The State Department of Labor is issuing an order eliminating the subminimum wage for ‘miscellaneous’ industries statewide.
The order impacts over 70,000 tipped employees and will end confusion and outright wage theft that evidence shows robs them of tipped income they rightfully earned, state officials said.
Workers that will be impacted by the new measure include: nail salon workers, hairdressers, aestheticians, car wash workers, valet parking attendants, door-persons, tow truck drivers, dog groomers and tour guides.
“In New York, we believe in a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work,” Governor Cuomo said. “But after an exhaustive investigation conducted by the Department of Labor, it’s clear the tip system in many situations is needlessly complicated, allowing unscrupulous businesses to flout our nation-leading minimum wage laws and robbing workers of the paycheck they earned. That ends now.
“I am directing the labor department to put an end to the tip credit in the industries with the highest risk of wage theft to help restore fairness for workers, many of whom are critical to the service industries that keep our economy moving forward.”
Business Report: Lobster Lessons For The New Year
by Rose Miller
We take a trip to Cape Cod for my husband’s business conference each summer. It’s at a beautiful resort filled with beach, sun and sand. My friends come along because my husband is tied up at business meetings during the day.
One of the highlights at the conference is their annual lobster bake. The dining area overlooks the ocean and the menu consists of New England chowder, corn, mussels, potatoes, corn and the main event—lobster.
I love lobster. However, I know not everyone does. I find its one of those things that people either love or hate. I know this may sound peculiar but I found some of the conversations at the table about lobster parallel some of the conversations I hear related to professions and jobs. I’m calling it Lobster Lessons.
Grey Ghost Bicycle Shop In Glens Falls Plans To Open A Second Store in Saratoga Springs
Grey Ghost Bicycles in Glens Falls is opening a new store in Saratoga Springs.
Located at 60 West Ave., the new retail space is more than 2,000 square feet and is part of the larger retail strip building that contains other businesses such as Wolberg Lighting Design & Electrical Supply.
According to Steve Fairchild, general manager of Grey Ghost Bicycles, the existing space only needed light modifications, including cleaning and painting, which is being done by the company.
Launched in 2012, Grey Ghost Bicycles is a full-service bike shop. Along with e-bikes and professional mountain and racing bikes, they also sell bikes for children and casual riders. The company recently moved their main store into the former Post-Star building in Glens Falls.
‘Sensory Six’ Commercial, Residential Design Company Moves To Saratoga Springs
Courtesy Sensory Six
By Jennifer Farnsworth
Sensory Six is a commercial and residential design firm that focuses on comprehensive services to make their projects easy to manage.
The firm is located at 8 Butler Place in Saratoga Springs, a space that they say fits all of their needs.
Sensory Six President Sandra M. Fox said she feels Saratoga is a place that works for the nature of her business. As a resident of Saratoga Springs, she said she loves being able to both live and work in the area.
“I live in Saratoga Springs and love it here. It was important to me to have a studio that was close to home and also supports my values. Saratoga Springs is known for history, architecture, the arts, wellness, nature, beauty, and great restaurants, all of which are aligned with me and my business,” said Fox.
The Spa City is not only beneficial to her, but is a place that her entire staff is happy with because of its convenience and inspirational vibe.
Owners Of Kru Coffee In Saratoga Springs To Open Second Shop In Burlington, Vermont
©2020 Saratoga Photographer.com
By Jennifer Farnsworth
Kru Coffee in Saratoga Springs is opening a second location in Burlington, Vt.
Owner Kyle Brock said it will open in about a month. The coffee shop will be located in the Church Street Marketplace.
Brock said they will look upon additional family members to run the Vermont location. His sister in-law, Lisa Weber, will manage the Burlington café with her husband, Tom. Brock said Lisa will run the front end, while Tom will handle the kitchen operations. While the menu will mimic that of the Saratoga cafe, Brock said one major difference will be the addition of gourmet donuts.
Company Owners Should Develop Business Plans That Reflect Their Vision for Future
By Susan E. Campbell
As a new year arrives, many company owners review their business plans to make sure every financial decision, marketing program and staff member remain aligned with their company vision.
“Most of the time a business plan is stuck in a drawer and only revisited when the owner needs something, such as a loan,” said William Brigham, director of the Small Business Development Center of the University of Albany School of Business.
“We see a thousand businesses a year from 11 counties, and people would be surprised by the lack of a formal business plan,” said Brigham, who has been with the nonprofit organization for 20 years.
Financial advisors agree that a solid business plan is at the heart of a company’s success.
Business Report: Are Your Financial And Tax Advisers Talking?
By ROB SNELL
Now that we’ve closed the book on 2019, it’s officially tax season. As you prepare your tax returns for the April 15 deadline, you might already start looking for opportunities to improve your tax-related financial outcomes in the future.
One important step you can take is to connect your tax professional with your financial advisor.
Together, these professionals can help you take advantage of some valuable strategies:
• Roth vs. traditional IRA. If you’re eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA and a traditional IRA, you might find it beneficial to have your financial advisor talk to your tax professional about which is the better choice.
New App Helps Manage Self Employment Taxes
For entrepreneurs and freelancers who struggle with quarterly taxes, help is here. AARP Foundation has launched AARP Foundation Self-Saver, an online resource and iOS app that enables the self-employed to anticipate and manage large expenses such as taxes.
Self-Saver is an all-in-one tool 1099 earners can rely on to calculate taxes, itemize expenses, automatically withhold the right amount of tax and submit quarterly filings to the IRS. The convenient, streamlined process makes it easy for users to get a handle on self-employment taxes.
Economical Outlook 2020: Mark Shaw
Courtesy StoredTech
Technology in 2020 is going to be summed up in one word: security. Everything from the latest news with Iran to the multitude of private businesses, as well as public entities like towns and city governments will be consumed by technology and its security.
Security was brought to light by the target level hacks and has filtered down to every local town. Cyber criminals are focusing more and more on smaller and smaller targets.
Why? Because they are easier to attack, they have less support to deal with it and they are often a gateway to a larger number of targets.
Take your local HVAC heating and cooling provider for example. They could be a small business making under one million dollars a year, but they have access to technology they have installed in many major firms. Every hospital, government agency and business in the region depends on their technology to keep their employees warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Having this technology is very commonplace, but it’s a great entry point for cyber criminals. Imagine if they could breach a small firm and gain access to all their client’s networks. This is exactly what is happening.
Economical Outlook 2020: Todd Shimkus
Courtesy Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce
By Todd Shimkus
Before we look forward to 2020, the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce had such a great 2019 that we have to take a quick look back on just some of our biggest accomplishments, including:
1. In partnership with Discover Saratoga, Mannix Marketing, Skidmore College, the Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Association and the Saratoga Springs City Center, the Chamber is now one of seven organizations collaborating to provide one online community events calendar.
Event organizers can enter their information about events in Saratoga County on any of our seven websites and that information feeds to all separate sites. The goal is to make sure our local events and festivals are found and more people attend.
2. In partnership with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, Empire State Development, former state Sen. Karen Marchione, state Sen. Daphne Jordan, Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, Mayor Meg Kelly, the Chamber hired Munter Enterprises and built a 7,700-square-foot field house on the Navy base in Saratoga Springs.