A new Scottsdale Airpark location is the first expansion out of Sedona for 28-year-old Arizona Helicopter Adventures. Jake Austin, who, with partner Floyd Ingram, purchased the business in 2010, notes, “A lot of our business comes through the Metro Phoenix area visiting Sedona.” Timing the move to the Airpark now, in the summer, gives Arizona Helicopter Tours time to get ramped … [More]
Office Entertainment
For seven years, attorneys at FordHarrison have amused and enlightened weekly readers of their employment blog “That’s What She Said” through references to NBC’s “The Office.” While the series finale of “The Office” marked an end to “That’s What She Said,” FordHarrison is adopting the entertainment-industry maxim and launching “EntertainHR.” The blog will offer a lighthearted … [More]
Local Produce Is a Growing Market
Queen Creek Olive Mill recently expanded its olive grove “to support our new stores and the demand in Queen Creek,” says owner Perry Rea. Rea purchased the 4,000 new trees from a nursery near Yuma rather than out of state because they are hardened to the climate. He anticipates two years to first harvest, with full production at the third year. “We are investing in Arizona’s … [More]
Counterfeit Call Out
uFaker, a new app, calls out the counterfeit products and alerts brand owners as to who is counterfeiting their products. In an effort to entice the communications, the app not only sends reports, it also allows users to earn discount rewards, protects families from harmful products and combats the thriving global counterfeit epidemic. … [More]
Wait No More
QLess has created a mobile application that solves the problem of customers or patients having to wait in line — it’s a mobile queue. Customers can roam freely until their “time” in line is announced through a Web browser on a mobile phone, a kiosk in the waiting area or a computer. QLess sends an SMS or calls shortly before their turn comes up. There is also a marketing … [More]
Fast & Friendly Organizer
Pocket Informant is a new app from WebIS that is all the rage. Users are able to put their tasks and notes into their calendar, sync with Evernote and with Google, and get maps and other key information about what is going on in their calendar. An easy-to-use calendar that places events with ease, swipes through the user’s calendar and alerts the user as to what’s next. $12.99 … [More]
Product Tours and Demos
SimpliMotion, a small studio out of California, is single-handedly producing client videos and marketing them with high-quality services that are getting results. The company has multiple clients, from tech product companies to retailers, that demonstrate the power of the product through high-quality video, music and voiceover that can bring a product to the world stage on … [More]
Local DJs Launch National Radio Network
Local DJs Johnjay Van Es and Rich Berra of the Johnjay and Rich Show that airs in the morning on KZZP KISS-FM have taken a new business move in creating their own Johnjay and Rich Radio Network, aiming to build national name recognition from their base in Phoenix. “We’re doing it all out of Phoenix; everything is Phoenix” — from sales to Web design — says Van Es, who shares … [More]
Unique Glassware Manufacturer Attracts Angel Investor
A business that began as a hobby and grew based on friends’ interest in the product is on track to quadruple its current output and nearly triple its work force in the next 12 months. Refresh Glass, a Tempe-based company that creates functional wine bottle art from discards it “rescues” from landfills, recently received funding from MAC6, a local incubator that focuses on the … [More]
Hospitality Company Spawns Software Division
Sparked by popular demand, Choice Hotels recently rolled out for public use the software program it initially developed for its own hotel management system. In fact, it created an independent division for the endeavor — SkyTouch Technology, based in Phoenix — and, according to SkyTouch president Ric Leutwyler, “became our first customer.” Choice decided to create SkyTouch as … [More]
Video Game Developed for Vision Screening
VisionQuest 20/20, built on a collaboration two Arizonans initiated in 2001, aims to transform the way eye tests are administered to school children and help prevent issues related to treatable vision problems. It was the idea of James O’Neil, M.D., a pediatric ophthalmologist, to blend vision-evaluating technology into a video game to detect vision problems in a child, … [More]
Executive MBA Is Competitive Edge for Law Firm
National law firm Quarles & Brady recently developed an executive MBA program for its partner-level attorneys in collaboration with The Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. “It was an opportunity to learn in the way business owners learn all the things our business-owner clients are concerned with,” says Leezie Kim, one of two partners in the Phoenix … [More]
Business Booms from Maricopa County Home Show
More than 500 local home improvement businesses will showcase their products and services at the Maricopa County Home Show at the University of Phoenix Stadium this month. A survey by Maricopa County Home Shows indicates 43 percent of attendees will hire a contractor within 60 days after a show, and are more likely to spend their combined budgets of more than $148 million with … [More]
Marketing Gelato Spot Creates Win/Win Op for Local Chefs
Gelato Spot’s current marketing campaign combines cross-promotion within the restaurant realm of small business with support of community nonprofit Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Through the summer, Gelato Spot is hosting a flavor competition among chefs at noted local restaurants, who have created his and her own flavor, and funds raised will be donated to the hospital in the … [More]
National IT Staffing Company Expands to Phoenix
Phoenix is the latest expansion for Digital Intelligence Systems, ranked by Staffing Industry Analysts as the second-fastest-growing company in the staffing industry among companies with revenues exceeding $100 million. “Phoenix has always been on the radar screen for DISYS,” says Tim Kirby, managing director for the Phoenix office, which opened in February. Noting Phoenix is … [More]
Food Distribution HQ Moves to Phoenix
WinCo Foods is building an 800,000-square-foot distribution center in Phoenix at 75th Avenue and Buckeye Road. One of the largest build-to-suit projects here in recent years, according to Greater Phoenix Economic Council president and CEO Barry Broome, the center is expected to open sometime next year and create up to 200 jobs in its first phase. Noting the grocery store … [More]
Leadership Connections Series
Bloomberg TV provides a multitude of videos on leadership and other business-related topics. Its “Leadership Connections” series offers interviews by some of the top leaders in American business. … [More]
Track What They Say About You
Review Trackers is a brand new review monitoring solution designed to help mom-and-pops, small businesses and entrepreneurs manage their online reputation by helping business owners listen and respond to what their customers are saying about their product and service. … [More]
