Many small business owners find themselves stuck behind a desk for hours just to keep up with payroll and HR compliance. Sound familiar?

By Cassie Yatcilla, PrimePay

You may think it would be too expensive or that you have too few employees to outsource your payroll. However, it is quite the opposite. The time you’ll gain back to focus on your company’s needs will surely reward your bottom line and give you and your employees peace of mind.

Here are five ways you can improve your business with your new free time:

1. Learn Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

   SEO is the process of increasing website traffic by gaining a high rank on the list of search results in search engines like Google. With a majority of people researching products and services before they buy, it is key for your business to be seen.

   For example, if you run a small remodeling business, you want to be at the top of the search results when someone Googles “remodelers near me.” This allows the potential customer to easily find your business.

   The good news? You don’t have to be a computer whiz to make a difference in your search results ranking! You can improve your ranking just by adding a few keywords to page titles on your website.

   Having basic knowledge of SEO can drastically improve your websites search ranking, thus increasing traffic. A good place to start is by reading The Beginners Guide to SEO and begin to implement some tips and tricks into your website design.

2. Take Google Analytics and AdWords courses

   Don’t know where your web traffic is coming from? Consider joining Google’s Analytics Academy to learn how to grow your business through data collection and analysis. This will allow you to find out if people are accessing your website from their phones or desktops and where people are looking for you. For example, let’s say you run an appliance showroom and find out that most of your website traffic is coming from people ages 45–54. They’re finding you from their desktop computers, are within a ten-mile radius, and are visiting your website on evenings and weekends. You can assume they are searching “appliance stores near me” from their nearby home.

   Use this knowledge to target advertisements to those people when they search for appliances on Google. You can do that by using Google AdWords. The Academy for Ads is where you will gain new digital skills, create new awareness, and learn how you can succeed with Google Ads. This will allow you to create ads that appear on Google, as well as have ads pop-up on other websites when your potential buyer is browsing the internet. Google Analytics will then help you measure your conversion rate to see what is working and what is not. Hello, future!

   

3. Talk to your target market
   

   Nothing is better for a business than keeping a great relationship with your target market. Make surveys and interview your top customers to discover what they love and what their biggest pain point is for your line of business. There are plenty of free survey tools, like Survey Monkey, that you can use to get answers to your business questions.

   This will help you stay in line with your current customers and help you gain new ones. Don’t forget to confirm who your target market is with Google Analytics. Remember, Google Analytics can show you who is searching for you and through what medium they are finding you.

4. Outline a hiring plan

   Many small businesses feel that hiring new employees is one of their biggest challenges. Take time to campaign your open position on social sites like Indeed or LinkedIn. Learn new interview questions to ask, like the Behavioral Event question, and what personality traits and skills to look for in your ideal candidate.

   Just because the perfect candidate agreed to join your team doesn’t mean that they are planning on staying for the long run. Make sure to have seamless employee onboarding to present your company as professional and organized to the new employee. Check out three ways to implement employee onboarding that increases retention.

5. Hold weekly brainstorming sessions with your team

   You may think, “Why do I need to do this? We see each other every day.” As a small business owner, you have the unique advantage of being able to get to know your employees on a more personal level. Because of that, it is important to carve out time to speak to your employees weekly. Use these brainstorming sessions to follow-up on projects, learn about trends your employees are noticing, and how you can better help your employees succeed. This will create an open conversion where employees should not be afraid to state their opinions and explain their new ideas.

Outsourcing payroll can improve your business.

Think about your current process for handling payroll. How much time are you spending on managing time sheets, tracking down employees to confirm their hours worked, and cross-referencing federal and state regulations to ensure you’re reporting taxes properly?

When you remove those duties from your work schedule, all the extra time gained can be spent experimenting with the tasks outlined above, improving your business. PrimePay's all-inclusive payroll, tax, and HR bundle lets you get back to business quicker. Get 60 days free today!

And be sure to check out more exclusive MBAKS member benefits with PrimePay.

By Nick Harper, MBA Senior Director of Strategy and Policy

Dec. 19, 2016—Earlier this month, the Master Builders Association recognized several individuals for their contributions to the Association at our annual Winter Gala and Installation of Officers. The event took place Dec. 8 at the Museum of Flight in Seattle.

The MBA honored three members who have been integral to our accomplishments in 2016 with Member of the Year Awards. Bonnie Geers of Quadrant Homes was named Builder Member of the Year; Joseph Irons of Irons Brothers Construction was named Remodeler Member of the Year; and Duana Koloušková of Johns Monroe Mitsunaga and Koloušková was named Associate Member of the Year.

All three of these members were recognized, in part, for their contributions to our Association's advocacy efforts on behalf of housing.

Bonnie has long been a trusted voice in housing policy and land use discussions at the MBA, regularly testifying before city councils and planning commissions in support of our industry's positions on housing issues. She has also chaired the Association's political action committee, the Affordable Housing Council, since 2014.

As our Association's 2016 President, Joseph Irons has emphasized the importance of Building Synergy Together. This concept of working together as a team and reaching out to build partnerships in the community is a vital element to the advocacy work we do at the MBA. Joseph has also been a tireless advocate for workforce development, stressing the importance of encouraging young people to enter the trades and the need to support them with adequate funding for career and technical education.

Duana has always provided thoughtful input on housing policy and land use issues, engaging with the Housing Policy Committee and the AHC. She also served as co-counsel on the MBA's behalf on a case concerning the city of Seattle's ‘qualifying lot' design review ordinance. In a decisive victory for the MBA, this bad ordinance was overturned.

In addition to the Member of the Year awards, the MBA honored Don Davis, retired director of government affairs, with an Exceptional Service Award. This award recognizes members and staff for their many years of professional leadership and exemplary service to the MBA. Don served the Association for over 32 years, advocating on behalf of housing and working to promote a better climate for housing. Among his many accomplishments, Don developed the fundraising concept behind our Association's "Just Ten Percent" program, which encourages members to donate 10 percent of their GRIP or ROII returns to the Affordable Housing Council to help support housing-friendly candidates and causes. To this day, having contributions to this fund is a critical element in our success on lobbying on behalf of the residential building industry.

The Gala concluded with the presentation of the MBA Hall of Fame award, which this year went to the late Myra Williams. Myra was honored for her outstanding achievement in member recruiting, which certainly contributed greatly to our Association's membership growth. But more than that, Myra was acknowledged for being such an active and engaged member. Her strong enthusiasm for this Association was, and still is, an inspiration to others.

It was also great to see Mark Huber of Huber's Custom Building honored with the Spirit of Service Award and Anthony Maschmedt of Dwell Development recognized with the Built Green® Moving the Market Award—both very well deserved.

Congratulations to all the award recipients! These individuals offer an important reminder of the positive accomplishments that can be realized by simply being willing to step up and lead by example.

Thinking about incoming President Mike Walsh's theme for 2017, "Elevating Our Influence," I'd like to encourage all of us to find ways to engage more with the Association. Whether it's advocacy, community stewardship, or some other area, there are lots of ways members can get more involved in bringing about positive changes for housing and the community.

Photo credit: Alabastro Photography

By Mike Richards, The Lens

Washington state lawmakers are indicating that a priority in the 2017 session will be mitigating or reversing a recent State Supreme Court ruling seen as effectively barring development on properties where well water is required.

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