5 small business scams to look for in 2017

At the start of the new year, it's a good time to brush up and train employees on the most prevalent scams targeting small businesses and how to avoid them. Here's a quick look at five small business scams to watch out for in 2017 and beyond, according to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC):

1. Directory scams

Owners of small businesses and non-profits often get inundated with phone calls and messages from people who want to list their companies in online directories. In return for a fee, these directory services promise to deliver greater visibility and ultimately more customers for your growing business.

That may sound great. But it's important to know many of these offers are scams. In one recent example, the FTC went after a Slovakian company called Fair Guide for deceptive practices after it fooled US businesses into paying millions of dollars to be listed in an online directory.

A JPMorgan economist explains why small and midsized businesses are feeling optimistic

Following the recession, small and midsized businesses in America faced a slow and uncertain recovery.

Confidence tumbled during the recession and remained low for years afterward; in early 2016, eight years into the recovery, business owners were still considerably more pessimistic than they had been at virtually any point in the previous 30 years.

Over the past year, however, business optimism has skyrocketed. Multiple surveys—including JPMorgan Chase’s 2017 Business Leaders Outlook—confirmed that the nation’s small and midsized businesses expect the economy to improve over the coming year. Indeed, for the first time since the recession, the majority of businesses are planning to expand their workforces and make new capital investments—and since small firms make up a disproportionate share of new hiring activity, this small business revival will likely result in good news for job seekers.

4 pieces of advice new business owners should ignore

Food Truck Festivals of America co-founders Anne-Marie Aigner and Janet Prensky have grown their business from eight trucks and one city to 2,000 participating trucks in cities and towns across the country. Their newest division, Food Trucks 2 Go, meets the increasing demand they get from corporate requests for employee lunches. Here they share four pieces of advice from well-intentioned entrepreneurs that turned out to be all wrong.