Risk. It’s inherent in business; an element faced in every decision. Owners of small and medium-sized businesses may feel this even more keenly, as challenges seem to come from every direction and there are few — if any — among us who are expert in everything. Minimizing that risk requires researching and gathering the best intelligence. Technology is increasingly providing … [More]
Dr. Heidi Jannenga, WebPT
Business is risk. It’s inherent in every decision: “Can I grow this idea to support a company — myself, my employees, my shareholders?” “Will a new hire or an investment in additional technology propel our growth?” “Should I take on venture capital?” These were just some of the decisions — and risks — I faced in co-founding and growing WebPT. Every choice had the potential … [More]
Businesses’ ‘Magnificent Seven’ Investments
Every day, businesses lose money by not understanding or leveraging their investments. When one considers the financials of organizations, it is clear that a significant portion of those investments are not captured in financial statements. Why? Because these are the people-side or soft-side intangible investments the accounting industry has yet to document. This may be a … [More]
Five Cryptocurrency Tax Mistakes the IRS Takes Seriously
Since the release of Bitcoin in 2009, more than 4,000 alternative currencies have emerged in the decentralized banking market. For nearly 10 years, the IRS has sought to gain a foothold in what has since become a booming market with a rising number of participating asset holders. The recent Coinbase, Inc. case ruling makes it clear that the United States government is intent on … [More]
Is Technology Costing You Credibility and Influence?
You’re the boss, the leader, the master of business; yet your team is becoming increasingly frustrated with your over use of technology in the workplace. Employees cannot express how your behavior is challenging their willingness to act upon what you say. Influence is essential to running a successful organization and can be earned only through the development of trust, … [More]
The Opportunity Zone Program (Part 2)
The Opportunity Zone Program is new federal income tax incentive program designed to encourage private capital investment in Opportunity Zones (O-Zones), which are certain designated areas throughout the United States. Opportunity Funds (O-Funds) act as intermediaries between O-Fund investors and the actual investments in the O-Zone. O-Funds are required to hold 90 percent … [More]
Melissa Gray: Building up Avnet’s CSR
“Our new Corporate Social Responsibility strategy is reshaped by our actions in the market,” says Melissa Gray, vice president of corporate affairs for Avnet, who has been heavily involved in formulating and implementing many of Avnet’s corporate responsibility initiatives. “Avnet is reinventing itself from a traditional distributor selling electronic components to a company … [More]
Accounting Startup Focuses on Ethnic Niche
Easy Numbers Consulting, LLC was one of the first companies to participate in Local First Arizona Foundation’s Fuerza Local Business Accelerator Program, which trains underserved Hispanic entrepreneurs on the basics of running a successful business. Ana Gordillo founded her company in 2015 to provide accounting services — from trade name registration, LLC filing, bookkeeping, … [More]
U.S. Egg Lays It Out for New Dog Treat Company
Scrappy & Scraps Gourmet Pet Treats is a local enterprise founded earlier this year with a mission to harvest eggshells from local restaurants and hotels and bake them into pet treats. This helps the food service industry lower its environmental impact and, in turn, benefit the eco-system. The recycled shells will be collected weekly, pasteurized and ground into a fine … [More]
Boost Employee Well-Being Programs
An increasing number of companies are implementing well-being programs to help their employees live healthier lives, reduce healthcare costs, and improve employee productivity and satisfaction. A recent employer survey by Willis Towers Watson found that 72 percent of U.S. companies “aim to improve their health and well-being strategies and programs over the next three years … [More]
Meetings that Work – and Work Out
It’s been said that “sitting is the new smoking” and a recent study revealed that those who sit without moving for more than two hours at a time during regular waking hours have a higher mortality rate than those who don’t. Wellness programs have become a popular way of addressing this. But imagine if company meetings provided teams with the opportunity to address and achieve … [More]
Pooled Approach to Healthcare Coverage
The Main Street program that Holmes Murphy started in 2014 to offer captive insurance programs for businesses with more than 50 employees was expanded earlier this year to target small businesses with 10–50 employees. The new program is not, actually, a captive but it works similarly to the original program by pooling together businesses to offer the best possible … [More]
Engaging Video Training Content on a Budget
A young, tech-based workforce has pushed the demand for online training and eLearning courses to unprecedented heights. Perhaps the biggest driver of this workplace demand is video content. Video training is such an effective means to facilitate learning, appealing to multiple brain functions at once and drastically improving retention. For a staff gearing more toward a … [More]
Facing the Big Data Tsunami
An estimated 40 zettabytes (43 trillion gigabytes) of data will be created by 2020 (an increase of 300 times the amount of data in circulation in 2005), at a rate of 2.5 quintillion bytes per day. “The explosion in big data is both good news and bad news,” says James D’Arezzo, CEO of Condusiv Technologies. “It will make possible advances in dozens of fields, but it will also … [More]
Taking the Pulse of the Medical Office Market
The medical office space market slowed during the first three months of 2018. Rents fell, vacancy rose and sales of medical office properties fell off a bit. However, Colliers International anticipates this is a temporary disruption since fundamentals of the market remain strong. Vacancy in medical office buildings rose 10 basis points during the first quarter to 14.4 … [More]
Free Workplace-Design Tool
CBRE Group, Inc. has created workplace planning product to help companies apply best-in-class workplace trends to their office layout, recognizing businesses’ increased interest in applying workplace strategy to their real estate process. The first of its kind in the industry and available to companies of any size, Spacer delivers a custom, architect-ready space program with … [More]
Age-in-Place
In partnership with Cadence Senior Living, Ryan Companies US, Inc. is designing, developing and building Azure Mesa, an upscale senior living community with an “age-in-place” model that will accommodate a total of 170 private pay, market-rate units. Construction on the 183,000-square foot project is now underway and expected to be complete in Summer 2019. HFF worked on behalf … [More]
Developer Expands into AZ
Landsea Homes enters the Arizona market with the purchase of land in Chandler for a community that will include 78 single-family homesites and resort-style amenities. Land development is expected to begin in fall 2018, and the first closings are expected in late 2019. “Chandler’s low unemployment, steady job growth and premier school district have made it a destination … [More]
