October 2026

Cover Story

Who’s Really Managing Your Healthcare Dollars?

“Most employers know their total healthcare spend, but far fewer understand where those dollars actually go. Healthcare is one of the largest expenses on the P&L, yet it is often one of the least transparent.” Paul Pruitt, co-founder and … [More]

Features

Does Size Matter? The HR Mistake Costing Small Businesses Thousands

Hiring a first employee is a milestone for any small business. It often signals growth, increased demand and a new level of responsibility. It also marks the point when the business becomes an employer, with all the responsibilities that come with … [More]

Building Community by Design: How California Pools & Landscape Turns Backyard Dreams into Local Impact

When Mike and Joan Smith started California Pools & Landscape at their kitchen table in 1988, they set out to build a company rooted in craftsmanship, fairness and genuine care. Thirty-eight years later, that company is Arizona's premier backyard … [More]

Every Drop Counts

Every drop of water counts. It’s a common saying, but one that Salt River Project has taken seriously for more than 120 years. Today, the largest supplier of raw water to the Greater Phoenix region continues its commitment to ensuring a sustainable … [More]

The Multiplier Effect: How Positive Leaders Transform Teams

The way a leader shows up each day shapes far more than outcomes on a spreadsheet — it shapes the people around them and the culture they carry forward. In organizations where teams consistently outperform expectations, researchers and observers … [More]

How to Know It’s Time to Alter Your Business Model

Running an advertising agency in one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country has never been easy. When COVID-19 arrived, that challenge became a business owner’s worst nightmare. At The James Agency (TJA), we lost a net 62% of our … [More]

Roundtable

Why Arizona’s Supportive Housing Shortage Is Becoming a Workforce Challenge

For years, conversations about supportive housing for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have largely centered on … [More]

Economy

Beyond the Rate: How to Leverage Term Loans for Growth

When most people think of a loan, they focus on a single number: the interest rate. But for small business owners, borrowing should be a much more … [More]

Nonprofit

Benefits of Cross-Border Philanthropy

It’s no secret that global philanthropy is increasing. Arizona nonprofits are developing scalable, novel products that have reached across country … [More]

By The Numbers

Are RTO Mandates Really about Collaboration and Productivity?

Workers have heard the pitch: Return to office to get that hard-to-define special feeling of vibrant communication and collaboration that post-COVID … [More]

From the Top

Chris Benguhe Advances Business with People as the Bottom Line

Successful business leaders believe in people-centric practices and policies. Capitalism is not a winner-take-all construct. Well, for Chris Benguhe, meeting CEOs and founders in the for-profit world … [More]

Legal

The American Franchise Act: Seeking Clarity in the Relationship between Franchisors and Franchisees

Franchising is an important part of the Arizona economy, enabling entrepreneurs to operate independently owned businesses under established brands and to leverage the strength of proven business … [More]

Startups

Koa Pediatric Therapy Is There for Parents As Well As Patients

Koa Pediatric Therapy is a specialized occupational therapy practice based in Scottsdale, Arizona, dedicated to supporting children’s development through a range of therapeutic services. “Rooted in … [More]

Keep Car Seats Clean with Snap-n-Go Seat Sheet

Cre8ive Brands, LLC launched in 2024 with Snap-n-Go Seat Sheet™, the first in what President Michelle Watson envisions as a line of “functional yet creative products.” Snap-n-Go Seat … [More]

Healthcare

From Smartphones to Vital Signs – Building Arizona’s Med-Tech Future

When Mitch Foster talks about healthcare innovation, he doesn’t start with buzzwords. He starts with reality. After more than three decades in medical devices and surgical robotics — including co-founding a spine and brain surgery robotics company … [More]

Technology

Why Your Business Might Be Invisible to AI Search

A growing share of the questions that used to begin on a search results page now begin in a chat window. A customer looking for a Chandler accountant or a Tempe HVAC company may ask ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI Overviews and act on the answer … [More]

Semi Insights

Some Assembly Required: Arizona Builds the Last Step in Chipmaking

When Nvidia and TSMC Arizona marked the first Blackwell wafer produced in Phoenix in October 2025, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called it “the very first time in recent American history that the single most important chip is being manufactured … [More]

SEMICON West Finds Its Permanent Home in Phoenix

For more than half a century, SEMICON West and San Francisco were nearly synonymous. The annual gathering became a fixture of the Bay Area’s technology landscape, bringing together the companies, innovators, suppliers and decision-makers responsible … [More]

CRE

Multifamily Real Estate in the Valley: Recovery from Oversupply

Across the Valley, the multifamily real estate market has faced oversupply since COVID. However, Phoenix apartment absorption is now outpacing deliverables for the first time in five years, which signals the beginning of what we expect will be a … [More]

Data Centers: Changing How Arizona’s Commercial Real Estate Risk Is Insured

Arizona's emergence as a hub for semiconductor manufacturing and data center development is altering the commercial real estate landscape, and local title insurers are adapting. Increased Project Scale The scale of today's projects is unlike … [More]

Briefs

The Power of Staying: What Hospitality Can Learn from a Culture Built for Change

In hospitality, we talk a lot about creating memorable experiences for our guests. But behind every great guest experience is something equally important: a team that feels valued, connected and invested in the place they choose to work. That has … [More]

Phoenix Has the Entrepreneurs. They Need Better Places to Grow

Phoenix does not have a shortage of entrepreneurial ambition. What it lacks is enough flexible, professional space for businesses that have outgrown where they started but are not yet ready for the cost and commitment of a traditional commercial … [More]

Phoenix Employers Need an AI Apprenticeship Scorecard

Greater Phoenix is building a technology economy that needs both automation and a deeper talent bench. In Business Magazine’s August issue puts young workers, AI accountability and the semiconductor workforce in the same conversation. Arizona is also … [More]