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Business Report: Preventing Small Business Fraud

Posted onFebruary 18, 2021February 19, 2021
Paul Zarecki, CPA, is a partner with Ferraro, Amodio & Zarecki, CPAs.

By Paul Zarecki
Small businesses are more likely to become the victims of fraud than larger businesses.
Small businesses are the most vulnerable to occupational fraud and abuse, according to the Association for Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). In its 2020 Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, ACFE cites that the smallest organizations, 100 employees or less, suffered higher median losses than did the largest organizations (10,000 employees or more).
While the largest companies suffered losses of $140,000 on average, small businesses’ losses averaged $150,000, based on its survey.
Considering the potential losses and how much more of an impact $150,000 is to a smaller business than a larger business, it befits small-business owners to make the prevention of fraud a priority. Though no business owner wants to feel it employs unscrupulous people, sometimes temptation or personal financial pressures can push even the hardest working, most trusted employee into perpetrating fraud.
Here’s how you can prevent fraudulent activity in your workplace:

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COVID, Other Factors Push Lumber Price Increases, But Sales Figures Are Still High

Posted onFebruary 18, 2021February 19, 2021
Doug Ford, left, Curtis Lumber vice president, and Bob Eakin, director of sales.
©2021 SaratogaPhotographer.com

By Christine Graf
The timber industry has been dramatically impacted by COVID-19 and according to the National Association of Home Builders, lumber prices have risen by 130 percent since April.
The price increase is attributed to various factors, including supply chain disruptions and material shortages. As a result of the pandemic, many lumber producers were forced to close temporarily or operate at reduced capacity. Social distancing protocol made it difficult for plants to produce at pre-pandemic levels and increased operating costs.
Prior to the pandemic, lumber supplies and pricing had already been impacted by tariffs that were imposed on wood being imported from Canada. The tariffs are as high as 20 percent for treated lumber.
“The import duty or tariff that has been placed on Canadian lumber that is coming into the United States is so high that the Canadians are shipping wood to other areas rather than the U.S.,” said Doug Ford, vice president of sales and purchasing at Curtis Lumber. “The tariff was increased within the last year or two, and it’s put Canada in a position that they would rather sell it to someone else.”

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Barbera Homes & Development Will Build 132-Unit Condo Project In Clifton Park

Posted onFebruary 18, 2021February 19, 2021

By Andrea Harwood Palmer
Barbera Homes & Development will embark this year on a 132-unit condominium neighborhood in Clifton Park.
The 28-acre Park West community will be connected via sidewalks throughout leading to an open space common area, mail kiosk and gazebo, according to company president Frank Barbera.
The Park West project is comprised of 27 4-unit buildings, five 2-unit twin-style duplex buildings and 14 single-family homes. A combination of first floor master suites and one-floor, ranch-style homes will be the design for the 2- and 4-unit buildings. Single-family units will offer a contemporary colonial style.
Floor plans will be between 1,200 and 1,700 square feet.
The community is centrally located near the new round-about at routes 146 and 146A in Clifton Park, behind the Raven’s Wood Restaurant. Route 146 is a primary commercial corridor through the town.

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Curtis Lumber Grows With Acquisition Of Wiley Brothers Lumber Yard In Schaghticoke

Posted onFebruary 18, 2021February 19, 2021

Curtis Lumber announced the acquisition of Wiley Brothers at 1854 Route 40 in Schaghticoke.
Wiley Brothers has been a family-owned lumber yard and home improvement store for 75 years.
Adding this new location brings the number of Curtis Lumber Co. locations to 23, all of which are independent, family-owned, full-service home centers and building supply yards.
Officials said moving forward, the store location will carry Curtis Lumber’s premium products, superior hardware assortment, and be staffed with the expertise to cater to both builders and homeowners.
Curtis Lumber has long served the area with delivery service from nearby stores and this acquisition will serve to increase delivery and product availability to more of Rensselaer county.

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Estimating The Costs For Construction Projects Is A Difficult Task During COVID

Posted onFebruary 18, 2021February 19, 2021

By Christine Graf
Economists and industry experts predict that the construction industry will continue to be plagued by rising material costs, material shortages and supply chain disruptions throughout 2021.
“The price increases are pretty drastic,” said Sara Turoczy, manager of business development at MLB Construction Services in Malta. “Along with lumber, we are seeing steel pricing skyrocket.”
MLB is a commercial builder. When the pandemic hit, they were working on projects for several customers including Saratoga Performing Art Center. The work at SPAC included construction of a two-story concession and venue space, as well as a smaller concessions building and an outdoor pavilion.
In addition to continuing work on projects that were underway, MLB took on numerous last-minute projects.
“We’ve been able to take on emergency calls in everything from medical to the hospitality industry,” said Turoczy. “In the beginning, when no one really knew protocol or what needed to happen, healthcare was really scrambling to try to do the best that they could to section people in the right areas and keep everyone safe.”
When company president Jim Dawsey received an emergency call from Wesley Health Care Center in Saratoga, he and a crew of workers were there the next day to build a space for the center to house COVID patients.
“Jim took the call on Friday, and he was up there on Saturday morning building it out himself with a small crew of people,” said Turoczy.
MLB, a company with 66 employees and a second office in North Carolina, works in many different sectors of the construction industry and frequently bids on large projects. According to Turoczy, an increasing number of these projects are being postponed. She said state agencies are not currently awarding contracts.
“There is some uncertainty of whether some project will move forward at all. We haven’t had any projects that have been specifically canceled. They have just all been postponed—at least the ones we were looking at,” she said. “For the most part, we are just being told that these projects are being postponed and reevaluated.”
These postponements can have major implications for companies that are bidding on jobs. If the owner of a project delays the awarding of the contract, there is the potential for material prices to increase dramatically during that time frame.
“Since we have to hold our (bid) number, it becomes a challenge when the prices keep increasing between the bid due date and months later when the project gets awarded,” said Turoczy. “We are nearing the third month of being asked by one owner to hold our price.”

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LayerEight, Formerly PrimeLink Managed Services, Grows IT, Cybersecurity Services

Posted onFebruary 18, 2021February 19, 2021
LayerEight, an IT company, was formerly PrimeLink Managed Services.
Courtesy Vicki Marking, PrimeLink

By Jennifer Farnsworth
It has been a little over a month since LayerEight, formerly PrimeLink Managed Services division, has reintroduced itself to the business community as a new subsidiary of the 118-year -old Champlain Telephone Co.
In keeping with the telephone company philosophy, LayerEight officials said it will focus on personalized customer service by specializing in IT, cybersecurity and construction services for telecommunications infrastructure.
The company is based out of Plattsburgh, however Vicki A. Marking, its sales and marketing director, said there are a number of well established clients as far reaching as Saratoga County, with the ability to serve satellite offices across New York State.
“The demographic in the Glens Falls and Saratoga area really match with what we have in the Plattsburgh area. We have a sweet spot for certain size businesses who are looking for personalized, local IT support,” said Marking.
She said when the coronavirus first hit last March, business exploded for them in many ways that were initially unexpected. With so many people having to work from home, being able to set people up with networks for a “home office” became a growing demand.
They also were being sought out for their ability to provide IT cybersecurity.

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Business Report: Vaccines In The Workplace

Posted onFebruary 18, 2021February 19, 2021
Rose Miller is president of Pinnacle Human Resources LLC.

By Rose Miller
When the news of an FDA approved Covid-19 vaccine was going to become available, I joined many with feelings of joy and hope. I envision a future where we can all live, work and play together again.
Personally, I am tracking vaccine availability closely and I will be seizing the day when I can get a shot. Sign me up. I will be carping a whole lot of diem when this is over.
In the workplace, the expectation was that my staff and the workplaces we support would be equally excited about getting vaccinated. Unfortunately, we are hearing that’s not always the case.
In fact, Dr. McKenna of Albany Medical Center believes that production of the vaccine will greatly improve, and supply will meet or exceed demand in the near future. One of his major concerns was the public’s resistance to getting vaccinated. He and public health officials know for these vaccines to truly turn the tide of the pandemic, there will need to be near universal willingness among Americans to get the shot.

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Business Report: Strategies To Implement Diversity Hiring

Posted onFebruary 18, 2021February 19, 2021
Renee Walrath, president, Walrath Recruiting Inc., Saratoga Springs.

By Renee Walrath
Diversity hiring is a practice being implemented and embraced by more and more companies. Diverse workplaces have an array of advantages including higher employee engagement, increased profitability, and higher levels of employee retainment. Workplaces saying that they value diversity is no longer enough, as actions speak louder than words.
By definition, diversity hiring is hiring based on merit with special care taken to ensure procedures are free from biases related to a candidate’s age, race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and other personal characteristics that are unrelated to their job performance.
However, so many other things fall under the umbrella of diversity hiring. Anything that makes one individual different from the next counts as diversity. This can be the way they think, the tools they utilize, the languages they speak, or simply anything that makes the workplace more unique!
For companies who have not always practiced diversity hiring, it can be difficult to implement, but far from impossible! These tips will help any company take the first step towards hiring more diverse candidates.

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Groups Start Center For 50-Plus Entrepreneurs

Posted onFebruary 18, 2021February 19, 2021

AARP and Public Private Strategies launched the free Small Business Resource Center for the 50+ to provide resources to aspiring entrepreneurs and established business owners. Older entrepreneurs can find support, resources and practical guidance as they start, manage and grow their business.
“Small businesses are vital to our nation’s economy and many are started by Americans age 50 and up,” said Susan Weinstock, AARP vice president of financial resiliency programming. “The impact of the pandemic on small businesses cannot be overstated and it is crucial that business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs have practical guidance and information in this moment.”
A significant majority of small business are owned by entrepreneurs who started their businesses later in life. More than half (54 percent) of America’s small business owners are over 50 and in 2019 they employed almost half (47.3 percent) of the U.S. private workforce.

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You Need More Than Skills

Posted onFebruary 18, 2021February 19, 2021
Michael Cruz is president of Lighthouse Advisors LLC in Queensbury.

Your new employee is starting Monday. You think, “I hope they work out well.” The worst thing that can happen to you is that you have to start searching again. Or even worse – they do not work out – and stay on your payroll.
The big mistake we make is to focus on their skill. Can they perform the tasks well? Let’s modify the question to what you should be thinking? Can they perform their tasks, here? We often interview for skills. Why not, skills are often easier to measure. Yet the key question is whether they have the right soft skills to fit into your company’s culture.
Most people struggle to define ‘soft’ skills. Those traits have more to do with success than anything else. Does your company focus on getting results? Is it freewheeling or do you follow specific structure? Do you give specific direction? Or do you expect others to ‘figure it out’? Answering these questions helps you hire better. This allows us to change the way we get to know candidates. Take the time to figure this out.

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