[This article has been updated to reflect the new tax law that went into effect on January 1, 2018]
You can’t escape taxes when running a small business, but depending on where you are located, you can minimize how much you pay out. Small business tax requirements vary greatly from state to state, which means where you choose to set up shop significantly affects profitability.
When it comes to the tax man’s long list of demands, several tax types in particular can take a big bite out of your bottom line. These include property, sales, excise, unemployment insurance, and corporate and personal income taxes. Personal income taxes are one of the most significant, because 92% of small business owners file taxes as individuals by operating their businesses as “pass-through entities” (sole proprietorships, S corporations, and partnerships), according to the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.
These five states are rated as having the top five most favorable small business tax climates, according to the 2017 State Business Tax Climate Index from the Tax Foundation:
1. Wyoming
Considered the most tax-friendly state in recent years, Wyoming is one of only three states in the nation that levy no corporate income tax at all, and is among just seven states that levy no personal income tax. The state’s sales tax rate is one of the lowest in the nation at just 4%, and Wyoming’s unemployment rate was only 4.3% (as of November 2017). Excise taxes are also very reasonable. Property taxes are relatively high, however, at $2,109 per capita (according to the Tax Foundation’s 2017 rankings of states’ per-capita property tax collections).
2. South Dakota
South Dakota features a favorable small business climate with its low unemployment rate at 3.5%, as of November 2017. South Dakota’s sales tax rate is also attractive at just 4.5%. The state collects no personal or corporate income tax, although it does place a franchise tax on financial institutions. Property taxes in the state are considered mid-range (compared to other states) at $1,301 per capita.
3. Alaska
Alaska has no sales tax, providing small business owners with a major plus when it comes to retailing merchandise. There is also no personal income tax in Alaska. Due to the location of the state, it does feature particularly high excise taxes, and property taxes are among the highest in the nation at $2,639 per capita. The unemployment rate is also a little on the high side at 7.2% (as of November 2017).
4. Florida
Conditions are bright in the Sunshine State when it comes to small business taxes. Unemployment rates are fairly low at 3.6%, as of November 2017. Florida also has no personal income tax. Sales tax, however, runs a little high at 6%, and excise tax can also be costly. Property taxes fall mid-range at $1,184 per capita.
5. Nevada
Running a business in Nevada is an educated gamble when you consider that the state doesn’t charge any personal or corporate income taxes. Property tax is also fairly low at $953 per capita. Nevada does have a relatively high statewide sales tax rate at 6.85%, however, and the unemployment rate is one of the highest in the nation at 5.0%, according to November 2017 figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The tax man knocks no matter what, but if you run your business in one of these states, you can be assured that he isn’t rapping on your door as loudly as in some states. The relative advantages of these states — which tend to have low property taxes and no state income taxes — are likely to grow in the next few years, thanks to the new federal tax law that took effect Jan. 1, 2018. Starting with the 2018 tax year, there will be a limit of $10,000 that can be deducted for state and local taxes, including property taxes. This and other tax factors mean that 2018 could be a good time to start a business in a low-tax state.
Upcycling Outdoors is chock full of ingenious repurposing projects using what many people would consider junk—or at the very least, tired items on their way to the trashcan. You’ll find ideas, plans and instructions for a wide variety of clever creations. For instance, did you know it’s possible to make an attractive living wall using gutters? Or how about using an old suitcase and table to create an herb garden planter?
You’ll also learn how to create a firepit from bicycle wheels, make a potting shed out of vintage doors, create a mini-barbecue out of a tool chest and update old outdoor furnishings like picnic tables to give them new life and new purpose.
The author, Max McMurdo, began turning junk into treasures as a child. He occupied himself with projects such as making spaceships out of bottles. After graduating from college, he became a car designer in Cologne, Germany, and in 2003 established his business reestore ltd. The company designs and creates upcycled furniture and accessories from items destined for landfills. That led to his appearing on a variety of television shows presenting product design and repurposing. He recently hosted a National Geographic Channel TV show called Machine Impossible.
In addition to sharing the plans and steps to creating various projects, Upcycling Outdoors discusses various tips to keep in mind when designing items to be used outdoors. For instance, you’ll find advice for creating items that will stand up to the elements. There’s a section on finishes, varnishes and weathering proofing. McMurdo also offers guidance for scavenging for items to use for upcyling.
While many of the items in the book are functional—like a chair repurposed to be a swing—there are also plenty of pretty items. One of my favorites is a dressing table turned into a plant display. Plants cover the top of the dressing table and spill from the open drawers.
If you’ve been storing items that you can’t quite part with, but have lost their luster, Upcycling Outdoors may just give you the ideas and inspiration to take those treasures out, dust them off and get to work creating something masterful.
A beautiful bee takes advantage of the native wildflowers. (National Wildlife Federation / Jonathan Lavan)
Whenever you see a butterfly flit through your backyard or a bee buzz about, stop and pat yourself on the back. Your garden is helping sustain the world’s pollinators. And that’s a big thing.
It turns out that pollinators—bees, butterflies, birds and bats—are responsible for one out of three bites of the food we eat. According to Cornell University, pollinators contribute a whopping $29 billion to America’s food production.
In order to help sustain our nation’s food supply, National Pollinator Garden Network was formed to inspire home gardeners and organizations to create more pollinator habitats. By this year’s National Pollinator Week, June 18-24, the organization is aiming to register one million bee-friendly gardens.
To date, 700,000 private and public gardens have been signed up all across the U.S. See where the pollinator gardens are located, including in your “neck of the woods,” at this link.
The National Pollinator Garden Network features a partnership between 50 organizations, associations and government agencies, including Pollinator Partnership, National Wildlife Federation, AmericanHort, KidsGardening.org, National Gardening Association, American Public Gardens Association, the National Garden Bureau, American Seed Trade Association and the National Park Service.
If you’re thinking that your garden couldn’t possibly make all that much of a difference for our nation’s food supply, think again, says one of the founders of the network, Mary Phillips, senior director at the National Wildlife Federation.
“The nation’s love of pollinators is paying off,” says Phillips. “Recent research shows that even small gardens can make a big difference for pollinators by increasing diversity of bee species across urban and suburban landscapes.”
According to Phillips, any size garden is helpful to pollinators and eligible to be registered.
“Every habitat of every size counts,” she says. “This includes home and community garden plots, farms, school gardens, golf courses—anywhere pollinators are planted.”
Planting a pollinator garden is easy and fun. To do so, add plants that provide nectar and pollen sources. These include just about any plant that flowers. Plant throughout the growing season, so that you have continuous blooms. You’ll also want to plant in a sunny area that includes windbreaks, so that the bees and butterflies are able to easily dine. And avoid using pesticides, as they quickly kill off all insects, defeating your purpose. Strive for an insect-friendly garden instead.
To register your garden and #beecounted, go to this link. When it asks for the referring organization in the drop-down menu, choose “The Association for Garden Communicators (GWA).” I’m a member and I’m referring you.
A recent urgent FBI cyber-security warning has prompted companies to reboot their computer routers in order to prevent havoc from malware.
JUNE 08, 2018
The FBI released a cybersecurity warning in late May regarding malware originating in Russia. Known as VPNFilter, the government agency is urging anyone who uses a router to connect to the internet to reboot their router.
Since many businesses use routers, the malware poses a serious threat to companies.
“The FBI hasn’t made many statements with this level of urgency regarding cybersecurity, so this should be taken very seriously,” says Adam Levin, founder of CyberScout, a cybersecurity and identity management company. (He’s also the author of Swiped: How to Protect Yourself in a World Full of Scammers, Phishers and Identity Thieves.)
“This is the cyber equivalent of a hurricane warning,” says Levin. “Precautions are necessary.”
About Malware
“The word malware comes from mal, which means bad, and ware, which refers to software,” says Penny Garbus, co-founder of Soaring Eagle Database Consulting and co-author of Mining New Gold—Managing Your Business Data.
“Malware refers to destructive software intrusion,” Garbus explains. “It’s an attack on the data in your system or an attack on your system. Malware can stop you from using your internet access or equipment, steal your data or lock you out of it.
Don’t trust your internet provider to be your only guardian. Consider hiring a professional to add more layers of protection.—Penny Garbus, co-founder, Soaring Eagle Database Consulting
“No company is too small to be attacked,” she continues. “Simply emailing a customer or processing payments makes your company vulnerable.”
“Hackers and identity thieves use malware to insert themselves into your online affairs,” adds Levin. “Malware can target customer data, including financial records, and, in the case of a botnet, it can marshal your computer’s processing power and internet connection to help power illegal activities.”
Malware as a Cybersecurity Threat
According to the FBI, “cyber actors” working out of other countries (including Russia) have negatively affected hundreds of thousands of routers and other networked devices.
The malware enables hackers to watch and read the traffic that is moving through routers. In the process, they steal data, execute commands, block network traffic and can even “brick” a device, leaving it permanently inoperable.
“The negative effect of malware on company computer systems can be huge,” says Avi Chesla, founder and CTO of the cybersecurity company empow
. “VPNFilter is a variant of the black energy malware. That means it can, at the very least, do one or all of the following.”
Shut down your company router, which means no internet.
Create a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service). This is an overload of a system so that it becomes inoperable to the owners of the system. Your company routers could become hijacked and launch such an attack without your knowledge on an outside organization.
Redirect your traffic to malicious sites, and then conduct various fraud activities against your company.
Demand ransom from your company based on the above actions.
Protecting Your Computer Systems From Malware
If you think your system is protected by basic updates and the like, think again.
“Targeting small-business routers with malware circumvents the most common protections applied to laptops and desktops, and most people don’t update their router firmware,” says Chris Calvert, co-founder and vice-president of product strategy for Respond Software, which provides automated cybersecurity threat protection.
In order to deal with the current potential threat to your router, the FBI advises rebooting your router as soon as possible.
The VPNFilter malware comes in three stages. The first stage consists of the malware waiting in your system for commands for malware downloads.
In the second stage after the downloads, the malware begins exploiting the device and doing harm. And in the third stage, the malware becomes harder to track and better at stealing information.
If your computer system has already been compromised and is in stage one, rebooting will disrupt the second and third stages. Doing this allows the FBI and your internet service provider time to curtail and hopefully remediate the situation.
“To reboot, call your Internet service provider [ISP] or go on the ISP’s website, where you should find rebooting instructions,” says Garbus.
After rebooting, it’s suggested that you disable remote management settings on devices and make sure that the router has new, strong passwords. Enable encryption when possible and update the router with the latest version of firmware.
Other Cybersecurity Tips for Protecting Against Malware
“While having anti-virus and anti-malware software and making sure they are appropriately updated are good protective measures, these tactics don’t provide complete protection,” says Levin. “Hackers work around the clock to find new ways to defeat them.”
Here are seven more cybersecurity steps you can take to protect your computer system.
1. Be hyper aware and vigilant. “Don’t click okay without reading the prompt,” advises Levin. “Also be wary of downloads that require installation and email attachments. Confirm with the sender that the attachment is legit.”
2. Practice good cyber hygiene. “Use long and strong, unique passwords, install a firewall and log out of websites when you’re no longer using them,” says Levin. “Also make sure the software on your devices is up to date.”
3. Use hardware and software firewalls. “If your company is dealing with customer data, you should have both,” says Garbus. “The same holds true if your company has a lot of financial data passing through the internet.”
4. Require documentation from offsite employees. “Ask remote users toshare all of their certificate information with your company cybersecurity expert,” says Garbus.
5. Back up all company data. Use a document storage environment and back up software or hardware data.
6. Get expert assistance. “Don’t trust your internet provider to be your only guardian. Consider hiring a professional to add more layers of protection,” says Garbus. “When you do, ask a lot of questions. Have the cybersecurity professional write up processes and procedures and information on access. Get a description of your firewall settings. Also learn the process for rebooting the firewall.”
7. Reboot regularly. “The hardware firewalls and routers need maintenance,” says Garbus. “It’s good practice to reboot the system once a week.”
If you think you have the next greatest invention on your hands, take a look at what business leaders have to say about developing your ideas and getting them to market.
JUNE 01, 2018
Business owners know that ideas are the lifeblood of a successful company. Those inspired discoveries that lead to inventions are some of the most vital. As National Inventors Month comes to a close, I spoke to quite a few business leaders about how to determine the viability of innovative ideas, protect them and get them to market.”Inventors are inherently problem solvers, and business owners deal with problems all day long,” says Gina Waldhorn, president of Quirky, a collaborative online invention community. “With necessity being the mother of invention, business owners are devising new products, services and software that help them run more efficient and productive businesses.”
Business Owners as Inventors
Entrepreneurs are often inventors, especially when it comes to technology, agrees Vinay Tannan, senior manager of global partnerships and licensing at RTI International. (RTI provides research and development and technical services to commercial and government clients. )”It’s not uncommon for business owners’ products or entire business platforms to be inventions,” he says.
Such is the case for Erin Finegold, founder and CEO of StingRay Shields. StingRay Shields is a patented technology designed to reduce and redirect wireless radiation away from the head and hand during cellphone use.
“I became concerned about cell phone radiation several years ago when my young niece was playing with my phone against her head for quite a while, and I felt the heat from the phone when she gave it back to me,” says Finegold. “I researched studies on cell phones, which revealed the potentially significant dangers of cell phone radiation. That prompted me to invent a durable, lightweight antenna system that minimizes radiation exposure.”
Two Types of Inventions
“There are two kinds of inventions—improvements on existing products and entirely new innovations,” says Eric Lupton, co-founder of L-Squared Technologies.
“Improvements are easier to market because people are familiar with the ideas,” he says. “Completely new products are more challenging, but offer more opportunity for the inventor.”
The route you pursue for launching your product should be in part dictated by the size of the prize and your appetite for risk.—Gina Waldhorn, president, Quirky
Lupton’s invention focuses on an unfortunate reality with a whole new approach to a solution.
“L-Squared Technologies has developed the silver-bullet solution to pediatric vehicular heatstroke deaths—children dying in cars after being abandoned, intentionally or unintentionally,” says Lupton. “The … technology eschews the idea that reminders are the solution and instead focuses on saving children by … cooling the car while simultaneously alerting bystanders that help is needed.”
Because of the constant breakthroughs in technology, inventions in this area tend to be new.
“In the tech space, reinventing and disrupting is a key component to entrepreneurship,” says Daniel Putterman, director at Kogniz, which produces the AICam.This surveillance camera uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify people and threats in real-time.Inventions that greatly improve on existing products can also be successful, believes Kristian Tapaninaho, founder and CEO of Uuni, a portable wood-fired outdoor oven.”I created Uuni to solve a problem,” says Tapaninaho. “To make great pizza, I needed a wood-fired oven that could reach double the temperature of a domestic oven. Products on the market were large and expensive. I had ideas for how to create a portable wood-fired oven, so I sketched it out and prototyped it. The result was Uuni, which heats up to 932 degrees F in 10 minutes and makes incredible pizza in 60 seconds.”
Steps to Successfully Launching Your Invention
Once you’ve come up with an idea you think fills a need, there are several steps to see an invention to fruition.
1. Market analysis
“Market analysis is a critical first step to understanding the whitespace opportunity for your invention,” says Neel Premkumar, founder and CEO of FORTO, a ready-to-drink coffee shot.”It’s best if market analysis includes estimates of the number of potential customers, pricing, potential revenue per customer and a possible distribution model,” he says.
Premkumar also advises creating a working prototype and getting customer feedback so you can understand concerns and compliments for your invention.
Product market fit is essential, believes Adam Dodds, CEO and founder of Freetrade, a next-generation investment app providing users with free stock trading.”You can create something based on a smart insight or a nice-to-have feature,” Dodds says, “but if it doesn’t solve problems and add value on a deep level, then your company won’t be around for very long.”
Surveys work well to determine if inventions are compelling, suggests Waldhorn of Quirky.
“You don’t need to describe the product in detail,” she explains. “In broad strokes, present the problem you’re solving and how consumers would receive the benefit. For example, ask if they’d be interested in a dog leash that turns into a toy.”
The next step is to determine if there’s market potential.
“You may have designed the world’s most amazing stroller for triplets,” Waldhorn says, “but even if every single mom bought your product, you’d max out at selling 1,300 strollers a year, given the number of triplet births.”
“Nice ideas that solve only a few people’s problems result in failed businesses,” adds Nigel Parker, CEO of RashEndZ. “The wider the problem, the more people your product can help.”Parker’s product was designed in response to a neonatal nurse’s request for a skin-aeration liner that can be inserted inside a diaper to keep the skin dry and less likely to develop bedsores. The technology was expanded to incontinence garments.
2. Intellectual property protection
Once you determine that your inventions are worth pursuing, it’s time to protect those ideas.
According to patent law attorney Anthony Fussner of intellectual property law firm Harness Dickey, the sooner you protect your ideas, the better.”Because intellectual property is oftentimes the most valuable asset of a business, it’s important to begin the process of securing IP protection immediately,” says Fussner. “A patent is a monopoly or right to exclude others from making, using, selling, offering for sale or importing the patented invention for a limited period of time in exchange for a detailed disclosure of the invention.”
At this stage, except for market analysis, keep quiet about your invention, advises Mary Tiffin, founder and president of Mangata, which creates wearable safety lights.”If you have an invention, it’s best to keep it ‘under wraps’ until you have secured proper legal counsel and the various protections,” she says.
Invention Patents
Fussner explains that the U.S. currently uses a first-to-file patent system, which means that the person who files for a patent first holds the patent, regardless of the date of the actual invention. And many inventors and companies take that step to be the first.
“Patenting and protecting your inventions is urgent,” says Scott Relf, CEO and co-founder of mobile photo-sharing app Pikmobile.”It’s a difficult, lengthy process to get patents for inventions approved,” says Relf, who filed a patent application in 2013 that was approved in January 2018. “In addition to taking five years, it cost me $50,000. Throughout the process there was no certainty that the patent would ever be approved. Our company essentially has a patent on the future of social media—paid subscriptions in the newsfeed. It looks like all of this time and money will be worth it in the end.”
Copyrights and Trademarks
There are two other methods of protecting IP that are much less costly and time consuming.
“Copyrights and trademarks both protect intellectual property, but they protect different things,” says Ross Kimbarovsky, founder and CEO of crowdspring, a marketplace for creative and design services. (He should know: Before founding crowdspring, Kimbarovsky spent 24 years as an intellectual property litigation lawyer.)”Copyright protects creative works such as writing, art, music, movies, video games, software code, choreography and architectural designs,” Kimbarovsky explains. “Trademarks are names, logos, sounds, shapes, colors and even smells that distinguish the source of goods or services of one party from those of another party. For example, a computer software program may be copyrighted while the name of the software can be trademarked.”
Tips for Taking Your Invention to Market
There are many steps to launching a new product once you’ve determined it’s a viable idea. Here are some of the top items to keep in mind.
“The route you pursue for launching your product should be in part dictated by the size of the prize and your appetite for risk,” says Waldhorn. “If you’re ready to bet the farm on your inventions, raise funds, invest your savings or crowdfund so you can manufacture and market the product.”
If you’re not ready for such an investment, a licensing deal may be more appropriate, continues Waldhorn.
“This involves licensing your invention to a manufacturer or big brand in return for a royalty on every unit sold,” she explains.
Launching on Kickstarter worked well for Uuni founder Tapaninaho.
“Our campaign captured the imagination of customers and media around the world, so we were lucky to have an international customer base from the outset,” he explains. “We’d already sourced a factory to produce our product, so when the campaign ended after a month, we made our first run of Uunis. Orders kept coming in, so we ramped up our production plans and worked hard to meet demand.”
Whatever you do, keep the faith, advises Lupton.
“The best inventions are often thought to be terrible or crazy ideas by the inventor’s friends and family,” he says. “Don’t let other people discourage what you know to be true. At the same time, if you try and the market rejects your product, accept reality and consider adjustments.”
Work hard and stay focused on your goal, adds Tiffin. “Sometimes it takes a long time to become an overnight sensation.”
Every gardener’s library could do with a good encyclopedia. A book where you can search for answers to big and small horticultural questions. Like when to prune ornamental grass, how to water your clay soil and what disease is killing off your tomatoes.
Sure, you could look those questions up online. But there’s something more satisfying about flipping through the pages of a big book full of beautiful photos to find the answers to your questions.
Gardening Complete: How to Best Grow Vegetables, Flowers, and Other Outdoor Plants is an up-to-date, thorough encyclopedia of gardening that walks you through the garden and many of its scenarios. In this 376-page book, you’ll find answers to just about any garden question.
In fact, the book covers so much ground that the publishing company, Cool Springs Press, called upon eight garden writers to fill the pages with their horticultural words of wisdom. The authors are Katie Elizer-Peters, Rhonda Fleming Hayes, Charlie Nardozzi, Tara Nolan, Jacqueline Soule, Lynn Steiner, Jessica Walliserand George Weigel.
Each author tackles various garden categories. For instance, you’ll learn what you need to know about weed and pest control from Walliser, how to design your gardens from Weigel and watering, fertilizing and pruning from Soule. Fleming-Hayes offers information on pollinator gardens and Nardozzi tells all about container gardening. Nolan provides a well-conceived chapter on raised beds, including their virtues, as well as tips and plans for making them.
Gardening Complete helps you understand soil, including the merits of getting a soil test and all about mulching and cover crops. If weeds tend to take over your garden, there’s plenty of good info on how to manage them. There’s an excellent chapter on controlling pests and insects and an equally good chapter on controlling diseases. These chapters include plenty of photos showing destruction by pests and diseases so that you can make an accurate diagnosis.
Another fun and informative chapter is the one on harvesting edibles. The photos of produce being harvested make you want to go out to the garden and start planting immediately. There are handy charts that explain when and how to harvest various vegetables, herbs and fruits.
In keeping with today’s views on self-sustaining gardening, there’s a chapter on gardening with native plants and another on water-wise gardening. You’ll learn about installing a gravel garden, reducing turfgrass and planting a bee lawn that attracts these vital pollinators.
The chapter on gardening for the birds and the bees covers a lot of ground. You’ll discover trees that feed caterpillars, flowers that make bird seed and trees and shrubs that produce berries that help sustain these winged creatures. To give birds somewhere to land and perch, there’s also a chapter on vertical gardening.
While Gardening Complete is intended for serious beginning to intermediate gardeners, even veteran gardeners will find many kernels of horticultural wisdom worth remembering. For instance, it used to be that a standard amendment to break up clay soil was sand. It turns out that the combo creates a mixture more like concrete.
The first chapter covers botany for gardeners, including the botanical order and what some of those hard-to-pronounce Latin and Greek names mean. By the time you finish reading the book, you’ll sound and feel like a gardening pro.
Julie Bawden-Davis is a garden writer and master gardener, who since 1985 has written for publications such as Organic Gardening, The American Gardener, Wildflower, Better Homes and Gardens and The Los Angeles Times. She is the author of 10 books, including Reader’s Digest Flower Gardening, Fairy Gardening, The Strawberry Story Series, and Indoor Gardening the Organic Way, and is the founder of HealthyHouseplants.com. Her backyard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
Boosting Employee Productivity When the Summer Slump Hits
Summer days can lead to a distracted workforce. But these business leaders share how they encourage employee productivity at this time of year.
MAY 25, 2018
Remember the rush of freedom you felt as a kid when school let out for summer? Your employees are likely to feel that same rush when the days lengthen and get warmer. Unfortunately, that summer itch can negatively affect employee productivity.
“Business tends to slow down in the summer,” says Nick Murphy, founder of Mid-America Careers, a Midwest-focused job search engine, and host of The Job Lab Podcast. “Business owners can and should anticipate some disruptions to normal operations, particularly when it comes to sales pipelines and the lifecycle of new deals.”
The “summer slump” is common, agrees Mary Camuto, owner of MC Consulting and author of Make the Most of Your Workday.
“You’ll see a slowdown when your employees—and hopefully you—take vacations; schedule long weekends; and experience related distractions like travel-related errands,” Camuto says.
And it’s not just vacations that can hinder productivity during the summertime, adds Richard Milam, CEO of EnableSoft, which powers Foxtrot, a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) software.
“Summer is full of distractions,” he says, “including disagreements among coworkers as to what temperature to set the air conditioner.”
Summer Slump Exceptions
Whether a summer slump occurs can also depend on the company culture, notes Summer Crenshaw, COO and co-founder of tilr, an employment placement company that uses blind matching technology.
“Our company is located in the Midwest and can have problems with seasonal affective disorder affecting employee productivity in the cold months,” Crenshaw says.
Everyone needs a vacation, and business owners who support and encourage employees to unplug and recharge are likely to see those employees make up lost ground once they’re back in the office.
—Nick Murphy, founder, Mid-America Careers
“In the summer months, however, we see a revitalization of energy and excitement amongst our team,” she continues. “Although more vacations are taken in summer, employees increase their efforts prior to taking time off.”
“In certain industries, such as hospitality, summer can mean increased activity,” adds Jeremy Greenberg, founder of Avenue Group, which advises business owners, and CEO of Flyte Fitness, an exercise equipment and education company.
“In either case, employees see friends and children taking time off, and, understandably, can feel a desire to reduce their workloads as well.”
Keeping Employee Productivity Up
Whether they’re vacationing or daydreaming about a day at the beach, summertime will affect your workforce in one way or another. Here are some tips for minimizing decreased employee productivity and making the most of this time of year.
1. Offer seasonal perks.
“Compressed workweeks, revised work schedules, flextime or shorter hours on Fridays can help employees achieve a better work-life balance and boost morale overall. And that can, in turn, boost employee productivity,” says Jay Starkman, CEO of human resources services purveyor Engage PEO.
“If possible, create key performance indicators—KPIs—or metrics that your team can work toward Monday through Thursday so that Fridays can be shortened or taken off altogether,” Crenshaw suggests.
2. Communicate with your employees.
“The most effective way to mitigate a summer slump and resulting decrease in employee productivity is to maintain open communication with your employees,” says Greenberg.
“Get a sense of how the summer months may impact work based on past experience and feedback from employees,” he continues. “Begin an open line of communication with employees to discuss topics such as vacation time, early departure days and working from home or remotely.”
3. Plan a company outing.
“Almost as popular as a holiday party, a company summer outing is still a staple in many workplaces,” says Starkman. “Think about organizing volunteer projects with a nonprofit this summer, or plan a more traditional company picnic to get your employees engaged and reconnected with their fellow colleagues and extended families.
“Be creative and let your employees be involved in the planning,” he continues. “Hold a fun event that people actually want to attend.”
4. Stagger vacation times.
Plan ahead so that vacation times don’t coincide—especially for key personnel. If your business is busy in summer, you can help boost employee productivity by having employees take trips at another time of year. That’s what they do at Express Glass & Board Up Service, a Miami, Florida hurricane preparedness company.
“Last year when Hurricane Irma hit, two of my employees were out, and we struggled to complete our jobs,” says Yaniet Santos, the company’s owner. “We can’t afford to lose employees to summer vacations, so before our busy season hits in June, I let my employees take all of the down-time they need. Then we’re ready when/if hurricanes hit.”
5. Take advantage of the slowdown.
“The temptation during the summer doldrums is to let the time slip away,”says Mike Schultz, president at RAIN Group, a global sales training company, and author of Insight Selling.
“Don’t let busy work or no work seize the day,” he says. “The summer is a great time to brainstorm, innovate and drive new initiatives. Inspire your employees to complete the proactive tasks they don’t have time for during busier times of the year.”
6. Accept some decreased employee productivity.
“Even when an organization is ideally optimized for the summer slowdown, there’s no control over customer or supplier schedules,” says Murphy. “A customer’s vacation plans may slow or even kill a deal here and there. This isn’t unlike what happens between Thanksgiving and New Year’s when it’s very difficult to move new deals through the process and close them as we’d expect to during other times of the year.”
Vacations Vital to Employee Productivity
Though vacations may cause a dip in employee productivity, it’s important that employees and owners take them.
“Everyone needs a vacation, and business owners who support and encourage employees to unplug and recharge are likely to see those employees make up lost ground once they’re back in the office,” says Murphy.
“To the extent that your business allows it, encourage employees to take a summer break,” agrees Milam. “Make it a real summer break that doesn’t include checking work email three times a day.”
Taking a vacation that allows employees to completely unplug is a boon for your company, adds Camuto.
“Breaks often lead to refreshed motivation, creativity, productivity and engagement,” she says.
In order to make taking a vacation easier for everyone involved and preserve employee productivity, Crenshaw suggests focusing on cross-training.
“Redundancy allows employees to take time off with an assurance that things will get done in their absence,” she says. “Also make vacation coverage assignments clear to employees standing in for team members, including priorities and deadlines.”
At Keystone Insurance Services, if a staff member leaves for more than two or three days, the employee’s out of office voicemail doesn’t allow a caller to leave a message.
“This tactic nudges customers into getting assistance from other team members, rather than waiting,” says owner Brent Thurman. “That way the employee doesn’t return to work with a mountain of voicemails or items to catch up on.”
And if you’re going out of town, you can help things run as smoothly as possible in your absence by designating one key employee to run things, suggests Murphy. That way you can return refreshed and ready to be productive.
Read more articles on productivity.
When I started gardening in containers a couple of decades ago, I remember thinking that I must be cheating in some way. The process was so much easier than in-ground planting, and often so much more rewarding.
I started gardening in containers out of necessity. I’d used up a lot of ground space in my Southern California garden. And then I had a lot of bare concrete that I felt needed plants. (Gardeners generally feel that any blank space—indoors or out—just cries out for a plant.)
So when I read Jessica Walliser’s Container Gardening Complete: Creative Projects for Growing Vegetables and Flowers in Small Spaces, I was happy to see that the author had summed up the beauty and magic of container gardening.
As a matter of fact, ease is one of the top things that Walliser likes about container gardening. “It’s a lot less work,” says the horticulturist and co-host of The Organic Gardeners, an award-winning program on KDKA Radio in Pittsburgh, Penn. “Growing in pots means there’s no weeding and no mulching, two of my least favorite jobs in the garden. Yes, you have to water a lot more often when growing in containers, but that’s certainly not a difficult job… as long as you remember to do it!”
Walliser became inspired to write the book to dig in deeper to the many possibilities of container gardening. “I’ve found that most books about container gardening come at the process primarily from a design standpoint, offering gorgeous photos and plant lists but little info about the nitty-gritty of how to garden in containers and be successful,” says Walliser.
“The approach I took with Container Gardening Complete was a bit different in that I wanted to create one universal place where gardeners could go for absolutely everything they want to know about growing in pots,” continues Walliser. “Yes, there are plenty of gorgeous photos and design ‘recipes,’ but there’s also a ton of practical information on how to grow everything from blueberries and peaches to dwarf herbs and tropical flowers in containers.”
Within the pages of the 272-page book, readers also learn how to overwinter containerized trees and shrubs, how to make their own potting soil, how to pick the right-sized container for each different crop and the specific names of compact fruit, veggie and flower cultivars bred just for pots.
Container gardening also allows you to grow a lot of yummy produce in limited space. Walliser illustrates this on many pages filled with unique ways to grow edibles and ornamentals in a wide variety of containers.
“Gardening in containers is super creative,” says Walliser. “I love to use a diversity of creative containers and plant combos in my garden to add interest and creativity without a lot of fuss. In the book, I feature 20 different projects that will really get the creative juices flowing. We make a concrete alternative called hypertufa, grow beets in a stand made from old CD boxes, raise berries in a galvanized tub, and there’s even a project showing you how to cultivate carnivorous plants in an old casserole dish.”
Experimentation is the name of the game when it comes to gardening in containers. “When you’re gardening in containers, if you mess something up and a plant suffers, it doesn’t negatively impact the overall aesthetics of your garden like it would if the plant was growing in the ground,” notes Walliser.
She also covers the fact that you can really push your climate’s boundaries and grow plants you might not be able to grow in the ground, such as non-hardy tropical plants. Overwintering instructions are included. You’ll also learn how to easily swap out plants, such as annuals, in containers a few times throughout the growing season, so you can experiment with different combinations and plants.
In order to help you experience success when you do experiment with container gardening, Walliser’s book contains handy charts, including ones that list the best ornamentals, herbs, vegetables, fruits and annuals for growing in containers. This is one gardening book that definitely lives up to its name.
Julie Bawden-Davis is a garden writer and master gardener, who since 1985 has written for publications such as Organic Gardening, The American Gardener, Wildflower, Better Homes and Gardens and The Los Angeles Times. She is the author of 10 books, including Reader’s Digest Flower Gardening, Fairy Gardening, The Strawberry Story Series, and Indoor Gardening the Organic Way, and is the founder of HealthyHouseplants.com. Her backyard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
On a visit to England a few years ago, I had the pleasure of spending a day at the Chelsea Physic Garden. “Ancient” by American standards, the garden is the oldest botanic garden in London, dating back to 1673.
Located next to the Thames, the four-acre parcel features about 5,000 different medicinal and edible plants, including many herbs. The garden was established way-back-when by the Apothecaries, so that they could grow and harvest medicinal plants.
Today, of course, you probably go to a pharmacy for your medicines. It’s still possible to grow your own medicinal herbs for minor ailments. Mint, for instance, makes a great tea that calms the stomach. If nothing else, you can impress visitors with a tour of your medicinal herb garden!
“With a trend towards a return to a more natural way of living, medicinal herbs are growing in popularity as gardeners come to recognize the breadth of benefits herbs provide,” says Stan Cope, president of the plant wholesaler Bonnie Plants, which supplies about 40 different herbs to nurseries and garden centers nationwide.
A medicinal herb garden is a perfect choice for containers or raised beds. Herbs also make tasty additions to your favorite recipes, attract beneficial insects and are beautiful in their own right.
Put herb transplants in your garden now and they’ll be ready to harvest immediately. Herbs actually require regular pruning to grow well. Whenever you harvest herbs, try to take off no more than one-half of the growth each time. This will allow the plant to grow back quickly.
Here Cope shares a few herbs that are considered medicinal. (You should always check with your physician regarding the use of any herbs for medical purposes.)
Catnip
Of course, many cats love catnip. You may be unaware that humans can consume it, too. Catnip tea has been known to relieve headaches, including migraines, balance the digestive system and relieve inflammation. No worries about getting excited after drinking a cup of catnip tea. While the herb gets cats excited, it tends to relax humans.
Dill
This ancient medicinal herb has been used throughout the centuries for a variety of ailments, including soothing upset stomachs, calming the nerves and promoting sleep. It’s also high in vitamins, including A and C.
Lavender
One of the reasons that you’ll often find lavender in sachets is its known soothing effects. Lavender tea calms and relaxes. A poultice made out of the herb has been shown to reduce minor pain and work as an antiseptic.
Lemon balm
A member of the mint family, this herb has a lemony scent and taste that makes for a great tea. Drinking lemon balm tea can calm the nerves and promote peaceful sleep.
Mint
Peppermint, spearmint and any of the many flavored mints make a delicious tea in their own right. Mint has also been used for centuries to calm upset stomachs and promote digestion, as well as for tension headaches.
(Bonnie Plants)
Rosemary
Known to help boost memory, concentration and even your mood, researchers have studied this herb as a therapy for Alzheimer’s. Rosemary contains two key ingredients that are also considered anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents—rosemarinic acid and caffeic acid.
Sage
Sage has been used over the centuries to help sooth sore throats and coughs, as well as help clear congestion. Some believe that tea made from sage helps reduce the length and severity of the common cold.
Thyme
This powerhouse herb has been found to contain antibacterial propertieseffective in treating acne.
Julie Bawden-Davis is a garden writer and master gardener, who since 1985 has written for publications such as Organic Gardening, The American Gardener, Wildflower, Better Homes and Gardens and The Los Angeles Times. She is the author of 10 books, including Reader’s Digest Flower Gardening, Fairy Gardening, The Strawberry Story Series, and Indoor Gardening the Organic Way, and is the founder of HealthyHouseplants.com. Her backyard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
With students graduating from college across the nation, many employers are looking to hire fresh talent. Discover the pros and cons of hiring college graduates for your company.
MAY 14, 2018
Are you planning on hiring college graduates this summer? You wouldn’t be the only one.
According to the recently released Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) by the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of job openings in the U.S. increased to a new high of 6.6 million (645,000 more jobs than last year.)
That statistic might explain why, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, U.S. businesses plan on hiring four percent more college graduates this year.
I talked to 12 business owners who explain why they believe in hiring college graduates and their advice for taking advantage of America’s young, emerging talent.
Why Hire College Graduates
“Hiring college graduates isn’t an obligation or last resort for our company—it’s a necessity,” says Adriaan Zimmerman, co-founder and president of Colorado-based Ned, which creates natural remedies.
“The older senior leadership gets, the more apt we are to lose that intimate connection with what’s relevant in pop culture, music, art and technology,” says Zimmerman. “That’s why it’s important to tap into the abundant resources coming straight out of colleges.
“What these candidates might lack in experience,” he continues, “they make up for in direct exposure to what really matters to their generation.”
Bill Cahill, president of Beacon Plumbing, agrees.
“The world is constantly changing. One thing we don’t want is to become stagnant in the way we run our business and manage our employees and customers,” Cahill says. “Hiring college graduates who suggest changes that better the way our business runs saves us time and money and helps ensure future success.”
“My co-founder Eran Leshem and I have found that many graduates are in-tune with their instincts and intuition,” Shacked says. “That’s why we gladly give young architects the opportunity to suggest design concepts.”
College graduates’ familiarity with new technology and the constantly evolving digital landscape is invaluable.—Bo Lais, CEO, Lula
If you’re concerned about the possibility of hiring college graduates who are hoping to skip the necessary hard knocks and learning curves of the work world, don’t be.
“College graduates today are different than a decade ago,” says Matt Stewart, co-founder of College Works Painting, which provides house-painting services and hires college students. “Today’s college grads are Generation Z. Much of the entitlement has been lost. They come hungry to learn and perform and ready to assimilate. They also understand technology and the globalization of markets and bring a new view of how business should work.”
Benefits of Hiring College Graduates
Hiring college graduates can be a plus for your company in many ways. One of the most significant pros is their intimate knowledge of technology.
“The fact that college grads tend to be tech-savvy often results in innovation,” says Liz Wessel, CEO & co-founder of WayUp, a platform for early-career professionals to explore job and internship opportunities and receive advice. “We often ask our new grads for product feedback, because they’re so in tune with mobile apps. They provide excellent insights and ideas.”
Fresh perspectives are definitely welcome, agrees Bo Lais, CEO and founder of Lula, an app that connects homeowners to home service providers.
“College graduates’ familiarity with new technology and the constantly evolving digital landscape is invaluable,” Lais says. “It’s great to have innovative ideas and fresh perspectives brought to team meetings.”
Hiring college graduates can also be great for company culture, believes Aviva Legatt, a college admissions expert who founded VivED Consulting to assist students with the college admissions process.
“Colleges instill a sense of responsibility to a larger community and a willingness to collaborate and work hard to make a strong impact and positive impression,” she says. “Fresh grads are likely to be enthused about contributing to the larger organizational goals.”
If that isn’t enough, college grads may also energize your organization, adds Wessel.
“New to the working world, college grads come armed with positivity, gratitude and enthusiasm. The best employees are adaptable and think on their feet, and new college grads embody this more often than not,” Wessel says. “They bring fresh ideas to the table and ask questions that keep existing employees on their toes in the best possible ways.”
Tips for Hiring College Graduates
Since this is often a college grad’s first foray into the “real” work world, it’s a good idea to take a few special considerations in mind when hiring college graduates.
Hire to their nature. “Every position requires a certain type of personality,” says Brandon Wheeler, co-founder of Gulf Beach Weddings, which does wedding planning. “If [the position is] not in their nature, then it will never be a good fit.”
Consider culture fit. “To retain young people, it’s important to create an environment where people feel safe sharing ideas,” says Legatt. “Research shows that autonomy, mastery and purpose make for a meaningful job.
“In essence,” she continues, “you want to give people a sense of the larger goals of the company; give them the space to create in their own way and give them the tools they need to do the job well.”
Watch leadership style. “Leaders at all levels will need to ramp-up quickly with new leadership skills for this new employee cohort,” says Don Rheem, author of Thrive By Design: The Neuroscience that Drives High-Performance Cultures, and CEO of E3 Solutions, a provider of employee workplace metrics and manager training.
“Old style, top-down, punitive and transactional management styles are an anathema to recent grads,” he adds. “Most will recoil at toxic managers and workplace dysfunction.”
Check work ethic. “When hiring college graduates, I don’t look for ‘bright and precocious,’ ” says Joe Palumbo, president of Ice Dam Guys, a rooftop ice and snow removal service. “I look for grinders: people who’ve had every opportunity to give up on difficult things—and maybe took a wrong turn or two—but who have stuck it out.”
Be flexible. “Be open to applicants from slightly different college majors than you might typically hire,” suggests Dominic DeStefano, co-founder of City Strings & Piano, which offers in-home music instruction in various cities. “We’ve had tremendous success with hiring college graduates who had experience in the field, but didn’t have a degree from one of the programs we typically hire from. Their unique perspectives allowed them to be more open than other employees and connect with a wide range of clients.”
Foster learning and professional growth. “Whether it’s exposure to senior-level management, career-path programming, educational stipends or other perks, in order to attract and retain college graduates, make sure your company fosters a culture that supports professional development,” says Wessel.
Ask nonstandard questions. Considering that recent grads haven’t had career experience, it’s advisable to change your tactics when interviewing.
“I ask about past projects they’ve enjoyed and are proud of,” says Shannon O’Brien, founder of Whole U., a career development program. “Dig a little deeper about their true motivations, including what will keep them engaged and how to set them up for success within the company.”
Pay attention to writing skills. “Consistent grammatical errors, typos or generally incoherent sentences are not worthy of giving the benefit of the doubt,” says Zimmerman. “Written communication is too important in our digital age to hire a candidate who is poorly equipped in this skillset.”
Read more articles on hiring & HR.
Boosting Employee Productivity When the Summer Slump Hits Summer days can lead to a distracted workforce. But these business leaders share how they encourage …
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming a vital tool for many of today’s businesses. Business leaders weigh in on how company owners may leverage AI in business.
MAY 11, 2018
From answering consumer questions to propelling self-driving cars, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fast becoming an integral part of everyday life. And AI in business is no exception.
Many AI capabilities are being used to improve how businesses run. Private industry has invested in AI for some time, and now the government has joined the conversation. The White House recently held an Artificial Intelligence Summit to look at how AI will change the future of employment and, ultimately, the economy.
‘Living in an AI World’
“From Siri to Alexa to Watson, we’re living in an AI world, and the technology also affects business,” says Peter George, CEO of empow, a global cybersecurity firm.
“AI understands concepts and context,” George continues. “From the weather to the shop floor to robotic surgery, AI’s massive processing power is far faster than the human brain in computational ability and is progressing in conventionally ‘human’ areas like strategic thinking and inference.”
AI offers the opportunity for businesses to automate routine tasks so that humans can better use their time, providing higher value contributions.—Ellie Mirman, CMO, Crayon
AI is no longer the future—it’s here now, according to Mike Walsh, director of product marketing for Lever, which creates recruiting software.
“AI in business has become an integral, results-driven technology used in every industry and function, from manufacturing to marketing,” he says. “With HR and talent acquisition, for example, AI is becoming entrenched in how companies find, manage and evaluate candidates.”
Where You’ll Find AI in Business
AI fulfills a wide range of functions in the business world, notes Andrea Simon, a corporate anthropologist, who is CEO of Simon Associates Management Consultants and author of On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights.
“AI is proving to be as transformative of our society as the invention of the printing press, the development of the steam engine, the introduction of machines to make clothing, the discovery of jet propulsion and the internet,” says Simon.
“AI is making headway in a wide variety of areas, including energy and the financial services sectors,” she adds.
At the moment, AI in business is having its biggest impact on data-intensive industries, because the technology allows people to make more informed decisions, believes Joshua Gans, a professor at the University of Toronto and author of Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence.
“Informed decision making is why companies like Google, Facebook and Microsoft are AI powered,” continues Gans. “Other data-driven businesses like credit card companies and banks are in a similar position. AI is performing tasks such as enabling credit card companies to detect fraudulent transactions and block them without experiencing false positives that result in legitimate customers trying to use cards that don’t work.”
Benefits of AI in Business
David Thomas, CEO of Evident, an identity assurance platform for businesses, believes that AI in business will continue to offer many benefits.
“AI can help with everything from improving behavioral targeting to inventory management,” he says. “We’re starting to see features based on AI that eliminate repetitive or mindless tasks. This means we can expect productivity gains and much more effective competition at companies that embrace AI.”
AI in business is also important in the fight against cybersecurity threats, notes George.
“Those who work in security operation centers have a host of functions to perform when there’s a security breach. They must determine intent, identify the intruder, gauge the impact and neutralize the attack before real impact occurs,” he says.
“Considering there are millions of such events a day,” George continues, “it’s an impossible mission without the help of AI, no matter how many experts you throw at the problem.”
“Credit card fraud is a huge problem for us,” says Nate Lehoux, co-founder of PROVEIT, a trivia app where players compete in contests.
“We use AI to monitor and flag behaviors associated with fraud, and the platform continually self-adjusts as it assimilates and learns from the data our system feeds it,” he says. “It’s tremendously helpful as an early-warning system.”
Using AI for Marketing
There’s also great potential for marketing with AI.
“As a web marketer for 21 years, I’ve been blown away by the explosive application of AI online,” says Ross Dunn, CEO of StepForth Web Marketing Inc. “AI can easily be seen when shopping on Amazon, which creates a profile of what you like and shows new or related items you may desire. Chatbots are also already showing up on sites, and they’ll inevitably become nearly indistinguishable from humans in the future.”
Andy Bernhart’s company FirstDentist provides web design and marketing for dentists. He notes that chatbots are making a significant, immediate impact on sales and customer service.
“Chatbots can answer questions, provide sales suggestions and offer customer support,” Bernhart says. “I expect to see a lot more websites and social properties with AI-powered chatbots in 2018.
“We’re also seeing AI-powered content creation tools that can perform tasks like turning blog posts into short videos and social media posts,” he continues. “The products aren’t advanced AI, but it’s exciting to see where these technologies can go to make marketing and business tasks easier.”
AI Won’t Replace Humans
Despite the concerns about this occurring, machines can’t completely replace humans.
“AI doesn’t possess human judgment,” says Gans. “Even in applications like self-driving cars, humans need to program how cars will respond if, for instance, a pedestrian is crossing the street nearby.”
Dunn notes that the jobs lost by AI will be replaced.
“AI will supplant some positions, but new jobs will be created using the data AI provides,” he says. “In a future where AI is ubiquitous, the unparalleled ‘human touch’ will also come full circle and end up being sought after. This will result in new positions and business opportunities for less computationally capable humans.”
“There’s a lot of fear of AI in business taking jobs, but let’s look at Facebook as an example,” adds Ben Plomion, CMO of GumGum, an artificial intelligence company. “Brand safety is a big concern for many companies like Facebook. Monitoring social media sites for altered photos or incorrect news takes a powerful combination of people and machine, which is a common recipe of AI.”
AI is to meant to complement and enhance humans, adds Ellie Mirman, CMO of Crayon, a competitive intelligence company that provides marketers with insight.
“AI offers the opportunity for businesses to automate routine tasks so that humans can better use their time, providing higher value contributions.”
At the end of the day, robots and computers aren’t humans, notes Clare Cooper, executive director and head of Glocomms, a recruitment firm specializing in connective technology.
“Robots can’t shake your hand or look you in the eye or feel emotions such as empathy and sympathy,” she says. “That’s always going to be something you can only get from a real person.”
Read more articles on industry trends.
“Heirloom flowers provide a nostalgic connection for every one of us to the gardens of our childhoods,” says McLaughlin. “Mothers are hardwired for nostalgia.” Heirloom flowers provide a gateway of sorts to cherished memories handed down through the generations.
Enjoyed and cultivated for hundreds and even thousands of years, heirloom flowers are “strictly defined as open-pollinated plants,” according to McLaughlin, who is also a master gardener and lives on a flower and fiber farm in Northern California.
(Candy Scharf)
Open-pollinated means such flowers are naturally pollinated by birds, insects, mammals and even the wind. The seeds of open-pollinated plants produce exactly the same plant again and again. Open-pollinated plants earn the heirloom title if they’ve been grown and handed down for at least 50 to 100 years.
Heirloom flowers have also earned the title of passalong plants. That means they’ve been cultivated throughout the generations. Our great-grandmothers, grandmothers and mothers (as well as great-grandfathers, grandfathers and fathers) grew these flowers and passed them along to the next generations.
If someone gives you the seeds for an heirloom flower, it’s possible to harvest and grow those seeds and start the passalong cycle with your family and friends. That means one day your great-granddaughter could be growing the same vintage dahlia, hollyhock, cosmos or statice that you’re growing in your garden today.
Full of captivating pictures, the 160-page book covers everything you need to know to plant, grow and enjoy heirloom flowers in your own garden. Forty heirloom flowers are highlighted in the book. You’ll learn all about each particular blooming beauty, including its history, how the flower became beloved and little known facts. For instance, marigolds are edible, and they make a fabulous botanical dye.
There are also plenty of fun, creative projects outlined on the book’s pages, such as how to make frozen flower ice cubes, recipes for using edible flowers and how to press and frame heirloom flowers.
Other tempting projects include how to make a summer flower crown and put together a tussie mussie bouquet. There are also tips for drying, storing and using heirloom herb favorites, like lavender.
All in all, Growing Heirloom Flowers is a treat for heirloom plant and flower lovers, and of course, mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers and daughters.
Julie Bawden-Davis is a garden writer and master gardener, who since 1985 has written for publications such as Organic Gardening, The American Gardener, Wildflower, Better Homes and Gardens and The Los Angeles Times. She is the author of 10 books, including Reader’s Digest Flower Gardening, Fairy Gardening, The Strawberry Story Series, and Indoor Gardening the Organic Way, and is the founder of HealthyHouseplants.com. Her backyard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
Providing employee retirement benefits can help build loyalty among your staff and increased job satisfaction. But where can you start?
MAY 08, 2018
May is Older Americans Month. The 2018 theme is “Engage at Every Age.” While that can certainly mean remaining employed past retirement age, chances are your workers would prefer employee retirement funding that gives them the choice to stop working when the time comes.
According to the 2017 Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS), which polled 1,671 U.S. individuals 25 and older, three in 10 people stated they feel mentally or emotionally stressed about preparing for retirement. Another three in 10 reported worrying about finances at work, and more than half (52 percent) said that retirement planning programs would be helpful in increasing their work productivity.
“One of the main reasons people work is to provide for stable financial lives for themselves and their families,” says Marianela Collado, CEO and senior financial advisor for Tobias Financial Advisors. “Financially secure employees make for happy employees, which yields better results for the company.”
Encouraging Employee Retirement
Collado’s company works with clients on two ends of the spectrum—those nearing retirement and realizing they haven’t saved enough and those just entering the workforce and stressing about making ends meet.
“We tell clients and our employees that doing something in terms of planning for employee retirement is better than doing nothing,” she says.
With the decrease in pension plans and the increase in longevity, employee retirement is more challenging than it has ever been, but there are options for you and your employees.—Beau Henderson, retirement consultant
Being proactive about retirement planning is preferred over inaction, agrees Larry Ynman, owner of SOGO Wealth & Risk Management and past president of the National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors (NAIFA).
“Educating employees to start a retirement account with any amount is something we work to achieve,” says Ynman. “At our firm, we have monthly updates for employees about the status of their retirement programs.”
Collado and Ynman are definitely on to something. The RCS
found that retirement confidence was tied into retirement plan participation. Those participating in a retirement plan were markedly more confident that retirement would be comfortable.
Employee Retirement Options
It used to be that many companies—especially larger ones—offered employee Defined Benefit Pension Plans. But such plans have steadily declined within the private sector in recent years.
“With the decrease in pension plans and the increase in longevity, employee retirement is more challenging than it has ever been, but there are options for you and your employees,” says retirement consultant, Beau Henderson, author of The 12 Steps to a Successful Retirement.
Simplified Employee Pension Plan (SEP IRA)
A Simplified Employee Pension (SEP)
plan gives a business owner the opportunity to contribute to his or her own retirement and that of employees’. The business owner contributes each year to traditional SEP IRAs that have been set up for each employee. Contributions can be for up to 25 percent of each participant’s pay.
A SEP has no setup fees or operating costs like conventional retirement plans. This option is available to businesses of any size. Employees are 100 percent vested and have ownership of all the money in their SEPs.
SIMPLE IRA Plan
Dean Catino, president and co-founder of Monument Wealth Management, has found that a SIMPLE IRA Plan, which encourages employees to participate and contribute, is the best option for his company.
“We offer a SIMPLE Plan to all employees with a three percent company match,” he says.
A SIMPLE IRA Plan(Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) allows employees and employers to contribute to traditional IRAs set up for employees. This plan is ideal for companies with 100 or fewer employees. It’s inexpensive and easy to set up and operate.
The employer must contribute each year to the SIMPLE IRA plan, either by matching contributions up to three percent of compensation, or through a two percent non-elective contribution for each eligible employee. With the latter contribution type, employees receive an employer contribution, even if they don’t contribute. Workers are always 100 percent vested.
Designated ROTH 401(k)
A designated Roth 401(k) is an account set up by the employer that holds after tax contributions. The employer must keep separate accounting records for all activity in the account.
This employee retirement option allows employees to save up to $18,500 in 2018, with an additional $6,000 for those 50 and older. Contribution withdrawals aren’t taxed as long as the withdrawal is a qualified distribution. Henderson recommends this option.
“By building a substantial nest egg in a Roth 401(k), employees are also able to protect themselves from one of the biggest potential retirement risks—future tax increases,” he says.
Defined Benefit Pension Plan
Yungi Chu, owner of HeadsetPlus.com, has had success with a Defined Benefit Plan for the last 13 years.
“My employees don’t have to contribute even a penny to the plan,” says Chu. “I make 100 percent of the contributions toward their employee retirement while contributing to mine.”
The catch, according to Chu, is that employees must stay employed for at least 24 months.
“The plan is tied to company profits and essentially works like a ‘stock option,'” says Chu. “The more the company makes, the more the employees are eligible to receive. It’s expensive to manage for the business owner, but I’ve found employees appreciate the plan—especially during a good year when they’re pleasantly shocked by how much money they get.”
A Defined Benefit Pension Plan can be a good employee retirement option for some companies, believes Steven Trytten, a trusts and estates lawyer who is also a CPA.
“A Defined Benefit Pension Plan allows much larger contributions for older participants,” he says. “Before deciding on such a plan, the business owner will want to evaluate how much he or she can contribute personally and compare that to how much he or she must contribute for employees.”
When Employees Fail to Contribute
Whether they’re living paycheck to paycheck or simply not thinking of retirement, it often happens that employees simply don’t contribute to their employee retirement accounts when it’s possible to do so.
“We’ve found that many employees, regardless of what you do or say, don’t invest,” says Scott Eichler, vice president of institutional wealth management at Newport Wealth Advisors and author of Don’t Play Chicken with Your Nest Egg. His primary job is crafting retirement plans for small businesses and their owners.
“If employees don’t invest, the employee retirement plan is simply an additional cost for the employer,” continues Eichler. “I suggest creating an auto contribution with step-ups over a three- to five-year period. The default setting is that the employee contributes and has to be proactive to stop contributing. We typically start at one percent and add another one percent every year until the employee is receiving a full employer match.”
Read more articles on hiring & HR.
Photo: Getty Images
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One day a couple of decades ago, my six-year daughter, Sabrina, stood in the middle of the garden with her hands on her hips and proclaimed: “This garden is great, but it’s missing something really important.”
I stopped harvesting tomatoes (one of Sabrina’s favorites), and asked, “What’s missing?”
“Flowers!”
“Are you going to help me plant some?”
“Yes!” (And she did—including seeding many flowers you can’t find in the nursery.)
Maybe if I’d had Lisa Mason Ziegler’s book, Vegetables Love Flowers: Companion Planting for Beauty and Bounty, I wouldn’t have experienced a “lecture” from my 4-foot-tall daughter. Either way, Sabrina and I began planting flowers amongst the veggies, and what do you know. The garden came alive with brilliant blooms and an even more prolific vegetable bounty.
If you want to enjoy an abundance of flowers and vegetables side-by-side in your garden and watch them boost each other’s growth and elevate the beauty of your landscape, this is a great book to get you started.
Vegetables Love Flowers does a marvelous job of taking you down the garden path of the ins and outs of companion planting. You’ll learn the many benefits of planting flowers and veggies together. Ziegler’s introduction shares her journey to becoming a cut-flower farmer after marrying into a vegetable-gardening family. She owns the Gardener’s Workshop, a small market farm in Newport News, Virginia that offers workshops on flower topics.
Says Ziegler, “…flowers are often a casualty of downsizing and practicality, but in fact, flowers more than pull their weight in the garden!” She explains that flowers are ornamental and functional at the same time. For instance, blooms lure pollinators and beneficial insects. This allows Mother Nature to provide pollination, pest control and nutritional systems. The result is a beautiful garden filled with yummy vegetables and fruits and colorful blooms.
Chapters full of tip after tip include information on keeping beneficial pollinators like bees and butterflies happy. She also discusses putting out the welcome mat for birds, which she refers to as beneficial predators.
(Candy Scharf)
You’ll discover methods for interplanting your vegetable patch with flowers and tips for how to succession plant and extend your parade of blooms season after season. Her cutting garden section offers planting, growing and harvesting advice, as well as instructions on how to preserve cut flowers and make a beautiful bouquet.
So that you can have the best luck possible when planting various flower favorites, Ziegler includes many pages featuring various flowers. These offer seed starting, growing and harvesting tips.
Vegetables Love Flowers also discusses the basics, including seeding, preparing the soil, mulching and natural pest control. All in all, a complete guide to facilitating the marriage of flowers and vegetables in your garden, so that you can sit back to eat healthy homegrown produce and watch the floral show!
Julie Bawden-Davis is a garden writer and master gardener, who since 1985 has written for publications such as Organic Gardening, The American Gardener, Wildflower, Better Homes and Gardens and The Los Angeles Times. She is the author of 10 books, including Reader’s Digest Flower Gardening, Fairy Gardening, The Strawberry Story Series, and Indoor Gardening the Organic Way, and is the founder of HealthyHouseplants.com. Her backyard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
With more companies providing over-the-top customer service experiences, learn what you can do to keep pace and even compete.
APRIL 27, 2018
When it comes to customer service today, the bar is constantly being raised. Just recently, Amazon began delivering packages to locked cars. The service is designed for people who are concerned about their orders disappearing from their front porches or getting swallowed up in their company’s mailroom.
Amazon is not the only retailer aimed at upping the customer service ante. Walmart Grocery
allows shoppers to order online or via mobile app and have their groceries delivered curbside to their cars, or in some locations, doorsteps. Costco also introduced a home delivery service recently.
Unprecedented Competition
The move toward constantly elevating the customer service experience has created a very competitive atmosphere that hasn’t been seen before, believes Beth Davidson. She’s the owner of Dragonfly Shops & Gardens, a boutique featuring a mix of home and garden merchandise, personal items like clothing and jewelry and classes and workshops on a variety of topics.
“It doesn’t seem to be enough to have great customer service nowadays. Instead, you almost have to win at customer service,” says Davidson. “As a consumer, I understand the desire to have exactly what you want quickly and to be treated with respect in the process. But as a business owner, it sometimes seems like warfare for brick-and-mortar retail.”
Superior Customer Service a Necessity
The digital age is contributing to the fierce competition, according to Alex Ozols, owner of Personal Injury Lawyers San Diego.
“It’s more important than ever for companies to focus on customer service tactics, because we live in a digital age where every single transaction can be recorded,” says Ozols. “Whether it’s recorded by video, audio or just someone going into a review app and dropping a review right after the service—things trend quickly and can go viral.”
Companies that provide easy and efficient methods to transact and receive purchases are positioned to win in the future.—Erik Rosenstrauch, president and CEO, FUEL Partnerships
The fact that today’s retail landscape is tapped in and connected does make it necessary to focus on customer service, agrees Davidson.
“All of the retail world truly is a stage nowadays,” she says. “Business owners are wise to keep that in mind when they interact with customers. When you’re talking to one client, you’re potentially talking to hundreds or even thousands.”
Customer Service Tactics to Help Stay Competitive
You might not have the need or bandwidth to deliver your products to locked cars, but there are a few tactics you can use to rise to customers’ elevated expectations.
1. Offer an experience.
Since Davidson sells items that can often be found online for less money, she doesn’t bother trying to compete with the digital merchants. In fact, she offers just the opposite.
“I’ve found that because of the anonymity of the digital revolution, people actually crave real-life experiences and a sense of community,” says Davidson. “That’s why they love coming to the shop to participate in hands-on classes that allow them to make a craft or plant a succulent garden. They enjoy coming with friends and family and laughing and having a good time. Such experiential shopping trips keep them coming back.”
2. Save customers time.
“Today’s millennial consumer, for the first time in consumer behavior history, values time more than price,” says Erik Rosenstrauch, president and CEO of FUEL Partnerships, a retail marketing agency.
“Shoppers today still demand low prices, but this decision driver is now number two,” says Rosenstrauch. “Time is the commodity that determines purchase habits and how customer service is evaluated.
“Those companies that provide easy and efficient methods to transact and receive purchases,” he continues, “are positioned to win in the future.”
To save consumers time, Rosenstrauch suggests using a variety of tactics.
“Leverage technology that consumers already use and understand. Extend services and tracking communication to mobile solutions,” he says. “Access payment methods that already exist and are hard coded into online or mobile wallets. Reduce friction along the purchase journey; from shopping, to ordering and finally to payment. Also provide a communication loop that provides information for tracking and delivery/pickup.”
3. Stay current.
“Consumer expectations and needs are constantly changing,” says Rosenstrauch. “The methods of the past will not deliver the experience and needs for the future. Every company must spend time evaluating the entire purchase experience and include searching/shopping on the front end, along with tracking, delivery and follow up on the back end.
“Technology must be grounded and merged with current tools that shoppers already use, as more does not always equal better,” he says.
4. Share true stories.
Because she can’t compete with the prices of online merchants, Davidson instead shares with her customers how unique the products she carries are.
“We tell the stories of our products and vendors,” she says. “For instance, we’re selling driftwood pieces that include sea glass. They’re from a store located in an area that experienced a devastating fire. We purchased the pieces from a shop owner in the area and are selling them. Many of our customers have bought the pieces because they’re beautiful, but also because doing so is helping the business owner.”
5. Know that it’s okay to say no.
American shoppers have become increasingly spoiled when it comes to customer service, believes Davidson.
“Being able to push a button online and return anything for any reason has caused a certain entitled mentality,” she says. “I’m often shocked what people want me to do, such as throw in free items just because.
“Customers aren’t always right,” she continues. “It’s okay to say no if a transaction is going to lose you money. You’re likely to find like I have that it might be black and white online, but in my store, it’s gray.”
Read more articles on customer relations,
Actor and environmentalist Ed Begley Jr. started gardening accidentally back in 1970. At the time, he lived in an apartment in Los Angeles and kept his vegetable scraps in a diaper pail.
“I’d put a lid on the pail so it wouldn’t smell up the apartment. Every few days, I’d get in my little electric car and drive down to the patch of land next to the nearby railroad tracks. There I’d dig a hole and bury the scraps so they could return to the earth. The organic matter would break down into compost and even started growing vegetables like tomatoes.”
In 1979, Begley moved into his first house and started gardening intentionally. “I had a piece of dirt I could call my own, and I’ve had a good garden ever since,” he says.
(Laura Hull)
Begley grows a wide assortment of organic produce in his garden in raised beds, which he amends with his own compost. “There’s nothing like the flavor of fresh vegetables and fruit from your garden, because they’re live,” says Begley. “I currently have broccoli, lettuce, arugula, spinach, onions, artichokes, carrots and asparagus growing. I’ll soon be putting in my summer crops, including tomatoes and corn.”
He also has an assortment of fruit trees, including orange, lemon, avocado, peach, tangerine and olive.
The rest of Begley’s landscape consists of California native drought-tolerant plantings, which are an integral part of his self-sustaining green home. Built by Building Construction Group, the house is LEED Platinum Certified, which means that it’s as sustainable and eco-friendly as you can get.
“In February 2011, Ed and his wife, Rachelle, came to me and my partner, William Hefner, to share their vision of creating a classic 1920s fully solar-powered Mediterranean-looking home with the goal of it also having an integrated garden fed by rainwater all year,” says Scott Harris, co-founder of Building Construction Group. “In April 2011, we started clearing, recycling and repurposing to create one of the most respected and well-known LEED Platinum homes, completed in 2015.”
In order to meet Begley’s wish to feed the garden with rainwater in California’s dry climate, Harris and his team devised a 10,000 gallon red tank for recycling rainwater.
“We have to give Ed full credit for this request,” says Harris. “The engineering feat to make this a reality turned out to be the biggest puzzle piece to solve. For a sense of scale, the tank is nearly 30-feet-long by eight-feet-tall and buried underground!”
Harris and his team learned a great deal while installing the tank. “We discovered that the tank had to be weighted down for the days that it isn’t completely full. Otherwise, if it fills with two much air, it can become like a balloon placed underwater wanting to resurface.”
(Scott Harris)
The tank is constructed in such a manner that it will fill with just two inches of rainfall, which is a boon in a climate prone to drought. Solar-powered pumps distribute water from the tank to the vegetable and fruit gardens.
“When you consider that the local water supply has high levels of chlorine and other toxins needed for processing, rainwater is like found gold for sustaining the Begley garden,” says Harris.
One of Harris’s favorite features of the Begley residence is how the home feels.
“We’ve found that when you respect the environment, the environment doubly respects you. The first thing you notice when you walk into the Begley home is how fresh the air is, because we filtered out standard building materials filled with VOCs (volatile organic compounds) that off-gas harmful toxins. The home is filled with light, but not heat, which is due to the hidden thermal massing and air gap surrounding the structure.”
The simple, sustainable design creates an unforgettable atmosphere, says Harris. “You experience a sense of calm as you walk through the home and into the blooming garden. Or, if you’re lucky, Ed may be there, smiling at you, sharing his favorite recipe and offering samples of his freshly brined olives he harvested just days ago from the rain-tank-fed olive tree.”
Julie Bawden-Davis is a garden writer and master gardener, who since 1985 has written for publications such as Organic Gardening, The American Gardener, Wildflower, Better Homes and Gardens and The Los Angeles Times. She is the author of 10 books, including Reader’s Digest Flower Gardening, Fairy Gardening, The Strawberry Story Series, and Indoor Gardening the Organic Way, and is the founder of HealthyHouseplants.com. Her backyard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
Employee stress is a common problem that harms morale and productivity. These steps can help you identify and manage stress in your company.
APRIL 20, 2018
April is Stress Awareness Month, and that’s probably a good thing for your business. According to the American Psychological Association’s 2017 Stress in America survey of 3,440 U.S. adults, employee stress is pervasive. Sixty-one percent of Americans are stressed about work.
“Stress is present in many areas of people’s lives, and the workplace is no exception,” says Daniel Clark, CEO of Brain.fm, which produces music to help people focus and sleep better. “Stress distracts employees from getting their jobs done. The distraction can be a few minutes an hour, but compounded over days, weeks and multiple employees, costs employers millions in lost time and productivity.”
Employee stress may very well be at an all-time high thanks to today’s advanced technology, believes James Cassel, chairman and founder of Cassel Salpeter & Co, a midmarket investment banking firm.
“The internet and the assumption it fosters that one should respond immediately is a great stress for many,” says Cassel. “Employees face constant deadlines and expectations to move quickly, many times without the opportunity to really think things through. This can cause substantial friction.”
There is perhaps no greater inhibitor to an employee’s performance than stress, notes Jason Hall, founder and CEO of FiveChannels Marketing. “If employees are stressed, they’re not thinking clearly, their creativity is reduced, and they’re more prone to mistakes, all of which can negatively impact your company.”
Causes of Employee Stress
A variety of factors in the workplace can lead to employee stress. “Unreasonable and unreachable deadlines, toxic coworkers with bad attitudes and poor job fit for a person’s skills are the three most common driving factors I see that cause unnecessary stress,” says Brian McHugh, owner of McHugh Construction.
Offer employees an area where they can socialize and decompress during breaks. Sitting at a desk all day alone is not conducive to a relaxing and enjoyable work atmosphere.—Bob Ellis, owner, Bavarian Clockworks
Tash Jefferies is co-founder of Hirekind.io, a company that helps women and people of color find their dream tech jobs. She believes that stress often leads to people leaving their positions. “Stress results when people work long days, experience high job demands (too many tasks and responsibilities) and a lack of a community of peers or executive level support.”
It was a survey of his employees two years ago that alerted Justin Goodman, president of Goodman Insurance Services, to the pervasiveness of stress at his company. “The survey was performed in person by an outside company, and the employees were guaranteed anonymity,” he says. “The results were pretty sobering. Most of our employees explained that their stress came from fear of not performing to company expectations. They also feared that I as the president didn’t understand some of the day-to-day challenges they faced.”
Identifying Employee Stress
Without performing an employee survey or looking at the statistics, how can you spot employee stress? Here are some signs that your workers are heading for anxiety and burnout.
Confusion. “If you know tasks have been explained thoroughly and clearly and employees show confusion, this is a sign of stress,” says Casey Thomas, co-founder of the Creative Soul Music School. “In my opinion, confusion is the precursor to frustration.”
Change in behavior or performance. “Any real sudden change of performance and/or behavior is a good indicator that the job is getting to the employee,” says Lior Rachmany, founder and CEO of Dumbo Moving + Storage. “Changes for employers to look out for that indicate stress include lack of focus and attention to detail, taking longer than usual to finish tasks and showing up late to work.”
Physical clues. “Changes in skin coloring, hair texture, redness of the eyes, consistent nodding off and lack of energy, failure to eat or overeating are common signs of stress,” says Hirekind.io’s Jefferies.
Mood swings. “Stress can cause people to experience emotional roller coasters more frequently, sometimes on a daily basis,” says Jefferies. “Be on the lookout for crying, anger, frustration, temper tantrums or any other disruptive emotional behavior.”
When an employee who is usually positive and outgoing suddenly seems overwhelmed and negative, suspect stress, according to Mike Grossman, CEO of GoodHire, an employment screening company. “If someone is more withdrawn than usual or displays unusually aggressive behavior, these can also be signs of stress.”
6 Tips to Help Ease Employee Stress
Once you’ve identified that employee stress may be at play and the potential causes, it’s ideal if you can ease the stress so that everyone can have a better work experience. Try the following ideas to help reduce stress.
1. Create an open door policy. “It’s important to foster an environment where employees feel comfortable speaking to their managers about stress-related issues,” says Kareem Bakr, director at Selby Jennings, a recruitment company. “There’s often a stigma to admitting feeling overworked or overwhelmed. The first step to successful stress mitigation is establishing an open and accepting platform for people to feel comfortable sharing their challenges without being judged.”
2. Openly discuss the issue. “The best thing leaders can do when they spot employee stress is to bring it to the surface,” says Heather Younger, founder and CEO of Customer Fanatix, LLC, which provides coaching in leadership development and employee engagement. “Let employees vent, if they’re open to it. If they’re not forthcoming, make it clear that you’ve noticed a change in them and that you’re there to help.”
When you discuss the source of stress, you may even find that the employee’s state of mind has nothing to do with the workplace. “Employees have lives outside of work where stressors could be impacting both their home and work life,” says Jonathan Marsh, owner of Home Helpers of Bradenton, which provides in-home care.
3. Make expectations clear. “Prevent unnecessary stress by setting clear expectations about timelines and deadlines and follow up to ensure that the expectations are reasonable and that employees are able to meet those goals with a positive attitude,” says McHugh of McHugh Construction.
4. Provide opportunities to unwind during the workday. “Offer employees an area where they can socialize and decompress during breaks. Sitting at a desk all day alone is not conducive to a relaxing and enjoyable work atmosphere,” suggests Bob Ellis, owner of Bavarian Clockworks, an online shop that sells German cuckoo clocks.
“Find ways to create relaxed environments with an open communication policy and culture,” adds Nick Murphy, host of The Job Lab Podcast. “Whether it’s an employee lounge with beanbags and a Ping-Pong table or frequent team building events that get people away from their screens and out together in a relaxed environment—it’s important to encourage and support time to decompress.”
5. Ensure job fit. “Often, employee stress comes from someone being in the wrong role for the person’s personality type and abilities,” says Michael Maibach, CEO and founder Lab Society, which offers lab supplies and equipment. “It’s not easy finding the right set of tasks to suit each individual in a complex team with a lot of moving parts, but dedicating time to discover how to modify employee roles to better suit their personalities and skill-sets is well worth the effort.”
6. Provide workplace flexibility. “When possible, give employees the flexibility to choose the hours they work and to work from home if needed,” says Shane Green, founder & president of SGEI, a corporate training company.
Being open to giving employees some leeway in their schedules goes a long way toward a less stressful workplace, agrees Chris Padgett, co-founder and CEO of Fusion3 3D Printers. “Allowing workers to start a little later and leave a little earlier or work from home on occasion can have a positive impact on their overall quality of life.”
Read more articles on work-life balance.
Employee stress is a common problem that harms morale and productivity. These steps can help you identify and manage stress in your company.
APRIL 20, 2018
April is Stress Awareness Month, and that’s probably a good thing for your business. According to the American Psychological Association’s 2017 Stress in America
survey of 3,440 U.S. adults, employee stress is pervasive. Sixty-one percent of Americans are stressed about work.
“Stress is present in many areas of people’s lives, and the workplace is no exception,” says Daniel Clark, CEO of Brain.fm, which produces music to help people focus and sleep better. “Stress distracts employees from getting their jobs done. The distraction can be a few minutes an hour, but compounded over days, weeks and multiple employees, costs employers millions in lost time and productivity.”
Employee stress may very well be at an all-time high thanks to today’s advanced technology, believes James Cassel, chairman and founder of Cassel Salpeter & Co, a midmarket investment banking firm.
“The internet and the assumption it fosters that one should respond immediately is a great stress for many,” says Cassel. “Employees face constant deadlines and expectations to move quickly, many times without the opportunity to really think things through. This can cause substantial friction.”
There is perhaps no greater inhibitor to an employee’s performance than stress, notes Jason Hall, founder and CEO of FiveChannels Marketing. “If employees are stressed, they’re not thinking clearly, their creativity is reduced, and they’re more prone to mistakes, all of which can negatively impact your company.”
Causes of Employee Stress
A variety of factors in the workplace can lead to employee stress. “Unreasonable and unreachable deadlines, toxic coworkers with bad attitudes and poor job fit for a person’s skills are the three most common driving factors I see that cause unnecessary stress,” says Brian McHugh, owner of McHugh Construction.
Offer employees an area where they can socialize and decompress during breaks. Sitting at a desk all day alone is not conducive to a relaxing and enjoyable work atmosphere.—Bob Ellis, owner, Bavarian Clockworks
Tash Jefferies is co-founder of Hirekind.io, a company that helps women and people of color find their dream tech jobs. She believes that stress often leads to people leaving their positions. “Stress results when people work long days, experience high job demands (too many tasks and responsibilities) and a lack of a community of peers or executive level support.”
It was a survey of his employees two years ago that alerted Justin Goodman, president of Goodman Insurance Services, to the pervasiveness of stress at his company. “The survey was performed in person by an outside company, and the employees were guaranteed anonymity,” he says. “The results were pretty sobering. Most of our employees explained that their stress came from fear of not performing to company expectations. They also feared that I as the president didn’t understand some of the day-to-day challenges they faced.”
Identifying Employee Stress
Without performing an employee survey or looking at the statistics, how can you spot employee stress? Here are some signs that your workers are heading for anxiety and burnout.
Confusion. “If you know tasks have been explained thoroughly and clearly and employees show confusion, this is a sign of stress,” says Casey Thomas, co-founder of the Creative Soul Music School. “In my opinion, confusion is the precursor to frustration.”
Change in behavior or performance. “Any real sudden change of performance and/or behavior is a good indicator that the job is getting to the employee,” says Lior Rachmany, founder and CEO of Dumbo Moving + Storage
. “Changes for employers to look out for that indicate stress include lack of focus and attention to detail, taking longer than usual to finish tasks and showing up late to work.”
Physical clues. “Changes in skin coloring, hair texture, redness of the eyes, consistent nodding off and lack of energy, failure to eat or overeating are common signs of stress,” says Hirekind.io’s Jefferies.
Mood swings. “Stress can cause people to experience emotional roller coasters more frequently, sometimes on a daily basis,” says Jefferies. “Be on the lookout for crying, anger, frustration, temper tantrums or any other disruptive emotional behavior.”
When an employee who is usually positive and outgoing suddenly seems overwhelmed and negative, suspect stress, according to Mike Grossman, CEO of GoodHire, an employment screening company. “If someone is more withdrawn than usual or displays unusually aggressive behavior, these can also be signs of stress.”
6 Tips to Help Ease Employee Stress
Once you’ve identified that employee stress may be at play and the potential causes, it’s ideal if you can ease the stress so that everyone can have a better work experience. Try the following ideas to help reduce stress.
1. Create an open door policy. “It’s important to foster an environment where employees feel comfortable speaking to their managers about stress-related issues,” says Kareem Bakr, director at Selby Jennings, a recruitment company. “There’s often a stigma to admitting feeling overworked or overwhelmed. The first step to successful stress mitigation is establishing an open and accepting platform for people to feel comfortable sharing their challenges without being judged.”
2. Openly discuss the issue. “The best thing leaders can do when they spot employee stress is to bring it to the surface,” says Heather Younger, founder and CEO of Customer Fanatix, LLC, which provides coaching in leadership development and employee engagement. “Let employees vent, if they’re open to it. If they’re not forthcoming, make it clear that you’ve noticed a change in them and that you’re there to help.”
When you discuss the source of stress, you may even find that the employee’s state of mind has nothing to do with the workplace. “Employees have lives outside of work where stressors could be impacting both their home and work life,” says Jonathan Marsh, owner of Home Helpers of Bradenton, which provides in-home care.
3. Make expectations clear. “Prevent unnecessary stress by setting clear expectations about timelines and deadlines and follow up to ensure that the expectations are reasonable and that employees are able to meet those goals with a positive attitude,” says McHugh of McHugh Construction.
4. Provide opportunities to unwind during the workday. “Offer employees an area where they can socialize and decompress during breaks. Sitting at a desk all day alone is not conducive to a relaxing and enjoyable work atmosphere,” suggests Bob Ellis, owner of Bavarian Clockwork, an online shop that sells German cuckoo clocks.
“Find ways to create relaxed environments with an open communication policy and culture,” adds Nick Murphy, host of The Job Lab Podcast. “Whether it’s an employee lounge with beanbags and a Ping-Pong table or frequent team building events that get people away from their screens and out together in a relaxed environment—it’s important to encourage and support time to decompress.”
5. Ensure job fit. “Often, employee stress comes from someone being in the wrong role for the person’s personality type and abilities,” says Michael Maibach, CEO and founder Lab Society, which offers lab supplies and equipment. “It’s not easy finding the right set of tasks to suit each individual in a complex team with a lot of moving parts, but dedicating time to discover how to modify employee roles to better suit their personalities and skill-sets is well worth the effort.”
6. Provide workplace flexibility. “When possible, give employees the flexibility to choose the hours they work and to work from home if needed,” says Shane Green, founder & president of SGEI, a corporate training company.
Being open to giving employees some leeway in their schedules goes a long way toward a less stressful workplace, agrees Chris Padgett, co-founder and CEO of Fusion3 3D Printers. “Allowing workers to start a little later and leave a little earlier or work from home on occasion can have a positive impact on their overall quality of life.”
Read more articles on work-life balance.
Black business women are a quickly growing demographic of entrepreneurs in America. These women explain how they keep moving forward despite challenges.
FEBRUARY 16, 2018
Created in 1926 by historian Carter Woodson, Black History Month celebrates the many achievements of African-Americans, including black business women and men.
If anyone knows the secrets to striving forward, breaking new ground and succeeding despite challenges, it would be African-American women. Black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs, according to a 2015
“Being a woman-owned business is a task in itself,” says Teana McDonald, founder of marketing solutions company 3EConnections. “For black business women, the odds are stacked even higher.”
To gain even more insight and advice on how to overcome those odds to find business and personal success, I asked 14 more black business women about their secrets to succeeding in the business world.
Embrace Diversity
“Use your diversity as a competitive advantage and champion what makes you unique. Black business women are being sought after more than ever—from academia to corporate environments. It’s important for us to market ourselves well, highlighting our strengths and talents, while also keeping in mind that diversity goes beyond gender. The views, opinions and experiences of black business women could be the very perspective that drives business initiatives towards success.”
—Nicole Joseph, COO,Sharestates
Be Passionate About What You Do
“It’s not always about money. The money will come if you make your passion your business. Along these lines, it’s important to value your relationships. I spend a lot of face-to-face time with my clients. Customers stay with you when they know you care about them.”
—Marcia Jones, founder and president, Urban Connoisseurs
“Understand how your personality, strengths and natural abilities shape the work you do. This is most important, because it’s the foundation for having success that’s fulfilling and sustainable for the long-term. Too many entrepreneurs, including black business women, burn out trying to be something they aren’t. When you know what you bring to the table, you can decide what opportunities to pursue from a place of confidence, meaning and impact.”
—RM Harrison, CEO, RM Harrison Consulting and author of The Pivot Map
Know What You Want
“Happiness is the key to success. If you have a goal, dream or aspiration, your conviction to the end goal is what allows it to come into being. That being said, be clear about what you want. This allows you to say no with conviction and to then bring in more opportunities that are on target. The less time you spend contemplating something that doesn’t feel 100 percent right, the more time you have to identify desirable opportunities.”
—Cheryl Sutherland, founder, PleaseNotes
“Being decisive is very important when running a business. This is something I started intentionally practicing when I launched my company in 2013. I quickly realized not only was I making decisions for myself, but for my team and my clients. Being decisive assures your employees and builds trust. This leads to lifetime value for your customers.”
—Michelle Ngome, founder, Line 25 Consulting
Accept and Overlook Mistakes
“Understand that you will make mistakes, and change will not always come as fast as you would like it to happen. Your internal operations are where to start making positive changes first.”
—Cheryl Ingram, CEO and founder, Diverse City LLC
Be Intentional
“Have a goal/objective in mind and a solid, realistic reason why the particular goal was chosen. This is important, because haphazard thinking and bumbling through life do not result in success. Have a plan and work the plan. Also, keep your eyes open and stay humble with every success. You want others to respect you as much as you respect yourself.”
—Judge Marylin E. Atkins, author, The Triumph of Rosemary: A Memoir
“Decide what problem your product or service solves. Look at the benefits versus features. When we started Girls Gone Forex, it wasn’t so women could make money. It was so women could have the options and freedom to live life in a different way. Money is just the vehicle. Understanding why is what keeps people engaged and tied to whatever you have to offer. Having a clear understanding of what motivates people to buy will allow you to be of service while building a successful and profitable business.”
“Don’t be afraid to ask. The worst anyone can say is no. If you don’t ask at all, you miss out on a lot of yeses. When you do get a no, take it with a smile. For me, no means not right now, but maybe later. I’ve had many situations where a no later became a yes when circumstances changed.”
—Tamara Anderson, owner, Sugar and Spyked
“After 10 years of business, I’ve learned to ask for what I deserve. You may not always get what you want, but asking is very important. It’s also OK to say no. You don’t have to say yes to every business opportunity.”
—Teana McDonald, founder, 3EConnections
Embrace Change
“Keep in mind that change is inevitable. I pay attention to business trends and markets, making it a priority to stay in front of the changes and not get left behind. Many small-business owners, including black business women, can be slow to change, but changing is necessary and required.”
—Shahara Wright, business law attorney and CEO, The CEO Effect
Be True to Yourself
“In your business, you will always have to jump higher, run faster and still maintain composure and charm. The best thing that you can do for yourself is to be yourself. Remember what made you successful. Don’t be afraid to think outside of the box, since that’s what got you this far. And don’t try to compete with the competitors—compete with yourself, it’s so much harder.”
—Ashley Hunter, president, HM Risk Group
Self-Promote
“Don’t be afraid to self-promote. Often, black business women have been forced to hide our greatness. Instead of hiding, toot your own horn. Share the work you’ve done. You’ll soon realize that the more you share, the more others will see the value in working alongside you and your business.”
—Stephanie Caudle, owner and founder, Black Girl Group
Seek Balance
“Avoid neglecting your health. Drink water, eat your veggies and stay active. It’s not about fitting into the mold; it’s about you being able to truly enjoy your success. Being successful usually comes with a busy schedule. For you to keep up with that, you need to be healthy. Along the same lines, work-life balance is key. All work and no play makes for a very boring and unfulfilled life. Make time for friends and family. Take a vacation or steal away for a few days to mentally disconnect. This will keep your energy up and your creative juices flowing.”
—Pamela Shand, CEO, Offer Stage Consulting
Learn from Failure
“Having a business is hard in general, but for black business women it still poses additional challenges. Beyond outside factors we can’t control, we wrestle with our own demons. Owning a business comes with extreme highs and lows. When you land a new client or close a deal, you’re on top of the world until something occurs to make you question your skill, worth or ability to succeed. It’s important to learn from failure and get back up. If running a business were easy, everyone would do it, but there is a reason you chose to run yours. It’s an unpredictable journey, but well worth it.”
—Bethanie Nonami, co-founder, Marley NonamiRead more articles on leadership.
These reasons may help you consider whether a nontraditional IPO could work for your company.
APRIL 13, 2018
When music streaming company Spotify recently launched a nontraditional IPO, the market paused to see how this unusual direct listing approach would play out. While the final results remain to be seen, there are obvious benefits to filing a nontraditional IPO that you can learn from as a business owner.
An initial public offering (IPO) refers to the first time a private company offers its stock to the public. Companies seeking capital to expand generally issue IPOs, as well as privately owned companies aiming to become publicly traded.
Features of a Nontraditional IPO
The unique feature of Spotify’s IPO is its nontraditional nature. During the event, the company didn’t use investment bankers or sell any company-owned shares. No banks underwrote the offering and there wasn’t a set price. Rather, investor demand resulted in the publicly listed price.
“Nontraditional IPOs like Spotify’s spurn the traditional underwritten IPO route for a ‘direct listing,’ which means company stockholders (including management) are able to sell directly to the public and no new money is being raised for the company,” says attorney Christopher Tinen of the business and litigation law firm, Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP.
According to Tinen, the approach is unique. “Most traditional underwritten IPOs result in a large influx of capital to the company and a ‘lock-up’ of sales by company stockholders for 180 days while the market settles,” says Tinen. “Typically, underwriters lock up founders and other insiders for 180 days to avoid an immediate price collapse.”
Benefits of a Nontraditional IPO
There are several upsides to a nontraditional IPO, according to Tinen’s colleague, attorney William Eigner, a partner at Procopio, Cory, Hargreaves & Savitch LLP. “The pros of a direct listing include no dilution to existing stockholders, immediate liquidity for selling stockholders and reduced costs of going public,” he says.
“Typically, IPOs are not an exit for insiders in a normal IPO, but a direct IPO does indeed provide an exit,” says Eigner. “Underwriters that facilitate most IPOs also charge a hefty fee for handling the IPO, but a direct listing avoids that cost.”
A nontraditional IPO can save a company a great deal of money, agrees certified financial planner Rockie Zeigler III. “A direct listing IPO can save companies an untold amount of costs by getting rid of the middlemen, which includes investment bankers, brokers and the normal IPO roadshow that occurs so that the company can really whip up support for the shares.”
For shareholders, not having to wait out the lock-up period before selling is another pro.
Drawbacks of a Nontraditional IPO
As with any business maneuver, a nontraditional IPO has its drawbacks. “The stock may not have a huge run up in price fresh off the listing, as there aren’t the usual players involved hyping the stock to their large institutional clients,” says Zeigler. “Early performance of the stock may suffer as well—but time will tell.”
While a direct-listed IPO may not get all of the hype and fanfare as companies launching traditional IPOs, the cost savings may be substantial. For a new publicly traded company, those cost savings cannot be overlooked.—Rockie Zeigler III, certified financial planner
Volatility is also an issue, believes Tinen. “The lack of underwriters makes the offering highly volatile in the sense that there aren’t typical parties stabilizing the market or buying and holding shares in the company,” he says.
“In addition, the ability of essentially all stockholders to immediately sell to the public puts more selling pressure than usual on the company’s stock,” continues Tinen.
Despite the drawbacks of the nontraditional IPO, Zeigler sees the trend continuing. “Going forward, I think we may begin to see more companies list their IPOs in this manner. While a direct-listed IPO may not get all of the hype and fanfare as companies launching traditional IPOs, the cost savingsmay be substantial. For a new publicly traded company, those cost savings cannot be overlooked.”
Tips for Going Public
If you’re thinking about eventually going public, either with a traditional or nontraditional IPO, Eigner offers the following advice. “It’s a good idea to get accountants and audit firms involved as early as possible. Often, audits hold things up with the SEC or otherwise.”
Eigner also recommends that private companies mirror public company accounting and disclosure controls, corporate governance and other requirements before going public to ease the transition to being public.
And Eigner advises accessing well-respected institutional investors into your company as early as possible. “This will help increase interest from underwriters and the investing public when you decide to take your company public,” he says.
Photo: Getty Images
The information contained herein is for generalized informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment, financial, tax, legal or other professional advice on any subject matter. THIS IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS ADVICE. Therefore, seek such advice in connection with any specific situation, as necessary. The views and opinions of third parties expressed herein represent the opinion of the author, speaker or participant (as the case may be) and do not necessarily represent the views, opinions and/or judgments of American Express Company or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries or divisions. American Express makes no representation as to, and is not responsible for, the accuracy, timeliness, completeness or reliability of any such opinion, advice or statement made herein.
Spring may not quite be in the air yet, depending on where you live, but it truly is just around the garden path. Time to prepare your yard and garden now, so that you can enjoy Mother Nature’s parade of flowers, fruits and veggies when warm weather comes.
“Spring is the time to ensure your lawn and garden is healthy through the summer and fall. To enjoy spending time outside in your thick, green grass and with beautiful flowers or fruits/vegetables, you’ll need to set the stage by removing weeds and other debris and making sure your grass and soil are ready for growing,” says Ashleigh Lemon, research specialist at Scotts Miracle-Gro.
Here are some tips from lawn and garden experts for prepping your garden for spring’s fling.
Prepare your soil
“Pick up a handful of soil and squeeze it,” says Lemon. “If it crumbles easily, you can start preparing your beds. If it sticks together in a clump, it’s still too wet to work in. It’s best to wait another week or two for more winter moisture to evaporate.”
If the soil is dry enough to work with, Lemon says to prepare the beds for flowers and vegetables by removing dead plants and weeds. Then work in compost. You may also want to apply a pre-emergent weed preventer at this time, which will prevent weeds later in the season.
Edge your beds
“Cut a clean edge where planting beds meet the lawn,” says Lemon. “Use a flat-bladed spade or a lawn edger made for this purpose, cutting deeply enough to sever grass roots growing into the bed.”
Rake
“Kick off the growing and mowing season with a quick spring cleaning,” says Phil Dwyer, turfgrass scientist, also at Scotts Miracle-Gro. “Grab a lawn rake to clean out any brown, matted grass areas and dead remnants of annual grassy weeds, like crabgrass, goosegrass and barnyard grass. After you pick up sticks, use a mulching mower to recycle tree leaves, twigs and grass back into the lawn.”
Apply mulch
“As temperatures warm up, it’s time to refresh mulch for the growing season,” says Dwyer. “Shredded mulch provides a polished finish to planting beds and also prevents weeds from taking hold. Add a 2- to 3-inch layer around (but not on top of) your plants and keep a bare area ring between mulch and tree trunks.”
Mow your lawn
“Few people want an overgrown lawn when the weather warms,” says Wayne Archer, technical author at Sears PartsDirect. “Not only does it look unappealing, but the grass can dry out if it gets too tall, and that’ll get in the way of you enjoying walking or sitting on it. Plus, who doesn’t love the look and smell of freshly-cut grass in the spring.”
Before you mow the lawn, tune up your lawnmower, advises Archer. “Servicing your lawnmower includes giving it a good cleaning, replacing fuel with clean, fresh fuel, changing the oil and filter, cleaning or replacing the air filter, changing the spark plugs, checking the tires and sharpening the blades.
“If you have a riding lawn mower, consider that it’s similar to a car,” adds Archer. “Riding lawnmowers need regular service and care if they’re going to last and keep your yard healthy.”
Whatever type of lawnmower you have, if you perform basic maintenance and repair, you can expect the mower to last seven to 10 years.
Mow high“Double-check your mower deck height and position it to cut grass at the highest possible setting for your grass type,” suggests Dwyer. “The higher you set your mower, the deeper your roots will grow.”
Patch and thicken your lawn
“Repair bare spots in both cool- and warm-season turf,” advises Dwyer. “Timing is crucial for success. Aim for an early spring seeding for cool-season grass and a late spring sowing for warm-season grass. If your lawn is worn and thin, thicken it by overseeding.”
Julie Bawden-Davis is a garden writer and master gardener, who since 1985 has written for publications such as Organic Gardening, The American Gardener, Wildflower, Better Homes and Gardens and The Los Angeles Times. She is the author of 10 books, including Reader’s Digest Flower Gardening, Fairy Gardening, The Strawberry Story Series, and Indoor Gardening the Organic Way, and is the founder of HealthyHouseplants.com. Her backyard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
April is Kids Garden Month. The folks at KidsGardening want to hear from children and teens about their dream gardens. In exchange for sharing their hopes when it comes to Mother Nature’s bounty, the organization is awarding a series of prizes.
Established 35 years ago, KidsGardening is a leading resource for garden-based educators throughout the country. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to helping young people become connected to their food and its origins. This encourages environmental stewardship and improves nutritional attitudes, as well as fosters the social and emotional learning that comes from tending the earth.
“Kids are naturally curious and full of wonder,” says Maree Gaetani, director of strategic initiatives for KidsGardening. “Our organization creates opportunities for them to learn through gardening by providing inspiration, community know-how and resources. Partnering with educators nationwide, we reach more than 90,000 each month with curriculum and lesson plans, grant funding and inspirations to get kids involved in the garden.”
Dream Big Contest Entry Details
The Dream Big Contest is meant to spark the imagination of kids and drive creative expression and community engagement. The contest is open to gardeners from ages 0-18. Entries can be submitted by individuals, or by a group or class.
Requirements: Submit a photo, song, video, artwork, essay or poem expressing the entrant’s dream garden. Cover topics such as what grows in the dream garden, who visits and why the child loves the garden. If the entrant is too young to write but wants to include words, an adult can caption the entry, although it’s not required.
Entries can be submitted by tagging on social media at hashtag #KidsGardenMonth (KidsGardening.org); email to info@kidsgardening.org or snail mail at KidsGardening, 132 Intervale Rd., Burlington, VT 05401. Worldwide entries are welcome, but only U.S. entries are eligible for prizes. The contest runs until April 30, 2018.
Each week KidsGardening will choose a favorite entry to receive a prize package of kids gardening gear. Those entries will also be eligible for the grand prizes. At the end of the month, KidsGardening will award two grand prize winners. Those will go to an individual and then to a class or group.
The grand prizes are two $250 gift cards to Gardener’s Supply Company, so that the winners can make their dream gardens a reality. Weekly awardees will be announced via social media on Tuesdays: (4/9, 4/16, 4/23, 5/1).
Julie Bawden-Davis is a garden writer and master gardener, who since 1985 has written for publications such as Organic Gardening, The American Gardener, Wildflower, Better Homes and Gardens and The Los Angeles Times. She is the author of 10 books, including Reader’s Digest Flower Gardening, Fairy Gardening, The Strawberry Story Series, and Indoor Gardening the Organic Way, and is the founder of HealthyHouseplants.com. Her backyard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
Having large followings is a major goal of social media marketing. But if those followers are phony, that large following can do more harm than good, according to experts.
APRIL 02, 2018
It used to be that customers trusted social media marketing accounts and readily engaged.
But now, because of the preponderance of businesses buying fake followers and engagement known as bots, people aren’t so ready to believe.
“Bots have become widely prevalent. They’re the pesky insects of the social media world,” says Jay York, senior digital marketing strategist at the public relations firm News and Experts. “Everyone knows they exist, but does their best to ignore them.”
The bot problem has been well-documented for years, adds Ryan Miller, CEO and founder of Etna Interactive, a web marketing agency catering to medical professionals in elective health care.
“Rather than taking an influencer’s number of followers at face value,” he says, “we often instinctively know the total comes with an asterisk.”
Social Media Marketing: A Relatively New Phenomenon
Historically, local businesses got their message out through the phone book industry, which did background checks prior to printing a business’s information, according to Jason Morgan, president of iLocal. (His company builds websites and handles online marketing for businesses in the greater Seattle region.)
“You couldn’t fake your way into the phone book,” says Morgan. “The industry had a strongly vetted system with sales reps on the streets, seeing businesses and meeting with owners.
Consumers find it refreshing and it builds trust when they connect with a real person who genuinely cares about the needs of the person on the other end of the computer.—Kyle Klement, chief marketing officer, Vet Marketing Firm
“Credit and background checks were required to get a phone line and an eventual listing,” he continues. “There was nothing fake about the phone book. It was the most trusted consumer archive around.”
Then came social media marketing.
“Grassroots internet marketing and social media distributors took the larger phone book model and formed thousands upon thousands of independent messengers online,” says Morgan. “Completely unregulated social media can do and say just about anything. The new age of online marketing is the Wild West, and it’s long been a ‘buyer, beware’ marketplace.”
How Fake Followers Harm Business
“The proliferation of fake followers is unfortunate for businesses striving to engage customers,” says Chris Rodgers, CEO and founder of digital marketing agency Colorado SEO Pros.
“Fake social media accounts hurt businesses, individual user experience and ultimately will create an atmosphere where people distrust information they’re consuming online even more than they already do,” says Rodgers.
Unfortunately, the doubt fake followers cast on social media marketing and accounts hurts lesser-known companies more than industry giants, believes York.
“If you’re a little-known business with 50,000 followers,” he says, “people might be more likely to assume you have fake followers than a well-known brand.”
Social Media Marketing Best Practices
So what’s a business to do about the lack of customer trust when it comes to social media marketing? These seven tips can help instill faith in your clients when they log on to your social media accounts.
1. Refrain from purchasing followers.
“Bots are a shortcut that does more harm than good,” says Kyle Klement, chief marketing officer for the Vet Marketing Firm, which provides marketing for veterinarians.
“Fake followers are designed to trick your audience into thinking that your business is more reputable than it actually is,” he says. “If your Instagram account has 50,000 followers, yet has trouble breaking 100 likes, your audience will catch on.”
2. Focus on social media engagement.
“The interaction you receive on your posts is much more vital to the success of your page than the number of followers you have,” says Klement. “An engaged audience is going to be more genuine than a purchased audience. The only way to continually engage your audience is to provide frequent and noteworthy content.”
3. Check for bots on your social media sites.
“If a brand is experiencing issues associated with fake accounts, I recommend tackling the problem head on,” says York. “Do a funny post or public service announcement calling out fake accounts. Be clear that you don’t condone them. If possible, monitor for bots and report them.”
4. Show that you care in your social media marketing.
“Consumers find it refreshing and it builds trust when they connect with a real person who genuinely cares about the needs of the person on the other end of the computer,” says Klement. “Business owners can do this by being proactive and listening to the audience. If there’s a common theme of questions customers are asking, go the extra mile to get that information into their hands.”
5. Be real.
“We always tell our elective health care clients that the best thing you can do on social media is to simply answer the question, ‘What’s it really like at the practice?'” says Miller. “Our clients post Snapchat videos in treatment rooms and show real results from patient transformations on Facebook. Increasingly, visitors also want to see why you do what you do.”
6. Be worthy.
“Remember that by following you, your audience has given you permission to market to them,” says Miller. “Post exclusive specials and news from the practice blended with information that educate followers.
“Take the focus away from your business and put it squarely on your audience,” he continues. “Ask yourself if they’ll get something out of what you posted—even if it’s a chuckle. If not, don’t post it.”
7. Be generous.
“We’ve found that one of the best ways to build a following for our clients is to run giveaways,” says Miller. “The best giveaways do three things. They build interest in your products or services, drive home a theme at the core of your brand and entice people to learn more about you.”
Read more articles on social media strategy.
Women-owned businesses run into a funding and financing gap that can impede their success. Thankfully, there are quite a few resources available to them.
MARCH 29, 2018Women’s History Month may be coming to an end, but women-owned businesses are just getting started.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 35.8 percent of businesses are owned by women. Yet many women business owners have a difficult time obtaining traditional bank financing for their companies. The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship’s most recent findings on barriers to women’s entrepreneurship found that “only 4 percent of the total dollar value of all small business loans goes to women entrepreneurs.”
Fortunately, there are resources, including financial assistance, available to women business owners.
“It’s important to set yourself up for success with your business by having tools and resources at your fingertips,” says Ezina LeBlanc, CEO of Ezina Omnimedia, Inc. and author of Make Money Now. “A business has many moving parts, and no one is an expert in all areas. So it’s important to establish relationships with mentors in the areas of finance, business management and marketing.”
Access to resources is everything when you’re a woman business owner, agrees Jamie Fertsch, owner of Xdesk, a customizable sit-to-stand desk.
“Back in 2012 when I built the first Xdesk in my living room,” Fertsch says, “I knew that having a network of mentors would significantly impact the success of my business. Xdesk wouldn’t be the profitable business that it is without all of the mentoring that I’ve received.”
Funding Assistance Lacking
“Financial resources—especially access to capital—can be critical to the success of a small business, yet less than 20 percent of small business bank loans are made to women,” says Gerri Detweiler, education director for Nav, which helps business owners build and monitor strong business credit for free.
Betsie Larking is CEO of HoneyLove, which produces shaping undergarments. She notes how funding ensured her success.
“I can say with 100 percent confidence that my company would have failed without access to funding that we needed to stay afloat,” says Arm yourself with resources so that when you hit a wall, you can send an email or pick up the phone and get an answer.
—Ezina LeBlanc, CEO, Ezina Omnimedia
The U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) offers microlending to fund buying a business and capacity-building loans. According to the organization, 48 percent of businesses receiving microloans are owned by women.
Loreen Gilbert is chair-elect of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Institute for Entrepreneurial Development Board, in addition to president and founder of WealthWise Financial Services. She’s been involved in microlending over the years and bought her company’s office building with an SBA loan in 2007.
“I would not have been able to buy my office building without the help of the SBA,” says Gilbert. “During the Great Recession, I also found out that the SBA had a program for a 0 percent loan up to $50,000 for five years. I had to make a lot of phone calls to find a bank that was supporting that SBA program, but I found one.”
Funding Alternatives
The following organizations provide funding assistance in various capacities to women-owned businesses.
37 Angels is an organization founded and run by women business investors. They focus on providing startups with funding needed to grow and expand. You could receive up to $150,000 for product development, inventory and expansion.
For businesses that have been open for a minimum of three years with revenue less than $1 million, Eileen Fisher Clothing Company awards $100,000 to between five to 10 business owners each year to businesses that focus on environmental or social change.
In addition to a variety of funding programs for small-business owners, the SBA has an annual InnovateHER Challenge
where women business owners can compete to win between $10,000 and $40,000 in prizes.
The Women’s Venture Fund
helps women build businesses in urban communities. They offer mentorship, one-on-one classes and small business loans.
Office of Women’s Business Ownership
(OWBO) has women’s business centers nationwide. At each location, you can receive training in finance, get business coaching and receive access to lines of credit.
If your business is humming along, yet you need help scaling, The EY Entrepreneurial Winning Women program helps women-owned businesses scale quickly with their national competition and yearlong executive leadership program.
Mentoring Equally Important for Women-Owned Businesses
“In addition to funding, I’ve found mentoring from other women business owners to be critical,” says Melissa Rogne, president and founder of Rejuv Medical Aesthetic Clinic.
“The first few years of business ownership can be very discouraging,” she continues. “You put in an incredible number of hours without any financial return. Having the support of others who have been there to assure you that you’re making the right decisions and that there is a payoff in the future is invaluable.”
Mentoring for women-owned businesses is essential, agrees Helena Escalante, creator of the business blog, EntreGurus.
“Mentors provide experience, expertise and valuable direction,” Escalante says. “They come in many forms, including classes and especially books.”
Bringing women together for a group mentoring experience that helps them grow their businesses is the goal of Julia Pimsleur’s upcoming Million Dollar Women Summit.
“Networking between women is very important, as often women feel lonely and isolated while building their businesses,” says Pimsleur. “Knowing that they have a tribe of other high-growth women makes it easier.”
Mentoring Organizations and Programs
There are a wide variety of mentoring opportunities for woman-owned business owners.
“You may be able to network with other like-minded business owners through professional organizations,” notes Ximena Hartsock, co-founder and president of Phone2Action, which coordinates phone campaigns. “For me, being a member of the Consumer Technology Association has been extremely helpful.”
It’s important to have mentoring/coaching support and resources to succeed, agrees Carolyn Lowe, a brand marketer, storyteller and connector.
“I’m reminded [of] this African proverb: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.'”
Jen Brown, founder of the Engaging Educator, agrees. Her company is dedicated to helping women develop their communication style.
“Women need mentors in their corners at all times,” says Brown. “They can provide a ‘me too’ for many events, roadblocks and detours that women-owned businesses may encounter.”
National organizations that offer mentoring services to women business owners include the following.
Women’s Step Up Network
provides networking and mentoring opportunities for professional women, as well as helps young girls in under-resourced communities become the next generation of college-bound, career-focused professional women.
Another resource for mentorship is NAWBO. With chapters nationwide, this organization has offered business mentorship since 1975. Their goal is to propel women into greater economic, social and political spheres of influence.
Women Who Startup is a network of entrepreneurs who offer training and mentorship to help you build your company. They match you up with a suitable mentor where you can brainstorm and collaborate about your projects and ideas.
Astia focuses on helping women entrepreneurs thrive. Through the Astia network, women gain access to advisors and mentors to get feedback on their businesses and maximize their chances of success. (Funding is also available.)
“Whatever you do, don’t try to reinvent the wheel,” says LeBlanc of Ezina Omnimedia. “There are women who want to help you. Arm yourself with resources so that when you hit a wall, you can send an email or pick up the phone and get an answer.
“Women as a collective have so much information, and we love to share; it’s in our DNA,” she continues. “Find a group, find a mentor, and hang on and enjoy the ride.”
Read more articles on financing.
Looking for a quick and easy activity you can enjoy with your kids that will tap them into the wonders of Mother Nature? Feed the birds.
“Feeding the birds is a great way to get your kids to ditch their devices and go outdoors,” says Elaine Cole, president of Cole’s Wild Bird Products. Cole’s father, Richard Cole, founder of the company and a birding expert, inspired her love of wild birds and feeding them.
“Interacting with nature helps kids in so many ways,” says Cole. “Feeding birds helps them understand science concepts. They also learn how important it is to care for our environment and its creatures.”
An easy and really enjoyable way to teach kids about caring for Mother Nature and her inhabitants is to feed the birds with your kids. Here are some tips for doing so.
Decide on a location for the birdfeeder
Explain to your child that some locations are better than others for birdfeeders. You want to choose a location where the feeder can be seen from indoors so that you can all enjoy watching your feathered friends feast.
It’s also important that the feeder is safe from predators. That means hanging them several feet away from shrubs where predators could hide. It also means placing them in or near trees where birds can take shelter.
Talk about bird nutrition
Talking about bird nutrition is good for your kids and the birds. Explain to them how good nutrition is just as important for birds as it is for them. The proper amount of nutrients will help the birds stay healthy and energized.
Not all wild birds require the same type of food. Some eat bugs, grubs and worms, while others like seeds and berries. When feeding wild birds in your yard, your best bet is to put out a variety of bird foods. These include things like dried meal worms, seeds, like black oil sunflower seeds, nuts and suet, the latter of which provides birds with necessary fats.
Consider types of bird feeders
The feeder you choose will influence the type of birds that visit your garden. There are bowl type bird feeders with an open shape that makes it easy for kids to fill the bowl. This type of design is also handy, because it allows several birds to feed at once.
You’ll also find tube-type birdfeeders that are good if you don’t have a lot of time. You generally don’t have to refill the tube for several days. Such tubes are also pretty to look at—as you can see all of the birdfeed. You could even make your own birdfeeder. Try attaching a teacup to the top of a long pole. The most important thing is that you get out there and feed the birds.
“I got hooked on bird feeding when my dad challenged me to identify as many birds as possible in our bird feeders,” says Cole. “I’ve done the same thing with my kids. My 10-year-old daughter is now journaling about birds in a journal my dad gave her. She loves feeding the birds and identifying them, as well as noting interesting things about them.”
Julie Bawden-Davis is a garden writer and master gardener, who since 1985 has written for publications such as Organic Gardening, The American Gardener, Wildflower, Better Homes and Gardens and The Los Angeles Times. She is the author of 10 books, including Reader’s Digest Flower Gardening, Fairy Gardening, The Strawberry Story Series, and Indoor Gardening the Organic Way, and is the founder of HealthyHouseplants.com. Her backyard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
April 17, better known as Tax Day 2018, is right around the corner. Do any of the following oft-forgotten tax deductions apply to your business?
MARCH 22, 2018
Somehow it happens every year. Tax day seems far away—and then it’s upon us. Tax day is April 17 this year. If your business is on a calendar year and you still need to file, you might want to consider the following last-minute tax deductions. Even if you’ve already filed, it’s good to plan ahead for 2018 taxes, especially in light of tax reform.
Time might be tight right now, but don’t rush through your taxes, advises Alistair Bambridge, senior partner at Bambridge Accountants.
“If you’re racing to get your tax return done on time, beware [of] sacrificing accuracy for speed,” he says. “Gather all of your financial records before you start. That will help you work faster and reduce the risk of overlooking something.”
Often Overlooked Tax Deductions
Taking a long look at your tax records is a good practice that can help you avoid missing any money-saving tax deductions.
“Deductions are often overlooked. Business owners don’t always realize that if there’s an expense incurred to benefit your business and you can show it, deducting that expense is often possible,” says author, speaker and wealth adviser Al Zdenek.
“For example,” he continues, “if you keep dogs in your office to calm clients, you might be able to deduct costs for the dog such as food and grooming.”
Avoid letting fear get the best of you regarding certain deductions that tend to attract audits. As long as you can prove the expense and have a reason the expense benefited your business, then the deduction is valid.—Al Zdenek, author, speaker and wealth adviser
Bambridge agrees. “The lesser-known tax deductions can add up to substantial tax savings,” he says. “For instance, you can reduce your tax bill by claiming the costs incurred in holding board meetings, taking educational courses and even discounts you give to customers. There are also deductions for smaller capital costs, such as staff uniforms.”
Here are several additional often overlooked tax deductions.
Cost-segregation. Cost-segregation allows a business owner who owns his or her own building to speed up the depreciation of the building. The immediate savings can be dramatic, according to Anthony Parent, founding partner of Parent & Parent LLP and IRSMedic.
Research & Development. “Most businesses conduct experimental research that would qualify for the R & D business tax credit,” says Parent. (He suggests asking your accountant for more details.)
Captive insurance. Essentially a form of self-insurance, captive insurance policies are used as asset protection tools, says Parent.
“When done correctly, a captive insurance policy can also be used for significant tax deductions,” he says. “While captive insurance companies were once the domain of large companies, new laws and products have brought down the cost to a point where it can make sense for smaller companies, as well.”
Mileage. Be certain to track all of your miles, including those to and from locations such as the post office and networking events, suggests Cindy Dillard, a tax strategist and founder of Small Business Accounting, Tax and Bookkeeping Service. She recommends using one of the many apps designed to track miles.
Reallocation of year-end payments. If there were payments made to you in late December for work in 2017, see if it’s possible to place those payments into 2018.
Home office deduction. “While the IRS is sensitive to the home office deduction, because many abuse it, it’s still a viable deduction for those seriously using their homes for business purposes,” says Zdenek. “Recently, I had an artist whose accountant did not wish to deduct her ‘studio’ cost in her home, due to possibly being questioned about it. It was clearly a viable studio and she made a profit, so she took the home office deduction and came out ahead.”
Even if you don’t have a home office, there are still deductions you can take of at-home costs associated with work, such as internet and computer services and reference materials.
Don’t let the possibility of an audit keep you from taking viable tax deductions, adds Zdenek.
“Avoid letting fear get the best of you regarding certain deductions that tend to attract audits,” he says. “As long as you can prove the expense and have a reason the expense benefited your business, then the deduction is valid.”
Besides the federal level, also consider your taxes on the state level.
“Since tax rules and regulations vary widely from state to state, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution,” says Jadon Newman, founder and CEO of retirement planning, real estate investment and asset management company Noble Capital. “Become intimately familiar with how taxes work in your state. You might find something you’ve been missing.”
Plan for the 2018 Tax Year Now
Considering there are tax changes because of tax reform, it also makes sense to plan ahead for the 2018 tax season.
“If you only think about your taxes when tax season comes around, you’re doing yourself a grave disservice,” says Newman. “Right now consider what you can do to prepare for next year. This includes keeping abreast of the tax reform, because there are still a lot of unknowns. The IRS has yet to issue guidance on specific pieces of the bill.”
You can help ensure that next year’s tax preparation goes smoothly by meeting with your accountant as soon as possible this year so that you can set up your general ledger to record and classify expenses according to the new tax laws, advises Bill Norwalk, tax partner-in-charge at the accounting firm Sensiba San Filippo.
“Your accountant can also let you know about any exceptions,” says Norwalk. “For instance, even though the deductibility of entertainment expenses has been generally eliminated with the tax reform, there are still exceptions that allow deductions. Knowing this ahead of time allows you to take advantage of such tax deductions.”
Read more articles on taxes.
Photo: Getty Images
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Behind every successful woman are other women who have paved the way. In honor of Women’s History Month, these business women reveal their supporters.
MARCH 12, 2018
March is Women’s History Month, a time to look at how far women in business have come and to honor those forerunners responsible for that progress.
The women I spoke to for this article agree that their successes might not have been possible if it weren’t for the “women beneath their wings” supporting and encouraging them.
“Having women role models to look up to is a source of inspiration that’s essential to a woman’s career trajectory,” says Katelyn Coghlan, general manager at In It, who was inspired by her boss. “Female support proves that, although the road may be difficult, any woman can have it all.”
I spoke to a number of business leaders who credit a variety of women for their successes. Not surprisingly, moms head the list of women who have supported and encouraged women so that they can make their dreams a reality. Other family members, such as aunts and grandmas, have also helped make dreams come true.
Moms Offer Enduring Support
“My mother, a fulltime homemaker, told me at age 10 to get out of the kitchen. In her words, ‘You can always learn to cook—go out and do something to change the world.’ She encouraged me to follow my dreams and think outside the box. In the 1950s, women’s career choices pretty much included teacher, nurse, secretary and homemaker. I became a professional ballet dancer. I have also owned my own consulting business for more than 20 years and last year, at age 67, I raised the curtain on WorldWideWomen, a global hub of resources and connections for women.”
—Maureen Broderick, founder and CEO, WorldWideWomen
“Being raised by a strong, caring and hard-working mother inspired me to be an entrepreneur with the confidence that I also can be an incredible mom. As a child, I watched my mother work extremely hard as co-founder of my parents’ company while raising three kids. She educated my sister and me about how important it was to never let our gender hold us back. Seeing your mother run a successful company and household firsthand shows you how powerful it really is to be a woman (and how amazing we truly are).”
—Kate Alcaraz, co-founder, Beauty Advisor
“My mother has been the greatest influence in my professional journey. She and my father had their own business and always reminded my sister and me growing up that ‘average isn’t that interesting.’ The expectation was that we’d do our best at everything, because my parents were also trying to do their best for the family. They were honest in their feedback, but also supportive when things went well, helping to reinforce our self-confidence early on.”
—Pamela Springer, CEO, ORIS Intelligence
“My mom, Julie, who also happens to be my business partner, inspires me during Women’s History Month. She has a perpetual positive outlook that allows her to see solutions, rather than problems. She always said that a parent should give children roots and wings. Roots are a solid foundation from which to grow and wings develop the self-confidence to fly. I really feel like she has achieved this, as a business partner, mentor and as a mom.”
—Sophie Phillipson, co-founder, HelloGrads
“Inspiration isn’t only drawn from examples one is impelled to emulate, it can also be reactionary. My dear mother, a housewife who never worked outside of the home, was one of my greatest professional inspirations. I grew up witnessing how she needed my father’s approval for even seemingly inconsequential purchases and decisions. To me, her lack of independence was unacceptable. As a result, I resolved at a very early age that one day I would be a career woman and my own boss.”
—Jolie Balido-Hart, CEO, Roar Media
Aunts Make a Great Cheering Squad, Too
“My mother, Sandy Orrico, and my late great-aunt, Bea Osterman, both continue to inspire me during Women’s History Month. They are a huge part of who I am and what I’ve accomplished. My mom suddenly became a widow at 38. While battling MS, she raised me, a 9-year-old, all by herself. Before I was born, my Aunt Bea lost her husband to a tragic accident. Both of them, being strong and intelligent women, were forced to quickly learn how to make it on their own. At 38, I also became a widow. Had it not been for witnessing their strength and positivity through adversity, I’m not sure that I could have done all that I have in my life.”
—Laura Orrico, actress and president, Laura Orrico Public Relations“My mother Felicitha Prempeh, aunt Mary Prempeh and grandmother Hannah Arthur, inspired me to open my own business and invent and promote the ChangePal brand. Growing up in Ghana, I saw them run a small retail store specializing in cookware, which is a competitive market there. Through innovation, coupled with excellent customer service, I saw the family business bloom. I knew that building the ChangePal brand from the ground up would take some work and innovation, but I only had to remember the perseverance and courage of these incredible women in order to forge on to success.”
—Dr. Mavis Prempeh Mbi, owner and inventor, ChangePal
Grandmas and Their Wisdom Also Rate Highly
“I continue to be inspired by my grandmothers, who though different, showed me anything is possible. My paternal grandmother was the first woman to graduate law school in Chile and practiced side-by-side with her husband in the 1920s. My maternal grandmother escaped from the concentration camps with her three sisters and husband. After an arduous trip to America, they were turned away at Ellis Island, forcing them to head south where they settled in Chile. They arrived with the clothing they wore and a newborn. My grandmother said she never cried once, despite living in one room with six people and checking garbage cans to feed the family. Though she’d lost a life of luxury in Romania, she smiled through it all, because they were alive and able to rebuild their lives. It’s incredible to think of their stories during Women’s History Month.”
—Sandy Rubinstein, CEO, DXagency
“My grandmother was the first registered nurse to work at the hospital where I grew up. She was at the beginning of the era where nurses began taking advanced nursing. RNs were rare and most women didn’t work outside the home. My grandmother died before my birth, but left a legacy that included me getting my RN and founding my company to bridge the gap for health care facilities between surveys and success.”
—Donna Rossa, CEO, Rossa, Rossa & Associates
Colleagues and Business Partners Offer Valuable Support
“As a female in the male-dominated field of surgery, I’ve found that it’s important to have strong female role models. Dr. Victoria Vastine and Dr. Betsy Hall-Findlay are two of several female plastic surgeons and business women I look up to. I have been encouraged by their ability to excel as surgeon leaders with fulfilling family lives. They have taught me that as a woman business owner, it is critically important to find a healthy work/life balance. This balance sometimes takes time to sort out, so patience and persistence are key!”
—Dr. Shruti Tannan, owner, Tannan Plastic Surgery
“I’ve been inspired by several women, including my business partner Bettie Spruill, as well as Rubye Erickson, who is like a second mother to me. I met Rubye in my twenties when I was new to the business world. She taught me how to dress, carry myself and present in front of audiences. Seeing her grace, poise, discipline and commitment to excellence inspired me to grow my business and reach more audiences.”
—Sue Hawkes, author and CEO, YESS!
Mentors Make a Difference
“Lynette Cayson has been the most inspirational mentor, leader and role model for me. Before she retired in 2016, we worked together for three years. She was always direct, honest, logical and made the best non-ego driven decisions for the business. She surrounded herself with people she felt she could learn from and regularly sought and respected the counsel of employees and other professionals. She always accepted responsibility and stood behind her employees. I respect and admire Lynette as a boss, a leader, a woman and a person. I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with her and to call her my friend.”
—Karie La Mountain, president, Cayson
“Sara Blakely is a huge inspiration to me. I was the winner of her Spanx Leg Up Awardand was able to connect with her through that program. She is so honest about her career journey and has built an incredible brand. I love her ‘inventor’s spirit’ and the absolute pluck she had when starting her business from scratch. Leslie Blodgett, the former CEO of Bare Escentuals, also inspires me, especially with her example of using real people to share her passion for the product and create true brand evangelists. My personal mentor Diane Paddison has mentored me and gone to bat for me with the belief that my success will also pave the way for women who come after me.”
—Liz Forkin Bohannon, CEO and co-founder, Sseko DesignsRead more articles on leadership.
It’s National Plant a Flower Day. Time to start thinking about the kinds of flowers you want in your spring garden.
In general, there are five categories of flowers—annuals, perennials, biennials, bulbs and flowering shrubs and vines. A well-balanced flower garden often contains a mixture of these five types of plants.
Annual flowers
The term annual is a bit deceiving. Most annual flowers don’t last a year, as their name suggests, but a season. For instance, snapdragons are a cool weather crop that will last for several months during the cool weather. Petunias, on the other hand, like the heat, so they will grow throughout the spring and summer months.
Annual flowers that you’ll see gracing many gardens include marigold, zinnia, cosmos and lobelia.
Perennial flowers
Here is another deceptive name for flowers. Perennial gives the impression that the flowers will last indefinitely, but many perennial flowers tend to last for just three to five years. There are exceptions, but it’s good to know this if you have a columbine that seems to suddenly die back one day.
Popular perennial flowers include yarrow, alstromeria, allium, aster, begonia, canna, mum, geranium, strawflower (short-lived), bee balm, alyssum, lupine (short-lived) and candytuft.
Biennial flowers
Biennial flowers last for just two growing seasons. One of the most well-known of biennials is foxglove. Keep in mind that if you find a well-established biennial in the nursery, it may have already gone through one growing season. That means when you put the flower in your garden, you’re only going to get one year of growth from it.
Other popular biennial flowers include Canterbury bells, forget-me-not, hollyhock, lunaria, Sweet William and stock.
(Freeimages.com/Dan Champion)
One way to prolong your biennial flowers is to plant them by seed. That way you’ll get two full seasons of growth and blooms. Plant biennials every season and you’ll keep your garden full of blooms.
Bulbs
True bulbs and bulbous plants make up a broad range of flowering beauties. All bulb-like plants grow from swollen underground plant structures that store their own nutrients. That means that tulips, for instance, have everything within them to grow and flower.
If you want bulbs to come back year after year, plant those that naturalize. This refers to bulbs that keep returning. Examples of bulbs that naturalize, depending on your geographic region, include bleeding heart, clivia, oxalis, crocus, gladiola and some iris and narcissus.
Flowering shrubs and vines
Many flowering shrubs and vines grow indefinitely, although there are some that are annual, such as morning glory and moonflower. Some vines are also perennial or biennial. These include black-eyed Susan and perennial sweet pea.
Roses are the queen of flowering shrubs. Other popular flowering shrubs include camellia, azalea, rhododendron, abutilon, forsythia, fuchsia, gardenia, hydrangea, lilac, hibiscus and plumeria. Some vines that last indefinitely include wisteria, bougainvillea, passion vine, honeysuckle, mandevilla and many jasmine.
Julie Bawden-Davis is a garden writer and master gardener, who since 1985 has written for publications such as Organic Gardening, The American Gardener, Wildflower, Better Homes and Gardens and The Los Angeles Times. She is the author of 10 books, including Reader’s Digest Flower Gardening, Fairy Gardening, The Strawberry Story Series, and Indoor Gardening the Organic Way, and is the founder of HealthyHouseplants.com. Her backyard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
Commercial real estate is at a premium, which means higher leasing costs and fewer options. Here’s how to find office space under these circumstances.
MARCH 02, 2018
Has your company outgrown its office space? You might want to look for a new location sooner than later. Like the residential market, much of the commercial real estate market is currently tight.
“Be mindful of your timeline if you’re six months out from a lease termination, or you’re running out of space,” suggests Tere Blanca, CEO and founder of the commercial real estate brokerage firm Blanca Commercial Real Estate. “Given that markets are tight, you need a long lead time to ensure you can get the best possible space and deal terms,” she says.
If you’re set to renew your lease, you may find the rates rise substantially.
“Tighter markets tend to be more landlord-friendly and have higher rates,” says Blanca. “Business owners renewing leases often get major sticker shock in tight markets.”
Faced with rising leases and a growing workforce, many growing companies that aren’t ready to move have to make do with their current space.
“When moving isn’t yet an option, maximizing space comes into play,” says Blanca. “Tenants may have to convert bigger spaces into smaller huddle rooms or take larger single offices and convert them to more open layouts with workstations for multiple employees.”
Why Finding the Ideal Office Space Is Important
Having the ideal workspace for your employees—one that offers sufficient space and desired amenities—can directly affect your bottom line.
“The reality is you spend more waking hours in the office than you do at home,” says Eran Roth, CEO and founder of commercial real estate investment firm iintoo. “Working in a space you like, with the right balance of privacy and social interaction, can make a huge difference in the motivation of the workforce and directly impacts worker morale, retention and overall feelings of compensation.”
Look at co-working options that allow rapidly growing businesses to move into amenity-rich commercial real estate spaces immediately.—April Zimmerman Katz, owner and president, The Zimmerman Companies
For retailers, the location profoundly affects sales, believes Katherine Jensen, principal of Jensen Consulting, which specializes in writing and auditing commercial real estate leases.
“A storefront in a busy plaza with complementary neighbors is going to help increase the potential for sales and your visibility,” she says.
On the other hand, office space and its location may also influence your employees.
“Certain features such as being close to the subway, parking on site or perks like discount gym memberships could be deciding factors for potential employees,” says Jensen
The ideal office space can be critical to the culture of an organization, adds April Zimmerman Katz, owner and president of The Zimmerman Companies, a property management company, and Versa LLC, a provider of shared work space.
“One of the most expensive tasks any owner or employer has is to find, train and retain talent,” says Katz. “Employees will look carefully at the home a company has chosen. If a space doesn’t feel inspired, it may be harder to expect employees to follow suit.”
Tips for Finding the Right Office Space for Your Company
Locating the ideal office space in a tight commercial real estate market does take some time and dedication, but it’s possible. Try these tactics.
1. Think and plan ahead.
“Focus on the space you’ll need in 18 to 24 months,” says Alex Cohen, chief commercial real estate specialist for The Alex Cohen Team. “Most office leases are five to 10 years in term. Many companies in the growth mode decide on an appropriately-sized space based on their anticipated head count within the first year of the lease. It’s far better to anticipate more long-term growth than to make do with overcrowded conditions or have to relocate.”
One way to avoid having to relocate when you do run out of space is to negotiate and incorporate into the lease terms a right to more space that may become available in the building, adds Jensen.
2. Consider employee preferences.
“Look at where your employees are living and commuting from,” suggests Blanca. “Then choose a space that makes the most sense for the maximum number of employees. There will be a resulting increase in productivity thanks to decreased tardiness and absences.”
3. Look at flexible office options.
A traditional office may not be the answer in a tight market, suggests Katz.
“Look at co-working options that allow rapidly growing businesses to move into amenity-rich commercial real estate spaces immediately. Co-working can offer offices that can expand and contract with business as needed and allow owners to get down to work.”
Will Mitchell is co-founder and CEO of Contract Simply, a payment system software company. He is currently leasing a small office through a co-working space, and will soon be moving to a larger space with a six-month lease.
“We’ll be getting a pleasant ambiance, a kitchen, comfortable furniture, new desks and chairs, conference rooms, a great location and plenty of parking,” he says. “Our plan is to look for a permanent location once we triple in size.”
There’s definitely a rise in popularity of co-working spaces and requests for temporary office space, adds Clate Mask, CEO of Infusionsoft, a sales and marketing software company, and co-author of Conquer the Chaos.
“The commercial real estate market is likely a contributing factor,” Mask says, “as is the desire for mobility as businesses and employees become more global.”
4. Consider your company’s Gross Rental Occupancy Cost (GROC).
“GROC is an important calculation new tenants often have no knowledge of,” says Jensen. “This number illustrates the percentage of your revenue being spent on your rental costs. Ideally, a successful business should land between 10 to 20 percent. In a tight real estate market, it’s important to know your budget before diving in and signing a lease.”
Read more articles on planning for growth.
When I read Carol Michel’s book, Potted and Pruned: Living a Gardening Life, I was reminded of a spring evening several years ago. As I walked towards my back door after a marathon day in the garden, I overheard my kids talking about me. They’d been waiting for me to finish gardening so we could eat dinner together.
“She said she’d be in an hour ago,” said my son, Jeremy.
“I knew this was going to happen,” my daughter, Sabrina, replied. “She always does this when she’s in the garden. I’ll be there in a minute really means I’ll be there in an hour.”
“You guys haven’t learned yet?” replied Jeremy’s twin brother, Danny. “I had a snack.”
At that point, I walked in and thanked them for taking dinner out of the oven a few minutes earlier. (Okay, full disclosure. They’d taken the dinner out an hour before. It was night, not evening, and the dinner was cold and had to be reheated.)
The 36 chapters, many of them tongue-in-cheek, can’t help but make you smile, if you’re a gardener. And if you’re not a gardener, her book is sure to enlighten you.
Michel was inspired to write the book based on reactions to her long-standing garden blog, May Dreams Gardens. “I found that many readers responded positively to my humorous, light-hearted approach to gardening,” says Michel.
For the format of the book, Michel was inspired by all the old gardening books she has, including some from the early 20th century. “Those books tell about gardening in words, with few pictures. The title of the book, Potted and Pruned, refers to how I took some of the best posts from my blog, potted them up, pruned them a bit, and published them in the book.”
Michel’s chapter, “Rare in Cultivation,” taps into the gardener’s true nature. As she notes, “If you want to entice a gardener to buy a plant practically sight unseen, just mention it is ‘rare in cultivation.’ Those three words will cause any gardener’s heart to skip a beat… Before they know what plant it is, they are deciding where to plant it, though they don’t know yet if it is a tree, a shrub, a vegetable, or a flower…”
Another one of my favorite chapters is “GADS.” This stands for Garden Attention Distraction Syndrome. Apparently, it’s a common affliction amongst gardeners. That made me feel better, because I know I have it. It’s a disorder that has you jumping from one gardening task to the next with what appears to be no order, yet you do get quite a bit done in the process.
Each standalone chapter is short enough to be read on its own, or you could sit down and read several chapters at once, in the same amount of time it would take you to plant a flower bed. As long as GADS doesn’t get in the way, or that weed, or that plant you know nothing about, but you just have to have.
Julie Bawden-Davis is a garden writer and master gardener, who since 1985 has written for publications such as Organic Gardening, The American Gardener, Wildflower, Better Homes and Gardens and The Los Angeles Times. She is the author of 10 books, including Reader’s Digest Flower Gardening, Fairy Gardening, The Strawberry Story Series, and Indoor Gardening the Organic Way, and is the founder of HealthyHouseplants.com. Her backyard is a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
Michel does a brilliant job of capturing such fun facts about gardeners–including their warped sense of time in the garden–in her book of gardening essays.
I chuckled when I read her chapter “Time in a Garden.” She begins the chapter with these wise words. “It is true what the philosophers tell us: Time does stand still in a garden. This fact alone shapes how gardeners define time and their definitions are quite different than those used by people outside of the garden… We know from observation that total elapsed time for just a minute in a garden is often as long as 30 minutes outside of the garden.”
