Green is good, we all agree. That is, it’s better as a business to be more resource efficient, less polluting, and generally more thoughtful about our impact on the environment. But how much is all this green goodwill really accomplishing when it comes to protecting our environment, combating global warming and, yes, producing profits? The Phoenix Suns have been fairly good … [More]
The New Employee: Veering from the Traditional
As businesses have begun ramping back up into a slowly recovering economy, expanding their work force is often a top priority. Filling job positions, however, is turning out to be a challenge as employment has come to encompass myriad aspects of culture, values, training and aspirations. “It’s gotten much more competitive for the employer to find the most talented … [More]
How Our Changing Economy Is Shaping Money
Small business is getting its shot at securing loans once again. But in a new regulatory environment, banks are more cautious about getting left holding the bag with bad loans that could come back to haunt them. Even credit unions are facing potential changes in laws that could affect their ways of operating as nonprofits. This makes it more challenging for businesses to get … [More]
Arts & Culture: Can We Sustain It?
$581 million. That’s the amount of revenue generated by nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in Arizona in 2010 — a time when the economy was still reeling from the recession — according to the Americans for the Arts’ Economic Prosperity Study released last year. In Phoenix alone, the arts and culture sector contributed more than $300 million to the economy, and Brendan … [More]
Local Impact: Buy Local Builds Economy
It’s a simple catchphrase that’s become as much a part of the American vocabulary as “economic downturn,” and, by now, most folks have seen a “Buy Local” sign amidst the treasures at a downtown antiques shop or tacked onto the cash register in an independent clothing boutique. But as much as the “buy local” approach — in all its various connotations — is promoted, is it … [More]
Start-ups & Entrepreneurs
A start-up is an idea, a corner of the garage, the spare bedroom and every spare minute. The Great Recession may have been Arizona’s start-up booster. “There were suddenly a lot of people with great ideas and no jobs,” says Setheraman “Panch” Panchanathan, ASU’s senior vice president for the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development. “They didn’t have much more to lose, so … [More]
Is Our Technology Drought Over?
Not long ago, disco was king and typewriters shared desktops with personal computers. The Valley of the Sun was known as the “Silicon Desert.” Chandler was its oasis. Motorola and Intel were its bedrock. People were still looking for the way to San Jose and Silicon Valley didn’t exist. “We were once the Silicon Desert,” reminisces Barry Broome, president and CEO of the … [More]
Phoenix Rising: Is Our Housing Market Heating Up?
Metro Phoenix appears to be slowly and steadily emerging from the ashes of the real estate collapse of five years ago, but is the city headed toward a re-bubbling of the market and repetition of all the sordid problems of that historical time? While some critics believe history is destined to repeat itself, key players in the metropolitan Phoenix real estate industry believe … [More]
Sports Means Business: Is It a Win for Our Economy?
When the Arizona Diamondbacks played its first game in Phoenix 15 years ago, it entered an already crowded National League West Division where many locals carried with them baseball traditions linked to other franchises, according to Derrick Hall, president and CEO. “In some markets, all they have to do to sell tickets is put out a pocket schedule and open up the gates,” says … [More]
Surviving Healthcare
Many of the changes in healthcare coverage are trends that have been growing gradually anyway — but now they’re mandated, regulated and requiring more paperwork. The healthcare coverage requirements coming down from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act take effect next year, and the most important message to employers is: The time is now for putting plans and … [More]
Women at the Top: Are They Making a Difference in Business?
Yahoo’s recent appointment of Marissa Mayer to CEO when she was pregnant with her first child had many women cheering and others wondering just how effective she will be juggling a high-pressure job and a new baby. One thing is for sure: It opened up more dialogues about women breaking the barriers and advancing to the C-suite. Missing from the discussion, however, was any … [More]
Contemplating Growth
As the new legislature convenes, sights are set on being ready for anticipated population growth and economic development that will see the creation of a megatropolis from Tucson to Flagstaff The exodus, part II. That’s what Rep. Tom Forese (R-District 21) wants to be ready for when California businesses flee the high taxes and mountain of regulations that have accompanied … [More]
What Does the Legislature Do for Business?
As the 51st Legislature convenes its 2013 Legislative Session this month, we look back at a few of the hundreds of bills introduced and considered by the 50th Legislature during its 2011 and 2012 legislative sessions. Jobs and Business Creation H.B. 2272 Clinical Trial, Public Information Requests This bill expands the exemptions from public records laws of information … [More]
Wealth Management: How to Prosper in the New Economy
After four years of government polices like the zero-down-payment initiative, the Single-Family Affordable Housing Tax Credit, the American Dream Downpayment Initiative and other questionable mortgage and financial innovations, the housing bubble burst. While debate continues on the causes of the Great Recession, the popping of the $8 trillion housing bubble was instrumental in … [More]
Top 10: Wealth Planning Mistakes to Avoid
Trish Stark, senior vice president and director of client relations at First Western Trust in Scottsdale, notes that with the complicated nature of wealth planning, certain factors often get overlooked. She shares ten tips to help individuals avoid making common mistakes. 1. Not understanding the rules To avoid accidentally adding the wrong assets to a trust and … [More]
Educating Our Work Force
Enough already! It seems to be taking forever for Arizona’s unemployment rate to drop to levels seen before the Great Recession. Or is it the new reality that rates never will be near 5 percent again? It’s not for a lack of jobs, as a look at help wanted listings shows. It’s a lack of enough qualified Arizonans to do the jobs that require more than on-the-job … [More]
STEM: More than the Sum of Its Parts
“Every economic development business conversation gets back to education,” says Darcy Renfro, vice president and coordinator of Science Foundation Arizona’s STEM Initiatives, explaining SFAz’s focus on research and education that can help build a stronger economy in Arizona. That focus has zeroed in on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education, with … [More]
Funding for Business
No doubt about it, there’s plenty of economic uncertainty in the world, let alone Arizona, today. But Valley bankers and those associated with the banking industry want entrepreneurs and owners of small and mid-sized businesses to know their institutions have been, and continue to be, ready to talk lending. “We’re all dying for loans,” asserts Candace Wiest, president and CEO … [More]
