Around the country states are starting 2015 with an increase in the minimum wage. In 20 states around the United States minimum wage has been increased by various amounts, with Alaska poised to increase their minimum wage in February. Over the past year people have strongly argued for a change in the $7.25 minimum federal wage (the minimum wage any state can not drop beneath) across the country.

When it comes to running a business one has to be careful with their actions. Especially when it comes to dealing with workers. One small oversight on the payroll can bring about fines and violations. Even if it all turns out as being nothing, the time spent on it is now gone and someone has to be paid for that time spent. Many times it is not even our fault these things happen.

With the holiday season coming to a close, it is getting closer to tax season. A time of year that can be just as terrifying as it can be exciting. You could be getting a bit tax return or you could end up paying taxes back to the government. As confusing as doing your own taxes can be, it can be ten times worse if you have to do your employees tax information as well. How do you do your employees tax information?

The year has come to a close and it is time to look in two completely different directions. We have to look forward to 2015 and the new opportunities that will be present in it. To fully optimize these opportunities though we have to look back to our past year. How did 2014 go for you? was it successful or did you hit more rough patches then you originally intended?

We have spoken before on the increase of technology and how it is changing the modern office, yet 2015 is looking to push the idea of the digital office even further than ever before. Smart devices, programs, and interfaces are breaking out of their former molds and spiraling into new directions. Windows is looking to bring their Microsoft Office software fully into a touchscreen format. Samsung is designing a smart phone with a bending screen

December is finally here. Decorations are being hung from palm trees and the weather is getting colder. This can all mean just one thing. Christmas time is just around the corner. This is the time of year that the stores and businesses really come to life with toys and gifts flying off the shelves. Customers crowd the aisles and the cashiers are working nonstop from open to close.

How many films have shown the discontent office worker? He steps out of an elevator into a large room with copy and pasted rows of cubicles. He sits down in his own little dull tan or off white cubicle and clicks away at a keyboard. This is the repetitive recipe that makes up his weekdays. Everyday sitting in the same little dull colored cubicle listening to the crunching of keyboards. Just reading about his day kind of puts you in a worse mood doesn’t it?

Is your payroll growing faster than you ever expected? Maybe you are a first time business owner and didn’t know what to expect. It is even possible you never thought this idea of yours would take off in such a way. Regardless of how you got here, what matters is where you are going to be next.

To run a successful business, one key feature is to stay in control of it. It doesn’t matter if you own a small town candy store or the Willy Wonka chocolate factory, you have to be on top of things. Focus too much on one aspect of business, and another can suffer and lose productivity, profit, or both. This is why several large companies work through levels and branches of management.

The year is coming to an end, and it is time to start looking at making a plan for the New Year. You got your business through 2014. Maybe it is time to take that success and push it even further in 2015. But how will you make that push forward?