Strategic marketing in a long tail economy

           The Long Tail economy — it sounds so Silicon Valley, Web 2.0, business jargony. Is that really something the grounded, no-nonsense, dirt-on-our-boots Grand Valley community needs to be concerned with? Could be.             Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired magazine, introduced the term “The Long Tail” […]

Tough times = opportunity for tough people

            Tough times certainly breed tough people. More importantly, tough times always represent opportunity for those who are willing to out-work, out-innovate and out-serve their competition. There is no doubt that the last couple of years have been difficult for business owners. As a payroll company we get both narrow […]

Finding comfort in your health club choice

            Going places where we are familiar, doing things that come easy, being around that someone special with whom you can totally be yourself – All forms of comfort! So when you think of comfort, do you think of a health club? Honestly, walking into a gym or health club […]

Shining light on the real bottom line

           In business, revenue, expenses and profit are critical aspects to pay attention to: they require monitoring if the company is to remain viable and profitable. Given the challenging economic reality most businesses have faced over the past 3 years, the “bottom line” has become, for many, the primary or sole […]

Rent vs. own – is now the right time?

 We know you’ve been hearing it for a while; there just isn’t a better time to buy a home. But is there truth to this or is it simply a ploy to improve sales? As a mortgage professional and home owner, it is easy for me to say that there haven’t been many opportunities better […]

From worse to bad at least is an improvement

In spite of continued strength in the leading economic indicators we watch, the market can’t seem to muster a sustained rally. Market volatility is extremely high, with the market seemingly locked in crisis mode in spite of strong corporate profits. We believe that the crisis in Europe is to blame. The Germans have a big […]

New Year’s resolutions for small businesses

I have to admit it…I am a terrible failure at keeping New Year’s resolutions.  I’m pretty good at making them as I can always sees areas for personal improvement that need a bit of attention but keeping them…not a chance. My hope is that as I share some potential New Year’s Resolutions for businesses in […]

Find benefits in donating your real estate

We all easily grasp the age-old strategy of buying real estate when prices are low and selling the real estate when prices are high.  That’s part of the American way.  But few of us consider the benefits in donating the real estate to a qualified charitable organization.  Why would someone donate a property rather than […]

SBA offers range of services to new and growing businesses

A new year offers the perfect time to dream about the future and set new goals and resolutions. If your plans include starting a new business, the best place to start is with the U.S. Small Business Administration. The agency remains committed to providing access and opportunity to Americans who are — or who want […]

ObamaCare, economics and the Constitution

With a minimal understanding of economics, it should become apparent quite quickly that ObamaCare makes for bad health care policy. But there’s more. Specifically, does ObamaCare make for bad law in the sense that it violates the Constitution? The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case on the constitutionality of President Barack Obama’s health […]