Many small businesses are saddled with a very familiar problem. How do you find good employees? For business this seems to be an age old question. A question that seems to have a great deal of answers but no real solutions.

Hiring a good employee can be a hit or miss proposition. Hopefully though once you have gained some experience and learned from your mistakes your percentage of good hires will rise. But because good hires are so hard to find you must keep an eye out for unethical behavior from your employees.

Many small businesses though are still going to be stuck with an unfortunately large number of employees they’d rather do without. Many of these small businesses are ones that rely on manual labor to get the job done.

The reason why is fairly simple. Skilled professions typically require some sort of education. Whether it’s a formal education requiring a college degree or a more hands on education such as an apprenticeship with a business.

So what exactly does this difference mean when the question of ethics comes up? Simply put getting an education in a particular field requires commitment. And people that make such commitments are more likely to value the rewards they earn.

With education can come a better paying job and maybe what they consider a better life. Now apply that fact to the workplace.

An employee that has made that commitment to improving their life now has something to lose. And because they value what they have earned and they do not want to risk it they are more conscious about acting ethically in their workplace. They consider the consequences of doing something stupid.

Now let’s look at the other end of the spectrum. A laborer working for a small business is not looking at having a long term career with the company. More than likely it’s just another job to them.

It’s possible they have spent some time at a particular company and they know the ins and outs of it. And because they are familiar with the workings of the business they know what they can and cannot get away with. This provides temptation.

Now just because someone doesn’t have a more formal education it doesn’t mean they are bad people and are out to steal the company blind. But such a person does have less to lose and they might be more willing to give in to their temptations even though they know better.

If their own moral code of right and wrong is somewhat less than solid then they may not really consider the consequences of acting inappropriately. This is where their ethics will be tested each day.

The solution for someone in this situation is simple. You need to make them feel that they are a part of the team. People want to belong to something. They need to feel that their contributions no matter what they are are valued.

Once again a person needs to feel they have something to lose if they are to value they have. And you are in a position to provide that value to them. If a person has a reason to think twice before they do something they are more likely to going to act in an ethical manner.

Cash Miller is an expert in small business affairs. To receive more tips that can help your business to succeed you can sign up for his FREE Newsletter. Once you’ve signed up your going to receive access to 5 FREE E-Books that can help your business prosper. And as a Bonus FREE Newsletter Members can expect to receive an additional FREE E-Book each week.

You have probably heard of examples of behavior at work that seem unbelievable. Imagine a case where an employee in a landscaping business is found to have been ordering extra plants and other supplies from a vendor to use at their home and their families’ homes. You think to yourself, and maybe have conversations with co-workers, “WHAT was she thinking?” It is an interesting question. Based on thought leaders, my own experience, and research results I offer the following to try to explain the seemingly inexplicable.

1. “I deserve some slack”. This form of entitlement thinking is the “Hey, I’ve worked here for 13 years;I deserve some special consideration, after the way they have treated me!”

In this “stinking thinking” pattern, a person believes that he or she is due something extra. Maybe the person has felt underappreciated over time, or believes their compensation level is inadequate. Whatever the case, they convince themselves that it is okay for them to take something that is not theirs in order to make up for a slight they believe they have suffered.

2. “It isn’t really much.” A daisy here, a trowel there . . what is the difference? It does make a difference if the, “Oops, I accidentally took this trowel home” becomes, “Hey, I think I’ll re-landscape my yard.”

Whether it seems like it at the time or not, taking something that is not yours is theft. The concept of theft extends to theft of time. Time spent at work on personal tasks such as personal phone calls, e-mail and errands beyond the inconsequential is a form of theft. Would you want your child’s teacher to spend classroom time on personal chores?

3. “I’ll pay it back later.” This stinking thinking can have to do with cash, such as the petty cash drawer or accounting entries, or time.

Imagine that someone arrives at work and discovers that they don’t have any cash in their wallet because they forgot to go to the bank last night what with going to the grocery store, picking up the kids, and polishing off some homework for night school. The employee figures that they will just take a few bucks from the petty cash drawer to cover lunch from the lunch cart, and put back what they borrow tomorrow. Well, tomorrow never comes and the cash is never replaced. The intent is good, but the follow-up never happens.

4. “I’ll never get caught!” The examples above are those of people who unintentionally take the first step on the slippery slope. This example is different. It is for the person who knows at the time that what they are about to do is wrong. They just figure that they are so smart that the world won’t catch on to them. Well, sometimes they are right and sometimes they are wrong.

Believing you will never get caught is the first step in a web of deceit, and there isn’t an easy way back. If you or someone you know has such an idea, squelch it from the beginning. The idea can’t be good for you.

While you may not see yourself falling into any of these stinking thinking scenarios, is it exactly how the wrong things start. If you hear any of these phrases at your work place, stop the thinking it its tracks and get back on the ethical plane.

Sally Rhys, MS, coaches and consults on business ethics. As the former Director, Ethics and Compliance at a $1.5B publicly traded company, her expertise will help you increase both your business knowledge and professionalism. Contact her at http://www.coachingforperspective.com

Too many offers of guaranteed income or of projected income can be found online these days. When someone is scouring the internet for job announcements or possibly with the intent of starting a business, the number of business opportunities that pop up is growing quite large. These offers are sometimes not in compliance with business opportunity law specifications. How does one know if that advertisement offering easy income or a product that sells itself is in compliance with the local business opportunity law? A look into state law will provide the answers.

Not A Federal Issue

Business opportunity laws are not made at the national level, currently some states have a business law, and some states do not. Of the states that do have such a statute, the different forms that the law takes are variations on a theme. In general, a business opportunity law that exist is set up to protect people who buy into money making opportunities whether these opportunities turn out to be real money makers or if they are simply scams.

All business opportunities fall under the statute of a law if there is such a law in the state where one resides. It does not matter if you are a legitimate business or are scamming people into selling a product for you. All business opportunities fall under the realm of the law, so anyone thinking of responding to a business opportunity should check the state laws before agreeing to anything.

What the Law Says

Although the particularities of a states business opportunity law vary, the essential piece of the law is that it requires those making an offer of a business opportunity to release a disclosure statement to prospective business partners. In some states, this disclosure statement has to be reviewed by an official before it is allowed to be used as a disclosure statement for a business opportunity. In other states, the contents of the disclosure are discretionary, the business opportunity law simply states that the partner offering a business opportunity must have a disclosure statement to offer prospective partners.

In the disclosure statement, essential information should be found. For example, the number of business partners that the offering individual has held during the last three years, and a history of the offering persons arbitration, litigation and financial history. All of these are considered information that the prospective business partner has the right to have. Of course, anything disclosed in the disclosure statement must be true, so creating a disclosure statement that is full of lies does not make a business compliant with business opportunity law.

The law is designed to give those buying into a business a critical view of what it is that they are buying into. One should have the chance of making an informed decision about such a business opportunity, instead of being victim to a bunch of slogans like guaranteed to sell itself and the like. Business opportunity law requires the offering party to offer real numbers instead of slogans. Take a look at the disclosure statement and only then decide if the business opportunity is legitimate.

Obinna Heche. Los Angeles – California

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