Red Tape Barriers All New Businesses Have to Face

Many of today’s entrepreneurs find themselves in a constant battle against the corrosive realities of bureaucracy and red tape. While they try to focus on their strategic plans, new startup business managers often spend precious time struggling to keep up to date with ever-shifting regulatory requirements. What follows is an examination of some of the many red-tape barriers that new business owners will sooner or later face and how to prepare for them.

Employee Pay

In recent years, the U.S. Department of Labor has proposed updates to salary thresholds for certain white-collar workers. For many employers, the implementation of new thresholds could raise salary expectations of potential new hires. New business managers need to be prepared to take action in the event that they find themselves at a competitive disadvantage in the labor marketplace cause by changes to salary thresholds. One way to stay on top of payroll, taxes, and related issues is to use an online time-clock solution to track employee hours, integrate with payroll processors, and run detailed reports.

Worker Classification

With respect to the above-mentioned Department of Labor, new business operators are urged to be aware that new guidelines have been issued that expand the definition of what an employee actually is. Gone are the days when an employer could automatically designate new hires as independent contractors in order to minimize payroll expenditures. Today’s employers need to carefully examine their third-party relationships while paying close attention to new developments within the offices of state and federal labor regulators. It is important to avoid running afoul of any new laws or regulations related to the classification of workers.

Civil Litigation and Compliance Issues

Nobody goes into business in order to get involved in litigation. Time is a valuable asset, and new startup managers have products to sell and deals to do. Lawsuits need to be avoided and when they cannot, they need to be handled quickly, intelligently, and efficiently. For this reason, forward-thinking business managers will seek to consult with competent legal counsel before they actually begin any business operations. By being able to contract a law attorney in Clearwater they are more likely to be prepared if the unthinkable should happen. It’s an expense well worth making up front for many businesses. There is another area of business where having outside counsel pays off. It is the realm of compliance. Compliance issues exist on several levels. There are government agencies whose regulations must be respected, there are industry peer groups that enforce their own informal protocols for trade, and there are customer organizations that will not do business with vendors that lack certain qualifications and certifications. The application of ISO standards on manufactured goods is just one example of a non-government level of compliance enforcement. Any new business owner’s strategic plans should always include protocols for monitoring those potential regulatory or compliance changes that could impact the viability of their enterprise. Beyond the usual exhortations to their representatives in Washington or their local government officials, managers need to take the time to truly understand the top regulatory issues that directly impact them. In this way, they can make necessary plans for any changes that may be required under a new regulatory or compliance regime.