Question

The assignment: Find TWO recent news articles (within the past year) from a credible news source relating to any of the Business topics we have covered this semester. For EACH article, 1. Write a brief analysis (150 word minimum, 200 word maximum) of how the article relates to our course. DO NOT simply proved a summary of the articles. You must incorporate terminology and concepts as we have discussed them throughout the semester. 2. Please type or cut and paste your analysis in the text box below 2. You must include LINKS to your articles at the end of your analysis.

Answer 1

Article 1

                                   The Pros and Cons of Hiring Your Children in Your Small Business

If you're a small business owner, it can be difficult to find and hire the talent you need. One possible solution to fill those gaps is to hire your children. As with every decision in life and business, though, there are pros and cons to consider before bringing your children on board. Here are eight pros and cons to hiring your children to work in your small business.

Pros of hiring your children

1. You may win out when it comes to paying the tax requirements for your children.

The tax requirements for family employees differ greatly from those for other employees. According to the IRS, payments for services performed by a child under the age of 18 aren't subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes if your business is a sole proprietorship or partnership where each partner is the parent of the child. Payments for services performed by a child under the age of 21 aren't subject to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA). However, no matter your child's age, payment for their services are subject to income tax withholding.

2. There are tax benefits to hiring your children to join your small business.

If your child is of legal working age and performing work you'd ordinarily pay someone else to do, their wages are considered legitimate business expenses. Reasonable work includes data entry, filing, typing, customer service, cleaning, maintenance, and stockroom or warehouse work. Depending on your child's age, you may still be able to claim them as a dependent or get the tax credit benefit for them as well.

3. You're probably familiar with your children's capabilities and professional history.

One of the biggest complaints hiring managers have when looking for new talent is finding the time to sift through countless resumes to find the best, most qualified applicants possible. When you hire your children, you have the advantage of already being familiar with their work history, professional capabilities and skills, enabling you to shorten or completely bypass the interview process.

4. Your children can fill a need as well as gain professional experience.

With unemployment rates low and job applicants having their pick of positions, it can be tough for small businesses to find the talent they need when they're competing against large corporations and brands.

According to Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), "owners are growing their businesses and expect that they can sell more if they can produce more with additional employees. Investment spending has been solid for the past two years, and owners are choosing to invest in their workforce as well as by creating new jobs and raising wages."

Cons of hiring your children

1. You aren't filtering through an official talent pool.

Yes, we just stated this as a potential pro above, but it's important to keep in mind that while you can shorten or bypass the interview process by hiring your child, the interview process exists for a reason. If you skip the interview process entirely when you hire your child, you have to make sure they are just as qualified as potential external candidates. You know your child's skills, talents, potential and work ethic, but if you hire them to work for your small business, you need to be sure your business won't suffer as a result.

2. Firing your children if they don't turn out to be a good fit may be impossible.

While it's easy to see the upsides to hiring your child, it's important to consider what might happen if they aren't right for the position. It may be an exciting opportunity to welcome your child into your business, but if it doesn't wind up working out, it could be one of your worst nightmares, especially if disciplinary measures are needed. Firing your child could have repercussions far beyond the office, especially if any other family members involved in your business don't agree with your decision.

3. Your children may assume they have special privileges and take advantage of you.

We've all seen movie stereotypes where the boss's kid gets away with doing whatever they want – taking off early, coming in late, or pushing work they don't want to do onto other people – all without the boss noticing or, worse, not caring. While your child may not do anything quite so dramatic, they might still assume they have privileges that your other employees don't, which can cause conflict, especially if your other employees feel as though you're indulging or endorsing those assumed privileges. It's important that your child understands they have the same rights and privileges as every other employee.

4. Your children may unintentionally undermine your leadership and authority.

If your child assumes they have special privileges, they could start undermining your authority. If your child feels as though the rules don't apply to them, that can trickle down to your other employees, making them feel that if your child can act without repercussions, then the rules shouldn't apply to them either. This can quickly spiral out of control, leaving you with a much bigger headache than just trying to fill an open position.

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15207-pro-cons-hire-your-kids.html

Article 2

How to Create Quality Social Media Marketing Posts

Social media marketing has grown in popularity and sophistication in recent years. Unfortunately for many small business owners, the rapid changes, combined with a steep learning curve and lack of time to learn the different platforms, have left many struggling to establish and grow a strong social media presence.

1. Understand your brand.

First and foremost, you need to understand exactly what your brand is and how you plan to market it. If you're not sure about these two things, it will result in scattered, nonsensical social media posts, which will confuse and alienate followers.

Whether you are just establishing a channel on social media or have an existing one, before you randomly start posting, first identify what makes your business unique.

How do you want customers to see your brand? How you want them to interact with you? Once you have an idea about your brand identity and communication methods and style, you can then brainstorm the types of posts that will effectively convey that message to your target audience.

2. Content is king, but distribution is queen.

It's true, content is king, but distribution, carefully spreading the same message different ways across multiple platforms, is queen.

"People focus too much on the content, like wording or photos, which isn't a bad thing," said Carly Brasseux, president and owner of Carly Brasseux Consulting. "But you also have to know the best hashtags, the ideal time of day to post, and [to switch] up wording and images for each platform. If you're cross-posting a tweet to Facebook or Instagram, you need a different-sized image, different hashtags, and [you need] to post it at a different time of day."

3. Avoid 'the sell.'

Because marketing has become so pervasive, audiences know when they are being sold to. They have developed an aversion to classical forms of advertising, such as "buy this product now, and you'll be happy."

Modern marketing, particularly social media marketing, has become significantly more nuanced – the focus now is on selling a lifestyle rather than a specific product.

Make a point of sharing your story with followers and why your business exists. The key is to make your followers care about what you do so they engage with your posts. Caring equals engagement, which means you have an increased chance of gaining new customers.

4. Create bonds by sharing your story.

Sharing your own business story and creating a space for others to share their experiences not only engages followers – they also feel valued.

With your social media channels, there's a void between your business and your followers. Your job is to close that gap, and some easy ways to do that while forging a bond with people is creating posts that ask followers to comment with their personal stories or responses, hosting giveaways or challenges, or reposting followers' content (as long as it's appropriate).

5. Know your audience.

To create content that your audience will engage with, you need to understand your audience and what will prompt them to engage with you. To determine that, you'll have to try a few tactics before you know what works and what doesn't. Pay close attention to things like how many people see your post versus how many comment on it or like it, or what types of photos seem to get more engagement.

"Consider everything an experiment," said Winkler.

6. Have a goal for each social media post.

Avoid posting for the sake of posting. No one will notice if you miss a day, but they will notice if you're posting for no apparent reason. Make your posts purposeful and well thought-out, and your engagement rates should increase.

Have a purpose or goal in mind for every post. What does this post do for your business? Why is it worth posting? What do you stand to gain from it? What does the post say about the business?

https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/1449-social-media-marketing-quality.html