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M I D C E N T R A L
MARCH 2013
I L L I N O I S
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601 E. William St. Decatur, IL 62523
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Striking up a bond
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March 2013
YOUR CALENDAR Learn more about these groups with our annual Networking Opportunities listing on pages 9 and 10.
Friday, March 1 Decatur Breakfast Sertoma, 7 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility, 3909 W. Main St. Decatur Black Chamber of Commerce First Friday Luncheon, noon, Main Street Church Tea Room, 2000 N. Main St.
Monday, March 4 Decatur Noon Lions Club, Main Place Bar & Grill, 101 S. Main St. Decatur Rotary 180, noon, Decatur Club, 158 W. Prairie Ave. Women’s Progressive Club, 6 p.m., Greater Northside Baptist Church.
Tuesday, March 5 Forsyth Rotary, 7 a.m., Homewood Suites by Hilton, 333 W. Marion Ave., Forsyth. BNI First Class Professionals, 7:45 a.m., Crestview Christian Church, 4415 N. Water St. Kiwanianne Club of Decatur, 9:30 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Prairieland Kiwanis, 9:30 a.m., Decatur Civic Center. Decatur AMBUCS, noon, Decatur Club. Noon Kiwanis Club, Decatur Club. Noon Sertoma, Decatur Club. Blue Mound Rotary, 6:30 p.m., Pleasantview Township shed.
Decatur Rotary 180, noon, Decatur Club.
Tuesday, March 12 Forsyth Rotary, 7 a.m., Homewood Suites by Hilton. BNI First Class Professionals, 7:45 a.m., Crestview Christian Church. Kiwanianne Club of Decatur, 9:30 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Prairieland Kiwanis, 9:30 a.m., Decatur Civic Center. Decatur Building Construction Trades Council, 10 a.m., IBEW Local 146 Hall, 3390 N. Woodford St. Decatur Area Society for Human Resource Management, 11 a.m., Doherty’s Pub and Pins, 242 E. William St. Central Illinois Ad Club, 11:30 a.m., Decatur Club. Decatur AMBUCS, noon, Decatur Club. Noon Kiwanis Club, Decatur Club. Noon Sertoma, Decatur Club. Blue Mound Rotary, 6:30 p.m., Pleasantview Township shed.
Wednesday, March 13 Decatur Golden K Kiwanis Club, 9:30 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Mount Zion Chamber of Commerce Luncheon, 11:30 a.m., Mary Belle’s. Decatur Shrine Club, noon, Scovill Banquet Facility. Decatur Real Estate Investors Association, 6:30 p.m., Perkins Family Restaurant, 2999 N. Monroe St.
Wednesday, March 6
Thursday, March 14
Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce Breakfast, 7 a.m., Decatur Club. Scheduled speaker is Bill Clevenger, Decatur Park District executive director. Decatur Golden K Kiwanis Club, 9:30 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Decatur Shrine Club, noon, Scovill Banquet Facility.
Earlybird Kiwanis, 6:45 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. GFWC Decatur Woman’s Club, 11:30 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Senior Resources Network (formerly Mature Resources Network), 11:45 a.m., Keystone Gardens, 1455 W. Mound Road. Decatur Metropolitan Rotary Club, noon, Decatur Club. Thursday Noon Toastmasters, Knights of Columbus Hall, 520 E. North St. Decatur Area Women’s Network (DAWN), 5:30 p.m., location varies. Lincolnland AMBUCS, 6:30 p.m., Easter Seals’ Building.
Thursday, March 7 Earlybird Kiwanis, 6:45 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Decatur Metropolitan Rotary Club, noon, Decatur Club. Human Service Agency Consortium (HSAC), noon, Central Christian Church, 650 W. William St. Thursday Noon Toastmasters, Knights of Columbus Hall, 520 E. North St. Metro Decatur Home Builder’s Association, 6 p.m., Beach House, 2301 E. Lake Shore Dr. American Business Women’s Association (Amacita), 6 p.m., location varies. Lincolnland AMBUCS, 6:30 p.m., Easter Seals’ Building, 2715 N. 27th St.
Friday, March 8 Decatur Breakfast Sertoma, 7 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility.
Monday, March 11 Decatur Noon Lions Club, Main Place Bar & Grill.
Friday, March 15 Decatur Breakfast Sertoma, 7 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Noon Women’s Network, 11:45 a.m., Decatur Club.
Saturday, March 16 Mount Zion Chamber of Commerce Business Expo, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mount Zion Convention Center. Taste of Mount Zion from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Monday, March 18 Decatur Noon Lions Club, Main Place Bar & Grill. Decatur Rotary 180, noon, Decatur Club.
Women’s Progressive Club, 6 p.m., Greater Northside Baptist Church.
Tuesday, March 19 Forsyth Rotary, 7 a.m., Homewood Suites by Hilton. BNI First Class Professionals, 7:45 a.m., Crestview Christian Church. Kiwanianne Club of Decatur, 9:30 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Noon Kiwanis Club, Decatur Club. Noon Sertoma, Decatur Club. Blue Mound Rotary, 6:30 p.m., Pleasantview Township shed.
Wednesday, March 20 Decatur Golden K Kiwanis Club, 9:30 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Christian Women’s Network, noon, Decatur Club. Decatur Shrine Club, noon, Scovill Banquet Facility.
Thursday, March 21 Earlybird Kiwanis, 6:45 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Decatur Christian Women’s Club, 11:30 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Decatur Metropolitan Rotary Club, noon, Decatur Club. Thursday Noon Toastmasters, Knights of Columbus Hall, 520 E. North St. Decatur AMBUCS, 6 p.m., Decatur Club.
Friday, March 22 Decatur Breakfast Sertoma, 7 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. American Business Women’s Association (Monarch), noon, location varies.
Monday, March 25 Decatur Noon Lions Club, Main Place Bar & Grill. Decatur Rotary 180, noon, Decatur Club.
Tuesday, March 26 Forsyth Rotary, 7 a.m., Homewood Suites by Hilton. BNI First Class Professionals, 7:45 a.m., Crestview Christian Church. Kiwanianne Club of Decatur, 9:30 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Decatur Building Construction Trades Council, 10 a.m., IBEW Local 146 Hall. Decatur AMBUCS, noon, Decatur Club. Noon Kiwanis Club, Decatur Club. Noon Sertoma, Decatur Club. Blue Mound Rotary, 6:30 p.m., Pleasantview Township shed.
Decatur Metropolitan Rotary Club, noon, Decatur Club. Thursday Noon Toastmasters, Knights of Columbus Hall, 520 E. North St.
Friday, March 29 Decatur Breakfast Sertoma, 7 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility.
Monday, April 1 Decatur Noon Lions Club, Main Place Bar & Grill. Decatur Rotary 180, noon, Decatur Club. Women’s Progressive Club, 6 p.m., Greater Northside Baptist Church.
Tuesday, April 2 Forsyth Rotary, 7 a.m., Homewood Suites by Hilton. BNI First Class Professionals, 7:45 a.m., Crestview Christian Church. Kiwanianne Club of Decatur, 9:30 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Prairieland Kiwanis, 9:30 a.m., Decatur Civic Center. Decatur AMBUCS, noon, Decatur Club. Noon Kiwanis Club, Decatur Club. Noon Sertoma, Decatur Club. Blue Mound Rotary, 6:30 p.m., Pleasantview Township shed.
Wednesday, April 3 Greater Decatur Chamber of Commerce Breakfast, 7 a.m., Decatur Club. Speaker is Craig Coil, president of the Economic Development Corporation of Decatur and Macon County. Decatur Golden K Kiwanis Club, 9:30 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Decatur Shrine Club, noon, Scovill Banquet Facility.
Thursday, April 4 Earlybird Kiwanis, 6:45 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. American Business Women’s Association (Amacita), 11:30 a.m., location varies. Decatur Metropolitan Rotary Club, noon, Decatur Club. Human Service Agency Consortium (HSAC), noon, Central Christian Church, 650 W. William St. Thursday Noon Toastmasters, Knights of Columbus Hall, 520 E. North St. Metro Decatur Home Builder’s Association, 6 p.m., Beach House. Lincolnland AMBUCS, 6:30 p.m., Easter Seals’ Building.
Wednesday, March 27
Friday, April 5
Decatur Golden K Kiwanis Club, 9:30 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Decatur Shrine Club, noon, Scovill Banquet Facility.
Breakfast Sertoma, 7 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility. Decatur Black Chamber of Commerce First Friday Luncheon, noon, Main Street Church Tea Room, 2000 N. Main St.
Thursday, March 28
To submit items for Your Calendar, contact Scott Perry at (217) 421-7976, at sperry@heraldreview.com, or click the “Submit an Event” link at www.thebusiness-journal.com
Earlybird Kiwanis, 6:45 a.m., Scovill Banquet Facility.
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March 2013
FROM THE EDITOR Answering machine. Voice mail. Whatever you call the thing, I’m sure the whole concept of leaving a message after the beep isn’t new to most people. So why is it that some callers have such a hard time mastering the process of leaving a simple message? Give me a loud “Hello” if you’ve ever had a caller leave a message that was so long that the machine cut them off mid-sentence. Think that’s bad, consider this. I had a caller that was so longwinded that my voicemail didn’t cut him off just once. It cut him off twice. He finally finished the message during his third time calling my phone. While those messages are bad, they rate a distant second on my list of phone message pet peeves. Atop the list are callers that leave a long, rambling message and end it by giving their phone number so fast that you can only assume their house was on fire. If the whole point of leaving a message was the hope that I might call you back, don’t you think the most important thing you’d want me to take away from the message is the number where you can be reached. Say your number slow and say it a couple times. That’s all for this month. Beep!
BUSINESS JOURNAL
BUSINESS JOURNAL OF MIDCENTRAL ILLINOIS
VOLUME 19
ISSUE 3
601 E. William St. Decatur, IL 62523 217.421.7976 217.421.7965 (fax)
PUBLISHER: Todd Nelson EDITOR: Scott Perry ADVERTISING: Cayla Hittmeier
Scott Perry, editor Business Journal of Midcentral Illinois
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March2013Contents 18
Standing Features
20 UNDER 40 Nominate your choice for this year’s class
Biz Bites . . . . . . . . . . 20 Business Clips . . . . . . . 6 Fred Spannaus . . . . . . 8 Free Time calendar . . 13 Health calendar . . . . 17
Office Coach . . . . . . . 22
SCORE counselor . . . . 7 Wendy Gauntt . . . . . . 14
SUBSCRIPTIONS: To order additional copies call 217.421.7931 ADVERTISING: The deadline for ad and ad copy for the April issue is March 19. Call 217.421.7931 for rate information. The Business Journal of MidCentral Illinois is printed monthly and is a publication of Lee Enterprises Inc.
Liz Reyer . . . . . . . . . . 22
Professional profile . . 12
STORY IDEAS: Email sperry@herald-review.com or call 217.421.7976.
Making connections Interested in becoming a Big Brother or Big Sister and don’t know where to start? Looking for a group to join? Need tips for communicating with your doctor? Wondering how important relationships are to the success of your business? Find answers to these questions throughout this month’s issue.
15 MARKING 5 YEARS Businesses learn to cope without smoke
Information published is the responsibility of the author and does not reflect the opinions of The Business Journal of MidCentral Illinois. To submit articles, mail typewritten and 500 words or less to: The Business Journal, 601 E. William St., Decatur, IL 62523. Articles will not be returned. Any editorial content or advertising published is the property of Lee Enterprises Inc., DBA The Business Journal of MidCentral Illinois. Copyright 2013 Herald & Review All rights reserved for entire content.
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March 2013
YOUR BUSINESS
Business Journal photos/Lisa Morrison
The folks at B&C Television have been meeting the viewing needs of Decatur area residents since 1962. Pictured are: from left, Art Warner, Barb Hodges, Geoff Peoples, Greg Sutman and Charlotte Sutman.
B&C Television connects with customers Business changes to meet channel surfers’ needs By SCOTT PERRY Business Journal Editor
DECATUR — To truly appreciate just how long B&C Television has been around and the changes that have occurred, one only has to know the story behind its name. It was chosen by founder William Sutman in 1962 because it stood for the types of televisions the business serviced — black and white, and color. Using Sutman’s reasoning, it still could be called B&C Television if the business were started today. The abbreviation could stand for big and colossal, when you consider they can hook you up with a 90-inch television if that is your desire. Longtime employee Art Warner also shares a story of a tele-
vision that was so large that it only could be delivered to the house while it was still under construction and a scissor-lift was used to get it to its permanent second-story home. And with all the advancement in picture quality, the business initials could just as easily stand for bright and colorful. They point to the next big thing being a 4K screen that contains no less than 8 million individual pixels. While both connections would work with the B&C name, the more likely choice — and the reason its owners, employees and customers say it has remained in business so long — would be best and customer service. “We care more for our customers,” said co-owner Barb Hodges, “because without them, there would be no B&C TV.” Hodges owns the business with her brother, Greg, who oversees the service side of things. They took over from their father upon his retirement in 1990. He passed away last year. Their mother, Charlotte, still checks in on a regular basis.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
Art Warner holds up an older model television from out of their store room.
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Continued from page 4 Nearly all their employees are family members, or have been around so long they are treated like family. Sutman started the business with partner Scott Baulous in a little building across from Standard Hatchery Feed and Seed on Wood Street. Sutman and Baulous parted ways, and the business moved to a shop at Eldorado Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The move also brought a new partner, Chuck Forde. B&C moved to its current location at 806 S. Jasper St. in 1972, and marked the expansion of the sales aspect of the business. While the size of the building has remained the same, the layout has been altered to meet changes in the market. At one time, the service area took up nearly half the building. Now, Hodges said, the products have become so reliable that the space devoted to housing the service department has given way to more showroom space. Hodges said the key to their success is listening to the customers and asking the right questions to find the product that is best for them. A lot of her customers are huge sports fans and want the latest technology to enhance their viewing pleasure of major events such as this month’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament. But the service doesn’t end there. “We pride ourselves on our knowledge,” Warner said, who is always on hand to answer questions that come up as the customers get more acquainted with their purchases. That attention to detail wasn’t lost on Mike Auton, who made his first visit to the B&C showroom last year and came away with a 55-inch television — with too many features to detail — to feed his need for premium
Business Journal/Lisa Morrison
Charlotte Sutman, middle, with her children, Barb Hodges and Greg Sutman. movie and sports viewing. It was Auton’s satisfaction with Sony products that got him in the door — B&C is the area’s largest Sony dealer. But it was the quality service that made him a returning customer. He has since purchased a sound bar for his television and a tablet for his wife. His only regret is he didn’t make the connection
sooner. The 63-year-old Auton, a lifelong resident of the Decatur area, said he never gave B&C any real consideration in the past because he figured their prices would be well above those of its national chain competitors. He found that wasn’t the case. “They go out of their way to help you,” he said.
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March 2013
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ASK THE SCORE COUNSELOR Q: How important are building relationships when managing a small business? A: Darren Dahl, business writer for Inc. Magazine, says: “Business is all about building relationships. The best way to build relationships is to be kind and to show interest in and compassion for the people you work and interact with. Ultimately, that’s how you build trust, which is the single most important factor in business and in life.” Everyone can reap the positive effects of kindness in the workplace. Here are four tips from Linda Kaplan Thaler, the marketing genius who came up with the popular Aflac insurance goose, to foster a kinder work environment. 1. Share the credit. Harry Truman once said “It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” Kaplan Thaler adds that when you share credit, co-workers and customers feel a sense of ownership in an idea. 2. Don’t talk down to others. It’s tough to get fired from the Kaplan Thaler company because they invest so heavily in the hiring process. The quickest way to get the boot, however, is by berating or belittling someone, especially a subordinate, such as an assistant or a messenger. “You can’t have a negative vibe in a company where ideas are currency,” she
Workers admit to playing hooky McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Kids are notorious for faking fevers to stay home from school. A new study suggests their parents aren’t much better. Nearly half of the workers surveyed admitted to calling in sick when they weren’t according to Adecco Group North America, the temporary staffing company that commissioned the survey. Perhaps bored with pretending to have the flu, some hooky-playing workers get creative. Slightly more than a quarter of employees say they have gained vacation time by fudging on bereavement days. A similar number admit to doing the same by claiming to have jury duty. Only 42 percent of the 522 full-time workers surveyed said they never lie to get extra vacation time. But don’t presume the worst if you’re looking at a sea of barren cubicles in your office this week. When the data were collected in late November, threequarters of workers said they still had vacation time available in 2012. While there seems to be an epidemic of workers claiming false sick time, colleagues are harsher than they should be. Seventy-two percent of employees think their co-workers use sick days when they’re not ill, though only 47 percent admit to pretending to be sick. Men are especially fond of falsely claiming time off for bereavement or jury duty. Thirty-four percent of men (and 18 percent of women) said they have used a departed loved one as an excuse for extra vacation. Forty percent of men and 11 percent of women have abused time off for jury duty.
GOT A QUESTION? To read more on the power of being nice, check out the Illinois Small Business Development Center's Weekly Connection publication or go to openforum.com/articles/thebusiness-benefits-of-being-nice. To learn more about managing your business; for one-on-one, face-to-face business counseling; or to submit a question for the "Ask the SCORE Counselor" column, contact SCORE Chapter 296, Millikin University, 1184 W. Main St., Decatur, IL 62522 or call 424-6296.
said. “Every time you shut someone down, you might be shutting down a money-making idea.” 3. Focus on the positive. Even in worstcase scenarios, Kaplan Thaler said it’s
important to find something positive to focus on. “We encourage people to be honest and say what they feel, but to do it using what we call a ‘Yes sandwich,’ ” she said. “That might mean telling someone no, but in a way that encloses it in a way that is positive and empowering.” For example, if a talented employee is always late with his or her work, start by complimenting their ideas. Then, address the tardiness problem before sending him or her off with another boost by, say, letting them know you believe in them. 4. Be courteous. “Mark Twain once said he could live for two months on a good compliment,” Kaplan Thaler said. “It doesn’t cost anything to give a compliment or say thank you. You can accomplish great things in business with just a positive comment and some humor.”
Meet a SCORE counselor Laura Cornille-Cannady has been a SCORE Ambassador since July 2010, but she began working with SCORE and the Tabor Center for Entrepreneurship several years earlier when she became one of the facilitators of the First Step FastTrac course which is offered twice each year to local Cornillenew and potential busiCannady ness owners nto assess their business ideas. Laura has worked in education, human resources, and most recently as a business owner and consultant. Her counseling specialties include human resources, organization design, training, strategic planning and operation planning.
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March 2013
Workforce program can help employers We start this column with happy outcomes. Grayson Mitchell of Decatur has a new job. Mitchell is working at Union Iron through UniQue Personnel, and he loves his new position. His life has stabilized. Wesley Dawson is working full-time at Akorn Pharmaceuticals and enrolled in the engineering tech program at Richland Community College. He has goals. Mitchell and Dawson were in a class of 12 trainees. All of them were long-term unemployed. Nine of them now have fulltime jobs. You know how Human Resources the story ends, so let’s back up a few months. Last summer, Workforce Investment Solutions started a project in conjunction with Richland Community College. The project’s aim? Training low-income persons for jobs in manufacturing. Workforce Investment Solutions wanted people who had high barriers to employment, and
Fred Spannaus
boy, did they find some. Three in the group were homeless. Almost all of them had criminal records, and one was serving time when selected for the project. Dawson had gone nine months without a paycheck. Mitchell and several others were on parole. Some had battled drug problems. Most of them tested low on reading and math. Just the kind of applicants most employers would reject out of hand. One of their instructors, HR consultant Ellen Hearn, said that on the first day of class, “All I could see were tattoos and cleavage — front and back.” The students were no less apprehensive. “It took us a while. We didn’t trust them at first. Eventually, we started believing these were people who really wanted to help us,” recounted Mitchell. Even by their first morning of class, the dozen trainees were survivors. They had been winnowed from an initial field of 127 candidates. They were selected not for their job histories, which were weak or nonexistent. They were chosen for their potential, their motivation and their sheer persistence in sticking with the arduous step-by-step selection process. The program consisted of three segments: employment readiness, manufacturing skills and job search. Project
READ provided tutoring to grow basic literacy skills. By the end of the program, Hearn said, they were qualified and job ready. Their appearance, their work attitudes and their workplace communication skills had turned around. “They had all learned to work.” Hearn, who has spent years working with employers, said this: “I can endorse them. They know what it takes to hold a job.” Dawson put it this way: “The employer is in charge of my job. But I know that I am in charge of my career.” Karen Allen, the Workforce Investment Solutions program manager, called the program “a huge success.” “It was exciting to watch them transform into confident people, holding their heads high.” Mitchell described Allen and Hearn as “people who will go the extra step.” Allen described Mitchell and his classmates as “people who needed a second chance” and who took advantage of the second chance to make good decisions. Hearn said this project was “one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever been a part of,” and marveled at the teamwork and cooperation exhibited by the participants. Buoyed by this success, Workforce Investment Solutions is now implement-
ing a second round of the project. This one trains persons for careers in health care, in cooperation with the Adult Education Department of the Decatur School District. These projects are funded by the city of Decatur’s Community Development Block Grant program and the Economic Development Corporation of Decatur and Macon County. There are two lessons here. The first is that it can be a mistake to reject applicants based on their barriers. Some of the best potential employees are those who possess the strength to overcome those barriers. The second lesson is that Workforce Investment Solutions can be a gem for employers. With its pre-screening regimen and its job readiness programs, Workforce Investment Solutions can help employers identify and select good people. It might not be too late. A couple of the trainees are still seeking work, including one who, according to Allen and Hearn, might be the best of the bunch.
Fred W. Spannaus, principal of Spannaus Consulting, is a senior professional in human resources. He loves feedback to his columns. Fred can be contacted by email at spannaus@ ameritech.net or by phone at 425-2635.
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AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN
WHEN: Meetings vary and are not held during the summer months. WHERE: Varies. PURPOSE: Promote equality for women and girls in education and legal advocacy. MEMBERSHIP: Open to all who want to join. Annual dues. ACTIVITIES: Spring luncheon and silent auction, Christmas tea, provide scholarships for students at Richland Community College and Millikin University. CONTACT: Co-presidents, Alice Huebner, 876-1446, or Melissa Watson, 422-4293.
AMERICAN BUSINESS WOMEN’S ASSOCIATION
March 2013
Networking opportunities CENTRAL ILLINOIS AD CLUB
Amacita Chapter
WHEN: 11:30 a.m., second Tuesday. WHERE: Varies. MEMBERSHIP: Marketing, advertising
WHEN: 6 p.m., first Thursday. WHERE: Varies. PURPOSE: To bring together business women to promote opportunities to grow professionally and personally. MEMBERSHIP: Open to all women. Annual dues. ACTIVITIES: Various projects to raise money for scholarships.
and creative professionals in Central Illinois. Membership levels vary. ACTIVITIES: Host the Decagon Awards, industry speakers, after-hours networking events. CONTACT: centralillinoisadclub@ gmail.com. ON THE WEB: LinkedIn, Facebook and www.centralillinoisadclub.org.
AMBUCS
DECATUR CHRISTIAN WOMEN’S CLUB
Decatur AMBUCS WHEN: Noon, every Tuesday (except fifth Tuesday). WHERE: Decatur Club. PURPOSE: Dedicated to creating mobility and independence for people with disabilities. MEMBERSHIP: Open to all who want to join. Monthly dues include cost of meal. ACTIVITIES: Man all Pepsi booths at Decatur Celebration, sweetheart calendar raffle, maintain scholarship program for college juniors and seniors majoring in a therapy field, provide AmTryke therapeutic tricycles for children with disabilities. CONTACT: Eula Snow, 428-0420.
Lincolnland AMBUCS WHEN: 6:30 p.m., first and second Thursday. WHERE: Easter Seals building. MEMBERSHIP: Open to all who want to join. Monthly dues. ACTIVITIES: Build wheelchair ramps, provide AmTryke therapeutic tricycles for children with disabilities, sponsor dances at Knights of Columbus Hall, volunteer for Special Olympics and family picnic. CONTACT: Rosey Kuhlmann, 875-5017.
BNI (Business Network International) First Class Professionals Chapter WHEN: 7:45 a.m., every Tuesday. WHERE: Crestview Christian Church. PURPOSE: Structured referral network organization.
MEMBERSHIP: Open to one representative per profession per chapter. Visitors welcome. Annual dues. CONTACT: Jessica Davis, 855-3284 or Jeff Ensinger (309) 453-2463.
WHEN: 11:30 a.m., Thursday after the third Tuesday. WHERE: Scovill Banquet Facility. PURPOSE: Spread the Christian message that God loves you. MEMBERSHIP: Open to all who want to attend. Cost of lunch. CONTACT: Sylvia Baker, 865-2927
DECATUR AREA WOMEN’S NETWORK (DAWN)
WHEN: 5:30 p.m., second Thursday (except July and August). WHERE: Varies. PURPOSE: Provide networking opportunities for women seeking any career objectives, networking and support system. MEMBERSHIP: Open to all women pursuing career objectives, regardless of employment status. Annual dues. CONTACT: Laura Cornille-Cannady, president, dawndecatur@gmail.com.
DECATUR BUILDING CONSTRUCTION TRADES COUNCIL
WHEN: 10 a.m., second and fourth Tues-
day.
WHERE: IBEW Local 146 Hall. PURPOSE: To promote the construction industry in the area and to meet the needs of members by enhancing the safety and quality of their work. MEMBERSHIP: Open to construction business managers. Dues vary. ACTIVITIES: Donate labor to DMH Home Health & Hospice, Decatur Celebration, Decatur Family Y, Child Advocacy Center and downtown Christmas tree lighting. CONTACT: Shad Etchason, president, 8774604.
DECATUR REAL ESTATE INVESTORS ASSOCIATION WHEN: 6:30 p.m., second Wednesday (except July). WHERE: Perkins Family Restaurant. PURPOSE: To help people find affordable places to live. MEMBERSHIP: Annual dues. CONTACT: Steve Thorpe, 433-8692.
DECATUR SHRINE CLUB WHEN: Noon, every Wednesday and 6 p.m. on the third Wednesday in February, March, June and November. WHERE: Day meetings at Scovill Banquet Facility. Evening meetings at Pop’s Place. PURPOSE: Help provide treatment to children in 22 children’s hospitals across the United States, Canada and Mexico. MEMBERSHIP: Any Shriner can join. Annual dues. ACTIVITIES: Fish fries, pork chop bake, steak bakes, parade participation, Ansar race at Macon Speedway, golf outing. CONTACT: Chuck Foley, president, 414-0204.
GFWC DECATUR WOMAN’S CLUB
WHEN: 11:30 a.m., second Thursday. WHERE: Scovill Banquet Facility
(through June). PURPOSE: A charitable organization that promotes the educational, industrial and social interests of women. MEMBERSHIP: Open to any woman. Annual dues. ACTIVITIES: Sponsor Chad the Zebra at Scovill Zoo, rummage sales, monthly speakers, sponsor a scholarship to Eastern Illinois University, work for the prevention of domestic abuse, volunteer at Decatur Memorial Hospital and Blessingdales, among other things. CONTACT: Darla D. Weltmer, president, 877-7008.
HUMAN SERVICES AGENCY CONSORTIUM
WHEN: Noon, first Thursday (except July and August). WHERE: Central Christian Church. PURPOSE: To promote common goals by sharing ideas, clarifying communications, identifying needs and resources, promoting training opportunities and promoting public awareness of accomplishments in the human service field.
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MEMBERSHIP: Anyone interested in social services. Dues vary. ACTIVITIES: Teddy Bear Dental Fund, Safe Sleep program. CONTACT: Macy Barnett, 422-8537.
KIWANIANNE CLUB OF DECATUR WHEN: 9:30 a.m., every Tuesday. WHERE: Scovill Banquet Facility. PURPOSE: Service to the community. MEMBERSHIP: Current members sponsor new members. Meeting dues. ACTIVITIES: Kiwanianne for schools drive, geranium sales, pecan sales, fall salad luncheon with silent auction. CONTACT: Marilyn Black, president, 8771758.
KIWANIS Early Bird WHEN: 6:45 a.m., every Thursday. WHERE: Scovill Banquet Facility. PURPOSE: Children are priority No. 1. MEMBERSHIP: Open to anyone who wants to join. Quarterly dues. ACTIVITIES: Peanut day, cheese sale. CONTACT: Mark Wood, board member, 875-2655.
Golden K WHEN: 9:30 a.m., every Wednesday. WHERE: Scovill Banquet Facility. MEMBERSHIP: Open to anyone who wants to join. Annual dues. ACTIVITIES: Sponsor of Bringing Up Grades, sixth-grade basketball at Decatur Indoor Sports Center, Books for Kids, help sponsor Fire Cadet program, among other things. CONTACT: Susan Rayhill, secretary, 8644715. ON THE WEB: www.decaturnet.org/ GoldenK.
Noon WHEN: noon, every Tuesday. WHERE: Decatur Club. MEMBERSHIP: Open to anyone who wants to join. Quarterly dues, meal included. ACTIVITIES: Fruit box sales, peanut days, Boo at the Zoo, Catholic Charities, serve at Community Thanksgiving Luncheon. CONTACT: Shirley Elkin, president, 4335315.
LIONS Decatur Noon WHEN: Noon, every Monday. WHERE: Main Place Bar & Grill. PURPOSE: Provide services for sightand hearing-impaired. MEMBERSHIP: By invitation of a current member. Quarterly dues include cost of meal. ACTIVITIES: Lions Candy Day, Thanksgiving basketball tourney, hearing screenings at the Farm Progress Show. CONTACT: Diane Drew, 422-9888.
METRO DECATUR HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION
WHEN: 6 p.m., first Thursday (except June, July, August, October and December). CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
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March 2013
Continued from page 9 WHERE: Beach House. PURPOSE: Dedicated to the promotion of new construction and remodeling in the Decatur area. MEMBERSHIP: Anyone with ties to the building community in Macon, DeWitt, Moultrie and Shelby counties. Annual dues and $25 for cost of meal at each meeting. ACTIVITIES: Build wheelchair ramps, Homeward Bound and CASA projects, Central Park Santa House, annual home show. CONTACT: Steve Zarndt, president, 4290774 or MetroDecaturHBA@gmail.com. ON THE WEB: www.metrodecaturhome builders.com.
ROTARY Blue Mound WHEN: 6:30 p.m., every Tuesday. WHERE: Pleasantview Township shed, Blue Mound.
MEMBERSHIP: Open to anyone who wants to join. Annual dues include cost of meal. ACTIVITIES: Two annual fish fries, citrus sales and peach sales. CONTACT: Jim Damery, president, 6922692.
Decatur 180 WHEN: Noon, every Monday. WHERE: Decatur Club. PURPOSE: Service to humanity, domes-
information and solutions on a wide array of topics including advance directives, financial, house and home, leisure and wellness/health care. MEMBERSHIP: Open to anyone who works with seniors. Cost of lunch. CONTACT: Jami Bray, 877-5327 or SRN Decatur@yahoo.com.
SERTOMA Decatur Breakfast WHEN: 7 a.m., every Friday. WHERE: Scovill Banquet Facility. PURPOSE: Service to mankind, with focus on speech and hearing. MEMBERSHIP: Open to anyone who wants to join. Quarterly dues includes cost of meal. ACTIVITIES: Purchase hearing aids, hearing devices and services for the needy; provide copies of Bill of Rights to all fifth-graders in Macon County; sponsor foreign students at Community Thanksgiving Dinner; Salvation Army bell ringers. Fundraising activities include selling elephant ears at Decatur Celebration, midnight bingo and selling gourmet holiday blend coffee. CONTACT: Alex Prather, 864-4086. ON THE WEB: www.decaturnet.org/ sertoma
Noon WHEN: Noon, every Tuesday. WHERE: Decatur Club. MEMBERSHIP: Open to anyone who
wants to join. Quarterly dues. ACTIVITIES: Park cars at Decatur Celebration, purchase hearing aids for qualified applicants, sponsor of the Easter Seals Christmas party, poinsettia and spring bedding plant sales, sweet corn sales. CONTACT: Lloyd Swanson, president, 4292598.
THURSDAY NOON TOASTMASTERS WHEN: Noon, every Thursday WHERE: Greater Decatur Y. PURPOSE: Participants practice and
learn skills by filling a meeting role, ranging from giving a prepared speech or an impromptu one to serving as timer, evaluator or grammarian. MEMBERSHIP: Open to all who have a desire for self-improvement and want to become better public speakers. Annual dues. Bring your own lunch. CONTACT: Patrick Hoban, president, 4229520
WOMEN’S PROGRESSIVE CLUB
WHEN: 6 p.m., first and third Monday (third Monday only in January and February). WHERE: Greater Northside Baptist Church. PURPOSE: Meet the needs of women and children in the community. MEMBERSHIP: Christian-oriented. Open to anyone who is committed to the mission. Annual dues.
ACTIVITIES: Mother’s Day souvenir booklet, bake and rummage sales to help support NAACP, Dove Inc. and honorariums to college students. Also host a preThanksgiving dinner for senior citizens, women’s luncheon. CONTACT: Barbara Holder, president, 428-1381.
DECATUR AREA SOCIETY FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
WHEN: 11 a.m., second Tuesday (except July and August). WHERE: Beach House. PURPOSE: Networking and information for HR professionals and individuals tasked with HR administration/management or any of its specialized functions. MEMBERSHIP: Open to individuals engaged in at least 50 percent of their work time to an HR administration/management or any of its specialized functions. Annual dues. ACTIVITIES: Networking events, monthly lunch meeting with different speaker discussing HR-related topics. CONTACT: Mary Collins, 620-1858. ON THE WEB: decatur.shrm.org
CLUB 501
PURPOSE: Connecting young professionals with the community. MEMBERSHIP: Anyone who wants to join. Membership is free. ACTIVITIES: Vary. CONTACT: Chris Phillips, 875-3823
tic or foreign.
MEMBERSHIP: By invitation of a current member. Quarterly includes cost of meal. ACTIVITIES: Finance Rotary Park, provide grants for school libraries, contribute funds for international relief programs, numerous contributions to area organizations. CONTACT: David Goebel, president, 4295439 or 875-2004. ON THE WEB: www.decaturrotary.org
Decatur Metropolitan WHEN: Noon, every Thursday. WHERE: Decatur Club. MEMBERSHIP: By invitation of a current
Who doesn’t love
FREE MONEY!
member. Annual dues. ACTIVITIES: Holiday citrus fruit sale, various local and international activities CONTACT: Renee Stivers, president, 8757211 ext. 575.
Forsyth WHEN: 7 a.m., every Tuesday. WHERE: Homewood Suites by Hilton. MEMBERSHIP: By invitation of a current member. Monthly dues. ACTIVITIES: Citrus fruit sales, sponsor RYLA for high school students, sponsor heifer program, which sends livestock to undeveloped countries, sponsor Shelter Box, sponsor polio eradication program, sponsor of Central Illinois regional chili cookoff. CONTACT: Larry Reed, 875-7030.
Apply for a scholarship today! CallTricia at 217.875.7211,ext 203
SENIOR RESOURCE NETWORK
WHEN: 11:30 a.m., second Thursday. WHERE: Keystone Gardens. PURPOSE: Dedicated to educating families for life. Local professionals provide
One College Park | Decatur, Illinois 62521 | richland.edu
www.thebusiness-journal.com
March 2013
Diabetes Risk Diabetes Risk
Getting AANew GETTING NEWRide RIDE Q
I want to purchase a vehicle, what do I need to know before I buy?
Q How do I know if I am at risk for type 2 diabetes?
A Rusty, broken down, gas mileage or a growing family; there are many
reasons for wanting to purchase that next vehicle, but also many considerations. Whether it’s a car, truck, motorcycle, boat or an RV, keep these things in mind when financing your new or used vehicle.
A Nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes, and more than
a third of those are unaware of it. Further, nearly 80 million Americans have prediabetes—meaning they are at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
• Know the numbers: There are many factors that make up the cost of purchasing a vehicle. • Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) is the suggested price for a new car given by the auto maker. Since it is only a suggestion, the car can be sold for more or less depending on demand and availability.
Diane Ellis
Loan Operations 3130 E. Mound Road Decatur, IL 62526 Ph: 875-3823
Because diagnosis often is not made until several years after the onset of the disease, it can be disabling and even life threatening. Diagnosing the disease early is important to prevent further complications such as heart disease, blindness, kidney disease, stroke, amputation and death.
• Destination Charge is the price the manufacturer charges to ship the vehicle to the dealership. It is usually non-negotiable. • Used Car Retail Value is a number we can give you as a starting point when shopping around and comparing prices on used vehicles. Call us and we can give you a NADA used car value for the year, model, mileage and equipment level you are considering. • Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is your loan interest rate that is determined by many factors including: applicant credit, payment history, collateral, term of loan and percent of product financed. Know your credit going it to apply for a loan to ensure you are getting the rate you deserve. • Shop for money before you shop for the car: Shop with the power of cash when you step onto the lot. Financial institutions like LLCU can get you pre-approved so when you’re ready to buy, you can. Plus, it will give you added confidence in negotiating a good price. For more information or to apply for a vehicle loan, visit www.llcu.org.
Chris Phillips, VP of Marketing Land of Lincoln Credit Union 3130 East Mound Road, Decatur, IL 62526
BUSINESS JOURNAL
Risk factors include being overweight, under active and over the age of 45. Persons of color and those with a family history of diabetes have an increased risk for type 2 diabetes.
Kiran Multani, DO Family Physician
Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed by losing weight through regular exercise, at least 30 minutes a day, five days per week, and healthy eating. For more information about diabetes risk and prevention, please speak with your primary care provider.
HSHS Medical Group Family Medicine – North Decatur 2965 N. Main Street, Suite F, Decatur, IL 62526
(217) 875-3823
Phone: 217.875.7847
cphillips@llcu.org
Taking care of BUSINESS
Ask the Professional >>>
To participate in Ask the Professional, call 217-421-6994
Become A Savvy Shopper Become A Savvy Shopper
Online Advertising Social Media + Website Social Media + Website
I have been researching online for office furniture, why should I buy locally?
Q
When it comes to buying furniture, a consumer has options as to where they can make their purchase. In the age of the internet, one might ask why they should even shop in locally owned stores and small businesses. There is assumption that you can get it cheaper online, right? While the volume of online sales is staggering, we are beginning to see the savvy shopper returning to locally owned small businesses.
A
What you see is not always what you get when purchasing online, as well as unloading and assembling your own furniture. Online purchases are not a savings or hassle free when the furniture you purchased is not what you expected. At Illini Supply we have the resources to find furniture that meets your specific needs, quality you can rely on and affordable pricing.
Steve Larson Digital Sales Manager
Can exist on the web today using just Whataisbusiness online advertising? a social media presence and no actual business website? It is the most efficient advertising available for targeting local Yes, but it's a major mistake. While social media is a consumers, whether you are a small business or a large business. powerfulonline tool toforattract marketing and building onlineevery reach for a Marketing local customers works because day, business, it does not fill of a business website. more and more consumers are the usingshoes the Internet and herald-review.com to access news and information, local offers and services in close proximity to where they live. should be using social media Local business owners Because so many local people are visiting primarily to help drive business to aherald-review.com website. So, in every day (we average over 7,000 unique visitors each day and generate 1.8 million our eyes, the two definitely work hand in hand, not pages views each month*) it is up to us to provide as many reasons for independent of one them to keep coming backanother. for more. If you are currently only using social media and do not have business let usyour From sponsoring breaking news anda doing Today'swebsite, Deal to helping business showthe up reasons better in a to Google or Yahoo! Search, if you haven't show you make a change. inquired about including online advertising, you should. It doesn't cost you anything to ask. To find out more about our entry-level social and website To get started, call Steve Larson at (217) 421-6927 or email packages, or information about any of our other digital or slarson@herald-review.com today.
web services, please call us at (217) 421-6927. *source: Omniture
Shopping locally boosts our local economy. Stop by Illini Supply today and visit our showroom to experience purchasing interiors through a professional team where your satisfaction is our goal.
6 0 1 E . W I L L I A M S T. D E C AT U R , I L 6 2 5 2 3 217.421.6927
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March 2013
YOUR FREE TIME
Meet Kristin Noland Hometown: USA. I grew up in Northern Virginia, moved to Los Angeles for five years, and finished my college years in Fort Myers, Fla. I am now a farm girl in Blue Mound.
teers. But our enrollment process is straightforward and begins with an interview where we have a chance to get a feel for your personality and your preferences for the pairing we make. Our goal is to put every volunteer into a match where they have the best chance of forming a solid friendship. After we complete our background checks and references, we identify a child from the waiting list with whom we think you will do well. Then we talk about that candidate and give you information about their background. If you think the situation is one in which you’ll be comfortable, we work with the family to set up the first meeting. Your caseworker facilitates everything.
Family: My husband, Blake, and two puppies. Occupation: Case manager for Big Brothers Big Sisters Education: I graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. I am continuing with graduate studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield in human resources. My “I’d rather be …” bumper sticker would read: “I’d rather be traveling.” I am blessed to have parents on both coasts and siblings scattered throughout the United States. Visiting my family has all the perks of a vacation and the feeling of being home.
What is expected of the Big Brother or Sister? Consistency. Reliability. Lending a nonjudgmental ear. And a willingness to revert back to being a kid again!
Hobbies/interests: I enjoy outdoor activities from gardening to horseback riding, and everything in between. Cooking has always been a passion of mine. I try to cook from scratch and put my own spin on recipes, which can create interesting conversations at the dinner table. My husband doesn’t seem to mind my kitchen creativity. My first job: At age 13, I worked for a park that offered catered events. I started my first job as a high-ranking parks and recreation custodial engineer. In other words, I started off cleaning bathrooms and picking up trash. After mastering the custodial studies, I was promoted to onion chopper. Thinking of that job still makes me tear up. Why I do what I do: During my first year as a case manager, it’s been fun to watch “matches” I’ve introduced move from the “friends” category and closer to “family.” I have been surprised by how much the child has impacted the volunteer in many cases. Those types of success stories are why I do what I do. Personal approaches to challenges: I am a firm believer in prayer and a good night’s rest. Community involvement: I’m a volunteer mentor in the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization (along with Blake, who is a Big Brother — together with our Little Brother we are a “couples match”). I will be starting my first year on the St. Mary’s Advisory Council. I also have served dinners at the Blue Mound Fall Festival. Tell us a little about Big Brothers Big Sisters? It’s a small-time commitment for our volunteers, but that time can be a VERY big deal for the kids in our program.
Business Journal/Mark Roberts
Kristin Noland and her husband, Blake, join Elijonn Rice for some bowling at Pla-Mor Lanes. The three were brought together by Big Brothers Big Sisters. Each mentor determines his or her own schedule, as long as it’s on a consistent basis for at least one year’s time. For some Bigs, it’s just an hour or so per week. Others like to get together for several hours on a weekend. We offer two matching options — school-based consists of meeting with a student one lunchtime per week at school (which is something a lot of our professional volunteers build in as part of their work week); the community-based format allows a mentor to do activities with a child Little 2 to 4 times a month for activities away from school. We do special trips, cookouts and agency events in addition to whatever the match wants to do independently. A lot of them like to go to the library, the movies, cook together, stuff like that. Why is the organization so important? Our program provides children with a number of risk factors with a safe structure to meet positive role models. Providing children in need with the opportunity to gain new perspectives and discover new possibilities, we think it’s impossible to quantify the good that can do. Our organization has been around since 1904. In that time, the service-delivery model has become so refined that we can often predict the improvements kids will make behaviorally and academical-
ly. Studies have shown that kids who have a mentor providing social and emotional support do much better long term than kids who get tutoring alone. Our outcomes demonstrate that children become much more likely to avoid involvement in the juvenile justice system, and much more likely to graduate from high school. In turn, these kids become an asset to the community rather than a liability. How do kids come into the program? Is there a waiting list? Children are referred to us in a variety of ways. Parents or caregivers often know about us through family or friends, and can apply directly to enroll their children in the program. Our services are totally free for all families and volunteers. We also receive referrals from churches, schools and other youth organizations. Yes, there is a pretty consistent waiting list, because parents understand the value and are willing to be patient while we find the right adult to work with their child. We currently have 71 kids waiting. In Decatur, we have a particularly tough time (compared to our other counties) recruiting men to become Big Brothers. How do you match me with a Little Brother or Sister? We are obviously very careful about screening in safe, reliable volun-
How did you become involved with the organization? Shortly after moving to the area, I heard there was an opening and felt like the position would be a good fit. After working closely within the organization, Blake and I recognized the definite need for as many Decatur volunteers as we can find. One of the kids in our program lost his Big Brother, and his grades and behavior got worse almost immediately. His personality has been a great fit for Blake and for me. He’s shy but comfortable with the two of us. Now we’re getting him to socialize more out in public. What is your pitch to those who are on the fence about becoming a Big Brother or Sister? If you have a lunch hour, then you have the power to improve a kid’s life. It may sound corny but it’s true. Our schoolbased option makes it possible for virtually anybody to volunteer as a mentor. For those who can’t commit to being a Big Brother or Sister, are there other ways they can get involved? We have a lot of avenues for involvement, namely on our Regional Advisory Board (which puts on our fundraisers each year. We receive no state or federal funding. All of our support comes to us because people choose to support our program and its results). The simplest way to contribute is to attend our events. We do a fun Night in the Islands party in November at The Decatur Club. Coming up we have our biggest annual event, Bowl for Kids’ Sake. It’s March 15, 16 and 17. It’s filling up, but you can still register a team at bbbs.kintera.org/2013. We get business teams, family teams, youth groups. People who do it once come back year after year, it seems.
More from Kristin Noland Find out how Kristin came to live in Central Illinois and her initial impressions of the area at www.thebusiness-journal.com
www.thebusiness-journal.com
The Arts Anne Lloyd Gallery: The works of mixed media artist Cindy Lewis. Call 423-3189. www.decturarts.org Gallery 510: Watercolors by Michael Delaney. Call 422-1509. Blue Connection: Vibrant canvases by Millikin University faculty member Lyle Salmi. Decatur Airport: Quilters Guild. Decatur Public Library: Watercolors by Jessica Disbrow. Perkinson Art Gallery, Kirkland Fine Arts Center: Annual BFA Senior Exhibitions through May 3. The David Erlanson Gallery, Richland Community College: “REVERB-ERATIONS,” the recent works of Brandon Ellis, through March 15. An artist’s reception is set from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, March 8.
Music Millikin Decatur Symphony Orchestra: Oratorio, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2, at Kirkland Fine Arts Center; Lullaby Concert, 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, April 2, at the Decatur Public Library; and this year’s Family Concert, entitled “Carnival of the
March 2013
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Calendar of events
Shilling Community Education Center. For more information, call 875-7211, Ext. 350.
For a complete list of events, go to www.herald-review.com/go/
The Women of Excellence 2013 awards program to benefit Decatur Family YMCA and the United Way of Decatur and Macon County will be held 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 4, at the Decatur Conference Center and Hotel. Cost is $50. For more information, call 872-9622.
Animals,” 2 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at the Decatur Civic Center. The April events are free. For more information, call 4246318.
March 9. Adults cost $5, kids are free. For more information, visit www.lincolnsquaretheatre.com or call 972-8606.
Craicmore, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 9, at Kirkland Fine Arts Center. For tickets, call 424-6318.
American contemporary dance by Thodos Dance Chicago, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 6, at Kirkland Fine Arts Center. For tickets, call 424-6318.
On Stage
Charity events
“Perform!,” featuring local actors in grades 1 through 12, presented by the Decatur Park District. Performances are March 22-24, in the Decatur Civic Center Theater.
The 26th annual Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids’ Sake will be held Friday-Sunday, March 15-17, at Pla-Mor Lanes, 2121 N. 22nd St. To register, visit bbbs.kintera. org, email specialevents@bbbscil.org or call Big Brothers Big Sisters at 428-4240.
Theatre 7 presents “Marrying Terry,” March 8-10 and 15-17, in Richland Community College’s Shilling Auditorium. For tickets, call 422-3866. www.theatre7. net. Little Theatre-On the Square: The Little Mermaid, Jr., April 5-7. For tickets, call 7287375. www.thelittletheatre.org. Lincoln Square Theatre: Professor Steve’s “Outta Sight Light Show,” 3 p.m. Saturday,
Seal of Excellence Tribute Dinner to benefit Easter Seals Central Illinois, 6 p.m. Thursday, March 21, at the Decatur Club. This year’s honorees are Gary and Laura Birschbach. Tickets are $75. Call 4291052. The William T. Eichenauer Scholarship Dinner to benefit the Richland Community College culinary arts program will be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23, in the
Rock the Crock, a crockpot cook-off to benefit the Obesity Prevention Coalition of Macon County, 1-3 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Decatur. For more information, call 876-5264.
Misc. St. Patrick’s Day Parade, 11 a.m. Saturday, March 16, in downtown Decatur. Home Lawn and Garden Show, March 16 and 17, Decatur Civic Center. 33rd annual Quilt Fest, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, March 22, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 23, Decatur Civic Center. For more information, go to www.decaturquiltguild.com.
Got an item you’d like listed in the Your Free Time calendar? Send the information to Scott Perry at sperry@herald-review.com or 601 E. William St., Decatur, IL 62523.
PLACE BAR & GRILL Featured MAIN Accommodates: up to 100 people Club & Atrium, business/social functions Business: 101 Full food & beverage service available DECATUR CLUB Accommodates: 300 people Banquets & weddings DECATUR CONFERENCE CENTER & HOTEL Accommodates: 2,000 people 55,000 sq. ft. functional space, food service available DOHERTY’S PUB & PINS Accommodates: up to 80 seating - 150 capacity Full food & beverage service available HICKORY POINT BANQUET FACILITY Accommodates: 225 w/additional seating on veranda Award-winning cuisine MT. ZION CONVENTION CENTER
101 S. Main St., Decatur Contact: Tiffany Jess 422-4700
158 W. Prairie Ave., Decatur Contact: Jeff Ingle 429-4200 4191 U.S. 36 West Contact: 420-8711 242 E. William St., Decatur Contact: 428-5612
727 Weaver Rd., Decatur Contact: Tina McCarnen 421-6657
Accommodates: 1,100 people
1410 Mt. Zion Pkwy, Mt. Zion Contact: 864-5424
MT. ZION LIONS CENTER Accommodates: up to 300 people Choose your own caterer, bring your own food Ask about our “value-added service”
1595 W. Main St., Mt. Zion Contact: Sharon Spinner 864-3100 mtzionlionsclub.com
SCOVILL BANQUET FACILITY Accommodates: up to 225 people Award-winning cuisine
3909 W. Main St., Decatur Contact: Kevin Brewer 421-7470
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March 2013
TECHTALK
Protect your business with IT-related policies HR and IT may seem like the least related departments in any business. But, in fact, they need to work hand in hand. Technology impacts everyone who works for you, and there are a number of critical IT-related policies you need to have in place to protect your business.
Company resources First of all, define the company-provided technology resources your team will be using. This includes phone, Internet, computer access, email, fax, etc. Be clear that when your staff is using company resources, there should be no expectation of privacy. You can strictly limit use of these resources to business purposes only, or you can allow Technology some leeway for limited personal use. Bear in mind that many employees abuse these policies, spending hours every day shopping online, gambling, keeping tabs on Facebook and even surfing pornography. Obviously these activities waste time that could be spent working. Pornography in the workplace can even create legal risks for your company: sexual harassment and hostile work environment are serious concerns. Internet usage can be easily monitored as long as it goes through the company network and not a personal cellular device. Even better, you can turn on content filtering if you have a firewall with these capabilities. That allows you to block surfing that could get your staff into trouble. You can lock down just the
Wendy Gauntt
worst of the worst (porn, gambling, weapons, etc.) or put up stringent controls on all sites that are not business related (or anywhere in between).
Confidentiality Theft of company data is a serious issue, and sadly, the most common source of theft is your own employees. It’s common practice for sales people to take databases of contacts with them when they leave for another job. Make sure access to sensitive data is limited to those who need it, and have employees sign confidentiality agreements that protect valuable and proprietary data. It takes just an instant to copy files to a USB drive, and you don’t want your company exposed. If necessary, you can block use of USB drives and the like, but there are so many ways to copy data files that it’s difficult to block all options.
Software licensing Another area of concern is regulatory compliance and software licensing. Violations in these areas can cost you money in the form of steep fines and other penalties. If you are in a regulated industry, such as medical or financial, you have a myriad of rules to follow. Compliance audits by qualified professionals can confirm that you have your bases covered. As for software licensing, make sure you have policies that prohibit employees from downloading or copying any software without permission, and ask your IT company to do a licensing audit to check compliance. An organization called the Business Software Alliance is well-known for catching companies with software licensing issues and charging them dearly. Most fines are in the sixfigure range, and they get most of their tips from former employees.
Social media
Termination
When your employees post content online, whether representing your company or not, it impacts your image. Between blogging, Facebook, Twitter and forums, there are many ways they can reach out to the world, and it’s pretty easy to find out that they work for your company. When it comes to use of company resources, you have control over personal use, and most employee handbooks include language prohibiting offensive, improper or discriminatory messages using company resources. Unfortunately, your ability to control what they do on personal time, using noncompany resources, is much more limited. The best thing to do is educate your staff on appropriate messaging, and help them understand how it could impact the company and, potentially, their job. In the event of any issues, seek legal counsel for guidance.
One last policy, perhaps the most important of all, is to have a clearlydefined termination procedure that you adhere to each and every time an employee leaves your company. From an IT standpoint, you need to ensure all systems access is removed; you also need to make sure confidential data is removed from any personal devices (PCs, smartphones, etc.). Create a checklist of all systems that need to be updated when someone leaves. This includes your employee’s network and computer login, email access, software access, logins to any web-based services you may use, remote access, etc. Many choose to forward email on a short-term basis to a manager or the replacement employee. Most other logins are disabled or deleted.
Mobile devices
The best approach
Whether personal or company-provided, mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets bring a whole new set of concerns. You will need to set boundaries on usage to avoid unexpected overage charges. Include a safety policy about use of devices while driving, so that you aren’t liable in the event of an accident. If you allow access to company resources on personal devices such as email, for example, then you will need to have employees agree that you can wipe the data from their device if they leave the company. This type of policy is called a “BYOD” plan, as in “bring your own device,” and allowing deletion is known as “right to wipe.” You will want employees to sign something agreeing to this policy and making them responsible for backing up any personal data that might accidentally be deleted.
Being clear, fair, open, direct and honest is the best way to handle the “people” side of technology. Your employee handbook can lay out most of these policies for your staff. Just make sure they actually read and understand them, instead of skimming through in a hurry their first day of work. When you implement new policies, communicate clearly and make sure staffers understand the reasoning behind the new rules. There are many cookie-cutter policies available, but it’s critical to take time to adapt these policies to the needs of your company.
Wendy Gauntt is president of CIO Services LLC, a technology consulting company that specializes in small-business solutions. Visit her website at www.cioservicesllc.com for more information, ideas and free resources.
Take a break and go on a digital diet McClatchy-Tribune News Service
If not 20 seconds pass before you itch to take another look at your phone, you may benefit from a digital diet. Here are exercises to help you practice phone restraint. n Charge your phone outside of your bedroom so you don’t plunge into the digital stream as soon as you open your eyes, said Daniel Sieberg, author of “The Digital Diet.” n Don’t check your work email until you get to work. Remember when work was the only place you could check it? The company survived then, and it will continue to survive. n Keep your phone off the table during meals so that you’re not interrupted or tempted to fiddle with it, Sieberg said. n Play “phone stack” when dining with friends to give everyone a financial
incentive to focus on the flesh-and-blood humans in front of them. Here’s how: Everyone puts their phones on the table, face down, stacked one on top of the other. The first person to grab his/her phone has to pick up the whole tab. n Experience something first, post about it later, Sieberg said. Interrupting the activity you’re engaged in to tweet or post photos of said activity distracts from your enjoyment of the experience, especially when you then keep checking to see if anyone has commented. Wait until later to post. It will still have happened. n When you compose your out-of-office reply for a vacation, say that any correspondence sent during that time will self-destruct; if it’s important, people will just have to contact you upon your return.
MORE TIPS Check out more cellphone restraint exercises at www.thebusiness-journal.com n Leave your phone behind when you go on a walk or to the gym or take a lunch break or any other time you don’t really need it. Recognize the fact that you have survived without it upon your return. n Log out of Facebook every time you close the page, suggests Nancy Baym, author of “Personal Connections in the Digital Age.” Just having the extra step of logging on each time you pull up Facebook can make you reconsider whether it’s really what you want to do. n Establish “tech breaks,” during
which you spend a minute or two catching up on your virtual social connections before turning your phone on silent and placing it face down, suggests research psychologist Larry Rosen. Wait 15 minutes before you allow yourself to look at your phone again (set an alarm). As you become accustomed to letting it sit, lengthen the time between tech breaks. n Take 10 minutes out of each hour or two to put away your technology and do something that neuroscientists have found calms the brain, Rosen said. Look at nature, listen to music, exercise, talk live to a friend, meditate. n Abstain from automatically whipping out your phone any moment you find yourself alone. Instead, take in the scene around you. Strike up a conversation with a stranger. Think deep thoughts.
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March 2013
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YOUR HEALTH
Smoke settles after five years of ban Some restaurants report increase in food sales By ANNIE GETSINGER Business Journal Writer
DECATUR — Local business owners and health officials are reflecting on the five years since the SmokeFree Illinois Act banned smoking in businesses, workplaces, restaurants, bars, casinos, schools and other enclosed public places. Alvin Cohn, who has been in the local restaurant and bar business for more than 30 years, said that since the ban went into effect in 2008, some aspects of business have been good, but others have not. Cohn owns Gabby’s Restaurant & Lounge in Decatur, co-owns the Whit’s End locations in Decatur and Macon and is involved in several other ventures. He said that before the ban went into effect, he was concerned that he would lose his bar business. “Which I did,” he said. “My bar sales dropped off, yes. People like to smoke and drink … Smoking and drinking go together. People that don’t smoke during the week will smoke when they drink a beer.” Despite declining liquor sales, food sales have increased, Cohn said. Overall sales at the Decatur Whit’s End location are up 50 percent, he said. “Ever since the smoking ban went in and I stayed nonsmoking, my sales have been up 60 months in a row,” Cohn said, adding that he attributes the increase in food business at least partially to the ban. When he and his business partner purchased the business 15 years ago, sales were 30 percent food and 70 percent alcohol, he said. Now the breakdown is 82 percent food and 18 percent liquor. Gabby’s, which does about 95 percent food and 5 percent liquor business, is down in sales. That establishment has never had a big smoking crowd, Cohn said, adding that he figures the decline in sales has more to do with competition and the economy. “There aren’t too many restaurants that are up in sales,” he said. Cohn said he’s heard rumors of some bars allowing people to smoke and others planning to close down because business is so slow. Overall, he’s been happy with the effects of the smoking ban. “If they said I could do smoking again in a restricted area, I wouldn’t do it,” he said. “… For me, I’d just prefer for it to stay just like it is. I don’t want a smoking issue to come back up.” Brandi Binkley, the Macon County Health Department’s director of health promotion and public relations, said enforcement of the smoking ban has picked up in the past year. Health inspectors in the department’s environmental health division are now responsible for looking for evidence of smoking on their regular inspections of area businesses. “Every time they’re going into these places, they’re looking for a violation of Smoke-Free Illinois,” Binkley said. Once the manager signs off on the inspection, if evidence of smoking has been noted, officials are able to issue a citation, she explained. Once a business has been issued a citation, the owner has the option of paying a fine or requesting a hearing. The fines are $250 for the first violation, $500 for the second and up to $2,500 for each additional within the same year. Officials also find out about violations through complaints, which can be made by calling the health department directly or through an Illinois Department
Business Journal/Mark Roberts
Matt Lowe, right, and John Bilyeu-Clark smoke in front of a mural on Oakland Avenue. Jan. 1 marked the 5-year anniversary of the smoking ban. of Public Health hotline. People can complain anonymously or give their names, Binkley said. “They’ve slowed down a little bit,” she said. “We check them weekly ... Even if we’re not getting the complaints all the time, we are out there watching and keeping an eye on it.” This past quarter, the Macon County Health Department received five complaints. In the year before that, there were 31, Binkley said. After a complaint is made, those responsible for enforcing the ban can either send out a letter or investigate the establishment and issue a citation if necessary. On these visits, officials are looking for people smoking, evidence of smoking or other evidence that the owner of a business is not reasonably assuring that smoking is not occurring there, Binkley said. “It’s usually pretty obvious.” Most local businesses have been good about following the law and asking for guidance when they do not understand, Binkley said. “For the most part, Macon County businesses have really complied and really done a great job to try to accommodate their patrons ...” Across the state, the smoking ban is being enforced by local health departments and law enforcement agencies and, in some cases, combinations of the two. Binkley said collaboration between the health department and Macon County State’s Attorney Jay Scott’s office has made for more efficient, precise enforcement. Kim Miller, who co-owns the Bourbon Barrel with Chris Frank, said that business has gone down over the past five years, but that’s not necessarily because of the smoking ban, she said. In tough economic times, it’s hard to pinpoint the exact causes of such fluctuations. “I can say that initially, we definitely lost business as far as drinking customers are concerned,” she said.
In the same time, the establishment, which has been in business since 1970, has also seen a slight increase in food sales. On a daily basis, Miller said she still hears customers complain, wishing they could just sit inside and have a cigarette. She is a smoker and said about half of her employees smoke. The establishment added some picnic tables away from the entrance to provide a place for smokers. Miller said that when the law went into effect, there were a few people who tried to smoke indoors, but she let them know that the behavior wouldn’t be tolerated. “Obviously, monetarily, I could be fined pretty heavily if I didn’t follow the law,” she said. “What business I might gain by allowing smoking would be taken away in fines.” Miller said that soon after the ban went into place, the establishment gained some customers who said they hadn’t been in before because the smoke really bothered them. Binkley said the law has had many positive effects for the employees no longer subjected to secondhand smoke and people with asthma, emphysema or other conditions who previously had to avoid restaurants and other establishments that allowed smoking. “I definitely think that across the board, there is a really positive energy of more accessibility for everyone,” Binkley said. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, an estimated 50,000 people die each year in the United States because of exposure to secondhand smoke, including 2,000 Illinoisans. After the Smoke-Free Illinois Act went into effect, the statewide percentage of people who reported smoking went from about 21 percent in 2008 to abut 17 percent in 2010, the department reported. Calls to the Illinois Tobacco Quitline increased from about 7,600 in 2008 to about 24,500 calls in 2012.
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BUSINESS JOURNAL
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March 2013
Building relationship with doctor important Honest dialogue with physician key By JAMIE LOBER Business Journal Writer
The doctor-patient relationship can be tricky. It seems people have a hard time communicating with their doctor and letting him know what ails them. It’s easy to schedule a visit because something hurts you at the moment. It’s not quite as simple when you go in for the annual physical and answer questions with fine and no problem. Patients might forget about something they experienced a few weeks or months back, be unable to describe clearly what is wrong or may not mention something because it does not seem important. Then, there is the problem associated with remembering the things your doctor told you about the pills he is prescribing, things you need to do and other information that might come in handy later. When you master some tips and tricks, you will feel better about your relationship and the doctor may even feel better about having you as a patient, too.
Open dialogue Talk things out. “The physician should have a comprehensive understanding of your history, medications and current issues, so you really need to open up that dialogue so he can treat you the best way possible,� said Dr. Maria Granzotti, chief physician executive at St. Mary’s Hospital.
Be prepared When you prepare in advance, things automatically go smoother. “Have a set of questions ready to ask the physician,� Granzotti said. Do not be afraid to address lifestyle issues or ask for guidance on how to change unhealthy behaviors. Remember that the physician is there to help and does not judge.
Know your doctor Make sure you feel comfortable. “Know ahead of time about your doctor’s background and realize that he is an internal medicine doctor and what questions are appropriate,� Granzotti said. You may want to keep a journal to document any symptoms, as well as write down what you learn during the visit. This helps you stay accountable for your health.
Encourage questions Encourage him to ask you questions and remember the dialogue should go both ways. If you are shy, you may want to bring a family member with you to help digest information.
Be honest Answer questions honestly and know that all information that you share with the physician is confidential. The doctor may ask you about any alternative treatments you are using since an increasing number of people are turning to complementary and alternative medicine. Regardless of what approach you take to medicine, it is important to be on the same page as your doctor and to recognize why you are taking certain medications, as well as what the side effects may be. “Understand what you can do in the management of diabetes and instead of just taking a pill, have a conversation about management and prevention,� Granzotti said.
handle it, what troubles you most, how you are handling it and then show understanding by observing.
Frequency of visits Find out the doctor’s recommendations for when to schedule visits. “A diabetic patient is going to be seen more frequently than somebody who is otherwise healthy,� Granzotti said. Generally speaking, if you do not have a chronic illness, an annual checkup is advised if you are over age 50.
Be comfortable Find a doctor that you like and trust. “A doctor is a personal preference that can depend on where you live and your insurance status but you have a choice over who you follow up with as your doctor,� Granzotti said. You can have a win-win situation. “A lot of patients have great relationships and build on those but it is a two-way street, so it has to be the responsibility of both the physician and the patient,� Granzotti said.
Be active Take an active role in your care. “Be open to conversation and engage,� Granzotti said. Try to minimize distractions and interruptions which may mean putting your cellphone on silent so you can pay attention better. Offer concrete feedback so the doctor knows you are listening and he will do the same by showing empathy toward how you are feeling. The Family Medicine Interest Group states that doctors often use a technique called BATHE which stands for Background, Affect, Trouble, Handling and Empathy. The doctor should ask you what is going on in your life, how you
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Community health calendar Screenings Bone density screening, 9-11 a.m. Wednesday, March 6, Women’s Health and Breast Center, 302 W. Hay St., Suite 117A. Screening to check your risk for osteoporosis. To register, call 876-4377. Cholesterol screening, 7-10 a.m. Thursday, March 7, Forsyth Wellness Center, 241 Weaver Road. Cost is $20. To register, call 876-4377. Women’s heart health screening, 9-11 a.m. Tuesday, March 19, St. Mary’s Hospital, Room 561. Free personalized assessment including full lipid screening and cardiovascular screening. To register, call 422-6100.
Classes Art therapy for cancer patients and families, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, Complementary Medicine Art Rooms, Cancer Care Center of Decatur, 210 W. McKinley Ave. Clay, paint watercolor, acrylic draw, print make, collage, weave and more. For information, call 876-4700. Real Dads Rock!, 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 5, Cafe 1 and Cafe 2, Decatur Memorial Hospital. This program teaches new fathers how to handle, feed, burp, change, clean and respond to their baby’s needs. Call 422-6294. Childbirth preparation classes, 7-9 p.m. Thursday, March 7, St. Mary’s Hospital, Assisi Room. To register, call 464-2334. Cardiopulmonary education session, 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 8, and 1 p.m. Friday, March 15, DMH Cardiac Rehabilitation Department. For information, call 876-2496. Eat Right to Help the Fight, nutrition class for
cancer patients, 1-2 p.m. Monday, March 11 and March 25, Cancer Care Center of Decatur Education Classrooms, 210 W. McKinley Ave. To register, call 876-4750.
Breastfeeding support group, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Monday, March 11 and 25, Baby TALK, 500 E. Lake Shore Dr. To register, call Flo Folami at 464-2334.
Look Good, Feel Better, 6-8 p.m. Monday, March 11, Cancer Care Specialists of Decatur Classrooms, Cancer Care Center of Decatur, 210 W. McKinley Ave. A program that teaches beauty techniques to female cancer patients in active treatment to help them combat the appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment. To register call, 876-6600.
SHARE support group, 7 p.m. Monday, March 11, St. Mary’s Hospital, Room G24. Support group for those who have experienced the death of a baby during pregnancy, at birth or early infancy. For more information, call 4642045.
Infant CPR Class, 7 p.m. Monday, March 11, DMH Classrooms. To register, call 8763400. Grocery store tour, noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 13. A registered dietitian will guide shoppers through the various sections of the grocery store. Cost is $10. To register, call 876-4249. Freedom from Smoking. This seven-week course, led by American Lung Association trained facilitators can help smokers identify their addiction and provide ways to break their habits. The first class is at noon Tuesday, March 26. The cost is $20. To register, call 876-4249.
Support groups Growing Through Grief, 10-11:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 5, DMH Hospice Office, 3122 Brettwood Circle. A bereavement education series for family members who have lost a loved one. To register, call 876-6770. Helping Hands Bereavement for Children, 3:30 p.m. Thursdays, Art Therapy Room at the Cancer Care Center, 210 W. McKinley Ave. To register, call 876-4750.
How to make a healthier pizza With big sporting events on TV and hectic schedules keeping people on the run, pizza likely to be on many a dinner menu. Here are ways to make this old favorite healthier, nutritionists say: Go for thin crust. It has fewer calories and carbohydrates than hand-tossed and deep dish crusts; stuffed crusts are the worst offenders. Some businesses and frozen brands also offer whole-wheat crusts. Choose the right meat. Pepperoni, sausage and bacon are three of the fattiest foods around. Try grilled chicken, shrimp or turkey. If none of those flies with guests, go with Canadian bacon or ham. Load up on vegetables. Some of the best options are olives, bell peppers, mushrooms, broccoli, spinach and sun-dried
tomatoes. All are low in calories and high in vitamins and fiber. For sweet tooths, pineapple — a fruit — is a great choice. Go heavy on sauce. Tomato sauce is a rich source of antioxidants that may guard against heart disease and other health problems. It also is likely to include nutritious herbs and chopped garlic, which may help control cholesterol and protect against certain types of cancer. Go light on cheese. Many of the calories and fat in pizza come from cheese. Order half the cheese or, as an alternative to cheddar, ask for a sprinkling of feta cheese. Blot off the oil. Patting a slice of pizza with a clean napkin will soak up some excess fat. Eat something healthy first. Snack on fresh fruit, vegetables or nuts before the pizza arrives so you’re less likely to pig out. Don’t order a side. Just one cheese breadstick, for example, may pack 200 calories and 10 grams of fat.
Facing Cancer Together, 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, Cancer Care Center of Decatur Complementary Education Classrooms, 210 W. McKinley Ave. To register, call 876-4750. Pink Link breast cancer support group, 6 p.m. Thursday, March 14. To register, call 876-4377. Cardiopulmonary rehab wellness group, 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, Decatur Memorial Hospital. To register, call 876-2496. Breath of Life support group, noon Tuesday, March 19, St. Mary’s Hospital, Room 561. Speakers available to answer questions from those with breathing problems. For information, call 464-2603. A New Season young widowed group, 6 p.m. Thursday, March 21. Monthly dinner
gathering. For information, call Dawn Followell at 864-2799. Diabetes support group, 11 a.m. to noon Thursday, March 21, Forsyth Wellness Center, 241 W. Weaver Road. Call 876-4249. Renewal bereavement support group, 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, March 25, Cancer Care Center of Decatur Complementary Education Classrooms, 210 W. McKinley Ave. To register, call 876-4750. Us TOO prostate cancer support group, 4:30-6 p.m. Tuesday, March 26, Cancer Care Center of Decatur Complementary Education Classrooms, 210 W. McKinley Ave. To register, call 876-4750. Widowed support group, 6 p.m. Thursday, March 28. Monthly dinner gathering. For information, call 428-7733.
More Diabetes March Update, 1-4 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, DMH Classroom complex located on the main hospital campus. Doors and vendor fair open at noon. To register, call 8764249. Decatur Public Library, Diabetes: Signs, Symptoms and Prevention, 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, Decatur Public Library.
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March 2013
Costs of health insurance on new W-2 forms McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Look closely at your new W-2 form this tax season. Notice Box 12 and a twoletter code, DD. If you work for an employer with 250 or more workers, information in that box for the first time is required by the Affordable Care Act. It tells how much you and your employer spent on your health insurance premiums. “It’s going to be an eye-opener for a lot of people,” said Jerry Nebbia, a health benefits expert in Mercer’s Kansas City, Mo., office. “A lot of people have no idea what the true cost is.” The W-2 reporting requirement for health insurance is to expand next year to include employers with fewer than 250 on payroll. The health insurance benefit amount isn’t taxable as personal income — for now, anyway. But it is insight into your employer’s total cost of your compensation. It also is a close reflection of what you would pay if you lost your employer subsidy and wanted to continue the same coverage under COBRA. In the workplace at large, the cost of employer-paid benefits equals nearly 31 percent of total employment costs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of that, health insurance costs account for about 7.7 percent of employer costs in private industry and about 11.7 percent in state and local government. For some workers, employer-sponsored health insurance is a hefty benefit amounting to $5,000, $10,000, even $20,000 a year. Last year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s survey, employersponsored health insurance cost an average of $5,615 for individuals and $15,745 for families. The requirement to include the full health insurance cost on W-2s was conceived partly to make employees more aware of the actual cost of their coverage. Often, employees with employersubsidized coverage are paying only one-fourth of the full premium cost. Knowing the real price is important because workers are being asked to be smarter consumers of health care, to make more coverage choices, or to shoulder more of the cost. Knowing the full cost of health benefits also may help explain why pay raises are smaller than employees would like; sometimes, employers are putting more money into health insurance instead of direct wages and salaries. If you see the Box 12, DD information, you may have to do some extra work to figure out what your employer’s cost was. You may need to look at your final pay stub from 2012 and subtract what you paid for your health insurance from the new DD amount. The difference is your employer’s share.
Nominations sought for 20 under 40 Do you know someone under the age of 40 who is making a difference in the community? If the answer is yes, this is your chance to give them the recognition they deserve. The Business Journal is seeking nominations for its 2013 class of 20 under 40 honorees. If past years are any indication, the process of selecting 20 individuals for recognition will be a challenge. But it is a challenge our selection committee looks forward to each year as we acquaint ourselves with those who give so freely of their time and talents to make our community a better place to live, work and play. Those who make the final cut will be
featured in the Business Journal’s annual 20 under 40 special publication this summer. There is one primary guideline. Nominees must be 39 years of age or younger as of July 1. You may nominate more than one person, and you may nominate yourself. Once you decide who you want to nominate, we need you to provide some basic information about the nominees and why they deserve to be recognized. Don’t be afraid to be too generous with the praise. The judges need all the help they can get to trim the long list to just 20 individuals. There are many people worthy of this recognition, so past recipients will not
be considered. There are several ways to send us your nomination: n Access the form on our website, www.thebusiness-journal.com. n Fill out the form below and mail it to Scott Perry, 601 E. William St., Decatur, IL 62523. You can also fax it to his attention at 421-7965. n Email your responses to sperry@herald-review.com. Nominations will be accepted until April 20. For more information, contact Scott at 421-7976.
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Nominees must be 39 years of age or younger as of July 1, 2013. You may nominate more than one person, and you may nominate yourself. Nominees can either work OR live in Macon County. Nominations must be submitted by April 20, 2013 online at www.thebusiness-journal.com. Nominations may also be submitted via mail in care of The Business Journal, 601 E. William St. Decatur, IL 62523 or e-mailed to: Scott.Perry@lee.net Nominator’s Name: _________________________________________________________________________ Nominator’s Work Phone:_____________________________________________________________________ Nominator’s E-mail:_________________________________________________________________________ Nominator’s Mailing Address: __________________________________________________________________ Candidate’s Name: _________________________________________________________________________ Candidate’s Gender: M F Candidate’s E-Mail: ____________________________________________________ Candidate’s Mailing Address: __________________________________________________________________ Candidate’s Work/Home Phone: ________________________________________________________________ Candidate’s Age:___________________________________________________________________________ Candidate’s Occupation & Company:_____________________________________________________________ Awards/Honors Candidate has Received: __________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ Why You Think He/She Should be Selected: ________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ (217) 421- 6920 • 601 E. William St., Decatur, IL 62523 __________________________________________________ www.thebusiness-journal.com
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March 2013
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YOUR COMMUNITY
Minimum wage Gov. Pat Quinn is supporting a proposal that would increase the current $8.25 an hour level to $10 over the course of four years. “Nobody in Illinois should work 40 hours and live in poverty. That’s a principle as old as the Bible,” Quinn said during his State of the State speech last month. Illinois is among 18 Quinn states with minimum wage rates higher than the national level of $7.25 an hour. The rate was last raised in July 2010 as part of a phased-in increase initiated by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2006. Kim Clarke Maisch, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, said it is ironic that Quinn is telling small-business owners how to run their businesses when the state budget is a mess. “Our members had hoped Governor Quinn would use his State of the State address to talk about how Illinois can once again become a premier state to do business in. Unfortunately, he chose to embrace a minimum wage hike which will do little but cause small businesses to cut employee hours and jobs,” Maisch said.
David Vite, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, which represents 23,000 retailers in Illinois, said the governor and the General Assembly should focus on solving the state’s pension crisis. “Another minimum wage hike will only hurt those who are looking for a job and those who employ them in this challenging economy,” Vite said.
Dunsworth is set to work with the university’s board of trustees to choose an “acting president” who would serve for the following 12 to 18 months as the board searches for Jeffcoat’s replacement. Van Dukeman, chairman of the board, said he did not believe there were any particular factors at the university at play in Jeffcoat’s decision.
President search
Meridian scholarships
Millikin University is in the market for a new president, after Harold Jeffcoat announced his immediate retirement last month. “Millikin needs to have in place a long-term president. I am at retirement age, and now is a good time for the board to recruit a new president,” he said in a prepared statement. Jeffcoat took office as Jeffcoat the university’s 14th president in April 2011. Jeffcoat said he and his wife, Marie, had been thinking about the decision for the past six months. Vice President of Enrollment Rich Dunsworth was named interim president, but will be leaving the university this spring to assume a post as president of the University of the Ozarks.
The cost of a college education has gotten a little cheaper for graduates of Meridian High School. Representatives of Richland Community College, the Community Foundation of Macon County and the school district informed the school’s upper class members during an assembly last month that they and future Meridian High School graduates won’t have to worry about their first two years of college because of a $1 million endowment from Dell and Evelyn Carroll, a Macon couple who believed in education and giving back to their community. “How many times have you thought about what it would be like to win the lottery or to have an aunt or uncle leave you an inheritance in their will?” asked Wegi Stewart, Community Foundation president. “… Well, today, you have won the lottery, and in fact, your dreams can
come true … because Dell and Evelyn Carroll have made sure each of you can go to Richland Community College for two years. They’ve made sure your dreams really can come true.” With a new 90,000-square-foot high school under construction and on track to be completed by Memorial Day, Meridian High School Principal Jack Blickensderfer said the scholarship fund announcement came at a wonderful time. “It’s euphoric,” he said. “We’re able to do something for kids that may not have thought they’d be able to go to college because of the cost. A burden has really been lifted, and it’s fulfilling to know that the Carrolls were looking out for Macon and the youth of Meridian High School and that their legacy will live on.” He said he’s hopeful the scholarship fund will promote growth in the Meridian School District. “We began building the new high school last May, and we built it with the hope for growth,” Blickensderfer said. “It could definitely accommodate more students, so I think it would be great if we got an influx of students and families. We would love it.” “Richland’s mission is for students and communities to thrive, grow and prosper, and I think this whole community will be transformed by this,” said Tod Treat, Richland Community College’s vice president of student and academic services.
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BIZ BITES
Now open Jasmine Thai Restaurant & Sushi Bar has opened at 353 N. Main St., a space that was most recently home to Da Franco’s Pizza but bears almost no resemblance to the former Italian eatery. Renovations brought the building’s face out onto the sidewalk to make room for a 10-foot waterfall that greets visitors as they enter. The surroundings, whether you’re on the sushi side or the restaurant side, are done up in elegant, muted tones broken up by vibrant splashes of orangered. The restaurant also has two party rooms capable of handling groups of eight to 10 that can be combined into one large room. Most entrees can be made with chicken, beef, pork, shrimp or tofu, and there are also vegetarian options at the sushi bar. “Our goal is to offer fresh Asian flavors, not the traditional fare where everything is deep-fried or in heavy oil,” said building owner Andrew Chiligiris. The owner/operators are Myat Zaw and Aung Oo, who are originally from Bangkok but more recently from the Champaign-Urbana area. Hours are 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. daily. Takeout orders are also taken by telephone at 330-7363 or by fax at 7915862. nnn A Justice store has opened at Hickory Point Mall in Forsyth. Justice offers apparel, underwear, outerwear, sleepwear, swimwear, accessories and personal care products aimed at girls age 7-14. It is across from The Limited. Call 8768821. nnn The resale shop Twice Is Nice has opened at 120 E. Cerro Gordo St., Decatur. A mother and son, Tracy and Gary Ray Miller of Oakley, bought the shop’s inventory from Catrina Purlee, who has shut down Gigi’s Consignment Boutique in Clinton because of an impending move. Twice Is Nice stocks furniture, decorative items, shoes and clothing for women, men and children. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. nnn If it’s metal and it’s broken, or you need something made out of metal, you need B&K Welding and Repair. The new Moweaqua business offers repair services and custom fabrication to suit a wide variety of jobs. “If it conducts electricity, I can weld it,” said B&K owner Ben Garcia. He is skilled in stick, TIG and MIG forms of electric welding which allows him to handle fine decorative metalwork all the way up to major applications under a lot of stress. He will travel in a range from Decatur to Springfield and further by arrangement. The business is at 329 E. Cedar St. in Moweaqua. Call 706-7819.
On the move Capital Comics & Games recently relocated next door to the Lincoln Square Theatre
from its previous spot near Millikin University. Owner Jerry Hinkle said he’s always wanted to be downtown and jumped at the chance to set up shop at 127 N. Main St. The store features sculptures, paintings and drawings worthy of graphic novels, in addition to what the name suggests. The store opens at 11 a.m. Monday through Saturday, closing at 6 p.m. weekdays and 5 p.m. Saturdays. Call 2014071. nnn W.G. Nordholm Insurance has relocated from its former home on South Main Street to 240 N. Park St. next to Subway facing Central Park. Owner Glen Nordholm said he plans to hire four agents in the near future and will rent out the west side of the space, formerly occupied by the Decatur Tribune, when remodeling is complete. The business sells life and health insurance and annuities. Call 422-7777. nnn Whitestar Home Health Inc. has moved to 535 W. Eldorado St., a building most recently occupied by the Decatur Electronics business office. “Moving Whitestar Home Health has been an exciting and important step in our long-term growth,” owner Naci Akyildiz said.
The move from Fairview Park Plaza provides more office space and offers better visibility from the street for new networking and marketing opportunities, he said. Whitestar Home Health provides skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and home health aide services. Whitestar, which also has a branch office in Danville, serves Macon, Sangamon, Logan, Piatt, Vermilion and Champaign counties
New name A Decatur assisted-care facility has changed its name to reflect its membership in a nationwide post-acute care network. Aspen Ridge Care Centre at 2530 N. Monroe St. will now be known as Symphony of Decatur, spokeswoman Lyndsay Czwornog said. Along with the new name, the facility will be completely upgraded and renovated. The facility provides long-term care, short-term post-acute nursing and rehabilitation and a state-certified Alzheimer’s and dementia unit. The center’s specialties include interventional oncology, heart conditions and cardiac procedures, pulmonary diseases, wound care and rehabilitative therapy. For more information, go to www. symphonyofdecatur.com or call 875-0920.
Expanded hours The Drive-In Antique Mall at 2905 N. Oakland Ave. is now open seven days a week. New hours are 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Marilyn Trebacz, who owns the business with her husband, Steve, said Sundays were added to the mix by popular demand. “We had a lot of requests for Sunday hours from our dealers and from our customers,” she said. “They kept telling us Sunday is a popular day for antiquing.”
Biz Bites highlight businesses that are opening, closing, expanding … you get the picture. If you have information for our Biz Bites column, contact Tony Reid at treid@herald-review.com, Chris Lusvardi at clusvardi@herald-review.com, Theresa Churchill at tchurchill@herald-review.com or call them at 421-6979.
BUSINESS JOURNAL Reader Profile: n 63% have household incomes of $60,000 or greater. 36% have household incomes of $80,000 or greater.
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YOUR CAREER
Illinois adding manufacturing, medical jobs Survey: 17 percent to add staff during first quarter CHAMPAIGN (AP) — Illinois’ widening medical industry and its old-standby, manufacturing, may be the best places to look for a job this year, although some of the positions will require increasing levels of education and training and many won’t pay what they might have just a few years ago, experts said. Overall, 17 percent of Illinois employers plan to add staff during the first quarter of this year, up 3 percent from a year earlier, according to a survey from the staffing firm ManPower Group. About 71 percent plan to keep staffing levels the same. “Job creation has been relatively strong in the last two years,” said John Challenger, CEO of the Chicagobased outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Even so, Illinois is like the rest of the nation: still staggering back from the recession 2007-09. Statewide unemployment hasn’t dropped below 8 percent since 2008. The jobless rate in Illinois fell from 9.3 percent in December 2011 to 8.7 percent in December 2012, the most recent month for which data is available from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. But the state’s jobless rate in November 2007, the month before the recession started, was 5 percent. The hole the country’s been trying to climb out of was so deep that, “bringing it back to normal has been a slow, year-by-year digging-out process,” Challenger said. Experts say Illinois’ biggest job creator in 2013 could be the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is expected to ratchet up the demand for a wide range of jobs. Hospitals may need to add staff in positions that require everything form a four-year degree plus experience to entry-level jobs that require little education. St. John’s Hospital in Springfield has been hiring nurse navigators — experienced registered nurses who help patients literally navigate their way through treatment, answering questions before and after, said Pat Schulz, head of the hospital’s human resources department. The pay is $22 to $30 an hour. The hospital hires about 140 RNs a year for a variety of positions around the hospital, many of the straight out of school, she said. But the new ones don’t head straight to the hospital floor on their own, instead spending three to four months in additional training as nurse residents. But the hospital, like others, anticipates hiring lowerwage, lower skill positions, too. “If our beds are full, then we need more housekeepers, we need more food service,” Schulz said. Manufacturing job growth also should continue this year, job-market watchers say. Even with decades of Rust Belt exodus, companies that make things in Illinois such as auto parts, heavy machinery, medical devices, hardware and more, have been a relatively steady job provider in an uneven recovery. Over the past year, Illinois’ manufacturing job base grew 2.4 percent, from 579,900 jobs in December 2011 to 594,100 last month. One in every 9.7 nonfarming jobs in Illinois is in manufacturing. “Manufacturing in Illinois is going to always be relatively strong,” said Tom Gimbel, CEO of the Chicagobased staffing firm LaSalle Network. “You’ve got Caterpillar and Deere. ... That’s Midwestern products and Midwestern values. It mirrors the types of people that are out there. You’ve got people that want to have a (steady) job for 30 years.” One key area that helped create new manufacturing
Associated Press
Clinical pharmacist Mary Eilers, prepares a compound at St. John's Hospital in Springfield, Ill. Experts looking at Illinois' job market say the best prospects for 2013 are likely in medical and manufacturing firms. jobs last year was auto parts, whose makers enjoyed a healthy 2012 with the resurgence of auto sales due to factors such as the improvements in the economy to pent-up demand — many would-be buyers held off through the recession. Chrysler, for instance, increased production at its plant in Belvidere and said it needed 1,800 new workers to do so. That growth started to slow late last year as overseas auto sales slowed, National Association of Manufacturers chief economist Chad Moutray said. That’s one unknown that could have a big influence on Illinois’ manufacturing health this year, Challenger said. “It’ll be important for the state’s economy to see consumer spending on autos hold up in 2013,” he said. New factory jobs, though, typically require a heavy dose of training to deal with an increasingly technical world. Community colleges now offer a wide range of manufacturing-related credentials in anything from logistics to quality control, said Jim Nelson, vice president of the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association. “Everybody who wants to work in today’s manufacturing environment needs some post-secondary education,” he said. “The K-12 system does go a long way to preparing students for the world of work, but because we now rely so much on robotics, computer animated systems.” It’s the same way in the health care industry, said Joel Shalowitz, a physician, professor and director of health industry management at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. “We are really entering an era where somebody’s going to need a higher level of training — and not just education, but training,” Shalowitz said. Even with reasonably strong job creation, many of
the post-recession jobs tend to pay lower wages than jobs lost to the downturn. The median hourly wage in Illinois in 2007 was $15.80, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Adjusted for inflation, that’s the equivalent of $17.14 in 2011, the most recent year for which the BLS has data. But the actual hourly wage was $16.95. A series of recent stories by The Associated Press found a similar trend around the country. Half the 7.5 million U.S. jobs lost to the Great Recession were in industries that pay middle class wages but only 2 percent of the 3.5 million gained back are in such industries. Seventy percent, in fact, are in low-wage businesses. Technology has done away with many jobs. Some but certainly not all of the jobs expected to be created by President Obama’s health care law, though, would carry higher-than-average pay. “There’s technology jobs, so that’s developing new products, things like drugs, devices, procedures,” Shalowitz said. “Not just the scientific area, but also the management of it. You (also) need marketing.” A medical device-maker, Cook Medical, opened a plant in Canton last year, for instance. One area that isn’t expected to produce new Illinois jobs this year is government employment because of the state’s massive budget deficit pension obligations. Government employment dropped almost 1 percent in Illinois last year. That’s a loss of 7,100 jobs, down to 834,500, according to the state Department of Employment Security. “It’s as bad as any state in the U.S.,” Challenger said. “We’ll continue to see job cuts in 2013 in the public sector — teachers and policemen and firefighters.”
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Networking is a two-way street Q: After I got my last job, I lost touch with many people in my network. Now that I’m looking again, I’d like to revive these connections. What should I do? A: Healthy networks require ongoing attention, and restoring yours will require a focus on ways you can help others. It’s not uncommon that people use their networks when they need them and let them lapse until they need them again. But this violates the spirit of networking, which is based on mutual exchange and mutual benefit. Take some time to think about whether this reflects your general way of being; if so, this could be a good wake-up call to start giving as much as (or more than) you take.
Liz Reyer
Also consider other reasons you may have dropped your relationship-building activities. If you feel that you’ve been too busy, you’ll want to focus on ways to manage your time and have an efficient plan to keep this moving forward. You may tend to be introverted and find the interactions to be draining. These are also factors to build into your networking plans so that they are sustainable. Identify these reasons so that you can prevent them from being barriers. Now, focusing on reactivating some of your connections, look back on the support you’ve been given and the ways you’ve helped these individuals. Think deeply about meaningful ways that you can reconnect with them so that your actions reflect their needs and not just yours. It’ll be helpful to have a plan to move forward and keep yourself on track. The first key element is listing the people you want to reach out to. If you don’t still have contact info, use LinkedIn, Facebook and contact with mutual acquain-
WEEKLY TIPS Get weekly career tips from Liz Reyer at www.thebusiness-journal.com. tances to find them. Then plan your first contact, reintroducing yourself if necessary. Sending on a piece of information of mutual interest can be a powerful way to re-establish contact. For example, if you’d had conversations on leadership in the past, send a link to a good article or a book title that you’d recently read as “something that you thought they’d be interested in.” You’ll need to take responsibility for letting time go by without contact; consider an apologetic “where does the time go?” message. Let them know if you have an urgent need, for example, if there’s a job posted in their company and you’re looking for information. Or, just mention
that you’re back on the market. If there is other specific assistance that you’d like, ask _ people generally like to help others. Have a concrete plan to incorporate this into your workday. Set a goal of people you’ll contact each week, and track your success. Be responsive when people reply, and even if you don’t hear back, plan to be in touch again over the course of time. Be sure to show your appreciation for anything others do to help you, and extend the favor when others reach out to you. That’s the best way to build an enduring network. You can recover from letting your network lapse with ongoing and sincere attention to others.
Liz Reyer is a credentialed coach with more than 20 years of business experience. Her company, Reyer Coaching & Consulting, offers services for organizations of all sizes. Submit questions or comments about this column at www.deliverchange.com/coachscorner or email her at liz@deliverchange.com.
Step up and deal with problem employee Q: One of my employees constantly calls at the last minute to say she will be arriving late or not coming in at all. “Ginger” also leaves early on a regular basis, so she seldom works a full eighthour day. Although she has no health problems, her absences average about one day a week. Unfortunately, Ginger is not in a job where the work can accumulate until she returns, so her co-workers have to pick up the slack. Even though I own the business, I sometimes have to finish Ginger’s work myself. This has become very frustrating. Can you help? A: To be perfectly Office Coach honest, this is the kind of question that makes me want to bang my head against the wall. Since you own the business, why on earth are you putting up with this behavior? You could quickly eliminate the problem by simply acting like a manager. At the moment, Ginger appears to be running this show. She not only takes time off whenever she likes, but she also finds her work completed when she returns. Although you may not realize it, you have been rewarding her for slacking off, so you need to establish some new expectations. For example: “Ginger, until now I have been very tolerant about your missing a lot of work time, but that was a mistake on my part. From now on, unless there
Marie McIntyre
are unusual circumstances, I expect you to work a full 40-hour week like everyone else. If you can’t do that, then you will not be able to keep this job.” Hopefully, Ginger will choose to comply and conform. But if she ignores your warning and continues to set her own schedule, just replace her with someone who actually wants to work. Q: After 38 years with the same company, I took early retirement two years ago. I needed to care for my mother, who was suffering from cancer and congestive heart failure. Shortly after I turned 60, my mom passed away. Since I now have a lot of free time and I have considered finding another job. A recruiter, however, told me point-blank that no one will hire me because I’m too old and have been out of work for too long. I don’t want another career, but I miss being part of a team. Is my situation hopeless? A: That discouraging recruiter should be banned from the profession. Anyone who makes a blanket statement that “no one will hire you” is either not very experienced, not very bright or not very creative — or possibly all three. While older folks may indeed find jobseeking more challenging, many people in their 60s are happily employed and making a valuable contribution. As for your employment gap, anyone with a heart would understand why you took a break. So don’t let that recruiter’s ignorant comment cause you to abandon your search before you begin. Instead, start exploring some of the many books and websites that offer helpful tips for older applicants.
WEEKLY TIPS Can't get enough advice from the Office Coach. Get weekly column updates at www.thebusiness-journal.com. Q: One of my employees will be receiving a very negative performance review. I feel that I should include some positive remarks in the “Comments” section, but nothing comes to mind. Do you have any suggestions? A: When dealing with performance issues, managers typically tend to focus only on the person’s troublesome behavior. But no one is all good or all bad. Employees who neglect certain aspects of the job can still perform competently in other areas. Sometimes, a weakness actually represents the flip side of a strength. For example, people who are guilty of excessive socializing often excel at developing relationships. To create a balanced appraisal, try to consider all aspects of your problem employee’s work performance. A careful assessment should help you come up with a few good things to say. Q: Since becoming the office manager for a large medical practice, I have received numerous complaints about one member of my staff. Several people have told me that “Tricia,” our front desk supervisor, frequently makes harsh and demeaning comments to employees and even speaks sharply to patients. Tricia has worked in the office longer than anyone else, so she is extremely
knowledgeable about policies and procedures. Nevertheless, I’m beginning to think she’s a liability, because everyone seems to walk on eggshells around her. How can I tactfully suggest to Tricia that she needs to improve her working relationships? A: Telling a friend that her outfit is unflattering requires tact, but telling a rogue supervisor that she is out of line requires candor and conviction. As Tricia’s boss, you have the right and the obligation to insure that she exhibits appropriate professional behavior at work. Based on the recent deluge of complaints, your predecessor apparently abdicated all managerial responsibility and allowed Tricia to do whatever she pleased. Now that this wimpy manager has departed, Tricia’s colleagues are obviously hoping you will be the one who finally holds her accountable. To make an impact, new managers must initiate change fairly soon after they arrive, so you need to address this performance issue quickly. If you continue to tolerate Tricia’s abominable conduct, she will reasonably conclude that you approve. As soon as possible, therefore, you must firmly advise Tricia that rude and insulting remarks are simply not acceptable. From now on, she is expected to be courteous and respectful during all workplace interactions. If you find that she is unable to make this shift, then there is no place for her in a medical practice.
Marie G. McIntyre is a workplace coach and the author of “Secrets to Winning at Office Politics.” Send in questions and get free coaching tips at www.yourofficecoach.com, or follow her on Twitter @officecoach.
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YOUR MONEY
What to do when customers don’t pay By JENNIE WONG McClatchy-Tribune News Service Writer
There are few things that can cause more stress to a small business owner, or any business owner, than a customer who doesn’t pay as agreed. Some entrepreneurs are prepared for this as a natural cost of doing business, while others are shocked that seemingly trustworthy clients would renege on such an important promise. While we may not be able to make this problem go away entirely, we can prepare ourselves both mentally and practically for when it happens.
Before it happens Sometimes the best offense is a good defense. What you do at the beginning of a business relationship or sale often can go a long way to preventing problems down the road. Some business owners are naturally cautious or have a background in contracts which leads them to put measures in place prior to an incident of non-payment. But many owners take action only after a horror story occurs. Consider vetting your new customers
and clients by talking to vendors and suppliers that have worked with them in the past. Many of us do business in a community where we are only one or two degrees of separation from key players and can make discreet inquiries through our network about client personality, payment patterns and any other red flags that you might want to know going in. Also, take a hard look at your written agreements, including statements of work, service level agreements and other contracts. Ask yourself: In the worst-case scenario, will you wish you had tightened up the language or provisions? If you’ve been in business for a while, what are your lessons learned and are they are reflected in the agreements you use? Examples include getting a deposit before starting work, being specific about the work that is owed, and setting timelines for receiving payment, especially when there are delays beyond your control or due to the client.
When it happens If at all possible, maintain a cash
cushion against what many would say is the inevitable day that your customer either doesn’t pay on time or doesn’t pay at all. On the personal finance side, we know that an emergency fund is a good idea, and this is equally true on the business side. Sometimes all it takes is one delinquent customer at the wrong moment to create a cash flow emergency. If you have such a cushion, it will make it a little easier to stay objective. When emotions are running high, try to remember not to take it personally. Customers have many possible reasons for failing to pay as agreed, and sometimes it is better not to ascribe a motivation. Also, don’t wait for an invoice to become significantly overdue before you begin communicating increasingly firm reminders, a process known as “dunning.” When something is 30 days past due, it is easier to open a dialogue with your customer than when that same bill is 90 days past due. Recognize that there is a natural tendency to avoid difficult conversations, so talk sooner rather than later to minimize your client’s defensiveness and embarrassment.
After it happens Once it has become clear that payment won’t be coming, you’ll need to decide among a variety of options. Depending on where you live and the amount owed, there will be different avenues available to you. You may decide to trigger an arbitration or mediation clause in your contract, or take your customer to small claims court. You may simply write off the loss as bad debt, or you may turn the matter over to a collection agency. Whatever you choose, consider seeking professional legal or financial advice before you act. Finally, take stock and see if there’s anything you want to do differently next time. If there is, get those changes implemented. If there was nothing you could have done to prevent the situation, just dust yourself off and get refocused on landing that great, promptly paying customer.
Jennie Wong is an executive coach, author of the e-book “Ask the Mompreneur” and the founder of the social shopping website CartCentric.com. Email her at TheJennieWong@gmail.com.
Identity theft no laughing matter McClatchy-Tribune News Service
The new movie “Identity Thief” sees comedian Melissa McCarthy playing crime for yuks, but it’s also giving those who know the serious side of ID theft a chance to nudge viewers in the ribs. Firms that collect credit data are ready for calls from reporters. “ID theft is a big and growing problem,” said Trey Loughran, president of personal information solutions at Equifax. ID fraud was up 13 percent in the United States from 2010 to 2011, Loughran said. The 2012 numbers are not compiled yet, but he expects to see another jump. Experts say the proliferation of information online and in customer databases such as those kept by online retailers is adding to the growth. Tax return fraud is one of the quicker growing crimes, he said. The inspector general of the Internal Revenue Service estimated last July that the government could send as much as $21 billion in the next five years to fraudsters who have used others’ identities to file for tax refunds. Steve Fennessy, the editor of Atlanta Magazine, knows firsthand about ID theft. He has written about the Florida man who snatched his identity more than 10 years ago. One result is that Fennessy still keeps a letter in his glove box from Florida law enforcement officials in case he gets pulled over by a policeman. The letter says he should not be confused with Brian Katacinski, the scammer who used Fennessy’s name on a fake driver’s license. Katacinski is in federal prison
for snatching and abusing multiple people’s identities, but his crimes can still haunt Fennessy because Fennessy’s name is now one of Katacinski’s aliases. “Once you are in the (law enforcement) computer database,” he said, “it is a wormhole you can’t get out of.” Fennessy continued: “At the end of the day, all you have is your good name, and when that is compromised, it is sort of constitutionally unnerving.” Loughran said consumers should protect their Social Security numbers and be ready to question why anyone would need that.
Protecting your identity Tips from TrustedID, a pay-for-service identity protection firm, and others: n Secure smartphones, computers and tablets with passwords, location software and the ability to erase the data. n Erase data when upgrading or getting rid of old devices. n Put your name on do-not-mail lists by visiting www.consumer.ftc.gov/ articles/0262-stopping-unsolicited-mailphone-calls-and-email. n Restrict your info on social media such as Facebook. n Don’t give out your ZIP code to retailers at the register. Knowing your ZIP code allows them to easily find your entire address so they can send you unwanted mail. n Put a Google Alert on your name. If you discover public information that could damage your reputation or puts your privacy at risk, contact the source. n Create complex passwords.
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