Joe sells equipment to the Department of Defense. Although the contracts are lucrative, Joe tires of dealing with the government’s inefficient methods.  My friend’s company was recently awarded a $500,000 contract from the Defense Department for a job originally bid 11 years ago. The equipment the government purchased is now outdated.  Small businesses have an advantage over governments and large […]

During the pandemic, the US Government offered tax credits to help small businesses weather the troubling times. The government, however, seems to have forgotten to plan and fund the additional support the IRS needs to distribute the funds.   Many businesses filed for these credits early in 2021 and have yet to receive any monies.    In business, it’s easy to […]

Some employers are beginning to pay people less if they move to a community with a lower cost of living, even though the work being produced is the same. Other employers are hiring great talent in Midwestern cities by paying them West Coast wages.  Paying employees equitably has become complicated.   Jesus told a parable about hiring workers throughout the day […]

While in college, I dreamed of taking a spring break trip to Texas, but had no money. But then a man ran a red light and smashed my car, resulting in me receiving an unexpected check!  I had a decision to make – Do I preserve the life of my car or, do I choose a week of adventure with […]

In this series, we’ve been discussing advantages for small businesses. Our fifth and final advantage is local products and services.  For example, in Kansas City, many companies have tried to identify their brand with the Kansas City Chiefs football team. People are often fond of their hometown.   If potential customers feel you are part of their community, rather than outsiders […]

In this series, we’ve been discussing the advantages of small businesses. The fourth advantage is personalized service.   Commercial lending to small businesses used to be a personalized service. Then, large national banks began looking for ways to make small business loans more profitable.   This led to decisions and loans being made by people who never met the customer.   Jesus emphasized […]

In this series we’ve been discussing five advantages of small businesses. The third advantage is rapid response to customer desires.   When the pandemic began, UBN had primarily hosted live events with no real experience in hosting virtual events. When one of our live events had to be cancelled due to local regulations, we prayed about how to continue to meet […]

My brother was once asked by his boss to obtain bids for a large database project. He received bids for $9 million, $7 million, and $950,000. The first two bids were from large companies, the final was from a small business.  The small business owner told my brother, “My competitors could do it for this price, but they have huge […]

I’ve worked in large corporations and in small businesses. Both have advantages and disadvantages, but I personally prefer working in small businesses.   In this series I want to unpack some of the advantages small businesses can leverage. The first advantage is local decision-making authority.   When I worked in banking, nothing frustrated customers more than to be told their loan request […]

Years ago, on a South African flight, I met a young lady named Emma. At the time she was an event planner.   According to her Linkedin profile, she is now Vice President of Marketing in China for a significant international company. When I congratulated her, she shared that five years ago she felt God would use her career “to serve […]