August 2022

Cover Story

Sustaining Profits: The Environment and Its Challenges Are Driving Business Success

From an overabundance of sun to an underabundance of water, the natural environment has become the elephant in the room for the business community. But many see it as big opportunity. “Like many regions in the Southwest, Greater Phoenix is … [More]

Features

Biased?

Please don’t ask to touch a person of color’s hair, say they speak well or ask where they are really from and other harmful and egregious implicit bias acts. It’s the same early morning grind that most Americans participate in on a weekday … [More]

Strunk Insurance Group – A Legacy of Giving

Arizona loves its home-grown businesses. Many of them reciprocate this sentiment by giving back to society. For 40 years, the Strunk Insurance Group has served as one of these strong local leaders. Family-owned and -operated, SIG has a commitment to … [More]

Disruption and Continuity – Preparing the Business Response

Business continuity planning is an essential piece of business planning. Continuity plans are created to ensure that the company is capable of continuing delivery of products or services at pre-defined acceptable levels following a “disruptive … [More]

Tough Talks – How to Have Difficult Conversations with Employees

One of my clients, a business owner, reached out to me and said, “How do I tell this person that they need to keep their personal stressors from impacting everyone at work without sounding like a jerk?” The situations may change, from telling … [More]

Roundtable

Investing in Purpose-Driven Companies

June marked a record-breaking jump in the Earth’s atmospheric greenhouse gas levels with the highest-ever average measurements of methane and carbon … [More]

Economy

The Bankruptcy Alternative You’ve Likely Never Heard Of

There is a quicker, less expensive and more flexible alternative to a business bankruptcy and liquidation that most business owners have never heard … [More]

Legal

Increased Debt Limits for Both Subchapter V and Chapter 13 Cases

The Small Business Reorganization Act, commonly referred to as “Subchapter V,” is a streamlined, flexible process for small businesses to reorganize … [More]

From the Top

President José Luis Cruz Rivera: Championing Access and Equity in Higher Education

It has been a busy first year for President José Luis Cruz Rivera, who began his tenure as the 17th president of Northern Arizona University on June 14, 2021. At that time, NAU was facing a number of … [More]

Startups

Why Do Many Startups/Businesses Fail Quickly?

Across the country, many people are leaving their jobs and starting their own businesses. People may want to start their own business to follow their passion, have control over their lifestyle and … [More]

Nonprofit

Fueled by Economic Recovery, Giving Reaches a New High

Strong increases in individual, foundation and corporate giving highlight the overall philanthropic picture in 2021. The largest-ever one-year increase in corporate giving was driven by an upswing in … [More]

CRE

Speed-to-Market Design

We are in a rather unique time for multifamily real estate. The high costs of materials and shipping, as well as supply delays make building from the ground up riskier than it would be under more predictable conditions. Current investment rates, cap … [More]

Surprise Power Center Development Powers over Challenges

Village at Prasada, the 700,000-square-foot retail power center developed by SimonCRE for residents of Surprise, Arizona, has proven to be a massive undertaking that has continued to move forward in the face of mounting supply-chain and labor … [More]

Healthcare

Joint Venture Health Plan Delivered Results in the Arizona Market

Can health insurers and providers work together to deliver care as partners, not adversaries, with financial interests aligned? One local joint venture health plan shows it’s possible, and in doing so has transformed how health coverage is delivered … [More]

Technology

Understanding Social Media for Business

Social media is one of, if not the, most popular ways companies communicate with their audience. With that in mind and the fact that social media is so visible, companies need to be careful when navigating these platforms. However, it’s far too … [More]

By the Numbers

CFOs Share Globalization Plans and Concerns

Among CFOs, there is near universal agreement that the ability to capture market share through global expansion is a hot button for their industry and … [More]

Briefs

Virtual Assistants Are Changing the Remote Worker Landscape

As more companies move away from physical workplaces to embrace hybrid to fully remote structures, the demand for virtual assistance is increasingly on the rise. In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2025, 50% of knowledge workers will be employing … [More]

Fennemore Continues Its Western Expansion

Fennemore is continuing its strategic Western expansion, combining with the San Francisco Bay Area’s Wendel Rosen LLP. The tie-up puts Fennemore on track to crack the Am Law 200 list, a ranking of the 200 top-grossing U.S. law firms, in 2022. The … [More]

Two New Restaurants Coming to Downtown Mesa as the City’s Revitalization Continues

As Arizona’s third-largest city, Mesa is known for its charm, diversity and affordable high standard of living. Downtown Mesa has experienced a renaissance with the introduction of light rail service, redevelopment of its historic core, and the new … [More]