coverage for their employees. It is specifically targeted to help small businesses and tax-exempt organizations that primarily employ moderate- and lower-income workers.
Small businesses can claim the credit for 2010 through 2013 and for any two years after that. For tax years 2010 to 2013, the maximum credit is 35 percent of premiums paid by eligible small businesses and 25 percent of premiums paid by eligible tax-exempt organizations. Beginning in 2014, the maximum tax credit will increase to 50 percent of premiums paid by eligible small business employers and 35 percent of premiums paid by eligible tax-exempt organizations.
The maximum credit goes to smaller employers — those with 10 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees — paying annual average wages of $25,000 or less. The credit is completely phased out for employers that have 25 or more FTEs or that pay average wages of $50,000 or more per year. Because the eligibility rules are based in part on the number of FTEs, not the number of employees, employers that use part-time workers may qualify even if they employ more than 25 individuals.
Eligible small businesses will first use Form 8941 to figure the credit and then include the amount of the credit as part of the general business credit on its income tax return.
Tax-exempt organizations will first use Form 8941 to figure their refundable credit, and then claim the credit on Line 44f of Form 990-T. Though primarily filed by those organizations liable for the tax on unrelated business income, Form 990-T will also be used by any eligible tax-exempt organization to claim the credit, regardless of whether they are subject to this tax.
More information about the credit, including a step-by-step guide to claiming the credit and answers to frequently asked questions, is available on the Affordable Care Act page on IRS.gov.
IRS announces 2011 standard mileage rates
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Internal Revenue Service this month issued the 2011 optional standard mileage rates used to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical or moving purposes.
Beginning on Jan. 1, the standard mileage rates for the use of a car (also vans, pickups or panel trucks) will be:
- 51 cents per mile for business miles driven;
- 19 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes;
- 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations.
The standard mileage rate for business is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile. The rate for medical and moving purposes is based on the variable costs as determined by the same study. Independent contractor Runzheimer International conducted the study.
A taxpayer may not use the business standard mileage rate for a vehicle after using any depreciation method under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System or after claiming a Section 179 deduction for that vehicle. In addition, the business standard mileage rate cannot be used for any vehicle used for hire or for more than four vehicles used simultaneously.
Taxpayers always have the option of calculating the actual costs of using their vehicle rather than using the standard mileage rates.
Revenue Procedure 2010-51 contains additional details regarding the standard mileage rates.
Reminder:
Profit Mastery
offers valuable financial management training
for small business owners, managers, CPAs
Profit Mastery, a program designed to enhance the financial management skills of all business professionals, will be offered Jan. 13-14, on the Missouri S&T campus in Rolla.
The two-day course is full of case studies to give real-life scenarios to determine break-even points; to use your income statement as a management tool; to understand the impacts of lowering or raising your prices, the volume of sales and the costs associated with your product or service.
You also will learn to project the income statement, develop a related cash budget, determine reliable financial forecasts, project the seasonality in your business, and apply management efficiencies to your forecast, according to Chris Shoemaker, MU Extension business development specialist. Shoemaker, a certified trainer of Profit Mastery, will shepard participants through the intense two-day workshop.
Sessions will run from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Jan 13-14, at the Havener Center on the MS&T campus in Rolla. Registration deadline is Jan. 4; cost is $395. CPAs will be eligible for 16 hours of CPE units upon successful completion of the training.
Class is limited: register online now
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