Cover Story

Realief’s CEO studied hard before signing on to launch

Leap of Research When he finally limped into Dr. Timothy Kelm’s chiropractic clinic in St. Louis Park a couple of years ago, Alan Bignall was desperate. Bignall had been to the renowned Mayo Clinic to treat his peripheral neuropathy, which was so painful all he could think about every day at the robotics company he […] Continue reading →

Letter From the Editor

Rowing like mad

I’m learning to row this summer, with seven other beginning students and a newby coxswain, the person who sits in the back, er, stern of the boat and calls out commands. Did you see the U.S. women’s team rowing for gold at the Olympics? They moved as one: tight, controlled, fast, disciplined, with lean arm […] Continue reading →

Business Builders

Manage insurance claims to get handle on hardening market

Insurance pricing for commercial accounts nationwide went from an average 2.9 percent decrease in the first quarter of 2011 to an average 4.4 percent increase in the first quarter of 2012, with medium-sized employers seeing the largest increases on average. Closer to home, nearly 80 percent of agents and brokers in the Midwest report seeing […] Continue reading →

What to deduct? Careful when sorting meals, entertainment

Understanding the rules of what is deductible and what substantiation is needed will help you prevail if the IRS challenges your deductions. Business Deduction Requirement A deduction is allowed for business meals, entertainment and gifts when the expenses are directly related to the active conduct of the business.  To be directly related, you must engage in […] Continue reading →

Owners should always think before they tweet

Most CEOs and other senior executives would never dream of giving a speech or talking to a reporter without preparation, yet many think nothing of turning over their social media communications to junior employees with little expertise, strategic insight or knowledge of their audiences. While Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and the like can be innovative […] Continue reading →

Are your dollars working? How to figure ROI results

In today’s business landscape, your limited marketing dollars have to work harder than ever and understanding the impact marketing has on revenue is imperative. While calculating return on investment has never been easy, there are new ways to approach your marketing programs to enable meaningful measurement and truly understand the relationships between your marketing spend […] Continue reading →

Hiring for optimism, intelligence is doable if you’re diligent

Pessimism, optimism and the visible outcomes of each are easily illustrated by the old pony story. There were twin boys, about five years old. The boys had developed extreme polar personalities: one was a total pessimist, the other a total optimist. Their parents took them to a psychiatrist. To view and treat the pessimist, the […] Continue reading →