Business
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Section C
Saturday, August 29, 2015
SV Weekend
daveRAMSEY
LANARK | DAY CARE
Financial straight talk. For more advice, plus special readers offers, visit davesays. org or call 88822-PEACE.
Little Sprouts expands its evening hours
The best medicine tough to swallow Dear Dave, I’ve worked in a hospital as a nurse for 10 years. I make good money working long hours. The problem is that it seems to disappear, and I’m left trying to stretch those last few dollars to the end of the month. I know I eat out a lot. I grab quick meals between shifts and on the way home because I’m too tired to cook. I think I spend more than I should on other things, too. Do you have any tips for someone who wants to get control of their money, but has very little free time? – Amy
Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@saukvalley.com
Cari Simons (back, left) and Jodi York look after Keelin and Aedan Cox, Brayden Jacobs, and Brody and Parker Simons at Little Sprouts Daycare and Preschool, which opened July 27 in the former Eastland Elementary School in Lanark. The day care plans to offer extended hours to accommodate Thomson prison workers.
Facility can take up to 83 children, could add weekend hours BY JERMAINE PIGEE jpigee@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5525 @JPigee84
Little Sprouts
LANARK – The new Little Sprouts Daycare and Preschool will be adding hours to accommodate Thomson federal prison employees who work the second shift. The center is extending its hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. to 4 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday, said Jodi York, who co-owns Little Sprouts with Stacy Lamoreux and Cari Simons. Weekend hours will be added, if needed.
For more information on Little Sprouts Daycare and Preschool, 200 S. School St., suite B, in Lanark, find it on Facebook, go to littlesproutslanark.com or call 815-493-8316. “If families need the extended time, we have a license to take care of the kids when the time comes,” York said. The prison, which is 24 miles from the day care, is expected to employ 1,100 people once fully operational. There are about 200 employees now working there.
Little Sprouts opened July 27 in the north end of the former Eastland Elementary School. It offers day care and preschool for ages 6 weeks to 12 years in five former classrooms. It’s run by the three owners and about 10 employees, all certified day care professionals, said York, who is also the director.
“Not only are we watching and caring for the kids, we are able to teach the kids and get them ready for school,” she said. It can take up to 83 children, and already has more than half that, from Chadwick, Lanark, Mount Carroll and other area towns, she said. Meals can be provided. “We have a cook on staff,” York said. “We can make a breakfast, morning snack, lunch and evening snack.” There is also a full playground and a sandbox.
Dear Amy, Sometimes the medicine that works the best tastes the worst. This is true for both physical and financial health. That’s why, no matter how tired you are or how little free time you seem to have, you must make time do a written budget every month. This is essential, and it really doesn’t take long. When you sit down and commit a plan to paper, giving every dollar a name before the month begins, you’re taking control of your money instead of allowing a lack of it to control you. Start with the income you know is predictable. If this isn’t possible, look back over the past several months and find the minimum amount you brought home during a month over that period of time. This will be the basis for your budget. Once you’ve established a baseline income, you can prioritize expenses. But remember, restaurants are not a priority. RAMSEY CONTINUED ON C8
SMALL BUSINESS
ON-DEMAND SERVICES
Breaking mold with business model Hardware store Contractors become employees in more start-up companies BY TRACEY LIEN Tribune News Service
Not long ago, starting a business in the on-demand economy seemed straightforward. Step 1: Come up with an idea for an on-demand service. Food delivery? Valet parking? Postal service? Great. Step 2: Hire independent contractors to do the job, and save on paying employee benefits. Step 3: Expand from city to city and watch the company valuation rise. For a while, it worked. According to venture capital database CB Insights, more than $9 billion was invested in the on-demand economy over the past 5 years. Companies such as Uber and Airbnb achieved multibillion-dollar valuations without ever having to own the cars or apartments from which they made money. They didn’t have to burden themselves with many actual employees either. Pundits described the on-demand
Tribune News Service
Instacart is among the start-ups transitioning independent contractors to employees. “gig” economy as the way of the future. Hillary Clinton even considered it significant enough to put on her campaign agenda. But the hype might be just that. Over the past 2 months, an increasing number of companies in the on-demand industry have
announced plans to transition their independent contractors to employees. On-demand food delivery service Sprig, valet parking service Luxe and grocery shopping and delivery service Instacart said they were phasing out some of their independent contrac-
tor roles and bringing on those workers as employees, complete with benefits such as workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, social security and Medicare payments and, depending on hours worked, health insurance. Those benefits, experts say, can easily add 30 percent to each employee’s compensation package. With two big players in the on-demand economy, ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft, facing classaction lawsuits over worker misclassification, it’s easy to blame litigation for the sea change. But attorney Gillian Overland, whose Los Angeles firm specializes in employment matters, said it’s an “oversimplification” to say these companies are overhauling their business models because other companies are getting sued. “It’s certainly part of it,” Overland said. “But the lawsuits, if anything, force companies to look at themselves and make the determination whether their business model is appropriate.” MODEL CONTINUED ON C8
changes hands in Forreston STAFF REPORT news@saukvalley.com 800-798-4085, ext. 5501
FORRESTON – Forreston Hardware is now Koeller Forreston Hardware: Owner Monty Cotter sold the store on the corner of state Routes 72 and 26 to Gary and Jane Koeller on Aug. 21. Cotter, 61, planned to retire and sell the business in about 3 years, but that changed when the Koellers expressed interest in buying it a few months ago. “I thought about it and decided now is the time,” Monty Cotter said. “The opportuCotter nity might not be here in 3 years.” The hardware store is a natural fit for Koeller, 54, a licensed plumber who always has done his own handyman projects. “I didn’t want to see it leaving Forreston,” he said. “Jane and I are very excited to be doing Gary this and to continue it. It will Koeller be a family-run business.” The store is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.