Among the “top 10 best strategies for business success” a business owner can follow is surrounding oneself with the right people to get the job done. But to do that requires, first, determining what those jobs are. We at In Business Magazine have identified the following 10 areas of action that are equally critical to the success of a commercial enterprise. No ranking of … [More]
Amy Hillman, W. P. Carey School of Business
Having your own business has long been a part of the American dream, even more so now given the recent employment market. But starting a business and nurturing it to success requires a multitude of skills. To succeed, you’ll benefit from knowing the basics of business — but even business degrees won’t be enough if you don’t have a unique strategy that creates value. You’ll … [More]
Communication Is a People Skill
In the always-on digital age, we’re all guilty of indulging in communication shortcuts. These shortcuts save time, but they are costing us something valuable: Our overwhelming preference for quick and easy communication is causing our more difficult communication skills to erode from lack of use. It’s easy to email a client, but far more difficult to persuade the same person in … [More]
The Education-Workforce Connection
“A four-year bachelor’s degree in any subject used to be the most valuable thing you could do,” says Eric Flottmann, chief operating officer of Higher Ed Growth, a Tempe-based company that uses a marketing approach with colleges and universities worldwide to help them boost enrollment. But the fall 2014 Enrollment Pursuit Report he authored reveals that healthcare-related … [More]
Healthcare: A Tool to Strengthen Productivity
Employee benefits are both an attraction and retention tool, helping build loyalty within an employee pool, and healthcare benefits are first and foremost in importance, according to Stephanie Waldrop, a principal with Employee Benefits International. But more and more responsibility for healthcare decisions is being shouldered by the employee. This includes the “skin in the … [More]
Can Feedback Help Us Succeed?
There are five simple words that can spell doom for a leader — “If I had only known!” These are the words a person utters right after a major client cancels a contract, a customer stops ordering or an error occurs that will cost the business owner thousands out of his own pocket. That’s why the best leaders and the most competent managers thrive on employee feedback! So why … [More]
Business Divorce: Plan Ahead to Avoid the Pain of Breaking Up
Like a marriage, business partnerships don’t always last forever, and lengthy disputes can be nasty. Knowing one’s ownership rights is important, and many business executives make the mistake of not planning well and educating themselves before the partnership is formed. Pouria Paknejad, a trial attorney and partner with Scottsdale-based Smith Paknejad PLC, sees a wealth of … [More]
Leading and Elevating Arizona
On Sept. 19, more than 600 of the state’s most influential leaders — nonprofit executive directors and board presidents, corporate CEOs and elected officials — convened at the Phoenix Convention Center to learn about some of Arizona’s recent successful public-private partnerships and discuss the critical role of leadership in the state’s future. The third Arizona Leadership … [More]
TiE Arizona Membership
TiE Arizona educates, transforms, inspires and offers invaluable resources in the form of global and local relationships, educational events and development programs designed for business growth. The organization offers Arizona entrepreneurs access, knowledge and connectivity to its global network of large- and small-business owners, inspiring mentors and influential … [More]
Accounting Tech Tool
Designed to complement the look and feel of Apple keyboards, the just-released NewerTech numeric keypad features precision-machined aluminum housing, white keys and a bracket that attaches to the Apple keyboard — no tools needed. The design incorporates input from accountants to get every detail of the full-sized, 28-key, numeric keypad just right, including key-throw, feel, … [More]
High Tech as Indicator of High Opportunity
JLL, a real estate services and investment firm, has released the 2014 High-Technology Office Outlook Report, which helps tech companies and other businesses make informed expansion decisions based on indications of high-tech hot spots. For instance, as high-tech companies in one dedicated area increase housing prices, new amenities seem to spring up, adding to the overall … [More]
From Warehouse District to Tech Hub
Putting the most cutting-edge industry in some of the Valley’s oldest buildings — some of the brick structures dating back to the 1800s — Phoenix’s Warehouse District is being viewed as a potential tech hub. Brad Jannenga, CEO of WebPT, says he realized the area’s tremendous potential as his company moved up from 5,000 to 10,000 to 15,000 to its current 30,000 square feet. “The … [More]
Wearable Tech: Small Is Very Big Data
Force Impact Technologies, an enterprise at ASU’s SkySong supported by the accelerator Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative, entered the expanding field of wearable technology a little over a year ago with its FITGuard mouthpiece. An item of sports equipment, it combines an accelerometer that measures how fast something starts and stops and a gyroscope that measures how fast … [More]
Drew Alcazar: Cars in the Spotlight
The move in October to 30,000 square feet of office in Scottsdale underscores the success of CEO Drew Alcazar’s philosophy for the Russo and Steele collector automobile auctions, which was to concentrate on creating a close-knit, emotional environment for collector car enthusiasts. “It was 2001. We weren’t sure if there was enough value to an environment strictly devoted to the … [More]
Dentist On Call
Brian Harris, D.D.S., and Steve Frost, D.D.S., opened OnCall Dental in Glendale this past July as the first urgent-care dental office in Arizona. “I went to a medical urgent care facility on a Saturday night and I walked in and walked out within 15 minutes. I got to thinking, ‘Why is there nothing like this for dentistry?’” says Dr. Harris of his inspiration. “The truth is,” he … [More]
Real Estate Developer brings Phoenix Franchise Model
Ohio-based Epcon Communities Franchising, Inc. has identified the Phoenix area as an ideal market for its real estate development model. According to a 2014 study Epcon contracted with residential real estate research firm Metrostudy to identify the nation’s hot spots, the Phoenix area is among the top 10 cities with a significant housing gap for the Baby Boomer generation. … [More]
Real Estate: Infill Is Booming
Watt Communities of Arizona has five real estate projects currently in various stages of development and pre-development in the Greater Phoenix area — and all are infill. Observing that real estate is a cyclical market and even more so on the city’s edges, Steve Pritulsky, the company’s president and CEO, believes urban infill offers the strongest opportunities. “The Metro … [More]
Net-Zero Energy in Scottsdale
MODUS Icon has unveiled “MZ,” upscale, energy-efficient townhomes designed to have zero energy bills on an annual basis. The eight-unit, high-end Scottsdale development combines energy efficiency, innovative building material, renewable resources and green technologies. Phoenix-based MODUS Development is nationally recognized for its innovative buildings and award-winning, … [More]
