Good morning!
Here are today’s highlights:
With the cost soaring, more small businesses are giving up on offering health insurance.
As many as 1.5 million viable businesses will disappear over the next 10 years.
Kiva offers zero-interest business loans of up to $15,000 regardless of credit score.
Private equity firms are probably going to have to buy fewer businesses going forward.
THE 21 HATS PODCAST
Most business owners hope to reach the day when someone offers to buy their business. If that day comes, the payoff isn’t just financial. It’s validation for years of risk-taking, sleepless nights, personal guarantees, and sacrifices that most employees never see. But that success can raise an uncomfortable question: What exactly do owners owe the people who helped them get there? Should employees share in the proceeds when a business is sold? Does an owner have an obligation to find a buyer who will protect the culture and the jobs that have been built over the years? Or is the owner’s responsibility fulfilled by paying people well, treating them fairly, and creating a great place to work so long as the business is theirs to run?
This week, Jay Goltz, Liz Picarazzi, and Ted Wolf wrestle with those questions—and not always from the same perspective. They agree that employees deserve respect and appreciation. But they also point out that employees weren’t the ones who pledged their homes as collateral, absorbed the losses, or spent years wondering whether the business would survive. In other words, where should owners draw the line between gratitude and obligation?
Plus: As Liz expands Citibin beyond New York City, should her marketing reflect that shift? Or should she lean into her hometown roots and emphasize that if her trash bins can make it there, they can make it anywhere? Liz also explains her plan to capture some recurring revenue.
You can subscribe to the 21 Hats Podcast—brought to you by Grasshopper Bank—wherever you get podcasts.
HEALTH INSURANCE
Small businesses are giving up on health insurance: “It has never been more difficult for employers to offer health insurance for their workers. That’s especially true for America’s small businesses, the backbones of entire communities. More and more, they’re giving up entirely. America’s employer-based health insurance system — the dominant form of coverage for people younger than 65 — is crumbling. The percentage of working-age adults who get their health coverage from a job has declined from 67 percent in 1998 to about 60 percent. It’s also more expensive than ever.”
“Small business owners and workers feel as though most, if not all, of their options are unaffordable, especially if they have plans with high out-of-pocket costs. Rising premiums — driven by high prices for hospitals, doctors, and prescription drugs and more intensive care — are eating into bottom lines and paychecks. Desperate companies are getting rid of traditional health benefits at an unprecedented pace.”
“This shift is fraying the uniquely American expectation that jobs come with protection for injuries and illnesses — an expectation that is the product of World War II wage controls, industry opposition to government health care, and the biggest break in the tax code.” READ MORE
