StartupNation |
- Ask the Experts: Armando Ojeda, Angela Barbash, and Marcia Dawood on StartupNation Radio
- WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: E-Commerce Inflation Continues To Rise (Episode 280)
- A Summer Of Storms In Michigan Has Made Business Income Interruption Insurance A Must
| Ask the Experts: Armando Ojeda, Angela Barbash, and Marcia Dawood on StartupNation Radio Posted: 30 Aug 2021 05:00 PM PDT
On this week’s episode of StartupNation Radio, Jeff speaks with StartupNation’s subject matter experts from SCORE Mentors: Armando Ojeda, Angela Barbash, and Marcia Dawood. Tune in to the full StartupNation Radio show with Ojeda, Barbash and Dawood to learn about the SCORE Mentors program and hear about each mentor’s unique experiences:This episode is co-hosted by Armando Ojeda, a mentor at SCORE. During the episode, Armando discusses:
For more information about SCORE Mentors, visit the official website. Jeff and Armando begin by speaking to Angela Barbash, the chief executive officer of Revalue Investing. During the interview, Barbash explains:
For more information about Revalue Investing, visit their official website. Then, they talk with Marcia Dawood, a successful angel investor. During the interview, Dawood talks about:
For more information about Marcia Dawood, visit her LinkedIn. We'll be back next weekend with another exciting episode of StartupNation Radio! Stay tuned. Do you have a great entrepreneurial success story to share? Tell us your story here and you could be featured on an upcoming episode of StartupNation Radio. The post Ask the Experts: Armando Ojeda, Angela Barbash, and Marcia Dawood on StartupNation Radio appeared first on StartupNation.  |
| WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: E-Commerce Inflation Continues To Rise (Episode 280) Posted: 30 Aug 2021 12:40 PM PDT
On today’s Business Beat, Jeff discusses the recent increase in e-commerce prices, and what that could mean for the economy as a whole. Tune in to the Business Beat, below, to learn more about today’s trend in e-commerce inflation:Tune in to News/Talk 760 AM WJR weekday mornings at 7:11 a.m. for the WJR Business Beat. Listeners outside of the Detroit area can listen live HERE. Are you an entrepreneur with a great story to share? If so, contact us at editor@startupnation.com and we'll feature you on an upcoming segment of the WJR Business Beat! Good morning, Paul! E-commerce inflation continues to heat up as online prices continue to rise. According to the latest Adobe digital economy index report, online prices were up 3.1% in July of this year, compared to July of last year. And to put this in perspective, the 3.1% year over year increase in July is more striking when you consider that between 2015 and 2019 online pricing actually fell an average of 3.9% each year. The Adobe index tracks 18 product categories, and in July saw prices increase in nine of those categories. Now with all the focus being paid today to online selling as a primary way to conduct business and as a primary way for consumers to buy things these days, Adobe began reporting on online pricing trends last month, after noticing that they were seeing a dramatic reversal on this five-year pattern of annual price decreases. Why are prices increasing? Increased online shopping, surging demand and supply chain shortages have now made it the online price increases part of this new normal we fear, Paul. And according to a lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, says that as the digital economy expands online pricing trends will have a greater impact on how we measure and understand overall inflation. He reminds us that we should consider that just in the first seven months of 2021, consumers have already spent over $481 billion online. That’s a staggering 61% increase over the same period in 2019. What are some categories driving the increase? Well, non-prescription drug category? That’s up 6% year-over-year in July and pet products up about one and a half percent. How about groceries? Up nearly one and a half percent as well. Categories seeing price decreases? Electronics down 2% and computers down about 7%. So there you have it, Paul. Again, why is this relevant and why is this important? With so much consumer spending happening online today, as online inflation goes, so could go the overall economy. I'm Jeff Sloan, founder and CEO of StartupNation.com, and that's today's Business Beat, on the Great Voice of the Great Lakes, WJR. The post WJR Business Beat with Jeff Sloan: E-Commerce Inflation Continues To Rise (Episode 280) appeared first on StartupNation.  |
| A Summer Of Storms In Michigan Has Made Business Income Interruption Insurance A Must Posted: 30 Aug 2021 11:07 AM PDT
In early August, on one particular Wednesday, thunderstorms raged through southeast Michigan for hours – I remember well because our 1.5-year-old was awoken by every loud rumble of thunder – leaving more than 900,000 DTE Energy customers without power, according to the Detroit Free Press. Many of those customers went days without electricity in their homes.
While homeowners suffered through restless nights with high humidity, business owners, already reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, had to shutter their doors. Restaurants threw out food in storage, turned down carryout orders, and closed their dining rooms. Retail businesses couldn't sell merchandise. Salons and therapy locations couldn't service clients, and on and on.
A restaurant client of mine estimated they lost around $12,000 of in-person dining and drinks, plus another $2,000 in carryout orders over the four days they were without power. Their big question was the same many businesses were asking: "Are we covered?"
In many cases, no, but we will get to that soon. First, let's run through a quick overview of business income interruption insurance.
Imagine a fire tears through a building, a thunderstorm sends a tree falling onto the roof, or a driver plows through your front window. A business could have to close its doors for weeks at a time, potentially months as it is rebuilt. Property coverage, which we discussed in a previous article, would make the business whole, but in the time of rebuilding, a business loses incoming revenue. With business income interruption insurance, your lost revenue is covered.
Additional coverages could include:
There is generally a 48- to 72-hour waiting period before your policy kicks in, but for prolonged closures, you can rest easier knowing you can pay employees, rent, and even temporarily set up a new shop elsewhere.
Premiums vary based on several factors, including your gross revenue – for instance if your business makes $1,000,000 per year, you could be compensated $80,000 per month that your location is closed for repairs; the coverage does not include voluntary closure (for remodeling, new equipment installation, training days, etc.)
Like most insurance policies, there are exclusions. Viruses, such as COVID-19, are typically one. Most relevant to this article, another common exclusion is listed as "Utility Services." When I was called recently by that restaurant client, the general manager asked, "Are we covered for a power outage?" The answer was yes as we had the foresight to add an endorsement to their policy for a mere few hundred dollars extra.
That endorsement allowed them to restock their freezer, covered wages for 14 employees, and offered a lump deposit for lost revenue during the few days they couldn't operate. In today's pandemic-impacted world, to recoup the money they lost – especially since it dragged into the weekend during the summer peak season for a Michigan-based restaurant – this client was able to sleep at night (though still not comfortably, they didn't have AC after all!)
"Utility Service Interruption" coverage is a subset of business income interruption and takes care of your business in situations such as the power lines supplying your electricity are downed by a storm. It could also cover your business' water supply if the regional water station is not operating, or it can provide coverage for cable utility lines and telecommunications; in a policy you must specify what utilities you rely on.
While your goal as an owner is often to reduce expenses, Michigan weather patterns this summer have demonstrated "utility service interruption" insurance is not a luxury endorsement, nor is broader business income interruption insurance. In previous insurance articles, I wrote the key to any successful business – and the importance of truly trusting your agent to look out for your best interests – is to make sure your operation is covered comprehensively.
Thunderstorms, tornadoes, excessive heat, ice storms, heavy snowfalls … extreme weather is not going away. When one of these disasters strikes and you ask your agent "Are we covered for that?" you want the answer to be a resounding "YES!" The post A Summer Of Storms In Michigan Has Made Business Income Interruption Insurance A Must appeared first on StartupNation.  |
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