It’s a whopping 45 percent of the Phoenix population that can benefit from reading instruction, says Kelly Stewart, executive director of Literacy Volunteers of Maricopa County. Some need instruction in English as a second language (many students are referred from the Somali and Sudanese refugee center, Stewart notes); some struggled in school themselves and now, as parents, … [More]
Feedback: July 2012
Question: Arizona is ranked the top state in the country for business start-ups, according to the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity. How or where do you see government and/or the business community fueling this activity? Barry Broome President and CEO Greater Phoenix Economic Council Sector: Business Advocacy Group Innovation and entrepreneurship are … [More]
Rick Smith’s Product Revival Initiative Sparks a Corporation
TASER International, Inc. was recently named to the MDB Capital Group’s “Best & Brightest” list of innovators for 2011. For CEO and founder Rick Smith, whose company has achieved worldwide sales of an estimated 543,000 units since its launch in 1993, the honor further reinforces the concept that motivated him to develop and market the TASER electronic control devices … [More]
Marcia Rowley: Trading Up on Timeshares
Co-founder, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of International Cruise & Excursions, Inc., Marcia Rowley took an idea based on common sense and turned it into a successful company that quickly grew to be the leader in the travel and leisure industry. At least, it seemed common sense to her, though she found it had never been done before. Like millions … [More]
Feedback: June 2012
Question: With the industry impacted by factors that include real estate, online sales and consumer spending activity, what do you see as the top challenge facing retail today? Edward (Trey) Basha Bashas’ Family of Stores VP of Retail Operations and Chairman of the Board Sector: Retail The overall economy, in my opinion, is the top retail challenge today. And … [More]
Michelle Ahlmer, Arizona Retailers Association
Consumers may be going back into retail establishments and spending money, but the survival of many retail businesses is due to the tenacity and innovative nature that is key to being a success in the retail industry. Independent, mom-and-pop retailers are particularly given tribute as businesses that have reinvented their models to adapt to this changing economy. Regardless of … [More]
Reichel Succeeds in Time for Tee
Doug Reichel, president of GolfSwitch and an avid golf fan, took his own frustration with the difficulty of securing a tee time and developed it into a successful international business. Although he was challenged along the way by both the economy and an industry that is steeped in tradition as well as hesitant to try something new, he has persevered and is currently expanding … [More]
Jason Kaplan: Steering Success
Jason Kaplan is not an advocate of driving blindly, yet when he looks back at when he launched his chauffeured transportation business, The Driver Provider, he attributes some of his success to his naiveté. He came up with concept in 1995 and, in 1997, sold his car to lease his first company vehicle — which he drove himself, working odd hours to gain clients — and then … [More]
Warren Adelman, GoDaddy.com
Innovators and entrepreneurs are a big part of what makes business thrive in any community. Here in the Valley, their tenacity, ingenuity and perseverance are making our community popular for start-ups and even for established corporations who are reinventing themselves or creating new products. GoDaddy.com is fortunate to have an “inside look” at online entrepreneurs. As … [More]
Richard L. Boals, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona
Federal policy changes to the healthcare industry are presenting difficult and confusing scenarios for businesses of all sizes. Many business leaders I talk to say they are having a hard time understanding what will be expected of them, how to budget for healthcare expenditures and what elements of the recent Federal policy changes will actually be implemented or … [More]
Todd Davis: Building LifeLock on Technology and Trust
As Todd Davis, founder of LifeLock, has learned first-hand, success comes from identifying an issue society is facing and then creating a new, easily identifiable industry to help solve it. Just as Kimberly-Clark Corp. got people asking their friends to hand them a “Kleenex” rather than a “facial tissue,” Davis set out to create a company that would not only solve a serious … [More]
John Leonesio: Forging Chains of Success
Referring to his decades of experience creating successful businesses, John Leonesio, CEO of The Joint…the chiropractic place, jokingly refers to himself as a “one-trick pony.” His “trick”? Growing four businesses from the idea stage to hundreds of locations around the country. The key, Leonesio says, is taking specific parts of industries that need to be improved, finding a … [More]
The Growing Skills Gap
Know someone out of work? With the unemployment rate lingering at 8.5 percent nationally, the surprising fact is, in the last six months, a large portion of the 3.5 million job openings across the country have gone unfilled for months. How does this jibe with the reality that 40 percent of the unemployed have been without work for a year or longer? Blame it on a skills gap. … [More]
Craig R. Barrett, Intel Corporation
There are many reasons for business to move to Arizona or for a business to exist here and flourish. However, over the past two decades, as economies and opportunity grow elsewhere, Arizona has lagged in the critical area of education and now finds itself with a dramatic skills gap — a result of actions and inactions on the part of business organizations, city and state … [More]
Ted Schuman: Master of Communications Skills
Nearly 20 years ago while working for a long-distance company called Allnet Communications, Ted Schuman decided he had the necessary tools to run his own telecommunications company, so he saved up some money, took out a line of credit, and became CEO of what would eventually become an award-winning company. PlanetOne Communications, providing businesses with a free audit of … [More]
Janice K. Brewer, Arizona Governor
As we embark on Arizona’s next century, I am constantly reminded of our beautiful state’s promise. My optimism is rooted in the people of Arizona — its workers, entrepreneurs and business owners who make up our vibrant economy. Arizona has always been the land of opportunity, and I’m confident it will remain so in our next century. This is a place where — with hard work, … [More]
John Cosgrove and Rick Johnson: Executive Advisory Support
John Cosgrove and Rick Johnson will be the first to admit that starting and running a business is chaotic. The principals and owners of Phoenix-based Executive Forums have a combined 80 years of business management experience. Executive Forums is Cosgrove’s fourth start-up and Johnson’s third. The majority of Cosgrove’s experience is in small business, sprinkled with some … [More]
Vicki E. Panhuise, Ph.D., Arizona Aerospace & Defense Commission
Over the years, Arizona has built its economy on products and industries such as cotton, copper, tourism and real estate. We have quickly become one of the fastest-growing states in America, but our industry focus has shifted. Arizona’s economy is more diverse and more advanced, with emphasis on sectors that will position our state as a major player in the global marketplace, … [More]
