Matthew Feeney, Snell & Wilmer

Arizona is recognized as a key state for entrepreneurship and business startups, but our economic vitality also needs those small businesses to scale and grow. There are resources available to the business community to assist companies in reaching that higher level. But businesses can look inward to leverage their resources and invest in themselves to grow business, opportunity and profits.

In the early stages of any entrepreneurial venture, the natural focus is on attracting talent, acquiring customers and generating revenue. With limited resources to confront a seemingly endless stream of competitive threats, business owners often take a reactive approach to the consumption of professional services (e.g., engaging counsel only when something goes wrong). It’s almost always more expensive and time-consuming to address an issue after the fact, and, in certain situations, what’s broken can’t be fixed. Since a little knowledge can go a long way in avoiding costly, and potentially fatal, mistakes, business owners should also invest in their own continuing education. Through initiatives like our firm’s monthly Emerging Business Seminar Series™, we work to empower clients so they understand and can proactively address the challenges that may confront their businesses.

For the small to mid-sized business, concentrating on cash flow is the staple of day-to-day operations. This month’s cover story, “Business Investments: Using Your Own Money to Buy Success,” puts the focus on creating value into the future — whether the goal is cashing out for retirement or creating a business for the ages. In Business Magazine editor RaeAnne Marsh explores strategies and opportunities, with input from our business community’s leading professionals to demonstrate how this investment can grow Arizona’s economy.

Creating a sustainable, innovative and high-performing organizational culture is a desired end-game, but its achievement eludes many in spite of well-intentioned effort. Brady Wilson explores factors that aggravate what he terms the “engagement paradox” and how businesses can reach the desired goal in this issue’s “Management” feature. And addressing an aspect of healthcare, which continues to be a hot topic in employers’ benefits planning, Laura Carabello discusses the growth of domestic medical travel for surgical procedures or specific treatment.

Focused on helping strengthen the local business community, In Business Magazine has updated its “Business Lending Guide” to provide businesses with the Valley’s most comprehensive listing of local lenders and resources to assist them in finding lending opportunities.

This issue of In Business Magazine offers its business audience information on a wide range of topics, from businesses’ innovative application of new technology to data on how marketers are allocating resources for ethnic demographics. I’m pleased to help bring you this October issue of In Business Magazine, and hope you find it an informative read.

Sincerely,

Matthew Feeney
Chairman
Snell & Wilmer

Matthew Feeney is chairman of Snell & Wilmer, a full-service business law firm with more than 400 attorneys practicing in nine locations throughout the western United States and in Mexico. Feeney’s practice is concentrated in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, securities offerings, SEC reporting and compliance, and corporate governance matters, including advising corporate boards and board committees. He earned his Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from the University of Notre Dame and his law degree, magna cum laude, from Notre Dame Law School.