Where friendship met business

On a Saturday night in late September, hip-hop artist Michael Casper was set to play his first show in an inconspicuous house on 36th Street. His managers, sophomore music industry students Sean Lewow and John Van Liere, had carefully crafted the moments leading up to Casper's performance, even changing the set list so that certain friends could catch Casper's performance before leaving. But right as Casper was supposed to take the stage, he was nowhere to be seen.

Lewow sprinted down 36th Street searching for Casper, who had gone to the grocery store, while Van Liere tried to stall the lineup and persuaded the audience to wait. At the time, the stress sent them both into a frenzy. But recalling the incident several weeks later, in between bouts of laughter, Lewow and Van Liere saw it as just another part of the job — running their own A&R company, Bottom Feeder Management.

"We were just yelling at each other all night," Van Liere said. "At the end of the day he played a great set, and we all had a really fun time. We got mad at each other for a second and then five minutes later we're back at it talking like normal. That's how it goes."

Lewow and Van Liere met at a parents' mixer for music industry majors at the Thornton School of Music and immediately realized that they shared similar goals and visions. In high school, both Van Liere and Lewow put on shows for charity, and Van Liere also admired his partner's work ethic, which he said set him apart from others in the music industry.

"Everyone always has lofty goals and aspirations, but a lot of people don't actually do anything about [them]," Van Liere said. "We instantly gravitated toward each other because we were both really doing it."

Lewow and Van Liere began bouncing business ideas off of each other until they settled on a promising one called the "Thornton Collective." Initially, they aimed to leverage Thornton's connections to help student musicians release their work in the real world, but soon found that many talented artists outside of campus who were also looking for representation.

"And then we were like, why are we doing this through the school? We can just do it ourselves," Van Liere said.

Thus, Bottom Feeder Management was born. The company's six-person team comprises Lewow, Van Liere, three videographers from Ouros, a creative collective and an audio engineer. Currently, managing two artists — Casper and Joe Avio — is a full-time job. The team worked on Casper's debut single "Teenage Apathy" and his upcoming music videos, as well as Avio's debut album release in November.

"We want to create someone that has an aura, a name that people recognize, and can use that status as more of a cultural figure to do good," Van Liere said. "We're not creating music — we're creating worlds."

Understanding the artists as friends and individuals allows Lewow and Van Liere to tap into the artists' most authentic, nuanced personas. Their focus on building relationships trumps the goal of creating a hit track, which is why they spent months getting to know Avio and Casper before agreeing to work with them.

"I'd say for us it's very much a relationship game," Lewow said. "At the end of the day, they're our best friends."

However, that focus on personal relationships can cause tension.

"It gets tough, but only because people are … really passionate about waking up each morning and getting involved in this stuff," Lewow said.

Despite the stresses of the job, they're able to work through difficult moments — like the incident at Casper's first show — by prioritizing their friendship above all else.

"[We're able to look past these instances] because at the end of the day it's not important," Van Liere said. "If [Casper is] five minutes late to his set, we're freaking out in the moment, but then afterward … why would I let this stupid thing carry on?"

Lewow and Van Liere are in the same fraternity, live in the same house and share the same social circle. Despite this physical proximity, they say their ability to cooperate stems from their complementary personality traits. Van Liere handles internal logistics, working on production and creative direction, while Lewow handles external logistics, such as interfacing with professionals and in-house public relations.

Over the past semester, they've had to adapt to the changing music climate brought on by Spotify and other music streaming services, as well as learn to recognize and overcome their own personal flaws.

"We started with a blank piece of paper, and we're drawing a roadmap for ourselves," Van Liere said.

As the company evolves, Van Liere and Lewow's goal is to make Bottom Feeder live up to its name — harvesting talent at the figurative bottom of the barrel and looking for up-and-coming artists whose careers could benefit from professional representation.

"We want to get [Casper] out of … working 9 to 5 every day at a Chinese restaurant," Lewow said. "He's the most creative, just beautiful human you'll ever meet. And Joe, he's slaving away at school … but at the end of the day, he needs to be a professional musician."

The phrase "at the end of the day" is one that Lewow and Van Liere use often. Perhaps the defining aspect of their company is their clear, unadulterated understanding of their motivations.

"These artists have become my livelihood," Lewow said. "At the end of the day, they are our very close friends and that gives us that added attachment to them … these people deserve to succeed, and it is our job to help them get there."

7 Ways I Overcame Mommy Guilt to Start My First Business

Being a working mom and starting your own business are arguably two of the most stressful and rewarding accomplishments of a woman's life. Combine the two by starting your own business working from home and you've got a whole new set of emotions on hand, one of which is likely to be "mommy guilt."

It's that overwhelming feeling when you are working extremely hard to start your business and you feel like you're neglecting your responsibilities as a mom. I know the feeling all too well -- I have four children under the age of 10 and I started, and still successfully run, my business from home.

Was it easy? Not at first. My mom guilt was at times overwhelming, but the good news is that I found ways to overcome that guilt by creating balance with time management, planning and even involving my children in the business.

"Lean in" to distraction.

Inevitably, when you're in "go" mode (aka highly productive time) someone you love will try to get your attention and the quick answer is usually "Honey, not now, I'm busy" to try to get the distracting person to go away as quickly as possible. When these distractions are caused by your children, it can cause increased mommy guilt and resentment.

For me, I find the more I resist the distraction, the longer it lasts. So, I decided to "lean in" to the distraction. If someone wants to snuggle with me, I give them a great big hug. If someone has a question, I give them my full attention and address the question and then we both happily return to what we were doing.

If I'm in the middle of something I really can't stop doing, I'm up front with my children about it. We make a plan together for a later time when we can engage in what they needed in that moment.

Make a game out of quiet time.

One of the biggest challenges I've experienced has been trying to figure out how to keep the kids quiet when I'm on the phone. They are, after all, young kids who like to have fun. I made a sign for my office door, but I knew the two younger kids weren't going to read it and understand, so I made a game out of learning what the sign meant.

The "Mom's on the phone game" consisted of us walking up to the door together, seeing the sign, covering our mouths and tiptoeing away, all while seeing who could be the quietest. Gamification for the win.

Make a to-do list for work and home.

Prioritizing your to-dos with a clean, effective list can help you manage what needs your attention the most throughout the day. Often, people make to-do lists that focus on either business or home life, but when you work from home it can be hard to differentiate between the two.

Instead, I suggest combining your lists. Consider adding things like grocery shopping, going to the bank or walking to check the mail. These home items are simple things that can be done with the kids and provide quality time together.

Create million-dollar moments.

Quality tends to be more important that quantity, and that's true when it comes to relationships with family, especially children. Even if we spend every waking moment with our kids, if we're stressed out and resentful all the time, are we really doing them a service?

Looking back, have you ever had a moment with the kids where you might say "I wouldn't trade that for a million bucks"? If you reflect on some of your favorite moments, you'll start to notice a common thread in them. Maybe it was a moment where everyone was getting along, or when you were enjoying something beautiful outside.

When you know what these moments are, you can start replicating these experiences more often. Even if all you have is five minutes, you can still inject that spirit of warmth, acceptance and playfulness into time with the kids. When you plan your schedule for work time, be sure to include a conscious effort to plan moments with the family as well.

Involve the kids in your business.

It may sound strange but involving my children in the business is one of the biggest ways I overcame my mommy guilt. My oldest has an entrepreneurial spirit and a wealth of creative ideas, so I started involving him in business decisions or brainstorming sessions whenever the opportunity came up. By involving him, he feels like he is part of what I am creating.

Remain sane.

Become a success magnet by staying sane at all times. If you break down, the business will break down. If you're raising a family and building a business at the same time, the stakes are high. Your sanity, peace of mind and general well-being are the greatest predictors of your success.

One of the best things you can do to maintain your sanity as a parent is to stay focused on your own business and quit trying to change your kids. Love them while they learn from their mistakes.

Turn parenting into a business asset.

Parenting can be a fantastic business school because as a parent you're always selling. You have to figure out what makes something attractive to someone else, and it pays to notice what works and what doesn't.

I believe the most effective thing you can do as a parent is the exact same thing you can do as a business owner: Be in tune with what your kids (or customers) want most at any given time and figure out how to effectively communicate that what you're offering is going to get them what they want.

Overcoming mommy guilt is something that can take some time and practice until you find a rhythm that works for your life. During all of this, don't forget to take some time for you -- step away from the computer, turn off your cell phone alerts/notifications and enjoy the day.

Business owner complains poor mail service hurts business

While most concerns about the mail service in the Lake Charles area have come from residential areas, a local man says it's causing problems for his business.

At Southland Coins they buy and sell precious metals, rare coins, and collectibles.

Owner Malcolm Self explains his business relies on the mail service.

“The mail system is vital to my business, as we've gone more to a mail order type system. 99 percent of my business is mail order. So, that's the lifeblood of my business,” said Self.

Self is convinced the mail system is broken.

“We get mail every day. So when you don't get mail for two days, we could easily be talking about over $100,000 in checks that should be in the mail that we get, and if we don't have that, obviously we can't buy product from our clients,” Self said.

Self says it's been an issue for years and he's complained as recently as last week.

"When we went down there to complain one of the managers, his answer to our problem was that the carriers are just lazy,” Self said.

Self says he does not think the problem is with the carriers.

“I find most carriers are like salt of the earth. They're good people, they're hard workers, they want to do the right thing. So, I think the real problem may be higher up,” said Self.

Self does as much business as possible over the internet, but you can't send a package over a computer.

“We've noticed a dramatic problem with the packages we ship. We shipped a package several months ago to Pensacola, Florida that took over 30 days. And when you're dealing with precious metals that people have paid for, they want to receive it promptly and not wait 30 days,” said Self.

As the problems continue and solutions appear hard to come by Self wonders if the answer may be privatizing the mail.

Self says other dealers around the country have similar problems.

Investing In Tools To Optimize Workflows And Protect Reimbursement

Industry consolidation is omnipresent, and the belief exists that the US healthcare market will continue to consolidate. If the trend does continue, in just a few years the hospital provider landscape will look very different, down to 400 - 600 hospital organizations from the current 1600: a reduction of approximately 70%1! Similar changes are also expected in the U.K. In a survey of U.K. hospital executives, 76% will look for collaboration partners in the next three years2. Consolidation is fueled by the quest to achieve better outcomes at lower costs. However, the reality is that the expected economies of scale are not yet being realized. Optimizing clinical operations is critical to delivering less expensive care and enabling growth. By eliminating unwarranted variations and enabling automated, standardized workflows, healthcare providers are able to consistently deliver the highest quality of care, improving the patient experience, and making care easier to access across the care continuum.

Typical hospital systems were not designed to operate across a multi-facility setting. In today’s environment, combining operations to leverage synergies is much more complex than a simple combination of the individual institutions. Such consolidation is having a significant impact on imaging service lines due to disparate hospital processes, systems, and siloes of data. Historically, workflow lists were based on modality and anatomy, an approach which is no longer feasible in today’s healthcare environment.

Running an imaging service line as a collection of numerous, unique hospital based Radiology departments can lead to variability of care across a system and a poor patient experience. Furthermore, inefficiencies and unwarranted variations can increase costs and negatively impact patient outcomes. For example, when a subspecialist is needed to interpret a study which was acquired at another facility, this can add time and cost, and, could delay the patient diagnosis and treatment.

Such care delivery challenges are further complicated by changes in legislative reform. Changes are not confined to the U.S. alone—they are observed world-wide, irrespective of the type of healthcare delivery model. In the U.S., providers are continually working to thrive under the shifting landscape and to comply with the sweeping legislative reform by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) known as the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (PAMA).

The American Clinical Laboratory Association recently deemed PAMA the most extensive reform of the Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule since its establishment in 19843. Passed in 2014, some elements of PAMA have already been implemented. Other elements are delayed, but not indefinitely. Without adjustment and optimization, bottom lines will certainly be impacted, but providers can minimize the effect of reimbursement cuts by proactively investigating opportunities for efficiency gains.

Shifting Provider Landscape: Did You Know?

* PAMA is estimated to save Medicare approximately $4 billion in the first five years of implementation4.
* PAMA originally mandated that CMS fully implement the Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) program by January 1, 2017, but CMS recently announced that it will begin the program on January 1, 20205.
* IDNs include hospitals or hospital systems, large medical groups, long-term care, outpatient centers, pharmacy, and/or managed care.

One component of PAMA that has yet to go into effect is the requirement that providers prove that advanced diagnostic imaging services, which include MRIs, PET scans, and CT scans, meet Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC). This requirement is important because it will help avoid unnecessary imaging services that do not improve patient welfare6, which some experts estimate account for 20-30 percent of high-tech imaging procedures7. CMS will require that a provider use a clinical decision support mechanism to demonstrate compliance with AUC expectations to avoid significant reimbursement issues.

So, what’s the answer? Hospitals looking to prosper in light of these changes need to start with a long term plan – or the “why” for an imaging service line. Optimized workflows coupled with clinical decision support software can enable a healthcare system to streamline operations today while planning to effectively integrate and create the right structure to effectively deliver care long term.

The use of simulation modeling, at a departmental or hospital level, can help healthcare providers identify the optimal way to transform their processes and meet their long term goals. For example, by using digital twins, different scenarios can be compared and assessed in a cost-effective way, allowing providers to implement operational excellence by analyzing potential layouts and processes. As a "what-if" tool, Workflow Simulation predicts the operational and financial impacts of the proposed solutions through quantitative feedback to help decision makers quickly identify the optimum solution. In addition, this approach can be used to conduct virtual stress tests to examine the robustness of current operations in certain situations including higher patient volumes, more complex patients or staffing shortages.

Why Trump's Tax Reform Will Spark Continued Small Business Growth

When President Donald Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on December 22, 2017, the new legislation was met with mixed reviews. In today’s volatile and highly partisan political environment, it’s no surprise that some celebrated it as a landmark accomplishment while others criticized the plan as possessing gaping holes.

From where I stood, as the CEO of sweetFrog Frozen Yogurt, I was delighted that the new tax was signed into law. In fact, I was proud to play a small role in the process, as I had asked for much-needed tax reform in a November 2017 Op-Ed that ran in Virginia Business. I firmly believed that small business owners needed tax reform to thrive, and I was happy to see our government work together to pass mission critical legislation.

Now, regardless of what you think of President Trump as a man and a leader, I’d like to offer some reassurance that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will help small-business owners build on the fantastic momentum generated by the American economy in 2017. The stock market is up, jobs are up, sales are up, and this tax reform may help small business owners do even better in 2018.

Here are four reasons why I believe Trump’s tax reform will provide economic jet fuel for small business owners from coast to coast:

Tax rates have been reduced.

As you likely are aware, small businesses will be receiving a deduction of 20% for qualified business income. But, back in the day (that is, before December 22, 2017), income from a small business would pass through to the proprietor on their own taxes, and these individuals were sometimes saddled with income tax rates as high as 39.6%.

The new tax rates are certainly fairer to the business owner, which should encourage more people to take the leap and start their own business. There have always been countless reasons that interested entrepreneurs have wanted to join the sweetFrog family, but, at the same time, I can’t help but think that we and every national franchise now have another selling point. We can remind interested owners that they’ll pay a lower rate on their taxable income than they would have if they had purchased a franchise a year earlier.

But, that deduction does more than just help the business owner. It helps the business itself, and now owners will have more money freed up to hire more people and to invest more in infrastructure.

How Amazon Is Impacting Small Business Finance

As has proven the case throughout 2017 and the early part of 2018, small business loan approval rates for big banks hit another new high last month, according to the Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index™ (February 2018 figures). Big banks, defined as institutions with assets of more than $10 billion, are granting more than one-quarter of the small business loan applications they receive. The 25.4% approval percentage, up one-tenth of a percent from January 2018, represents another new post-recession benchmark for big banks.

We have come a long way from the doldrums of the credit crunch in 2010-11. During the second half of 2011, for example, loan approval rates never went past 10 percent. Thus, more than nine-of-ten small business funding requests were rejected by big banks. In fact, banks were denying the requests of long-time customers with whom they had deposit relationships.

As this happened, small business borrowers looked for other funding options. Some found willing lenders in small banks, others in credit unions. Entrepreneurs also looked to non-bank “alternative” lenders and quickly learned that they could search for the best deals on small business funding online, just as they had embraced Amazon and other sites for online shopping.

Gradually, the economy improved, and we saw big banks and other funders steadily increase the number of funding requests they granted to small business owners. Approval percentages reached double digits since January 2012 and have not dropped below 10 percent since. Less than a year ago, big banks crossed the 20 percent benchmark, and now more than one-quarter of applicants receive funding.

The solid economy of the past year is a big reason for this good news. Consumer confidence is high, as is small business owner optimism. At the same time, fuel prices are still low, and more jobs than expected were created by the economy in February, according to the most recent Jobs Report issued by the Labor Department. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve has begun to raise interest rates from the near-zero levels of a few years back. This makes lending more profitable for banks.

Another reason that lending figures have climbed is because of the revolution of online retail that is led by Amazon. There is a lot of demand to fund commercial real estate. While mall construction has essentially halted, ecommerce has caused a boom in the construction of warehouses and other industrial buildings. Additionally, companies involved in transportation and logistics are servicing Amazon and other online retailers.

Many of the loans processed by small banks are SBA loans, which lowered the down payment requirements for commercial real estate from 20 percent to 10 percent. That has spurred SBA lending, one of the nation’s leading experts in small business finance. Another factor is that SBA loan defaults are less than one percent. Meanwhile, the SBA’s 75 percent guarantee is still in place.

Senate report predicts small businesses will spend more on accountants after tax law

A new report from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, discusses how small businesses will face more uncertainty and complexity from the Republican tax law and will ultimately need help from their accountants to figure out the pass-through deduction.

The report, “Tax Code and Small Business: Even More Bizarre and More Unfair than Before,” predicts small business owners will be spending more money on tax professionals than on growing their operations. The pass-through provisions of the bill provide a 20 percent deduction to businesses, but only up to a certain income level for certain types of professional service providers, such as accountants, lawyers and doctors. The deduction starts to phase out when the net income of one of the owners reaches $157,500, or $315,000 for joint filers, and it ends entirely once income reaches $207,500, or $415,000 for joint filers.

“Republicans claim to want less government intervention, but with their new tax law they picked winners and losers—architects are in, accountants are out; engineers made the cut, doctors did not—leaving business owners wondering whether or not they were blacklisted,” said Wyden. “What good is a deduction if money spent in annual fees to your accountant far exceed the tax break? Main Street job creators will be lucky if they figure out how to calculate their deduction any time soon.”

The report notes that the text of the pass-through deduction spans nine pages, cross-references more than 20 other sections of the tax code, and directs the Treasury Department to issue volumes of new regulations. It also cites a recent letter from the AICPA asking for more guidance about the provision: “And if there is any question whether the new law and regulations will add additional burden to small business owners, just look to the 19-page letter sent by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants highlighting issues that require ‘immediate guidance’ for taxpayers to be able to simply ‘comply with their 2018 tax obligations."

Wyden’s report quoted the founder of an IT consulting business in Washington D.C., who has been telling his colleagues and friends in the small business community to “speak to their accountants because there is no way to make any sense of how the law will impact folks.”

Wyden pointed to a separate recent report from Businesses for Responsible Tax Reform that found a majority of small business owners don’t believe the tax law will help grow their business. When asked if they would hire a new employee as a result of the new tax law, 69 percent of the business owners polled said they would not, while only 25 percent said they would. When asked if they would be giving their employees raises due to the new tax law, 59 percent said no, while 31 percent responded that they would. The poll found that 54 percent of small business owners said the tax law favors large corporations over small businesses (40 percent disagree), and 50 percent believe the wealthy and corporations will benefit most from the tax law, while only 20 percent believe the middle class and small businesses will benefit. In addition, 55 percent of respondents don’t believe the tax law puts small businesses on a level playing field with big businesses, with only 31 percent believing it does.

The poll surveyed 385 small business owners in the election battleground states of Arizona, Tennessee, Maine and Nevada, and skewed more Republican than Democratic, with 41 percent of respondents identifying as Republican, 31 percent as Democrat and 28 percent as independent or other.

The majority of respondents opposed the fact that the corporate tax cuts were made permanent while cuts for pass-through businesses were on temporary, with 58 percent saying they oppose eventually ending tax cuts for pass-throughs like S-corps, LLCs and proprietorships in 2025 while making corporate tax cuts permanent, while only 34 percent saying they support it. That response was understandable, as 86 percent of the respondents identified as being pass-through businesses such as S corporation, LLCs, sole proprietorships or partnership, while only 5 percent of the respondents said their business was organized as a C corporation.