Market participants have expected a rate hike this year and it seems all but certain that the rate hike is to come in the final Federal Reserve meeting on December 15-16, 2015.  Most of the news surrounding the rate hike has been about whether or not the Fed should act. Regardless of when the Fed acts, the question for many small business owners is how it will impact their business.
 
We will first cover at a high level what is theoretically supposed to happen in a rising interest rate environment and then talk more in detail about how it may or may not affect your small business.
 
A rising interest rate means that treasury bonds, essentially loans to the Federal Government of US, will pay a higher interest rate amount.  Since treasury bonds are considered among the safest assets in the world, this means that riskier, such as stocks should pay a higher return. The expected reaction is that stock and bond prices will fall as the Fed raises rates.
 
This makes sense if you think about the options for where to invest your money.  If a checking account has a return rate of 10%, then potentially more risky investment like real estate or stocks would have to pay higher returns.
 
So how does this affect small businesses and their owners?
 
A Federal Reserve rate hike has a different kind of impact on small businesses then it does on large businesses and the markets overall.  There may also be some benefits or positives to a rate hike.
 
Higher rates means that rates on everything from mortgages, to personal loans are expected to have a higher rate attached to it.  This means that companies of all sizes will likely have a higher cost of capital associated with borrowing.  It is important to note that rates won't double or triple overnight though.  The Fed is only expected to raise rates 0.25% and there is no indication when or if another hike will happen after that, although one is expected.  The Fed knows that too fast or steep of a rate hiking could send the economy spiraling back into a recession, as businesses and individuals slow down borrowing and spending money. Thus, while a rate hike can be a negative; such a low rise in rates will be negligible.  
 
Can higher rates actually help me?
 
The Federal Reserve has said it will only raise rates if it believes the economy is healthy and can absorb it.  This means that the smartest economists in our country believe the economy is doing well enough to absorb a rate hike. 
 
This optimism should translate to a productive and profitable environment for the small business owner.  Despite a higher cost of borrowing and expanding your business, an improved and growing economy should mean more sales for your business. Additionally, banks may become more willing to lend to lower credit rated businesses, expanding expansion capital for small businesses.
 
The long and the short of it
 
While a rate hike may mean that loans have a higher interest rate, the underlying economy is performing well meaning increased earnings and opportunities.
 

 
Hiring your first employee can be a terrifying proposition for a small business owner.  The questions fill your head and the horror stories from other employers may haunt your dreams.
 
Will they be a good fit with the culture you want to establish?  Can you trust them?  Will you hire the wrong person? 
 
It can be a challenge to relinquish some control over your business to a total stranger. However, the advantages of an employee can definitely outweigh the fear and anxiety. 
 
Employees can take over the menial or repetitive tasks that you hate, freeing you up to focus on what you enjoy most about running your business. This may provide you with more time to focus on the big picture and expanding your business.
 
Here are some of the things to consider before hiring your first employee to ensure the process goes smoothly.
 
Your job ad matters more than you think
 
All good landlords know that how they advertise their property determines the type of tenants they attract.  The more professional it is will tend to attract higher quality tenants who recognize that professionalism. The same thing goes for job ads.
 
Take the time to fully consider the responsibilities, qualifications, requirements, and other aspects of the position.  Time and careful attention upfront will be rewarded when your ad attracts a variety of highly qualified, professional candidates.
 
Research the tax and legal implications before starting to hire
 
Nothing is worse than hiring an employee and then realizing you have to scramble to work throw all the paperwork related to that employee.  Before starting on a job description research your insurance, how to withhold/ report income to the IRS, get an Employer Identification Number, and learn about all the required notices and benefits that you now have to provide. 
 
It is less scary and complex then it sounds.  All it takes is a bit of time and research as the information is readily available.  Start by contacting your local SBA office or read up on the IRS website about laws for employees and business owners. 
 
Don't put all your faith on their resume
 
Some statistics say that up to 40% of resumes contain false, misleading, or bogus information.  When hiring your first employee, their intangibles are likely much more important than their technical skills or formal education. Remember you can mentor or teach them the ins and outs of your business.
 
It is much more important to focus on their personality, communications, critical thinking skills, energy, and other intangible but important qualities when hiring your first employee.  Technical skills and knowledge can be learned; however, drive, ambition, and teamwork are much harder to teach.
 
Use resumes and past experiences to help narrow down your search but take time in the interview, asking deep of questions to provide insight into the candidate.
 
Consider an independent contractor or freelancer
 
If your budget is not large or you just don’t know if you have enough work to justify the expense of an employee, consider starting out with a freelancer. The employment market is changing rapidly today and many full time employees have started out as freelancers for an employer. With a freelancer, you will be able to examine the person’s work ethic and abilities, without the initial costs of hiring the person as a full time employee. The freelancer may choose to either work with you as an employee or remain a freelancer. In fact, a large number of employees today are choosing to work several part time or freelance positions, as it gives them more time to focus on other personal activities. There are some great places to search for a freelancer such as the online sites Upwork or Outsource.com.  These sites feature thousands of qualified professionals in areas like writing, video editing, data entry, and others

Where can the average small business owner, without the money to pay for high priced consultants get some solid, practical advice about how to improve their business? 
 
The following sources offer some of the best advice to small businesses.
 
The U.S. Small Business Administration
 
Founded in 1953, the SBA has helped millions of hard working American entrepreneurs get financing, secure contract templates, find counseling and coaching, and provided other forms of assistance.  The SBA is one of the best places to go if you need help with some of the less glamorous aspects of running a business such as finances, payroll, hiring, or other back-office responsibilities. 
 
Start at their website, sba.gov and find a local or regional office near you.  There you can find the personalized advice that you need on a host of topics pertinent to your business or industry. 
 
The SBA also plays an important educational roll and they have over 50 courses available on their website for free. Additionally, they frequently host seminars and other information conferences and sessions around the country. The agency is a great resource for any small business entrepreneur.
 
Forbes
 
While on the surface Forbes might appear to be just another business media outlet, actually Forbes has great content and information for the budding entrepreneur or small business owner.  They have the latest global and local news, as well as videos and speeches from successful business owners.  These resources can motivate any business owner to learn more about tech, marketing trends, or other information to become more successful in the office.
 
Their entrepreneur section is a great resource for informative articles on everything business, including advice from other entrepreneurs. The best part is that most of this content is provided free as the website is supported by ads and subscriptions, great for the entrepreneur on a budget. 
 
Inc
 
Similar to Forbes, Inc is a great resource to find content and information about the overall business landscape.  Inc has great resources such as podcasts, articles across a variety of areas like start-ups, innovation, technology, leadership, as well as other tools.
 
Inc can help you get great ideas to expand or market your business based on what others are doing. They have information on new technologies, as well as trends in the marketplace. All these resources can help you stay ahead of the competition.
 
Entrepreneur
 
Entrepreneur may appear to be very similar to Inc and Forbes, but through its narrowed focus on the entrepreneur the site takes information to a whole new level. 
 
One of their most useful offerings buried beneath the front page is their coaching service.  This gives entrepreneurs they opportunity to have a professional or successful business owner coach them on an individual basis. This may be a valuable service to any business owner who may just need a “sounding board” to examine ideas in their own personal business.   
 
The business form section is also a great resource.  Within this section are a host of helpful forms such as independent contract agreements, templates for your business plan, non-disclosure agreements, and the even purchase orders.
 
Some of the other sections include event calendars, book listings, and even an “Ask an Entrepreneur” section. 

Technology can either make your life easier or make it more difficult.  With that in mind, here are some of the latest technology trends that can help a small business.
 
The cloud continues to roar
 
Cloud computing and cloud services continue their explosive growth with more businesses moving functions such as data storage, database management, customer service, and sales software to the cloud. According to Neueon.com, 37 percent of small businesses already run some of their business on the cloud.  As the options expand and competition pushes prices downward the environment is becoming more appealing to small businesses wishing to benefit from this new technology.
 
How should you transition some of your small business’ tasks to the cloud?  The key is to start slow and do your due diligence.  Taking everything you already do well and uprooting, it is a recipe for disaster.  Start by taking parts of your business, such as accounting and moving those to the cloud.  This approach will allow you to continue operating your business without too much disruption. Yet you can begin using the cloud with all of the potential benefits such as convenience, advanced technology, security, and most importantly—cost savings. 
 
Mobile advertising takes center stage
 
Spending on mobile advertising exceeded 28 billion in 2015 and could be above 30 billion in 2016.  In addition, mobile advertising is projected to be 72 percent of all advertising spent and will soon overtake desktop ads in terms of total dollars.  The trend is clearly towards mobile. 
 
How should a small business position themselves to compete in this expanding market? The key to any advertising, especially mobile, is to correctly target customers. 
 
Virtually all social media platforms and big advertisers, such as Google and Yahoo, are compiling legions of data about everything. The small business owner can do the same and pinpoint whom they wish to target.
 
A good website is also a key component and the site needs to be mobile optimized.  The reason is that a mobile viewer from your ad may leave a site if the website looks dysfunctional on a mobile device. Consider using simple but quality still image ads as this may be a way to retain a mobile viewer, without the added costs of building video ads for a mobile viewer.
 
The “business” tablet is officially here   
 
Microsoft has been trying to get business users from all sectors to adopt their Surface or Surface Pro as the replacement to the traditional work laptop. Apple has now entered the market with their latest iPad. The gadget makers want people to drop their old laptops and move their work lives over to a shiny new tablet. Is it worth it?   
 
The answer really depends on what type of business you run, your existing technology, and your future technology needs.  If you already have android or windows software technology, then switching over to iPads from a laptop may mean some challenges to ensure your data is where you need it after merging two different ecosystems. 
 
However, if you can stay in the same ecosystem, a tablet for business can be a great way to de-clutter your work life and improve efficiency.  With the increased popularity of pens, attachable keyboards, and apps for virtually anything you need, the tablet has almost done a full 360 and remodeled itself as the new laptop.  It is getting harder and harder to tell them apart. 
 
Security, security, security
 
There has been a string of high profile hacks and data thefts from big companies in recent years.  The worries are not just for big companies. Intuit has indicated that the average small business owner spends more than four hours a day online; thus, security for your digital assets is critical. 
 
Today's successful business owner must treat cyber security as they would life insurance or rental insurance policy—an essential non-negotiable expenses.  A breach or theft of your customer’s sensitive data can all but destroy your reputation and credibility that you worked hard to build. 
 
In addition, many small businesses rely on their website for everything from marketing activities to sales, so any down time due to malicious attacks can be expensive.  Your website is your new storefront, like a good lock, it needs to be protected.
 
Technology will change how you do business, hopefully improving operations.  Embrace the change, by exploring how technologies might help you become more efficient. The potential is unlimited and there has never been a better time to be a business owner than now.