A monthly measure of consumer confidence has retreated to recession-level readings on growing concerns about current and future business and labor conditions. The Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) fell nearly seven points to 39.8 for October. “Consumer confidence is now back to levels last seen during the 2008-2009 recession,” said Lynn […]
Phil Castle, The Business Times: The monthly unemployment rate in Mesa County has retreated to its lowest level in nearly two years even as labor demand continues to increase, particularly for energy and transportation jobs. “We definitely have seen more activity in the job market,” said Suzie Miller, an employment specialist with the Mesa County Workforce […]
Craig Hall, The Business Times: “We are really seeing a trend with younger students taking an interest in opening their own businesses,” says Dr. Morgan Bridge, Head, Department of Business at Colorado Mesa University,” And it is our goal to have a degree program that will give them the tools to be successful.” While the university […]
Special to The Business Times The Coleman Foundation has awarded Colorado Mesa University a grant to fund three Faculty Entrepreneurship Fellowships. A faculty entrepreneurship fellow is someone who understands the importance of developing entrepreneurial skills in their students and developing lines of communication between business, sciences, arts, and career and technical education programs. The Fellows […]
“Growing a business presents a whole new group of challenges for entrepreneurs,” says Ed Hess, a professor of business administration at the Darden School of Business, University of Virginia. According to Hess, the following points should be heeded in order for entrepreneurs to prevent learning about business the hard way: Getting overwhelmed by growth. Growth […]
We are definitely seeing a trend to entrepreneurism in this economy here in the Grand Valley,” says Jon Maraschin, Executive Director of the Business Incubator Center. “Our classes are full with both new, exploratory entrepreneurs and existing businesses looking for a little help and guidance. We are working with people across a wide range of […]
It is generally believed that economic downturns spur entrepreneurism,” say Tom Sawyer, a principal at RSW Partners in Grand Junction and ‘serial entrepreneur’, “Why? Because economic downturns do spur entrepreneurism.” Sawyer explains that the uptick in activity occurs when significant numbers of people find themselves out of work or under-employed and they respond; and that […]
A monthly index forecasting economic performance in the United States continues to advance, but at a slowing pace that portends “sluggish” conditions. The Conference Board reported that its Leading Economic Index (LEI) rose two-tenths of a percent to 116.4 in September. While the LEI has gained 1.1 percent over the past three months, the pace of […]
On the last Friday of each month at Coffee Muggers, entrepreneurs, business owners, and folks with ideas meet to talk about growing their businesses. It is a light, casual, open conversation, but there’s also some evident concern, even anxiety, about the future and whether their ideas will work. It’s not easy to predict how a […]
Complete success in business lies in the details. It is the multitude of seemingly insignificant little things that, when done well, lead customers back to your doors. Customer attraction and retention is the life blood of any business that wants to succeed, and therefore, must be a priority. Recently, my girlfriend and I visited a […]