I am sure there is not a soul that will be surprised to hear that the number of business failures this year exceeds historical levels.  Not just small business this time- but big retail companies (18 retailers filed for bankruptcy in the first 6 months of the year, 11 more in the next 45 days! A total of some 6000 retail stores have disappeared across the USA.)  Yes, these numbers exceed those from the Great Recession.

After all, we’ve forced folks to stay home, to avoid crowds.  Prudent folks- even with the relaxation of rules (sorry, Governor DeSantis- prudency is as removed from your sphere as Pluto is to the Sun)- fear eating in restaurants, wonder if shopping in a store is safe.  That’s why Amazon is hiring in droves- to aid its delivery of record orders.  Why grocery stores are shopping for us and using ‘no-contact’ delivery as we drive up in our cars.   (t took them way too long to realize that allowing delivery services to satisfy their customers meant they were losing money on each grocery sale.)

But….

Applications for FEIN (Federal Employer Identification Numbers) this year are up by at least 1/3 compared to 2019.  Of course, that could simply be the manifestation of all our laid-off workers opting for gig employment, to bring in a buck anywhere they can.

Admittedly, the historical pattern of business formation has also shifted.  There normally is an annual uptick for applications as the tax deadline approaches.  (While I have insufficient data to verify these as the primary two reasons, it seems prudent.  This cycle is related to when folks realize the tax situation their gig employment has left them [so the gig needs to more formalized] or when they taxpayers realize that their economic situation needs improvement.)  This year, the uptick in applications occurred in July- because the Feds changed tax day from the ides of April to the 15^th of July.  Which, of course, was compounded by the fact most states were relaxing the dire straits of the pandemic by June.

Of course, these are primarily solopreneurships.  But, these account for about 1/5 of job creations each year.

Half of America’s jobs come from the fastest growing firms in the US, usually those who’ve been around 5 years of less.  (50% of US employment is derived from [US government defined] small businesses- those with 500 employees or less.)

There’s still a problem with this augmented startup census.  We know that half of new business startups fails by year five.  And, this year, even businesses that were thriving in January have simply evanesced- as many as ¾ of a million are gone so far.

To help folks break that 5 year survival rule- to survive and thrive in today’s America, we’re offering a service.  (Note that one must subscribe to the service by 15 December 2020.)

We’ll help you start your business, monitor your business, and drive your bottom line.  You will use one of two on-line accounting programs (the choice depends on your business concept)- which we will help you maintain and classify costs and revenue.

 

If you want additional services, we’ll provide them for a (very) reduced rate of $ 100 an hour for the first 6 months of our mutual engagement.  (After the ‘honeymoon’ period, our normal rates will obtain.)

We want to help your business thrive.  We want to help America grow.