Business Types

• Sole proprietorship: A sole proprietorship is a business owned by one person. The owner may operate on his or her own or may employ others. The owner of the business has total and unlimited personal liability of the debts incurred by the business.

• Partnership: A partnership is a form of business in which two or more people operate for the common goal of making profit. Each partner has total and unlimited personal liability of the debts incurred by the partnership. There are three typical classifications of partnerships: general partnerships, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships.

• Corporation: A business corporation is a for-profit, limited liability entity that has a separate legal personality from its members. A corporation is owned by multiple shareholders and is overseen by board of directors, which hires the business's managerial staff.

• Cooperative: Often referred to as a "co-op business" or "co-op", a cooperative is a for-profit, limited liability entity that differs from a corporation in that it has members, as opposed to shareholders, who share decision-making authority. Cooperatives are typically classified as either consumer cooperatives or worker cooperatives. Cooperatives are fundamental to the ideology of economic democracy.

Legal

INCORPORATING

The major steps in making a business legal are:

1) Picking a corporate structure

The most important aspect of picking a structure is to have a separate legal and tax identity from yourself so that if the company is sued, the company's assets are taken instead of your personal assets. When picking a corporate structure, there are various forms of business structures to choose from. The difference between these structures is that each has different legal and tax consequences.

• Sole Proprietorship

One individual who owns & operates the company

• Partnership

Business owned & operated by two or more individuals

Each partner can act on behalf of the entire partnership

Written partnership agreement

• C Corporation

Independent legal entity separate from its owners

More regulations and tax requirements

• S Corporation

Available to companies with less than 75 shareholder

One level of federal tax

• Limited Liability Corporation (LLC)

No limitation of number of shareholders

Some states required the LLC dissolves after 30 to 40 years

Taxes vary by state

Attorney's are vital in running a business in order to fill out, comply with, and understand the different contracts, licenses, and permits.

A lawyer is important to a business because they can provide information in almost every area of your business. They can help with zoning compliance, copyright and trademark, and lawsuits and liability.

The different skill areas that your attorney should have include:

Contracts - Prepare the standard form contracts for customers, clients, ad suppliers as well as help you respond to contracts that others want you to sign.

Business Organizations - Help you decide the type of business structure as well as prepare the necessary paperwork in order to follow that path.

Real Estate - Help to add helpful benefits to you that can be added to the lease documents.

Taxes and License - Register your business for federal and state tax identification numbers and understand tax consequences of basic business transactions.

Intellectual Property - Register your products and services for federal trademark and copyright protection.

Choosing a Big firm or Small Firm

Although larger firms have greater overhead and therefore usually have a higher hourly rate, they have a number of advantages. First, you won't find all the previous skills in a single person and they will eventually have to refer you to a specialist and then you'll have more than 1 attorney. Advantages of larger firms are that they have all the legal skills at one place and they also have a lot of power in the local region and possibly the nation.

Financial

ACCOUNTING

Hiring Bookkeepers or Accountants

Accountants are useful not only in keeping track of your finances but also an excellent reference.

Some accountants have knowledge as to where you benefit the most in situations or what your limitations are

Can clarify questions about business expenses

Accountants very important because an audit is required in order to qualify for government funding

For Example, the Section 179 expensing election allows a $24,000 deduction in cost of vehicles weighing over 6,000 pounds for business use.

Balance accounts and put books in order on a regular basis or hire a bookkeeper instead of hiring a CPA

For taxes, hire enrolled agents who are income-tax specialist licensed to prepare returns and filings

Enrolled Agents have to pass examinations given by the IRS

Charge from $50-$150 an hour

Accountants are more useful for looking over the accounting as well as for supplying information where computer programs can take care of the regular daily accounting such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, and payroll. Programs like QuickBooks and Quicken are fairly easy to use and easy to keep records with.

INSURANCE

Another important business aspect is insurance protection. Risks over which you have no control should be insured against, however, losses which would be trivial if they did occur should not be insured nor should you pay for protection when the premium is a significant proportion of the value of the property being insured. Major types of insurance include: fire, general liability, automobile liability, automobile physical damage, workers' comp, crime, business interruption, glass, group life (health and disability)

Business Insurance:

· Business Owner's Policy

Provides coverage for property (fire, wind, theft, etc.), liability (injury of someone in your business or by your product), business interruption, and, in some cases, workers' compensation

• General Liability Insurance

Coverage of injury to another person or damage to a person's property for which you are legally responsible

• Property Insurance

Provides coverage to business for loss or damage to your property (fire/vandalism/etc)

Building - Covers damage to the building (fire/lightining/wind/vandalism/snow on roof)

Personal - Covers damage to property inside the building

• Professional Liability Insurance

Protects you financially in the case of a claim against you for negligence, errors, omissions, or wrongful acts in the performance of duties

TAXES & COST ESTIMATES

The exact taxes and cost estimates are extremely difficult to determine at this time since no precise information is known about how this product would actually be made and therefore, the cost of manufacturing is difficult to determine. Taxes would be most likely dealt with through an accountant which can be seen in the Accounting section.

Real Estate

SPACE NEEDS

Cytogenics will be a home based business to begin with and since the manufacturing will be outsourced, the space requirements will be insignificant. There is no great disadvantage to outsourcing the manufacturing and this also requires much less startup cost.

• Property zoned-residential, commercial, industrial or agricultural. Specific limitations for those
• Restrictions on vehicular traffic or parking
• Restrictions on the use of outdoor signs
• Restrictions on having employees and customers on the premises
• Sell items on the premises
• Restrictions on indoor or outdoor storage of materials

Many home based businesses ignore zoning laws

Find out about licenses and permits

Call local municipal building and see ordinances that apply to home occupations

Minicipalities have websites with their ordinances and sometimes entire code book

Call from phone lines outside your house

Special Exception Hearing

• If homeowners' association doesn't allow your type of business
• businesses that don't produce traffic, outside visitors, or outside evidence usually have a chance
• Cost is about $5,000
• If a variance is obtained, house becomes a commercial site
• Subject to fire inspections without a search warrant
• fire marshal can fine for extension cords, lack of fireproof doors & curtains
• Require instillation of fire doors between work area and rest of the house
• Required to comply with OSHA and ADA regulations
• Variance can be rescinded at any time without notice if a neighbor complains
• Check American Association of Home-Based Businesses

• lead to resources and assist in establishing businesses
• information on local zoning laws & other restrictions

Complete Business Plan

This is an outline of a complete business plan:

Summary

Business Concept
Current situation
Key success factors
Financial situation/needs

Vision

Vision statement
Milestones

Market Analysis

The overall market
Changes in the market
Market segments
Target market and customers
Customer characteristics
Customer needs
Customer buying decisions

Competitive Analysis

Industry overview
Nature of competition
Changes in the industry
Primary competitors
Competitive products/services
Opportunities
Threats and risks

Strategy

Key competitive capabilities
Key competitive weaknesses
Strategy
Implementing strategy

Products/Services

Product/service description
Positioning of products/services
Competitive evaluation of products/services
Future products/services

Marketing and sales

Marketing strategy
Sales tactics
Advertising
Promotions/incentives
Publicity
Trade shows

Operations

Key personnel
Organizational structure
Human resources plan
Product/service delivery
Customer service/support
Facilities

Creating the financials of the business plan

Assumptions and Comments
Starting Balance Sheet
Profit and Loss Projection
Cash Flow Projection
Balance Sheet Projection
Ratio's and Analysis

ADVERTISING

There are numerous way to convey your message to your target audience

• Trade shows
• Good visibility of items, allows sampling of the product (very important), direct advertising to people interested in your product
• Bodybuilding competitions
• Wear T-shirts, have visible markings of your company/product. Cheap and excellent publicity
• Sponsor a Bodybuilder
• Cheap method and very persuasive
• Magazines & TV
• Most expensive but possibly the most effective in magazines

• Choose a topic which best describes the advantages of your product
• Make your advertisement informative and easy to understand
• Expect to be compared to your competitors and focus on why your product is better
• Make sure it is professional

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Public Relations can be an extremely cost effective method to get excellent publicity. With increasing visibility to the public, your company brings news of your company to the world and you company profile increases as well as client and prospect levels. Important aspects of public relations include:

• Press kit
• Press Releases
• Publicity Campaigns

distribution

• Arrangement between you and the manufacturer or distributor of the product which you are selling in which the manufacturer ships the product to the customers.
• Customer orders the product and pays
• You send an e-mail with the customer's order and shipping information to the distributor
• The distributor packs' the order, puts your shipping label on the package and mails it
• Advantages:
• No worry of shipping the product yourself
• Saves the cost of building your own inventory
• No leftovers - if item becomes obsolete you aren't stuck with extra inventory
• Add new products instantly

sales projections

Sales projections are difficult to determine. It is expected that, obviously, there will not be many sales at first. However, as more contacts are made and more word of mouth and advertising is seen, the sales should increase exponentially at first and then possibly level off or increase at a much slower rate.

MARKET RESEARCH

Market research is the analysis of factors outside the company that affect the business like your customers, competitors, and industry. It gives you the information you need to make smart decisions about your business, so your revenue increases. Market research helps to

• target your marketing campaigns
• identify opportunities in the marketplace
• identify your customers' specific needs
• evaluate your success with measurable data

Job Analysis and Description

For the job analysis one has to determine requirements for the job mostly involving the persons personality, experience, and education. The job analysis should cover

• The mental and physical tasks involved (does the position require mental and time planning skills or physical strength)
• How the job is accomplished (special methods or equipment)
• The reason the job exists (explanation of job goals)
• Qualifications needed (skills, previous experience, knowledge)

The job description is mostly used for making ads for the position. It should describe the job's goals, responsibilities, and duties. Included should be the job title and whom they will report to as well as their major and minor duties. Describes the personal requirements like education, experience, or skills/knowledge. Finally it should include any hazards associated with their job. More information on writing job ads can be found here.

Places to Find Employees

The following is a list of places where you can find employees

• Classified Ads in newspapers
• Network
• Tell both your professional and personal connections about the job opening
• Distribute fliers
• More useful for finding less skilled work
• Contact school placement offices
• List the jobs with colleges/universities and trade schools or even high schools if the position does not require much experience or skill.
• Employment Agency
• Fees justified by the time and $ saved
• Referral by current employees
• List opening in professional associations' job banks
• Industry publications
• Post in newsletters or industry publications that have sections for job openings
• Online
• Monster.com
• WorkLife.com

Checking Credentials Online

Before hiring an employee, their credentials should be checked online.

• Look up websites of former employers, search using the applicants name, look in news archives, and finally university sites.
• At least 20 states have criminal and property databases on the web.
• Ask applicants to sign a waiver if you search their history
• Fair Credit and Reporting Act requires anyone handling consumer data to be impartial and protective of individuals' privacy.
• Can't always trust what you find on the internet

Human Resources

employees

Reasons for hiring new employees

• Extending deadlines while risking losing clients
• Wasting valuable time on trivial tasks
• Special tasks that could be handled better by a specialist (ie Web design)
• Spending a lot of extra hours to catch up regular tasks that could be partitioned out.

Possible Solutions to Situations above

1. Get help from friends or family
• Useful for temporary basis when jobs become too difficult or certain tasks could be extensive when done alone. Pay a fair price or compensation for their time. Treat them with the same respect you would your colleagues and other professionals
2. Hire an employee
• Most decisive factor is if you can afford an employee. Option also limited by amount of space available as well as whether or not your company needs to be zoned for an employee. Can be paid by the hour. Responsible for health benefits & paid vacation.
3. Use a temp service
• Skilled persons hired for temporary or long term assignments from temporary employment agencies. More useful for tasks like data entry, phone answering, and non-specialized tasks.
4. Outsource to a freelancer
• Used on a project basis. Consists of sharing work with other business owners. Useful because no need to pay employee benefits, also gives specialized services from experiences professionals. Lists of freelancers can be found here.
5. Hiring business support services
• Similar to freelancers but companies are dedicated for support services. Also have specialized services. List of business support services found at the Association for Business Support Services International Inc.

BUSINESS PLANS

A business plan will not be a vitally important part of Cytogenics due to the nature that business plans are primarily used as tools to obtain funding from venture capitalists or other sources. However, the primary outline of a business plan will be displayed due to it's ability to see whether or not the business will be at least able to start.

TJX settles case on data breach

The retail firm, which last year said that 45.7 million credit cards were exposed to possible fraud, agrees to a federal settlement requiring it to undergo audits and to implement security programs.

WASHINGTON -- More than a year after millions of T.J. Maxx and Marshalls customers found out their credit card information had been hacked into, the discount stores' operator agreed to have its information audited but avoided paying federal fines.TJX Cos. was one of three firms that agreed to settle charges that each "failed to provide reasonable and appropriate security for sensitive consumer information," federal regulators said Thursday in two unrelated data-breach decisions.Data broker Reed Elsevier and its Seisint subsidiary also avoided fines but have agreed to obtain third-party audits biennially for 20 years under a separate settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.The agreements, which will be finalized after a 30-day public comment period, also require the companies to implement comprehensive information security programs."These cases bring to 20 the number of complaints in which the FTC has charged companies with security deficiencies in protecting sensitive consumer information," said Deborah Platt Majoras, outgoing chairwoman of the FTC.TJX said last March that at least 45.7 million credit cards were exposed to possible fraud in a breach of its computer systems. Court filings by banks that sued TJX estimated the number of cards affected at more than 100 million.In the other case, personal information about hundreds of thousands of people held by Reed Elsevier's LexisNexis unit may have been accessed in 2005 by unauthorized individuals using stolen passwords and IDs to access Seisint databases.Sherry Lang, TJX's senior vice president for investor and public relations, said the company disagreed with the FTC's allegations, but agreed to the settlement because it "is consistent with the agreements between the FTC and other retailers that have been victimized by cyber crime."The Framingham, Mass.-based company's 2,500 stores include the T.J. Maxx and Marshalls chains.The FTC cannot impose financial penalties against the companies because it lacks the authority to do so. The commission has asked Congress for such authority since 2005.

Autos

State air board may slash zero-emission mandate

Hoping to buy an emission-free vehicle in the next few years? Finding one might soon get much tougher.California's Air Resources Board will vote today on whether to cut, by nearly two-thirds, the number of electric-battery and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles that major carmakers must sell here over the next decade.

Graphic
The proposed change to the state's Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate has stirred up protests from environmentalists and alternative-transportation advocates, who say automakers have little incentive to produce such vehicles unless obligated. Others say the state will be unable to meet its own greenhouse gas-reduction targets without requiring more production of emission-free vehicles. Passenger vehicles emit about 30% of California's greenhouse gases."This is a very significant reduction," said V. John White, executive director of the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies in Sacramento."We need to look at getting car companies to push more technology than they want to, sooner than they want to, not making concessions to industry."Automakers argue that even the reduced mandate is too tough, considering the extremely high costs associated with developing new drivetrain technology. In a March 14 letter to the air board, the six largest automakers selling in California -- General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler, Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. -- expressed concerns that parts of the mandate were "overly stringent" and that the changes "place an inordinate burden upon the resources" of the companies.The proposed revised mandate would require those carmakers to market 2,500 electric or fuel-cell vehicles here from 2012 to 2014, followed by 25,000 more from 2015 to 2017. (Smaller-volume carmakers are not required to make emission-free vehicles.)Those numbers are far below the existing requirement, which calls for 25,000 such vehicles in the earlier period and 50,000 more between 2015 and 2017. (The mandate for 2009-2011, which isn't up for a vote, requires 2,500 emission-free vehicles.) According to the Air Resources Board, the reduced numbers would save automakers as much as $1.3 billion a year.Board Chairwoman Mary Nichols said the panel would probably opt for an unspecified compromise on the number of vehicles and might consider a future overhaul of the program. She denied that automakers influenced the board's decision-making process. "This isn't about backing down under pressure from auto companies," Nichols said. "It's about what's feasible."The ZEV mandate, established in 1990, has long been controversial. Originally, the regulation called for 2% of all cars sold in California to be free of tailpipe emissions by 1998, ramping up to 10% by 2004, with stiff penalties for noncompliance. The goals pushed carmakers to try new technologies, and by the late 1990s, carmakers began testing electric vehicles such as the Chevrolet EV1.Green-car advocates embraced the vehicles, but the carmakers filed suits against the air board alleging that the mandate was a crushing financial burden. That prompted modifications of the ZEV mandate that in effect ended those electric-car programs while providing what the board calls an "alternative path" to compliance that called for far fewer emission-free vehicles.The successive revisions have created a mandate so complex that even board member Daniel Sperling acknowledges, "There's only a handful of people in the world who understand it."Almost 20 years after the ZEV mandate began, fewer than 5,000 highway-legal, electric and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles have been produced for use in California by the six automakers, or about 0.33% of the roughly 1.5 million cars sold in California per year. The contentious series of decisions by the board leading to the reduced ZEV requirements were depicted in the 2006 film, "Who Killed the Electric Car?"With new reductions on the table, "it feels like deja vu," said Chris Paine, the film's director and a former EV1 driver, who will film today's meeting. "Five years later and we haven't learned a thing."Most carmakers have some combination of hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and electric cars in development. But without a mandate calling for mass production, critics contend, automakers have little incentive to bring the expensive machines to market. A single fuel-cell vehicle can cost as much as $1 million when produced in small volumes.In addition to slowing technological development, critics say the proposed rollback would make it nearly impossible for the state to meet its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% before 2050.A study released this week by the Union of Concerned Scientists said California would need at least 379,000 zero-emission vehicles on the road by 2020 to reach that goal.Carmakers contend that having to make emission-free vehicles could cause significant financial distress. Many automakers have reported huge 2007 losses. The industry is facing deep sales drops and the prospect of the worst year, in terms of U.S. sales volume, in more than a decade."Certainly the state has played a role in helping encourage technology development," GM spokesman Dave Barthmus said. "But we clearly believe that if we're going to succeed, we have to develop our own energy alternatives on our own terms."Along with the six carmakers subject to the ZEV mandate, Volkswagen, Daimler (maker of Mercedes), BMW, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co. all filed public comments with the air board, arguing, among other things, that if they someday do sell enough cars to be subject to the ZEV mandate, they should be given as long as 12 years to comply. Environmental organizations, plus Google Inc., electric carmaker Tesla, the mayor of San Francisco and the states of Vermont and Massachusetts (they and eight other states have signed on to the ZEV mandate) were among the groups filing comments calling on the board to step up its ZEV requirements.On Wednesday, activists, actors, environmentalists and political figures held a rally in Sacramento against the proposed changes.Board officials say they expect upward of 200 people to speak before the panel prior to its vote. With each given as long as three minutes, the session could last more than 10 hours. Among those planning to speak is Tim Carmichael, senior policy director at the Coalition for Clean Air."This proposal is 180 degrees from what we know the state needs to achieve our climate and air-quality goals," he said. "Without a strong ZEV, I don't see any real innovation coming from the big carmakers."

Corporate profits fall 3.3% in 4th quarter

WASHINGTON -- U.S. corporate profits fell 3.3% in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to government data that also confirmed U.S. economic growth slowed to a meager annual pace of 0.6% in the same period.A second government report showed the number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell by 9,000 last week and that the number of people remaining on benefit rolls after receiving an initial week of aid also declined.Wall Street analysts surveyed before the reports had expected a 0.1% drop in corporate profits, despite a crisis in the sub-prime mortgage market that has hobbled U.S. economic growth.The drop in corporate profits was the first in a year, and the Commerce Department said profits of both financial and nonfinancial companies fell.The department said nonfinancial company labor costs rose but were partially offset by price increases.U.S. Treasury bond prices extended their retreat after stock index futures rose in response to the drop in new jobless claims. "With the light volume we've been having, any sort of headline is going to move [the market] sort of quickly," said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, N.J. However, "anyone who thinks we're not in a recession is living under a rock. Let's just get it over with."Profits rose just 2.6% for all of 2007, compared to a much-healthier 12.2% gain in the prior year.The Commerce Department's third and final reading of fourth-quarter U.S. gross domestic product, which measures total goods and services output within U.S. borders, was unchanged at a 0.6% increase, matching expectations before the report.The economy grew 2.2% for all of last year, the slowest rate since 2002, the Commerce Department said, as economists were forecasting a possible recession this year.Spending on new homes plunged 25.2% in the fourth quarter, the biggest drop since 1981, the department said.The housing market woes have rattled worldwide financial markets, forcing the Federal Reserve to aggressively cut its key interest rate by 3 percentage points since mid-September.The gloomy economic news continued into this year with data Wednesday showing that sales of new U.S. single-family homes fell to the slowest pace in 13 years while orders for durable goods tumbled unexpectedly last month.The personal consumption expenditures price index, which excludes food and energy and is the Fed's favored inflation measurement, increased 2.5% in the fourth quarter, compared with the previous estimate of a 2.7% rise.

Hearings set on BofA-Countrywide deal

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve Board took the unusual step Thursday of scheduling public hearings to get comments on the pros and cons of Bank of America Corp.'s proposed $4-billion acquisition of mortgage giant Countrywide Financial Corp.The announcement comes amid high public sensitivities surrounding housing and mortgage markets and the effect that the merger might have on mortgage modifications, particularly in California.It comes the day after Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, invited regulators, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, as well as the chief executives of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bear Stearns Cos. to testify at a hearing next week about JPMorgan's bid to buy Bear Stearns, which kept the investment bank from entering bankruptcy.The Fed said it would extend a 90-day public comment period on the proposed BofA-Countrywide deal by nearly a month, until the close of business on April 29.A public hearing is scheduled April 22 at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's headquarters, with hearings on April 28 and 29 at the Los Angeles Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.The Fed rarely holds public hearings on merger decisions, but it said the public hearings were intended to collect information relating to the factors the board is required to consider to determine whether the merger is acceptable under the Bank Holding Company Act.Some consumer groups have criticized BofA's response to the housing crisis, saying its balance sheet allowed it to do more for troubled borrowers.The acquisition of Calabasas-based Countrywide would hand BofA a bigger market share, creating a lender making one in four U.S. home loans and collecting payments on mortgages with a value of more than $1.9 trillion.

Long-term care can be costly

Dear Karen: I provide health and life insurance for my employees. Recently, an employee asked about long-term-care insurance. What is it?Answer: Long-term-care insurance pays for institutional or home care for chronically impaired seniors. Although only 13% of full-time employees in private industry are offered long-term-care insurance today, that number is expected to go up as the U.S. population ages, said Larry Hazzard, a senior vice president at Berkshire Life."These policies can be pricey because of how rich the benefits are when you receive them," Hazzard said. You can offer long-term-care insurance to your employees at their expense, or your firm can pay all or part of the cost. Either way, the coverage is discounted when offered through a company rather than being purchased by an individual, Hazzard said. Another perk: Long-term-care insurance benefits are generally tax-free, even for employer-paid policies.Experiment with effect of pricingDear Karen: Will my sales decline if I raise prices in this economy?Answer: You won't know for sure unless you try, said David Cochran, vice president of operations at QualPro, a consulting firm. "Increase prices on small customer segments, varying the amount of the increase, and measure the impact on sales. You can then determine what your optimum price is," he said.Despite popular belief, pricing is not always the most important factor affecting sales. "Often, the right advertising message can overcome the effects of raising prices and you can sell just as much product or even more at higher margins," Cochran said."While lower prices often do increase unit sales, the use of aggressive wording such as 'Great price!' in your advertising may be equally effective. The fact that the price may be higher than a price you've offered previously may not matter a lot," he said.Outsourcing's not just for big guysDear Karen: Can my small business cut expenses by outsourcing?Answer: Yes. Many small firms save on labor costs by outsourcing routine jobs rather than hiring full-time employees, which involves providing a work site and incurring salary, overhead and administrative costs. "Small businesses typically start out as one-man shows, with an entrepreneur working 12- or 14-hour days, seven days a week. They can't afford to hire help at $30,000 or $40,000 annually," said Chris Johns, chief executive of SupportSave Solutions, based in Alamo, Calif.His company trains and employs workers in the Philippines to answer telephones and do back-office work for small U.S. companies, he said."For $897 a month per full-time employee, we provide the infrastructure and the dedicated staff that are hired and trained specifically to become part of the small business," he said. "This enables start-ups to keep their overhead costs low so they can reinvest their revenues and grow to the point where they can hire staff in the U.S."An outsourcing firm also handles employee screening, hiring, training and supervising, freeing up the entrepreneur to concentrate on sales and planning. "We have a large talent pool, and we routinely screen and interview 100 applicants daily. Often, we can hire somebody for a small firm in a day or two days," Johns said. Got a question about running or starting a small enterprise? E-mail it to ke.klein@ latimes.com or mail it to In Box, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.

Google paid clicks data generate debate on Wall Street

New data confirming slowing growth in Google Inc.'s paid clicks renewed debate today on Wall Street over whether the Internet search company's revenue can quickly adjust to changes it made in how it generates clicks.Citing data that ComScore Inc. released after the market closed Wednesday, analysts said growth in Google's click-through rate has nearly ground to a halt.Shares of Google fell $14.11, or 3.1%, to $444.08.The click-through rate grew 3% in February compared to a year earlier, and January saw no increase compared to January 2007. Several months earlier, the rate was growing 25% to 40% compared to a year earlier. The new data is in line with click-through declines Google reported last quarter.Google, which gets paid when users click on a sponsored ad that comes up as the result of a Google search, has reported steadily rising per-click revenue.The Mountain View, Calif.-based company said in January that the drop in click-through rates is a result of its efforts to boost the usefulness of each click to its advertisers' sales performance. For instance, the company decreased the space around a word that would result in a click, so more clicks would be intentional.Analysts disagree on how long it will take Google's per-click revenue to adjust to any increased value per click it has created.Rob Sanderson, an analyst with American Technology Research, said per-click revenue would rise immediately if advertisers saw more value in each click, because they would pay more for them at auction."It's not clicks that advertisers are really buying, it's what those clicks get them, which is sales conversions," Sanderson said.Colin Gillis, an Internet analyst at Canaccord Adams, also was optimistic: "It's very difficult to spin this as positive data point, but it also doesn't mean the world is ending."The click-through rate is only one piece of the equation for Google, he said."The counter point is that Google is out there saying, 'We are trying to make our clicks more worthwhile.' They want to actually deliver relevant hot leads to their customers because that's what their customers want," Gillis said.Other analysts disagreed.Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster predicted that Google would fall short of Wall Street expectations in the current quarter because of the click-through rate.Lehman Brothers analyst Doug Anmuth cut his 2008 profit estimate for Google and reduced his price target to $580 per share from $644, citing the click-through rates.He also said advertisers may be trimming their budgets -- and not responding to the changes Google has made.Google, which will report first quarter earnings April 17, declined to comment on the ComScore data.

Kennywood Park has been sold to a Spanish company.

The West Mifflin amusement park, family-owned since 1906, now will be run by Parques Reunidos, which manages 61 amusement, animal and water parks in the U.S. and Europe.The Madrid-based company also acquired Kennywood's sister properties: Sandcastle Waterpark in West Homestead and Idlewild & SoakZone in Ligonier."The Kennywood experience, as visitors have come to love and expect, will continue," park chairman Harry Henninger said in a press release. "Nothing will seem different, even to the folks working at the parks. Existing management and staff will remain in place."In recent years, other companies offered to buy Kennywood, "but Parques Reunidos is the first one to share our vision and philosophy," said Henninger, a descendant of F.W. Henninger, who along with Andrew McSwigan bought the park from the Monongahela Railway Co. more than 100 years ago."This has been a very difficult decision for members of the founding families," Henninger said in the release.The sale price is being withheld.Parques Reunidos will assume ownership of the new concert venue at Sandcastle, which had replaced Chevrolet Amphitheatre at Station Square, according to Kennywood publicist Mary Lou Rosemeyer. The Spanish company also gets Kennywood Entertainment's two New England holdings, Lake Compounce Theme Park in Bristol, Conn., and Story Land in Glen, N.H."We have tremendous respect for the work of the Kennywood management team and are delighted to acquire such a quality organization," said Richard Golding, chief executive officer of Parques Reunidos, which owns U.S. parks such as Wet 'n Wild in Greensboro, N.C., and Wild Waters in Ocala, Fla.Kennywood President Peter J. McAneny said in a press release that he was confident the new owners recognize and appreciate "the deep affection that all of the Kennywood properties enjoy with their communities."He added, "They intend to preserve these connections and build upon the history and tradition existing at each of the parks."

Spanish company buys Kennywood

Kennywood Entertainment is selling its amusement park holdings, including Kennywood, Idlewild and Sandcastle, to Parques Reunidos, a company based in Madrid, Spain.
No financial terms were disclosed. A spokeswoman for Kennywood could not immediately be reached for comment.
Parques Reunidos manages 61 amusement, animal and water parks in the United States and Europe, with total annual visitors exceeding 22 million and revenue exceeding $570 million.
The Henninger and McSwigan families have owned Kennywood since 1906.
According to a news release, Parques Reunidos had the financial backing of the Candover investment fund, a private equity investor in London.
Candover approached Kennywood with a purchase offer as part of its plan to consolidate family entertainment venues around the globe, according to the release.
"The Kennywood experience -- as visitors have come to love and expect -- will continue," Kennywood Entertainment Chairman Harry Henninger said in a statement. "Nothing will seem different, even to the folks working at the parks. Existing management and staff will remain in place."
Henninger added, "This has been a very difficult decision for members of the founding families, now numbering over one hundred and residing all over the country. All of us are tremendously proud of what we created with Kennywood Entertainment. It has truly been a magical ride, managing Kennywood, starting Sandcastle, expanding and improving both Idlewild and Lake Compounce."
The transaction is expected to close in March.
Ann Dugan, executive director of the University of Pittsburgh's Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence, said "anytime a region loses family ownership in a business, it loses a lot."
However, she is optimistic new ownership will help Kennywood.
"Parques Reunidos has the potential to add more resources to the park and further enhance it," she said.

Europeans buy landmark park, other properties; sale estimated at $200 million