3 Things You Should Know About Small Business: April 13

NEW YORK (MainStreet) - What's happening in small business today?

1. This nonprofit organization lowers barriers for low-income and minority entrepreneurs. Hot Bread Kitchen is a Harlem, N.Y.-based nonprofit bakery that runs two incubator programs for low-income and minority food entrepreneurs.

The incubator cuts through some barriers to entry faced by immigrants and minorities. One of the programs, HBK Incubates, gives them access to modern facilities, food-handling trading and even classes teaching English as a second language for a low cost. However, necessities like incorporation papers and health licenses can be as much as $5,000 and out of the reach for many of these entrepreneurs, DNA Info> says.

HBK Incubates is using a grant from Citigroup (C) to create a new program to lower the barriers even further. The Low Income Food Entrepreneurs program (LIFE) will target low-income minority entrepreneurs in the food business, mainly in Manhattan, DNA Info says.

"After a year in the program, the goal is that low-income entrepreneurs will have grown their business enough to enter the incubator's standard program where they could stay for another two to three years," the article says.

2. Small-business owners spend too much time on their taxes. Fox Business cited a study by the National Small Business Association in which 64% of small-business owners said they spent more than 40 hours this year on their federal taxes, up from 57% last year.

Approximately 45% reported spending more than 80 hours on their taxes, the article says. Not surprisingly, 85% hired a professional to help them wade through the regulations, which means more money to the tax-preparation industry. Fifty-three percent of respondents said they spent more than $5,000 getting their taxes done in 2011, the article says.