COBRA EXTENDS HEALTH BENEFITS The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act is better known as COBRA. Its acronym sounds venomous, but COBRA is the antidote for people who have just...

COMMUNICATION BUILDS TRUST by Bill Cates Why we all need honest communication in our business and personal lives. In his book Just Be Honest, Steven Gaffney believes that withhold...

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: BOARD LESSONS by Jack Burke Are you getting involved in your community? Community involvement is essential for any successful business. Whether you champion ...

CONSULTATIVE BROKERAGE: A THINKING PLAYERS GAME by Rob Ekern Selling, like golf, requires careful thought. As a young man, I occasionally played golf on a competitive ba...

What you want will only get done if you make it an A+ priority. Jack Fries tells you how a business plan can reward you with survival, planned growth, and profit.

Every company faces crises that have the potential for doing serious damage to its reputation, image, and/or financial stability. Events that might’ve been minor or even unnoticed a few years ago could now wind up on the evening news or on page one of the newspaper. While some incidents are insignificant, others can be devastating. Yet when they occur it’s often difficult, if not impossible, to know whether the problem will evaporate or escalate, blow over or boomerang.

CROP AND HAIL INSURANCE Dear (Customer Name): IT'S NO 'SMALL POTATOES' LOSS . . . when you lose most or all of a crop. Whether it's a flood, hailstorm, deep freeze, or other misfortun...

DAY CARE CENTERS - 'WE ARE SPECIALISTS' AFTER-THE-FACT PROTECTION ISN'T ENOUGH Dear (Customer Name): Of course you want to be completely insured in case of a loss to your business, but...

DISSOLVING SHAREHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS by Paul Di Stefano, CPA Issues involving the breakup of partners or shareholders can be more complex than one might consider at first blush. A break...

DOING THE DEAL: A FOUR-STEP PROCESS by Rob Ekern This systematic sales approach works! Take the last deal you did: How many d...