Nº 07 · Tuesday, July 21, 2026 · Indiana
Operator Notes is for the people running Indiana companies. Every couple of weeks we send the handful of things worth your time on money, people, costs, and deadlines. You do not have to be buying or selling anything to use it.
Hi everyone,
Our next OWN night is this Thursday, July 23, with Paul Lushin in Indianapolis, capped at 50, so grab a seat today. Below: the one pricing move worth making this quarter, 1,158 trained workers about to come free in Avon, cheaper SBA money, and the deadlines worth putting on your calendar.
July 23, Indianapolis: An Evening with Paul Lushin
Owner at 17, founder of Lushin and Associates in 1997, a leading Sandler Training franchise, ESOP transition in 2023. Forty-six years of building, and what he would warn the next young founder about. 4:00 to 7:00 PM, capped at 50. $15, free for members.
August 26, Indianapolis: Life After the Deal
The Ace-Pak trio on what actually happens after you sell: the identity shift, the earn-out, and the day the calendar goes quiet. A candid panel for anyone within a few years of an exit. $15, free for members.
September 17, Fort Wayne: Build It or Buy It, with Matt Truty
Matt built one company and bought another. The real trade-offs of starting versus buying, in OWN's first Fort Wayne night. $15, free for members.
The room is the product. Founding membership is $50. Members get every OWN night (tickets are $15 otherwise), the summit, and the full archive. Reply “I'm in” and we'll set you up.
The Playbook: the price move worth making this quarter
Hiring Window: 1,158 trained workers coming free in Avon
Costs, Cash & Crews: ChamberCare, talent signals, a security check
From Washington: cheaper SBA money and the rate reality
Deadline Watch: five dates worth your calendar
The Indiana Number: $43.77 an hour
The price increase your best customers won't fight
A net 32% of small-business owners plan to raise prices, just off the highest reading since 2022, and inflation is back to the problem owners name most. The mistake is an across-the-board bump. The move is quiet and segmented.
Start with your best customers, the ones who value speed and reliability over price. Give them 30 days notice, tie the change to something real (materials, wages, a service you added), and hold the line. They rarely leave, and the price shoppers were never your margin anyway.
The operator takeaway. Raise prices on your top tier first, with notice and a reason. Protect margin where loyalty already exists before you touch the rest of the book.
Hiring Window: 1,158 trained workers hit the Avon market on Aug 17
A WARN notice puts 1,158 trained workers into the Hendricks County market on August 17. For anyone hiring skilled or hourly labor on the west side, this is the cleanest hiring window you will get for a while. Have the req posted and the interview loop ready before the separation date.
ChamberCare can cut health premiums. The Indiana Chamber says its ChamberCare program, run through 35 local chambers with SIHO, can save eligible small employers up to 40% on health coverage. Savings depend on your plan and eligibility, but it is worth a quote before renewal.
Talent signals. Thyssenkrupp and Campbell both flagged Indiana workforce moves this month. If you hire skilled labor, watch for spillover availability.
Run a vendor security check. Many small-business breaches start through a vendor. Confirm your top vendors use multi-factor authentication, and keep the callback rule: any request to change money, banking, or credentials gets a phone call to a known number.
Cheaper SBA money, and the rate reality. The combined 7(a) and 504 limit is now $10 million. On pricing, 504 is roughly 6.2% fixed for 25 years while variable 7(a) is running 9 to 11.5%, so on asset-heavy deals price the 504 fixed against the 7(a) variable before you sign.
Three OBBBA extras worth one call to your CPA. Business interest deductibility, immediate domestic R&D expensing, and an expanded employer childcare credit are all live. None are breaking news, but together they can move your 2026 tax bill.
Date | What |
|---|---|
Jul 30 | Indiana sales tax filing |
Aug 3 | Indiana Chamber Best Places to Work nominations |
Aug 17 | Avon separation date (see Hiring Window) |
Sep 9 | Indiana Tax Amnesty closes |
Sep 30 | SBA manufacturer fee waiver ends |
$43.77
per hour, the average wage at companies expanding into Indiana this quarter, about 44% above the state average. It is who your next skilled hire is comparing you to.
Source: IEDC, Q2 2026
True Value's Indiana footprint is shifting, a reminder that even legacy distribution is consolidating. And on data centers, close to a third of Indiana counties are now moving to restrict or pause new projects, so the construction and trade work tied to them is increasingly a county-by-county question.
AI adoption crossed a line. About 66% of small businesses now use AI in some form, up from 55%, saving roughly 5.6 hours a week per Thryv. The winners are not using fancier tools, they are pointing AI at one repeatable job and holding it there.
Google Voice added AI note-taking (Voice Standard and Premier, rolled out June 16), which auto-summarizes calls. Useful for sales and support teams, with the usual recording-disclosure caveat.
The seller-financing gap is wide. About 61% of buyers now expect some seller financing, but only about 19% of owners plan to offer it. If you are selling, a reasonable note can be the difference between a closed deal and a stalled one.
Know what you are worth before anyone calls. The Exit Planning Institute notes that only 20 to 30% of businesses that actually go to market end up selling. A current valuation and clean, provable earnings are what put you in the group that closes.
July 23 to 24, Indiana Chamber HR Leadership Seminar, French Lick.
July 24, TechPoint AI + Talent, Indianapolis.
July 27, Indy Chamber Breakthrough Selling, Indianapolis.
Host an OWN night, or sponsor one. We are opening up event sponsorship: one sponsor per night, never a logo wall. You get time at the mic in front of the room, your name on the event page and the on-site signage, and a feature in this newsletter. If you sell to Indiana owner-operators, this is the room. Reply here or reach out at [email protected].
That is the issue. Reply and tell me what you run and what you want more of. I read every one.
Jared Luegers
Founder, OWN Indiana