Small business: Growing your market share
December 12, 2011 by JAMIE HERZLICH
For many small business owners, grabbing more market share in this economy is a constant struggle. There's lots of competition for limited dollars, and business owners often resort to price cutting in an effort to draw customers away from competitors.
But in this type of economy it's not lower prices that will help build your bottom line but your ability to diversify, find new opportunities and capitalize on your competitor's weaknesses that will carry you through the lean times, say experts.
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Small business: Creating a personal brand
July 24, 2011 5:54 PM By JAMIE HERZLICH
Richard Branson. Steve Jobs.
Both are well-known executives with powerful personal brands that automatically resonate in people's minds. While these men are corporate titans, even small entrepreneurs can use personal branding to help boost their image and their companies', experts say.
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Small Business: Don't ignore stagnation
February 14, 2011 by JAMIE HERZLICH
In these tough economic times, it's easy for your business to become stagnant. Despite your best efforts, its ability to grow may be inhibited by many factors, ranging from purely economic to operational. Click here to read more.
Cuomo plans changes to job creation program
February 1, 2011 by JAMES T. MADORE & CARRIE MASON-DRAFFEN
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo wants to revamp the state's primary economic development program, the one-year-old Excelsior Jobs Program. Click here to read more.
Cool response on LI to federal salary freeze
November 30, 2010 by CARRIE MASON-DRAFFEN
As the Long Island economy continues to struggle to recover from the recession, the announcement Monday that President Barack Obama is proposing to freeze federal workers' salaries wasn't what a local economist wanted to hear.
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Help Wanted: Boss has Options on Direct Deposit
November 2, 2010 by CARRIE MASON-DRAFFEN
DEAR CARRIE: We used to get paid by direct deposit on the first and 15th of the month. But last summer our boss informed us that it would take up to 72 hours for our direct deposit to process. Now, instead of getting paid on the first and 15th, it's more like the fifth and the 19th of the month. I never heard of direct deposit taking so long. How is this possible, and is it right? -- Frustrated
DEAR FRUSTRATED: I checked with Rob Basso, the owner of Advantage Payroll Services
in Freeport. Your company may have some options to get the pay to you sooner.
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LI's Dominant Future Jobs Will Be Business Support
October 9, 2010 by ANDREW SMITH
Industries of the future on Long Island may be exotic ones like green energy or medical research, but the dominant jobs may be more mundane: professional and business support services. That includes accountants, attorneys, architects, publicists, temporary office workers, computer services employees and others who help businesses run. Experts expect these jobs to become more prevalent both here and nationally, especially as many smaller companies replace fewer larger ones.
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Crossroads: Payroll Service
October 8, 2010
Rob Basso,owner of Advantage Payroll Services, a Freeport company that serves many small businesses on Long Island. Economic outlook: The economy would recover and grow more quickly if there were fewer taxes, regulations and other governmental obstacles to business. Job outlook: The prospects for those in high-tech industries or for the highly educated are good.
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LI Businesses Weigh in on Local Jobs Market
August 13, 2010 by CARRIE MASON-DRAFFEN
Even though many companies are reluctant to hire, enough added to Long Island payrolls in June to give the local economy a small boost. Long Island had 5,400 more jobs that month, the latest for which data is available, than it did in June 2009. Still, from small businesses to corporate giants, a sour economy and slow sales continue to stunt strong job growth. Here are some reasons they cite for the caution.
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Internet show aims at solving small business problems
July 12, 2010 by JAMES BERNSTEIN
It's not CNNMoney.com, or the "Suze Orman Show," and it certainly isn't Jim Cramer's "Mad Money." But "Basso on Business" is a business show on the Internet, and a Long Island business show at that. Unlike the national shows, it aims to help local small-business owners solve the problems that give them fits and starts and keep them awake at night. The star of the show is 37-year-old Rob Basso, founder and owner of Advantage Payroll
Services of Freeport, which serves 2,500 companies, most of them on Long Island. Basso, always the entrepreneur -- he stuffed his resume in the sandwiches he made at a Melville deli frequented by businesspeople after graduating from Hofstra in 1994 -- decided he wanted to do webisodes in which he would interview company owners, discuss their business problems and offer solutions. Since January, Basso has taped seven shows, which are on his website, bassoonbusiness.com.
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Changing Your Ways Can Be Profitable
April 26, 2010 by JAMIE HERZLICH
In business, sometimes you need to take a step back to take a step forward. For many companies this means re-evaluating their entire operations and looking at their company through the eyes of an outsider, experts say. Often, entrepreneurs get too caught up in the daily minutiae to see the bigger picture. But it's never too late to find new growth opportunities, provided you're willing to get outside your comfort zone.
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Proposed Small Business Hiring a Tough Sell on LI
December 8, 2009 by CARRIE MASON-DRAFFEN
The president's proposals to encourage hiring among small businesses are going to be a tough sell among some local business owners. "It's too imprecise for me to determine if this is going to be something valuable for small businesses, especially here on Long Island," said Robert Basso, the owner of Advantage Payroll Services in Freeport. He called the proposal to waive fees on government-guaranteed small business loans "a step in the right direction." But he stressed that the plan doesn't take aim at banks' continuing reluctance to lend money, making it difficult for small businesses to operate. "They were part of the problem and they can become part and parcel of the solution," he said.
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Website Spotlights LI Businesses
May 18, 2009 by CARRIE MASON-DRAFFEN
Entrepreneur Robert Basso believes many Long Island businesses have great stories to tell but too few people have heard them. Rather than complain, he decided to do something about it. So a year ago he created Basso on Business, a video Web site he hopes will raise the profile of local businesses, including his own, Advantage Payroll Services in Freeport. "There needs to be some sort of inspiration to show Long Islanders that there are successful stories here on Long Island," Basso said. He interviews businesses and posts the videos at BassoOnBusiness .com. The site features nine businesses, including a Japanese restaurant, an organic vineyard and a company that sells equipment for kite boarding, a sport that combines kite flying with surf boarding. Basso updates the site once a month with another company's story. While a cameraman shoots, Basso, as host, interviews business owners about what it takes to grow a successful business. In that way the site helps young entrepreneurs, Basso, 36, said. It "gives them some sort of path and guidance to realize that they, too, can do it."...
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Left Holding The Bag to Pay Taxes
September 25, 2006 by CARRIE MASON-DRAFFEN
When Jay Miller bought the Wantagh 5&10 in 1999, he retained the payroll-processing company his predecessor had used. After all, doing payroll was a hassle he didn't want to deal with. Then in 2003, a salesman for Total Time Solutions in Hauppauge came calling, offering much lower prices. Miller turned him down. Undeterred, the salesman persisted. "Every time I told him no, he dropped his price even more," Miller said. When the price slid to 50 percent of what he was paying, "it was just too good to resist," Miller said. "They seemed reputable." Today, Miller doesn't hold the same opinion. Total Time filed for bankruptcy in July, leaving more than 600 clients with
unpaid tax bills and dunning notices from the state and federal governments.
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