Cover Story

Founders of Benefit Extras and XL Feet push to higher ground

From nominations, judges select two winners based on the ambition of the growth goal and the quality of the work already completed to meet it.  They participated in a workshop this spring with expert advisers supplied by the sponsoring companies, then presented stories of their progress at a public event in September.  Nominations for next […] Continue reading →

Letter From the Editor

Who holds the boss accountable?

We’re participating in a conference call to discuss progress on the two winners’ goals since meeting in June. Erickson has just explained she’s taken Willer’s and the other experts’ advice to create a strategic plan for her business, and purchased a “strategic planning toolkit” that guides her in involving all her staff members in the […] Continue reading →

Focus

Above & beyond

Everyone knows certified public accountants handle tax time, but they can advise on so much more, from inventory management to risk assessment to financial analysis and more.   We asked leading local CPAs to describe ways they can help business owners build bigger and more profitable companies, which go far beyond bean-counting.   Timely info […] Continue reading →

Business Builders

Beyond Nerf guns: how to create real employee engagement

When people learn I’m the CEO of an IT consulting and training company that has been rated a “best place to work” and a “top employer” more than one dozen times,  they sometimes assume we stock the company fridge with free beer and encourage everyone to wear grungy clothes while playing with Nerf guns in […] Continue reading →

Preempt hackers with data risk test and security plan

The recent massive and highly publicized data breach of national retailers,  coupled with last year’s disclosure of the National Security Agency’s widespread surveillance of the general population, has people thinking about the security of personal information they give out during their daily lives. Businesses of all sizes also need to think about how vulnerable their […] Continue reading →

How to transform a million-dollar mistake into company equity

While it is easy to believe many CEOs and top executives have reached their levels of success by making all the right decisions, starting and growing a successful business is not something that can be achieved by following a business textbook. “Had I known then what I know now” is a surprisingly common phrase among […] Continue reading →

Lifestyle or transferable: which business are you building, and why it matters

Statistics surrounding the impending tsunami of private businesses changing hands in the next decade has been well documented.  One estimate suggests as many as 72 percent of privately held business owners anticipate a “monetization” event, and 62 percent of those indicate a time frame of five to six years. Momentum can be attributable to two […] Continue reading →