July 2016 issue of In Business Magazine

JULY 2016

Special Section: Top 50 Small Business Resources Guide

Success by Example Q&A’s from Local Greats Checkpoints Keep

Teamwork On Track Leasing to Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Can You Take

Social Responsibility to the Bank?

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COVER STORY

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Success by Example: Top Tips from Local Greats

“Best practices” can be a moving target, and leading local businesspeople double down on what works today, to strengthen our business community by sharing their insights with In Business Magazine.

FEATURE

26

No Time for Teamwork?

Doctors Mario Moussa and Derek Newberry detail three checkpoints to keep a startup’s culture on track in tough times.

PARTNER SECTION TEMPE CHAMBER

ADVANTAGE Summer 2O16 • tempechamber.org

Business Excellence Awards Announced The Tempe Chamber of Commerce presented two companies with Business Excellence Awards, the organization’s top honor for commerce, at its June 16 Annual Luncheon.

The Dhaba was named the Small Business of the Year. Caliente Construction was named the Large Business of the Year.

“The Dhaba and Caliente Construction are outstanding examples of the type of business that makes our city thrive,” said Mary Ann Miller, president and CEO of the Tempe Chamber. “Their passionate dedication to their customers, staff and the community are unparalleled. We are proud they’re part of the Tempe Chamber, and we celebrate their continued success.”

Caliente Construction Caliente Construction was founded in 1991 by Arizona natives Tom and Lorraine Bergman. Over the next decade, the company steadily grew, becoming an established presence and developing a strong and diverse customer base throughout the Valley’s private and public business community. After Tom’s death in 2005, Lorraine took over and weathered the real estate recession of the late 2000s. Today, it is an award winning company recently recognized as Arizona’s 28th largest contractor and as the 5th largest woman-owned business in Arizona.

The Dhaba In the 13 years since its founding, The Dhaba / India Plaza has become a comprehensive destination for Indian food and culture, serving more than one million customers to date. It has earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Its focus on quality, the local community, customer service, music and dining resulted in its being selected as ASU’s only South Asian-approved caterer. Owner Raveen Aurora was selected by the National Restaurant Association as the Face of Diversity in Arizona for his leadership in promoting diversity and inclusion in the community.

DEPARTMENTS

9

Guest Editor

Don Smith, retired president and CEO of CopperPoint Insurance Companies, introduces the “Small Business” issue.

The four remaining finalists for the award were:

Edward Jones

ARCpoint Labs ARCpoint Labs is a national leader in the drug testing field. Its three fullservice toxicology labs in Tempe also offer alcohol screening, DNA and clinical testing, corporate wellness programs and employment background screening. It is among the fastest-growing third-party providers in its industry. ARCpoint Labs’ services encompass both on-site and off-site pre-employment, random, post-accident and reasonable suspicion drug testing. In addition, it serves many judicial, athletic and medical clients along with American Airlines and US Airways.

Edward Jones is a leader in the financial services industry, with more than 7 million clients in North America and Europe.

The company is focused on building personalized customer relationships and adheres to a quality-oriented, long-term investment philosophy.

Locally, its Tempe campus employs hundreds of workers and conducts broker training and mutual-fund processing. It has 12,500 offices worldwide and is extensively involved with charitable causes, including the Valley of the Sun United Way and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Tempe Mission Palms Hotel

Bullock Training & Development Bullock Training & Development specializes in sales, management and leadership training for small- to mid-sized businesses. President Tracy Bullock managed strategic business development for 30 years with Procter & Gamble and now helps business owners, CEOs, and top salespeople accelerate their competitive advantage in the Arizona market. She was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award, named Top Female Executive, and is noted in Cambridge’s Top 101 Industry Experts for her work.

The Tempe Mission Palms Hotel has been serving the community and its visitors since 1985. It is the No. 1-rated hotel in Tempe on Tripadvisor.com and received the Four Diamond AAA award for six consecutive years. It employs 200 people and was recently presented with the Conference Center of the Year recognition. It features a rooftop pool and offers several restaurants, including the award-winning Mission Grille, Harry’s Place Lounge and poolside Cabana Bar & Grill.

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T E M P E C H A M B E R A D VA N TA G E

Te m p e C h a m b e r. o r g

Tempe Chamber of Commerce

Summer 2O16 • aztechcouncil.org

IN THIS ISSUE 2 A Winning Session Legislature, governor support tech community through actions

4 National Interest

Chief Science Officers program gets attention all the way to White House

5 Seeing the Light The move is on to protect Arizona’s dark skies

6 New Dimension

Committee to advocate manufacturing advancement

WHO WE ARE The Arizona Technology Council is Arizona’s premier trade association for science and technology companies.

Phoenix Office 2800 N. Central Ave., Suite 1920 Phoenix, AZ 85004 Phone: 602-343-8324 • Fax: 602-343-8330 info@aztechcouncil.org

Tucson Office

The University of Arizona Science and Technology Park 9040 S. Rita Rd., Ste. 1150 (near I-10 & Rita Rd.) Tucson, AZ 85747 Phone: 520-382-3281 • Fax: 520-382-3299 tucson@aztechcouncil.org

MANAGEMENT AND STAFF Steven G. Zylstra President + CEO Leigh Goldstein Vice President,

Operations + Events

Anne Rody Director,

Finance + Administration

Merry Lake Merrell Director,

Marketing + Communication

Deborah Zack Senior Director,

Membership Services

Brian Krupski Director of Membership Services

Melissa Craven Executive Assistant to President + CEO

Alex Rodriguez Vice President, Southern

Arizona Regional Office, Tucson

Don Rodriguez Editor Ron Schott Executive Emeritus, Phoenix Don Ruedy Executive Emeritus, Tucson Justin Williams Executive Emeritus, Tucson Jeremy Babendure, Executive Director, Ph.D. Arizona SciTech Festival

Arizona Technology Report

Arizona Technology Council: The Voice of the Technology Industry

President’s Message Who are the leaders to follow?

As Arizona and the rest of the nation enter the home stretch leading to the November elections, this is a question that comes up again and again. When it arises in the state’s technology Steven G. Zylstra, community, the answer is easier to President and CEO, Arizona Technology Council reach: They walk among members of the Arizona Technology Council.

Several council initiatives are preparing rising stars for the corner office and helping keep the fire burning in their bellies once they’ve arrived. The Council does this through programs created as part of its mission to empower Arizona’s technology community. We work to identify and support those people who just need the right connections with the right coaching to continue their climb.

As happens many times in business, the best opportunities can occur over a game of golf. That was the case in 2008 when the first foursome teed off in Sedona at our first CEO Retreat, which brought together CEOs, presidents and business owners for workshops, keynote presentations and, most importantly, networking. We’ve demonstrated that sometimes you only can learn something new from someone who has been there, too.

If that sounds like something for you, the annual event returns to Sedona Aug. 8–9, opening with golf at Seven Canyons – Sedona followed by the rest of the program at Enchantment Resort.

The success of the retreat also helped trigger the idea that C-level executives need support year-round. With that in mind, the Council launched the Executive Roundtable in Phoenix. With the assistance of professional facilitators, business leaders accepted into the group address in a peer-to-peer setting the issues they and their companies face. Each group provides a confidential, non-competitive environment for sharing experience-based knowledge. On the heels of the Roundtable’s success, the Council later launched the similar CEO Network in Tucson.

Most recently, we turned our attention to helping leaders reach that next level. The Council partnered with ImpaQ Solutions to create the Transformational Leadership Program. For the past six months, the first cohort has attended sessions where they received one-on-one executive coaching, and gained invaluable insight through assessments and feedback. These observations from Matthew Forkner, deputy general counsel at GoDaddy, might best capture what to expect: “Having participated in other programs that were light on substance and little more than organized pep rallies, I was extremely skeptical at the outset. But I’ve been blown away and very impressed with the program. It created a greater awareness in me of my strengths and weaknesses, and gave me very clear guidance on what I can do as a leader moving forward.”

Incidentally, applications are now being accepted for the second cohort. In fact, if you would like more details on any of the three programs, I encourage you to visit the Council’s website at www.aztechcouncil.org.

There is some level of leadership in all of us. Sometimes, all it takes is finding the right avenue to help it grow. And we at the Council are here to help leaders find their pathways to success.

ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY REPORT

aztechcouncil.org

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Arizona Technology Council

SPECIAL SECTION

10

Feedback

Mayors W.J. “Jim” Lane, Jay Tibshraeny and Jerry Weiers respond to In Business Magazine’s burning business question of the month.

11

Briefs

“Women Break Ground in Commercial Development,” “Infusionsoft Sales & Marketing Toolset,” “Online Training to Grow Profits,” “Cut Through Email Clutter,” “ASBA Building Small Business,” “Smoke-Free Gaining in Multifamily,” “Tech Advances Printing” and “NAPA Revamps for Retail”

14

By the Numbers

Is Phoenix “expensive” or “expansive”? Study explores how economic strength and population growth are tied to geographic expansion.

2016 Top 50 Small Business Leaders

PRESENTED BY

FEATURING

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona FSW Funding Stearns Bank N.A. Wist Office Products

Meet our Top 50 highest-recommended small businesses and small-business services companies …

51

2016 Top Small Business Industry Leaders

Resource guide of the Valley’s top small businesses or smallbusiness service Companies.

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INBUSINESSMAG.COM

16

Healthcare

“Concierge Health Insurance,” “Healthcare Manufacturer Chooses Mesa,” “Cloud-Based Efficiency for Drug Dispensing” and “Care and Cost-Saving in Healthcare App”

17

Technology

“Hybrid Cloud: A Good Business Choice?” and “Rising Concern over Ransomware”

18

From the Top

Jim Reavey led blending of two businesses into fresh, new company culture.

19

Legal

Local attorney discusses how landlords may navigate the potentially lucrative opportunity of commercial leasing to medical marijuana dispensaries.

27

Books

New releases give fresh insights on business thinking.

28

Nonprofit

Giving USA 2016’s Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2015 reveals a second straight year of record giving, but fundraisers must remain diligent.

32

Assets

2016 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro PLUS: Enjoy untethered listening using headphones without wires.

34

Power Lunch

Hillstone Restaurant: A Biltmore Classic PLUS: Take a number for a great meal.

66

Roundtable

Companies can bank social responsibility on their bottom line.

ON THE AGENDA

29

Spotlight

‘Selling to the Federal Government’ — U.S. Small Business Administration – Arizona District 2016 Arizona Statewide Conference — Association of Fundraising Professionals – Greater Arizona Chapter

30

Calendar

Business events throughout the Valley

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport recently became the first international destination to have a connection with Culiacán, the capital of Sinaloa, Mexico, when Mexico-based Volaris Airlines launched service from Sky Harbor to Federal de Bachigualato International Airport.

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Trickle-down Subscription

July 2016 In Business Magazine is a collaboration of many business organizations and entities throughout the metropolitan Phoenix area and Arizona. Our mission is to inform and energize business in this community by communicating content that will build business and enrich the economic picture for all of us vested in commerce.

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS Kristen Merrifield, CEO Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits (602) 279-2966 www.arizonanonprofits.org Rick Murray, CEO Arizona Small Business Association Central Office (602) 306-4000 Southern Arizona (520) 327-0222 www.asba.com Steven G. Zylstra, President & CEO Arizona Technology Council One Renaissance Square (602) 343-8324 www.aztechcouncil.org Doug Bruhnke, Founder & President Global ChamberÂŽ (480) 595-5000 www.globalchamber.org Phaedra Earhart, President NAWBO Phoenix Metro Chapter (480) 289-5768 www.nawbophx.org

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Our Partner Organizations are vested business organizations focused on building and improving business in the Valley or throughout Arizona. As Partners, each will receive three insert publications each year to showcase all that they are doing for business and businesspeople within our community. We encourage you to join these and other organizations to better your business opportunities.

The members of these and other Associate Partner Organizations receive a subscription to In Business Magazine each month. For more information on becoming an Associate Partner, please contact our publisher at info@inbusinessmag.com.

ASSOCIATE PARTNERS Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce ahwatukeechamber.com Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry azchamber.com Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce azhcc.com The Black Chamber of Arizona phoenixblackchamber.com Chandler Chamber of Commerce chandlerchamber.com Economic Club of Phoenix econclubphx.org Glendale Chamber of Commerce glendaleazchamber.org Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce phoenixchamber.com Greater Phoenix Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce gpglcc.org Mesa Chamber of Commerce mesachamber.org North Phoenix Chamber of Commerce northphoenixchamber.com Peoria Chamber of Commerce peoriachamber.com Phoenix Metro Chamber of Commerce phoenixmetrochamber.com Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce scottsdalechamber.com Surprise Regional Chamber of Commerce surpriseregionalchamber.com WESTMARC westmarc.org

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INBUSINESSMAG.COM

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July 2016

VOL. 7, NO. 7

Publisher Rick McCartney

Editor RaeAnne Marsh

Art Director Benjamin Little

Contributing Writers Adam Buck

Shel Horowitz Mike Hunter Mario Moussa, Ph.D. Derek Newberry, Ph.D. Richard Tollefson Ryan Treisman ADVERTISING

Operations Louise Ferrari

Business Development Louise Ferrari

Ray Inclan Steve Kulick Maria Mabek Sara June Kelly Richards Cami Shore Events Amy Corben More: Visit your one-stop resource for everything business at www.inbusinessmag.com. For a full monthly calendar of business-related events, please visit our website.

Inform Us: Send press releases and your editorial ideas to editor@inbusinessmag.com.

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Vol. 7, No. 7. In Business Magazine is published 12 times per year by InMedia Company. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to InMedia Company, 4455 E. Camelback Road, Building C, Suite 135, Phoenix, AZ 85018. To subscribe to In Business Magazine, please send check or money order for one-year subscription of $24.95 to InMedia Company, 4455 E. Camelback Road, Building C, Suite 135, Phoenix, AZ 85018 or visit inbusinessmag.com. We appreciate your editorial submissions, news and photos for review by our editorial staff. You June send to editor@inbusinessmag.com or mail to the address above. All letters sent to In Business Magazine will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication, copyright purposes and use in any publication, website or brochure. InMedia accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or other artwork. Submissions will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

InMedia Company, LLC reserves the right to refuse certain advertising and is not liable for advertisers’ claims and/or errors. The opinions expressed herein are exclusively those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the position of InMedia. InMedia Company considers its sources reliable and verifies as much data as possible, although reporting inaccuracies can occur; consequently, readers using this information do so at their own risk. Each business opportunity and/or investment inherently contains certain risks, and it is suggested that the prospective investors consult their attorney and/ or financial professional. Š 2016 InMedia Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

No part of this magazine June be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission by the publisher.

INBUSINESSMAG.COM

DON SMITH, COPPERPOINT INSURANCE COMPANIES

Small Business: Economic Foundation Don Smith, former president and CEO of CopperPoint Insurance Companies, is a University of Notre Dame graduate and holds a Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter designation as well as a law degree. He is active in community service and among Arizona business chambers, councils and leadership groups.

Smith has been recognized

by Phoenix Business Journal as a Most Admired CEO, by the Arizona Chamber as a Transformational Leader, and

by Greater Phoenix Economic Council as a distinguished service award recipient. He heads the advisory board of the Center for the Future of Arizona think tank.

Small business is widely recognized nationally as the foundational building block of our economy. In Arizona, especially, this segment is healthy and thriving; our state has been named one of the best for entrepreneurialism.

CopperPoint Insurance Companies, renamed and reorganized from the former SCF Arizona, was the state’s dedicated workers’ compensation insurance resource, and, as such, was uniquely positioned to work with and assist all businesses throughout Arizona. With its 90-year history of providing workers compensation coverage, CopperPoint is uniquely positioned to support business owners across Arizona and beyond. In addition to serving them through select agents and with our value-added safety resources, we’ve made it a priority to partner with business and community leaders to help create a strong economy and vibrant culture for all Arizonans. That’s why, as I retire, I’m so pleased that Marc Schmittlein has recently joined CopperPoint as my successor.

Marc’s 30-plus years in the industry is steeped in small business. He understands the pressure business owners face and knows how to team with independent agents to provide top-notch commercial and workers compensation insurance. Most of all, he knows that solid relationships are at the heart of every successful business function, be it marketing, finance or technology.

This issue’s cover story taps into the expertise of other business leaders in our community. In Business Magazine builds its content around what it identifies as core business operations of companies in any industry — leadership and management, sales, human resources, technology, marketing and communication, and finance — and, for this singularly focused article, has sought out those known for their proficiency in these fields to share tips for success.

While debate over marijuana continues, with contention over both legalizing its use and the economic impact of the industry, the Arizona Department of Health Services has announced it is opening applications for medical marijuana dispensary licenses this summer. There are legal issues unique to this situation, and, for the Legal article, a local attorney addresses “what the commercial real estate community needs to know” regarding leasing agreements between landlords and potential dispensary tenants.

This July issue also offers the 2016/2017 edition of the Top 50 Small Business Resources Guide & Industry Leaders, developed in cooperation with Local First Arizona, and then closes with a Roundtable feature that challenges companies to consider the business benefits of socially responsible practices.

I’m pleased to help bring you this July issue of In Business Magazine, reprising the role of Guest Editor that I played in the publication’s inaugural issue more than five years ago.

Sincerely,

Don Smith President and CEO (ret.) • CopperPoint Insurance Companies

Story Ideas/PR: editor@ inbusinessmag.com

Small Business, Big Business We have all heard that small business is the little engine that

upon his retirement from CopperPoint. His work and dedication

could for economic growth. The statement holds true as we move

to small business through his company and his tremendous

through our newest economy in Greater Phoenix and see the

personal support of this business community includes chamber

power of small business hiring, innovating and serving our business

boards, mentoring services and an important offering of his overall

community, with success measurements telling us that small

business expertise. We were honored to call him our very first

business continues to generate the most economic impact. This is

Guest Editor in November of 2010 and felt it was fitting to ask

why we offer our Small Business issue each year.

him back as we celebrate small business in the Greater Phoenix

We are very pleased to ask Don Smith back as Guest Editor

Let us know what you think of this issue of In Business Magazine. Email our publisher at feedback@inbusinessmag.com.

CONNECT WITH US:

business community. —Rick McCartney, Publisher

Business Events/ Connections: businessevents@ inbusinessmag.com Marketing/Exposure: advertise@ inbusinessmag.com Visit us online at www.inbusinessmag.com

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JULY 20 1 6

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VALLEY LEADERS SOUND OFF

one or two of your most effective policies or strategies to help small Q: Describe business grow in your city.

FEEDBACK QUESTION: Let us know what you want to know from the Valley’s top business leaders. editor@inbusinessmag.com

For all past Feedbacks go online to inbusinessmag.com and see what Valley executives think on various business topics.

JULY 20 1 6

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W.J. “JIM” LANE

JAY TIBSHRAENY

JERRY WEIERS

Mayor City of Scottsdale Sector: Government

Mayor City of Chandler Sector: Government

Mayor City of Glendale Sector: Government

The City of Scottsdale was named one of the Top 10 locations to launch a startup for a reason, and closely helps local businesses and entrepreneurs grow and develop through resources and programming offered in the Eureka Loft at the Civic Center Library and in partnership with various community organizations and businesses.

Earlier this year, I proclaimed February 24th Scottsdale’s first-ever “Made in Scottsdale Day” when the city partnered with Weebly, a company which recently chose Scottsdale for its expansion from San Francisco, to help any entrepreneur or small-business owner make their own website or e-commerce store.

In the Eureka Loft, programs like Connect the Tech, Jump Start Your Business and ASU’s Rapid Startup School provide training and networking opportunities, while the space itself is a launching point for mentor services and connections to additional resources, from financial support to local licensing and even talent attraction. Small Business Saturday is an important annual celebration as well for Downtown Scottsdale, but our efforts in reaching out to local merchants occur year-round.

Chandler has two programs in place that are geared to the small-business entrepreneur: the Business Location Team (BLT) and our Adaptive Reuse Policy.

The BLT is composed of representatives from several city departments, including planning, economic development, sales tax and fire.

The team meets as a group with people looking to start a business in Chandler.

The group will guide the prospect through all of the City processes, zoning compliance, permit needs, etc., to ensure there are no surprises moving forward.

The team remains a resource to the client through the entire process.

In a plan to bring more jobs and opportunity to Chandler, the City Council approved an Adaptive Reuse Overlay District in January. The District encompasses much of the downtown area as well as the north Arizona Avenue business corridor. The idea behind the plan is to facilitate the redevelopment of underutilized buildings through more relaxed zoning codes for things like parking and building setbacks.

Knowing the small-business community is the backbone of any city’s economy, we remain focused on delivering these and other resources to our local entrepreneurs.

The timing could not be better to highlight the exciting business boom Glendale is experiencing. More than 3,000 jobs are headed to the city, and our bond rating was upgraded this year thanks to sound fiscal policies.

One strategy that has an incredible impact on small businesses is our ability to connect current and prospective Glendale businesses with resources and leverage vast community partnerships.

Take, for instance, SK Oil Sales, which needed specific welders (quickly) to manufacture a particular stainless steel vessel for distribution in restaurants nationwide. Our economic development team worked with the owner and Arizona Automotive Institute to create a specialized welding class. As a result, SK Oil Sales expanded, and students received new technical skills with the strong potential for getting a high-paying job.

Another extremely valuable smallbusiness resource is our Glendale Chamber of Commerce, which just exceeded 1,000 members for the first time since its inception in 1927. I believe our city and chamber partnership has never been stronger.

Leveraging our existing resources is a recipe for success that is clearly working for Glendale.

City of Chandler chandleraz.gov

City of Glendale glendaleaz.com

Mayor Jay Tibshraeny began his unprecedented seventh term as Chandler’s mayor in January 2015, after returning to the Mayor’s Office in January 2011 following eight years in the Arizona State Senate, 2003–2011. His current assignments include Maricopa Association of Governments Regional Council and Greater Phoenix Economic Council Board of Directors.

Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers is a devoted public servant who has spent his adult life owning and operating successful businesses, volunteering, and advocating for his community. As a businessman and U.S. Patent-holder himself, he understands the American dream of owning your own business.

City of Scottsdale scottsdaleaz.gov Mayor W. J. “Jim” Lane served for four years on the Scottsdale City Council beginning in June 2004, began his first term as Mayor in January 2009 and was re-elected in 2012. He currently represents the city on numerous regional and state boards and committees that include the Flinn Foundation Arizona Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee, Arizona Municipal Water Users Association and the Governor’s Arizona Workforce Committee.

Sign up for the monthly In Business Magazine eNewsletter at www.inbusinessmag.com. Look for survey questions and other research on our business community.

QUICK AND TO THE POINT

Women Break Ground in Commercial Development Lynne King Smith’s development in Gilbert, Building 313, has evolved into an opportunity to raise the profile on women as business leaders. The 15,602-squarefoot, three-story, mixed-use, owner-occupied project that broke ground last month was initiated when King Smith, looking for office space she could purchase for her businesses TicketForce, a ticketing service for venues of all sizes, and Thrive, a women’s co-working space, saw the vacant lot in Gilbert’s Heritage District.

Earlier plans to be part of a live-work-play project that would have allowed her to own her office space lost appeal when that changed to a rental arrangement. Approaching the challenge with the same positive determination with which she had founded TicketForce, she decided to become her own developer, and partnered with Lorraine Bergman, CEO of Caliente Construction, as the project’s general contractor. “That was the unusual piece that put me over the top with saying there’s a lot going on here and I think it’s just a matter of pointing it out,” King Smith says, noting that women developers and women in construction are rare.

She has since brought in Dina Rosas of D Rosas Interior Architecture Design Group as designer of her new offices. “What I’m hoping to see and help to open up is women to see themselves in a leadership role.”

King Smith says she had no problems getting a loan for the project — it’s an SBA loan, and, she says, “The government loves the minority factor.” But she relates that, over the course of

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Cut Through Email Clutter the project, she has encountered some bias in others not taking her seriously that seems to stem from their not understanding her vision for and design of interior spaces.

TicketForce will occupy approximately 45,000 square feet in the new building, nearly doubling its current 25,000 square feet.

The office will include shared workspaces, a broadcast room and a relaxation room where employees can go to decompress or take a nap to refresh themselves. Citing Ariana Huffington as a proponent of this, King Smith also believes that employees who are overworking are not really productive. The most unique element in the TicketForce office will be a circular conference room and the resulting curved walkways around it — all of which creates an atmosphere deemed more feminine than the usual boxy, geometric office arrangement.

Anticipated move-in for TicketForce and Thrive is first quarter of next year. King Smith is seeking an Arizona-based brewery or farm-totable restaurant for the building’s restaurant space and rooftop bar.

—RaeAnne Marsh Building 313 facebook.com/BLDG313

It’s no secret that many workers feel they are drowning in a sea of communications, unable to discern between important messages and those destined for the spam folder. SnapComms develops enterprise communications software that bypasses email to put important messages in front of employees on any device, anywhere. snapcomms.com

ASBA Building Small Business Discover the best advice and practical applications through GoSmallBiz supported by Arizona Small Business Association. These tools will help business owners make smart decisions in areas of sales and marketing, Hunak resources, legal resources, tax and accounting, online learning, and general business consultation. asba.gosmallbiz.com

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Infusionsoft Sales & Marketing Toolset Visually discover Infusionsoft, a local tech company that automates allinone sales and marketing built exclusively for small business. An informative way to discover what Infusionsoft can do for small business — regardless of industry, whether it sells through a website, a retail/office location or a sales team — is to watch Infusionsoft’s product Photo courtesy of TicketForce

demonstration video to get the full picture. infusionsoft.com

Building 313 developer Lynne King Smith says her interest in locating her project in Gilbert crystalized when she saw a notice that restaurateur Sam Fox was going to bring Zinburger to Downtown Gilbert. “I respect his knowledge of where to be,” she says.

11

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QUICK AND TO THE POINT

Tech Advances Printing

Smoke-Free Gaining in Multifamily A ban on smoking is an emerging trend in multifamily residential properties, gaining traction especially over the past two years, according to Bryan Fasulo, regional property manager for national multifamily management company Pinnacle, which manages Residences at Fountainhead, a development at Tempe Town Lake, and Proxy 333 in Downtown Phoenix. Support programs in Arizona are Smoke-Free Arizona, administered under the Arizona Department of Health Services, which is part of a national program, and Arizona Smoke-Free Living, a nonprofit that was started by the Arizona Multihousing Association. The ban may include vaping and medical marijuana.

Some multifamily housing prohibits smoking anywhere on the property, and others allow smoking only in designated areas, says Fasulo, who explains that designating a smoking area may be feasible only on larger properties.

Non-smokers vastly outnumber smokers — by more than 4 to 1 — and Fasulo finds even those who do smoke often refrain from smoking inside their home.

The ban covers shared areas such as a pool and playground as well as buildings’ internal corridors — where residents would otherwise pick up second-hand smoke residue as they walk to their unit. And it affects other apartments even though there is no shared ventilation. The air can seep through doorways, explains Fasulo, and if a resident on an upper floor opens his window, he could get smoke from his neighbor below. In fact, up to 65 percent of air in multifamily properties is shared between units.

Fasulo also cites the heavy cost of repairs on top of the health concerns in the smoking issue. Banning smoking results in less damage to the apartment.

“Smoke and nicotine leave serious residues. Even after the apartment has been cleaned, this can cause serious problems for those with allergies,” he says.

Second-hand smoke clings to appliances, paint, flooring and other surfaces, and Fasulo notes, “The cost of rehabilitating a residential unit ranges from $560 to $3,515, depending on how heavy of a smoker previously

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The largest commercial printer in the Southwest calls Phoenix home. Prisma — on the brink of closing when Robert Anderson took it over 16 years ago — expects to do about $36 million in sales this year.

Anderson describes the business as “all-computerized and super-high-tech.” And the 75-ton printing press Anderson recently installed will help Prisma do more, faster. The new press is an eight-color Lithrone GL40 Perfector press equipped with Komori’s proprietary H-UV system. It will print 15,000 sheets of printer paper (which cut to 120,000 sheets at 8½ x 11 inches) per hour, both sides at once. Traditional presses, in comparison, print one side at a time, at 12,000 printer sheets per hour. Additionally, Anderson points out, “Instead of having to let the print air dry, it dries with an LED UV lamp.” The lowintensity lamps are low-energy, he notes.

“Client time-to-market expectations are now driven by companies like Amazon, meaning every job has fire under it,” Anderson says. “The amazing speed of this press simply does the impossible — it buys us time. With one pass and it’s done, we can experience efficiency like never before.” The massive installation took 39

days, and started with digging a two-foot-deep hole in the floor of Prisma’s facility.

Much of Prisma’s printing is supply chainoriented, Anderson explains. This is largely in five verticals: restaurant, hotel/lodging, pharmaceutical, healthcare, and banking/ financial. Some of the work involves data that falls under government regulation for compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), but Anderson says Prisma treats all data the same way. “Customers come because we protect their clients’ data.”

Prisma prismagraphic.com

NAPA Revamps for Retail NAPA, which, for more than 90 years, has built its name on being a wholesale auto parts distributor serving largely auto repair businesses and fleets, is looking to grow its retail side. It is rolling out the program in 20 markets around the country, and, here in the Valley, the Gilbert store is one of the first to get the makeover. In addition to new signage, furniture, fixtures and other visual enhancements as part of its efforts this year and next to refresh the stores’ looks, the change encompasses new product offerings, such as back-up cameras and accessories for Bluetooth devices, explains Chris Rice, general manager of NAPA AUTO PARTS – Phoenix.

“We’re going to target more of a consumer base than a typical NAPA store.”

The Gilbert store, which celebrated its grand reopening last April, is one of the top three in the Valley, but it was chosen also for its

location. “It is on a main street in Gilbert — a retail-friendly, high-traffic area,” Rice notes.

In all, eight Valley NAPA stores are scheduled for the refreshed look, but Rice says the revamping project “will touch all 19 company stores we own in the Valley” as well as the nine that are independently owned.

National Automotive Parts Association napaonline.com

A new survey by One Hour Translation found that app developers from the U.S. are investing substantial resources in developing their Latin markets. Company data for Q1 2016 showed, about 28 percent of all mobile applications written by U.S. developers in English were intended for localization in the most widely spoken languages in Latin markets: Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. onehourtranslation.com

Photo courtesy ofPrisma (top), Pinnacle (top left), National Automotive Parts Association (bottom)

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METRICS & MEASUREMENTS

Phoenix Is More Expansive than Expensive

Economic strength and population growth tied to geographic expansion

by RaeAnne Marsh

FACTORS THAT IMPACT DENSIFICATION • Geography. Slopes and water bodies, for instance, are barriers for Seattle and California’s Bay Area.

In other cases, adjacent land may be protected for environmental reasons.

• How agricultural land is taxed. “The tax structure may make it less beneficial to convert land from agricultural use,” explains Issi Romem, Ph.D., chief economist for BuildZoom.

• Policies that prevent densification. These include, for example, zoning that specifies single-family housing, height limits and minimum lot sizes.

• And there are other, less obvious, factors, Dr. Romem points out.

“These include how people are allowed to vote in their town hall [meetings].” If only those who are physically present may vote, he explains, voting is more likely to be dominated by people who are not working full time or are raising children rather than a representational crosssection of the population.

Data released recently by BuildZoom, the data-driven marketplace for remodeling and construction services, shows that Metro Phoenix’s rate of expansion increased 57.8 percent since 1970, compared to a 15.3 percent decrease for the nation — making it the seventh-fastest-expanding metropolitan area in the United States during this period.

BuildZoom’s analysis reveals that, while the majority of U.S. cities have maintained a constant pace of outward expansion since the 1950s, some cities have shown an accelerated pace of outward expansion, channeling economic strength into greater population growth.

These “expansive cities” may be contrasted with “expensive cities” such as San Francisco and Boston, which have reduced the pace of outward expansion, channeling economic strength into higher property values.

According to BuildZoom Chief Economist Issi Romem, Ph.D., “The new housing crisis of affordability is not a new development — it has been brewing since the 1970s, and was present beneath the surface even during the last decade’s housing bust.”

Cities’ outward expansion has, historically, played a key role in providing new housing, but the “expensive cities” are increasingly running up against barriers to growth, which arise from natural geography as well as an accumulation of prohibitive local land-use policy.

As Dr. Romem explains, “America’s largest cities — ‘the expensive cities’ — have slowed down their outward expansion and failed to compensate with densification, but failing to build enough new housing does not maintain their character. Instead, it affects the nature of who can and cannot afford to live in these cities. The result is a middle class exodus

that fuels population growth in other cities that are growing — that is, ‘the expansive cities.’”

Densification of an area tends to be gradual, and Dr. Romem notes most of the country can be considered areas where it is not OK to build densely, and construction kept to low-rise buildings. Also, as areas are engulfed by the city, there are gaps of vacant land that may, later, attract interest for infill projects. “There is a small minority of areas where it is OK to build densely, and where ‘the sky’s the limit’ in some cases — particular sections of historic downtowns or walkable pockets of suburbia, which tend to be in downtowns that were swallowed by the larger metro area,” he says, emphasizing that these sections are typically more commercial or formerly industrial in nature and that “more often than not, historic downtowns and walkable spots in suburbia are places where it is clearly not OK to densify, for example when there is historic value to the place that calls for preservation.”

Metro Phoenix does not have substantial limitations on its expansion. An analysis a few years ago by Daniel Christen at Arizona State University looked at the growth of the Biltmore area, Uptown Phoenix, the Broadway Curve complex along I-10, and, most notably Scottsdale Airpark/Kierland between 1990 and 2007 as “edge cities” (centers of employment and shopping that are located away from a city’s central business district). And the City of Phoenix’s neighboring municipalities — which include Chandler, Glendale, Mesa, Peoria, Scottsdale and Tempe — have grown beyond bedroom communities to have shopping and employment centers of their own.

Expansion (sq. miles) 1940s All U.S. urban areas

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

Change in Expansion Rate 2000s vs. 1970s

2010 Area (sq. miles)

Population (millions)

4,611

10,322

9,309

12,271

10,342

10,998

10,396

-15.3%

78,695

303.41

1

Atlanta

42

133

236

340

478

596

632

86.0%

2,529

5.90

2

Dallas

93

216

177

269

314

276

398

48.1%

1,833

6.81

3

Houston

79

174

177

328

228

232

393

19.8%

1,672

6.11

4

Phoenix

33

95

90

188

159

234

297

57.8%

1,120

4.19

5

New York

313

727

612

525

453

341

288

-45.1%

4,408

23.08

6

Washington

145

253

286

329

368

310

278

-15.5%

2,210

9.02

7

Chicago

154

369

282

296

203

321

274

-7.5%

2,362

9.82

8

Charlotte

34

80

94

112

135

238

255

127.8%

991

2.38

9

Los Angeles

289

548

382

409

401

200

229

-43.9%

2,932

17.88

10

Boston

153

347

292

306

351

311

227

-26.0%

2,669

7.89

Source: BuildZoom. The full report is available on BuildZoom and contains maps and charts that illustrate Phoenix’s urban expansion and help compare it to the rest of the country. buildzoom.com/blog/cities-expansion-slowing

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The term “edge city” was coined by Joel Garreau, a journalist who authored Edge City: Life on the New Frontier in 1992.

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YOUR BENEFIT IN BUSINESS

WELL WELL WELL

BY MIKE HUNTER

Concierge Health Insurance Oscar, a New York-based health insurance company, has announced an operational expansion to Tempe. The company’s new facility will house the Oscar Concierge team. Founded in 2012, Oscar uses a high-tech, data-driven approach, easy-to-understand language and a unique set of benefits to make health insurance simple and transparent, and to deliver what CEO Mario Schlosser says is “a more personal experience to educate and empower our members.”

After a competitive process, Oscar selected Tempe for its newest location after working with economic development representatives from the Greater Phoenix region, including the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, the city of Tempe and Arizona Commerce Authority. The region’s large, skilled workforce, high quality of life and pro-business climate and creative office space options like The Circuit — a new, modern, adaptive re-use project — were attractive draws for the company. hioscar.com

Healthcare Manufacturer Chooses Mesa Dexcom, Inc., a leader in continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for patients with diabetes, will construct a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Mesa for the company’s growing CGM business. This new, 180,000-square-foot facility will support the company’s global manufacturing operations and is projected to create more than 500 jobs over the next several years. The company expects initial manufacturing operations in this facility to commence in the second quarter of 2017.

“We chose Mesa due to the available, talented workforce in addition to the proximity to our headquarters in San Diego and our key suppliers,” says Kevin Sayer, president and CEO of Dexcom. “Given our company’s growth, and the growing demand for CGM technology, we felt that a significant expansion of our manufacturing capability in this location was a good strategic fit.” dexcom.com

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Care and Cost-Saving in Healthcare App Scottsdale-based HealthiestYou offfers an innovative health and wellness technology platform designed to help cut costs for consumers, employers and insurance companies by directing users to the most efficient, affordable and convenient route of care.

Directing medical claims out of traditional insurance plans, HealthiestYou serves as a complement to primary care that can be an added component in benefit plans, ultimately reducing healthcare overhead for employers and insurance providers by reducing claims.

Consulting with a doctor 24/7 through the HealthiestYou app is as simple as tapping a button. According to user survey information, the most common reasons for doctor’s visits include bronchitis, earache, sore throat, pink eye and strep throat. The HealthiestYou service can, accurately and conveniently, diagnose these and other common conditions over the phone or through video chat.

In addition to eliminating copays or spending dollars toward a deductible, HealthiestYou can

help save on prescription costs. Most people choose the pharmacy closest to home to fill prescriptions because of convenience, but common medications can vary in price dramatically between pharmacies.

According to a Consumer Reports survey, there was a $749 difference between the highest- and lowest-priced stores for a month’s supply of the five top-selling prescription drugs. HealthiestYou can locate the lowest price for a prescription at nearby pharmacies with a simple search using the smartphone app.

The company was recently ranked No. 846 on the 2015 Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastestgrowing private companies.

—Mike Hunter HealthiestYou healthiestyou.com

Cloud-Based Efficiency for Drug Dispensing Innovating the management of dispensing pharmaceuticals in healthcare-related business, Phoenix-based Cubex has created a cloud-based program that CEO Anton Visser likens to “a smart vending machine.”

Cubex’s proprietary myQLink software helps customers automate the manual processes associated with supply and pharmacy management. Rather than relying on hardwiredependent systems and manually maintained logs of activity, Cubex’s system maintains a tracking record of who went into the system; what medication was taken, how much and for whom; and how much of that medication remains in the inventory. And, says Visser, “When inventory levels reach a critical low point, it can automatically re-order from the supplier of [the customer’s] designation.”

Increased security is inherent, as only authorized personnel can access items inside the dispensing device, and there can be varying levels of authorization per patient. Explains Visser, “A person can only get an item if he’s

granted access by the system administrator.

For instance, a nursing assistant might not be able to get pharmacy items.” Proactive rather than reactive, myQLink requires the activity be documented first in order for the medication to be accessed.

The program is designed for medical, dental and veterinary facilities as well as nursing homes, surgery centers and emergency medical services such as airlift companies. The commonality among these businesses, Visser notes, is their business processes. “They need to track based on DEA regulations and narcotics.”

Founded in 2008, Cubex has expanded its business to eight international markets, including the UK and Australia. Visser’s strategy has been to partner with others that serve the same customers — other software providers, pharmacy providers, medical-supply providers — to bring Cubex’s solution to that common customer. “Our solution benefits all three of those parties,” Visser says. —RaeAnne Marsh Cubex cubexsystem.com

According to FlexJobs, telecommuting has grown 103 percent since 2005. FlexJobs recently analyzed the remote job listings of more than 40,000 companies in its database, and found UnitedHealth Group and Aetna are the top two companies that have been recruiting for the most telecommuting positions in recent months. flexjobs.com

INNOVATIONS FOR BUSINESS

TECH NOTES

BY MIKE HUNTER

Rising Concern over Ransomware There is a growing volume of ransomware victims despite increased efforts to prevent it, according to a recent survey by KnowBe4, a popular security awareness training and integrated phishing platform. The study, which surveyed 1,138

Hybrid Cloud: A Good Business Choice?

Over the past decade, with the diffusion of virtualization technology, the cloud computing industry has seen exponential growth. This trend continues as cloud services are able to offer more of the solutions that are important to business operations, while enterprise customers continue to discover and realize the incredible value in consuming their computing demands as a service.

Although marketing departments can tend to make the cloud seem like a mystical concept to be truly understood only by the experts, it can be simply understood as an IT service where data processing and storage occurs on servers that are external to the organization and information is then served back to its destination over the Internet. The general concept of the cloud can take many forms, such as software, infrastructure, desktop or backup as a service, and under each of the umbrellas still many more categories can be differentiated, but all of these models have the commonality of not running onsite for the organization utilizing the service.

In a hybrid cloud model, rather than offloading all of a company’s data and processing to cloud servers, some servers remain on premise while others are deployed in the cloud. The benefits of such a deployment are numerous — companies are able to continue to utilize infrastructure that they may have already payed for, while realizing the dependability and flexibility benefits that the cloud has to offer. Additionally, one of the major advantages of cloud computing is that it allows a pay-as-you-go OPEX model, which allows organizations to pay for only the resources they consume when they need them. This means that in busy times, or as a company grows, additional computing resources can be added or removed

as needed. This approach provides tremendous opportunity for businesses to scale flexibly rather than budgeting for, and making permanent, large capital expenditures that may not turn out to be justified in hindsight.

One common hybrid cloud deployment model is Disaster Recovery as a Service, or DRaaS. In this model, a company is able to fully replicate its server and computing infrastructure in the cloud.

This means that in the event of an onsite disaster, natural or man-made, malicious or unintentional, all of the company’s computing resources can be brought back online to a previously known good state. This approach offers peace of mind far beyond what can be provided by a backup.

A recovery is not dependent on rebuilding and repopulating replacement hardware, but rather a fully duplicated computing environment is waiting in the wings for a fraction of the replacement cost of the on-premise hardware.

According to a recent report by Cisco, public cloud use continues to grow by an annual rate of 50 percent. This clearly shows that companies continue to be attracted to the flexibility, scalability, security and accessibility of these solutions, while cloud providers continue to prove their track records of dependability. The hybrid cloud approach is an excellent way for businesses to begin to take advantage of these solutions while keeping costs down, offering businesses the best of both worlds.

—Ryan Treisman, chief technology officer of Phoenix-based Adopt Technologies, which provides turnkey cloud based IT solutions for organizations inclusive of consultation and migration services, to transition companies from on-premise IT infrastructure to cloud platforms. adopttechnologies.com.

companies across a variety of industries, compares levels of concern over ransomware from 2014 to 2016.

There was a huge jump in companies hit directly by ransomware — at 38 percent in 2016 compared to 20 percent in 2014. Mid-size companies (250 to 1,000 employees) were the hardest hit, at 54 percent.

Two out of three respondents (65 percent) knew someone who was hit, compared to 43 percent in 2014. Apprehension over ransomware has risen to 79 percent from 73 percent of those who are very or extremely concerned about it. IT professionals surveyed are even more worried ransomware will continue to grow (93 percent this year compared to 88 percent in 2014). “The threat of ransomware is very real, and IT professionals are increasingly realizing traditional solutions are failing,” says Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of KnowBe4, which offers a program to educate employees on end-user security issues.

Sixty-one percent of the survey respondents feel email attachments pose the largest threat, compared to 47 percent in 2014. According to a report by EMA, 41 percent of employees still receive no security awareness training, and the programs that do exist have varying degrees of effectiveness. KnowBe4 recommends frequent simulated phishing attacks to keep employees aware and on their toes.

Backup is another popular solution to ransomware.

But, according to a report by Symantec, 47 percent of enterprises lost data in the cloud and had to restore their information from backups, 37 percent of SMBs have lost data in the cloud and had to restore their information from backups — and 66 percent of those organizations saw recovery operations fail.

Observes Sjouwerman, “Our study shows corporate awareness of phishing attack vectors has increased, but users need more help as techniques evolve and criminal exploits become more sophisticated. The overwhelming majority of IT pros think the criminals behind ransomware should be prosecuted and sent to jail for a long time. KnowBe4 agrees, but U.S. law enforcement has no jurisdiction in Eastern Europe where these criminals are largely free to commit their crimes, and we have to rely on our own ingenuity to recognize these threats.” knowbe4.com

Ransomware has hit the manufacturing industry hardest, at 54 percent, compared with 44 percent of healthcare businesses, 35 percent of education, 29 percent of tech and 28 percent of banking.

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MINDING THEIR BUSINESS

Jim Reavey: Melding Two Companies into a New Vixxo Brand

Creating a new culture needed buy-in from 1,000-plus associates

by RaeAnne Marsh

SPOTLIGHT: VIXXO • Vixxo maintains more than 1.1 million revenuegenerating assets for many Fortune 500 clients.

• Clients include international brands such as Starbucks, 7-Eleven and Michaels.

• Vixxo maintains a national network of 150,000 service provider technicians and services more than 65,000 client locations.

• Part of Vixxo’s culture is giving back to the community. “We foster relationships within the communities we work in,” says CEO Jim Reavey. “We work with communities on what’s important to them.” That includes supporting the Wounded Warriors Project and, in Phoenix, helping Title I schools.

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As Vixxo, the data-driven facilities management company is only a few months old. But launching the new brand was a very purposeful strategy, says CEO Jim Reavey. The former president of FM Facility Maintenance — with which First Service Networks integrated to form the new entity — explains that the goal was to have a brand and culture that would be created from the bottom up, completely fresh. “When we relocated the headquarters here [to Scottsdale], we wanted to make sure that, as the culmination of two companies coming together, it was ‘our’ company — not what legacy company you came from.

It was us starting new.”

The two business entities brought together complementary objectives that has resulted in a company that can help customers maintain, repair and manage their mechanical and electrical assets. “We can give our customers better data and insights into how their equipment is running,” Reavey says.

The company serves the restaurant, retail, convenience store and grocery industries.

As president of FM Facility Maintenance, Reavey had grown the Connecticut-based company from $20 million in revenue to more than $600 million over his tenure 2009 to 2013. “And then we were looking out for a technology platform to take us to the next level,” he relates. The FM Facility Maintenance culture had been focused on “being embedded with and strategic partners with customers” — looking at how to drive cost down and improve the reliability of their equipment.

Scottsdale-based First Service Network was focused on the technology — how it could improve the process. Each “had a different view but wanted the same outcome for customers,” Reavey observes.

The employees helped form Vixxo’s new vision and direction, and the melding of the two cultures has been very positive for the entire team, says Reavey. Vixxo’s values and goals were built from the bottom up to make sure everyone was aligned as to where the company was trying to go. “Then we came up with the name, the rebranding,” he says, noting Vixxo is a completely made-up name that has no previous association attached to it.

Reavey emphasizes the rebranding process was not done to the

employees. “We embraced them and encouraged them to be engaged in the process,” he says, relating that he traveled a lot to meet with the thousand-plus associates to get their input, as “they’re the ones closest to the customer” — customer and, actually, third-party supplier as well. “Vixxo represents a new direction for the company, one that is founded on predictive and preventive maintenance and data-driven solutions.”

Reavey’s growth-oriented strategy ties directly to its culture of innovation. “We focus on the customer — getting everyone in the organization to listen to the customer, understand their challenges and come up with creative solutions,” he notes, observing, “A lot of innovation is in solving customer problems, and seeing if we can apply those solutions to other customers.” He sees the continuing evolution of technology as one of Vixxo’s own challenges, in grappling with how to best apply advances to customers’ portfolios. But focusing on how to solve customer challenges at the local and strategic level has fueled the growth that Inc. Magazine recognized in ranking Reavey’s company one of the fastest-growing private businesses in North America for the past seven years.

Another challenge Reavey sees is in the recruiting and training of employees and associates, observing that there is a growing shortage of qualified and trained technical people across the U.S. and Canada. The company culture of engagement, however, he feels gives Vixxo an edge in recruiting.

Vixxo also invests in training “not only on our processes and the use of our technology,” says Reavey, “but we train our suppliers and our own people on how to work on technical equipment that they may not have had experience with before.”

Recruiting efforts specifically include military veterans.

Vixxo works with members of the military as they transition out of the service to work in the civilian world. Reavey, a veteran with eight years’ service in the United States Marine Corps Reserves, says, “We find a lot of great leadership in veterans; a lot of leadership traits are very transferrable to what we need.”

Vixxo vixxo.com

Describing the local business community as “supportive and pro-business, compared to where we came from,” Vixxo CEO Jim Reavey credits business and government with “helping us find the right talent, and networking us into the community with business associations.”

LAW MATTERS TO BUSINESS

Navigating Commercial Leasing to Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Potentially lucrative opportunity comes with risks

by Adam Buck

Growing and selling marijuana may be the most controversial business in America, but, due to changing public opinion and the current political climate, it shows no signs of slowing down. Unless the Federal government decriminalizes the manufacture, sale and use of marijuana, it remains a very risky business, not just for the business owners but also for the landlords who lease commercial space to them. However, more and more landlords are considering taking these calculated risks in exchange for premium rents.

Since 1970, marijuana has been an illegal Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act (the “Act”).

But in the past few years, public opinion of marijuana has changed to the point that some states, such as Colorado and Washington, now allow adult recreational use of marijuana. In 2010, Arizona passed an initiative to allow the sale and use of marijuana for medical purposes. There are now 24 states that have legalized marijuana in some form.

Because of the Supremacy Clause in the U.S. Constitution, these state laws have no effect on federal drug laws. However, there seems to be a softening on the issue at the federal level as well. For example, in recent years the Department of Justice has published a series of notices explaining that they are unlikely to use federal resources to prosecute activities that are legal under the state law in which the activity is taking place. But the notices reinforce the fact that marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, and the DOJ clearly retains its right to prosecute illegal activity. At the same time, the Drug Enforcement Agency is currently looking into possibly reclassifying marijuana into a lower tier schedule.

The State of Arizona has 88 licensed medical-marijuana dispensaries at the present time, and the Department of Health recently announced that this summer it will begin accepting new applications for dispensary operating certificates. This will be a first since the lottery was held for the initial certificates in 2012. Leasing to dispensaries can be enticing because landlords can charge premium rents (often 40 to 60 percent higher) due to the inherent risks. Also, some landlords are willing to take these risks because it enables them to fill commercial space that may otherwise be difficult to rent.

So why don’t more landlords lease to medical marijuana dispensaries? Primarily because, although the sale of marijuana may be legal in Arizona through a certified dispensary, the sale and distribution of marijuana still violates federal law and both the landlord and the tenant may be prosecuted for violating the Controlled Substances Act — which enables the federal government to seize any property that is used for cultivating, manufacturing or selling marijuana.

However, there are landlords banking on the fact that as long as the tenant is in compliance with state law, the federal government will not disturb them.

For those willing to take the plunge, there are a few things that can provide some additional protection. First, the landlord should obtain the consent of his or her lender before signing the lease. Leasing to a dispensary may be a violation of the terms of the loan documents, which could allow the lender to call the loan due and foreclose on the real estate. Next, the landlord should consider adding lease provisions that will offer additional protection, such as the following: • A specific permitted use provision that outlines what the dispensary is allowed to do and what it is prohibited from doing, such as distributing to minors.

• A covenant for the tenant to comply with all state and local laws as well as with all federal laws to the extent they are not inconsistent with the tenant’s right to use the premises.

• An early termination rights provision so that the landlord can terminate the lease if there is any federal criminal prosecution of the business, seizure of property, foreclosure by the bank, or if the landlord receives any nuisance claims regarding the business.

• A clause that prevents employees or customers from using marijuana anywhere in the premises or common areas.

• An indemnity clause that requires the tenant to indemnify the landlord for any damage done to the building, common areas and other tenants’ premises as a result of robberies, break-ins or burglaries.

As growth of the marijuana business in Arizona increases, so will the demand for commercial space. Although it is possible to lease to these businesses, such a decision should not be made lightly. Before signing a lease with a dispensary, landlords should consult with an attorney to thoroughly evaluate the risks.

The Arizona Department of Health Services has announced it will begin taking applications for new medical marijuana dispensaries this summer. This will add to the already existing 88 medical marijuana retail stores throughout the State.

C. Adam Buck has been certified as a Real Estate Specialist by the State Bar of Arizona. He is a partner at The Frutkin Law Firm, PLC located in Scottsdale, Arizona. His practice is focused on real estate transactions and litigation. frutkinlaw.com

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INBUSINESSMAG.COM

Success by Example Q&A’s from Local Greats “Best practices” can be a moving target, and leading businesspeople double down on what works today

by RaeAnne Marsh

S

mall business is thriving in our state, and in Metro Phoenix specifically. Arizona State University and Grand Canyon University have programs focused on fostering entrepreneurialism; many of the Maricopa County community colleges are also active in this space with specialized programs, notably GateWay Community College‘s incubator, Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation; and numerous business incubators and accelerators throughout the Valley (see In Business Magazine cover story of last year “Incubating Business: Are Startups Accelerating Our Economy?”) are helping startups launch successfully into the business community.

Success begets success, and In Business Magazine asked leaders at the helm of some of our most successful companies to share insights on best practices and the changing business environment, based on their experience in these core concerns of all business enterprises: finance, human resources, leadership and management, marketing and communication, sales, and technology.

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Question 1: Are there traditional “truths” (attitudes, ways of doing things) that need to be discarded in today’s business world?

Question 2: What is an innovative best practice you would advise to a fellow small-businessperson?

Finance – Banking and Lending

Finance – Accounting

Mary M. Holman

Chuck McLane

Senior Vice President National Bank of Arizona | nbarizona.com Company established: 1984 Number of employees: 690 employees with National Bank of Arizona.

National Bank of Arizona is a division of ZB, N.A., which operates in nearly 500 local financial centers across 11 Western states.

Get to know your banker. If you do not have a banker who has come out to visit your location/place of business, then you need to find another bank or banker. Getting to know your bank and your banker is paramount to your success. When in need of guidance and capital, every business owner should be able to pick up the phone and talk to his or her banker. Your banker should know your company and be able to help you navigate through various financial needs and challenges. This sounds simple, and it truly is, but so many business owners do not have a strong banking relationship. Your banker may not always be able to say “yes” to your capital requests, but your banker should be able to guide you to alternative sources of capital. Your bank and your banker should be one of your strongest and best business partners. If you don’t have a banker, ask a trusted friend or advisor for several referrals, and then begin the dialogue to determine whom you want as your financial partner.

Q2: Best Practice?

Finance – Alternative Lending Joel Gottesman

President Liquid Capital of Arizona | bit.ly/lcofaz Company established: 2009 Number of employees: 25 through shared services model Traditional “truths” would hold that you fund growth by obtaining capital (from yourself, friends and family, or established investor infrastructure), and then obtain working capital debt through alternative financing such as factoring or asset-based lending, or through a bank loan if the more stringent credit standards can be met. If additional capital is still needed, there are some new ways of raising capital through crowd funding, which is becoming more of a reality and utilizes social media to reach investors more readily. Other options include contract manufacturing or joint venturing for an initial period to reduce the time it takes to move forward on your growth plan.

Q1: Truths?

Find your sweet spot on how to engage prospective or Q2: Best Practice? existing customers or referral sources for growing your business. Social media provides a great opportunity to be out there to establish your business brand in a way that is not a “hard sell.” You have the opportunity to associate yourself and your business with creative trends and new ideas. Depending on your business model, LinkedIn and Twitter offer opportunities to build your network and business brand.

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Senior Managing Director CBIZ MHM, LLC bit.ly/cbiz-mhm-phoenix Company established: 1977 Number of employees: approximately 80 Things happen much more quickly in all aspects of our lives. Change is a constant. With constant change and the high speed of change, traditions have either had to evolve or have disappeared.

We now have four generations in the workforce.

Traditionalists and baby boomers try to hang on to traditions — such as elaborate accounting and reporting models, standard metrics, anniversary celebrations, and climbing the corporate ladder.

Generation X and millennials are working to break down the traditional expectations and career progression. They question why finance and accounting measure certain things and not others.

In the past, the boss told you what to do and you did it. You trusted in the organization and leaders.

Today, leaders are questioned by the new hires who feel that they have a different perspective on measuring success. They have a high expectation that they will find a better, faster, smarter way of doing things. When these changes take place, the way we measure success needs to evolve, too. With that, systems are being developed to track and measure many different aspects of business. New metrics and the “new normal” are being established and then changed again. It is not enough to look at the top line (revenues) or the bottom line (profit/ loss). The new systems focus not only on the results internally, but on the activities outside the organization that may have an impact on the organization’s results. Organizations must have both internal and external focus to succeed.

Q1: Truths?

You must anticipate and plan for change rather than react to it. We all know the world is not static. Thus, change is inevitable.

In planning for change, you develop a proactive mindset that is always moving forward and staying ahead. If you are reactive, you are always in catchup mode and chasing those ahead of you.

Q2: Best Practice?

INBUSINESSMAG.COM

Human Resources

Leadership & Management

Camille French

Adam Goodman

Founder and Principal Consultant AmeriSource HR Consulting Group, LLC amerisourcehr.com Company established: 2010 Number of employees: 8 Companies that are standing out as the best of the best are seeing great success in moving away from routine hiring practices, traditional policies and strict schedules. Using tools to assess behavior and individual style to determine a cultural fit should take precedence over years of experience when staffing and managing your team. Also, if presented correctly, policies like open-ended time off or flexible work schedules are resulting in statistics showing that employees are more engaged, productive and taking less time off than employees who have strict schedules and a “bank” of time to use. Why? Employees are feeling like they are being treated like professional adults and feel respected as part of a team without the pressure of having to earn their status within an organization.

Companies looking to enhance their culture and increase employee retention may have concerns and fear of chaos when adopting new traditions such as these. Implementing this culture requires change management from the top down, clearly communicating expectations and being consistent. The end result: loyal, engaged employees who see the success of the company a team effort.

Q1: Truths?

Ted Schuman

Founder and CEO PlanetOne Communications | planetone.net Company established: 1992 Number of employees: 16 Going to work isn’t what it used to be. People are Q1: Truths? working from anywhere and everywhere. Millennials, in particular, expect businesses to promote and maintain a healthy and balanced workforce. Flexibility is a must to attract and retain talent — and that’s not exclusive to millennials. Technology has influenced how we work, why we work and where we work. In today’s connected world, the adage of having “butts in the boardroom to get business done” no longer applies. With the right technology in play, you can empower your workforce and grow your business while limiting expenses.

Another traditional truth to reconsider is around the company culture.

Benefits and cool perks aside, what purpose does your company serve in making this world a better place? Today’s workforce is concerned with giving back and making a difference. In order to thrive in this emerging environment, businesses must be flexible, have a clear mission and establish a culture that engages with their employees on a deeper level, providing purpose and offering opportunities for greater input on how work is conducted.

Successful businesses commit themselves to creating work environments that enable employees to thrive both as individuals and as contributors to the business’s overall success. Striving to create positive employee environments and clearly communicating these expectations in the HR philosophy and mission is a best practice. The most effective philosophies focus on fostering innovation and collaboration, creating a work place where employees feel their voices are heard and acted upon. This fosters organizational success from the bottom up and inspires success from the top down.

Q2: Best Practice?

INBUSINESSMAG.COM

President and CEO Goodmans Interior Structures goodmans.com Company established: 1954 Number of employees: 150 The disgusting phrase “you should be grateful you have a job” has been muttered for the last time. It can be decommissioned and put in a museum along with other retired phrases like “take a memo for me” and “operator, get me an outside line.”

We live in an entrepreneurial age, and the culture celebrates people who quit their job to flip houses, develop an app, drive for Uber, open a coffee shop, arbitrage collectables or chase their dream. There is practically no barrier to entry to owning your own business, and every neighborhood has at least one folk hero who can work in his pajamas.

For those who prefer not to take the risk, legions of companies offer an opportunity to “be a part of something bigger than yourself” by disrupting or solving or reinventing or liberating a particular industry, sector, region or planet.

With all of these options, the burden to create a compelling work environment is on employers. Today’s jobs must be fulfilling and resonate with an employee’s inner sense of purpose. Indeed, enlightened employers are grateful that their people choose to work for them.

Q1: Truths?

Everyone knows what you are not good at. Everyone, that is, except for you.

Oh, you might be able to recite a pat answer about your weakness that has the ring of humility. “I just work too hard” is a typical favorite among the type-A crowd. Another favorite self-congratulatory flaw is, “I demand perfection.”

While those might be true, they aren’t the glaring weakness that the rest of us see in you. Unfortunately your ego is stopping you from seeing it, too. So we all dance around your weakness and pretend it isn’t there … except that the rest of us give each other a knowing glance when your weakness is on display.

Maybe you are a slow decision maker. Or a conflict avoider. Or you play favorites. Or you judge too quickly. Or you hold others to a standard that you can’t maintain for yourself. Whatever it is, you really should figure out what it is.

And once you know, shine a light on it. Be vulnerable and open up about it. Catch yourself doing it and acknowledge it. Encourage others to call you on it. The humanity you display in embracing your weakness will inspire others to explore ways to discover and improve their own weaknesses. If it’s authentic, then it’s powerful.

Q2: Best Practice?

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Question 1: Are there traditional “truths” (attitudes, ways of doing things) that need to be discarded in today’s business world?

Question 2: What is an innovative best practice you would advise to a fellow small-businessperson?

Leadership & Management

Marketing & Communication

Michelle Sirott

Matthew Clyde

Practice Director Point B, Inc. | pointb.com Company established: 1995 Number of employees: 39 (Phoenix practice); 575 (total in firm) Senior leaders aren’t the only ones who “know best.” Millennials are certainly on the minds of leaders today. Many fear they don’t have the right strategies in place to hire, develop and retain this demographic. But leaders should be excited about this generation. They want to be treated as equals; they want social justice; they want camaraderie with their colleague; and they’re looking for a place to grow and develop. Which is exactly what generations before them wanted. There are impressive parallels between baby boomers, Gen X’ers and millennials that have been overlooked because we’ve kept the focus on what makes them different rather than what makes them the same. We need to get excited about the development and engagement of this generation. Accelerate both if you must, but embrace the benefits — and don’t feel like you have to change everything in your company to succeed. Start with the basics. Bring them to strategy meetings. Listen to their ideas. Allow them to become valued members of your team.

And remember back to what you might have wanted at that same time in your career.

Q1: Truths?

Don’t segregate your Q2: Best Practice? communications. Gone are the days when leaders should hold back information from any segment of their population. For employee engagement and successful business results to reach new heights, everyone should be informed — because you can’t have a voice (and groundbreaking ideas) if you don’t know what’s going on. All employees should see and understand financials, plans and goals. The good stuff. The challenging stuff. “The more you know, the more you grow” is really coming home to roost in the culture-driven, accelerated-advancement of 2016 (and beyond).

Know that culture shouldn’t eat strategy for breakfast. The gap between culture and business strategy and outcomes is closing. This isn’t a fight. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

Culture should feed your strategy. Strategy should feed your culture. One shouldn’t drive the other. Approach planning for both with the same thoughtful precision. Equal weight for both culture and strategy results in successful outcomes and an engaged workforce.

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President and Founder Ideas Collide | ideascollide.com Company established: 2005 Number of employees: 42 and growing The boundaries and costs of entry have shifted across all businesses; today, you can easily start and run an enterprise via a few apps and tools. This requires everyone in an organization to be adaptive to the market. Organizational structures, 9-to-5 hours, full transparency of business practices, employee engagement and more continue to shift outside what was once considered the norm and tradition. This shift requires business owners to be flexible to multiple interests and options. Today’s workforce seeks diversity, change and movement at the same pace as the market is moving. All-around business stakeholders have to be very adept and capable of embracing change.

Q1: Truths?

The saying is common: Innovate or die. But for an innovative environment to thrive, you have to focus on the company culture. Ideas Collide has always carried a culture-and-team-first philosophy. It drives our business decisions and shapes our agency values. It can be challenging at times as a small business to take this route when resources can be tight, but it always delivers a return. Ownership, collaboration and giving back to our community and team is our most important innovative practice requiring a daily investment of time and focus.

Q2: Best Practice?

Park Howell

President, Park&Co | parkandco.com Founder, The Business of Story Professor of Storytelling for the Executive Master of Sustainability Leadership at Arizona State University Park&Co established: 1995 The one truth that will never be discarded in the business world is showing up every single day.

I think old models of command and control are being replaced by networks of connectivity that are placing the power in the hands of employees and consumers and away from brands. Smart companies are evolving from promoters of stuff to publishers of meaningful content that empowers people and moves them to action through a shared vision and the stories they tell.

Q1: Truths?

Most companies are trying to be heard in this noisy world, but few are cutting through the clutter. The greatest innovation in communication today has, actually, been around since the beginning of mankind — and that is the power of a well-told story. Given the growth of our attention economy, ADHD has become a communicable disease. And we’re all the virus. The antidote is in telling and living into a better brand story than your competition.

Q2: Best Practice?

INBUSINESSMAG.COM

Sales

Technology Robert Thornton

Founder Paper Clouds Apparel | papercloudsapparel.com Company established: 2007 Number of employees: 1 full time employee; 10–12 adults with special needs whom we hire as independent contractors every two weeks to fold and package our shirts when they have finished printing I feel too many businesses are focused only on money, and when that is your focus you miss out on a lot of the other factors that can make your business successful. I believe you need to focus on the people you are helping with your business and on the people working for you. In my experience, if you can keep both your customers and your employees happy with you and your business, the sales and success will come.

Q1: Truths?

I also think way too many people in business wait too long to make changes or pivot. The No. 1 thing in business is to take action. Always be innovating, updating and improving the way your company is running, and do so in all aspects. Just never be stagnant — that is the kiss of death for so many businesses.

Q2: Best Practice?

Mike Toney

President and CEO Conquest Training Systems | miketoney.sandler.com Company established: 1997 Number of employees: 5 Traditional ways of building a solid customer base of the right clients has radically changed in the past 10 years. I liken it to traveling to a new country and pulling out a map and tracing your finger over the lines to find your destination versus turning on your smartphone and speaking to Google to give you directions to the location you seek. The reason this is possible is, data is everywhere and you can aggregate it. It’s the same for the customer finding you or you finding your customer.

The phone cold call or walk in is equivalent to tracing a map with your finger, while LinkedIn or having a strong Web presence and online marketing strategy utilize the fact that data is everywhere. We have calculated for our customers that a cold-called lead costs $400–$700 per lead, and an Internet-developed lead can be as little as $120–$300 — a dramatic difference. Also, think about how much more effective your sales team can be if they don’t have to waste time prospecting.

Q1: Truths?

When do you plant a tree? Long before you need it. It is not usually feasible to plant a mature tree, and it takes time for a sapling to grow. Today, likewise, it can take six months to three years to have your Internet strategy mature to full production. Get on this today. Waiting is not an option if you are committed to success.

Q2: Best Practice?

INBUSINESSMAG.COM

Clate Mask

Co-Founder and CEO Infusionsoft | infusionsoft.com Company established: 2001 Number of employees: 615 Entrepreneurs go into business for many reasons, but one common reason is to be their own boss. With that in mind, it can be very easy to fall into the trap of making all the decisions as “the boss.” This top-down hierarchy model where the entrepreneur has all of the best thinking is outdated and is actually counterproductive to the business. The strength of a business often relies on the diversity of talent from all team members. This is why at Infusionsoft, everyone, regardless of title or role, is encouraged to provide feedback on the company, its products, services, leadership and operations. For example, employees are invited to participate in various company-wide SWOT analysis meetings, which is essential in developing the company’s annual priorities.

Q1: Truths?

For entrepreneurs doing less than a million in annual sales, I highly recommend automating as much of your sales and marketing as possible. If business owners don’t figure out how to consistently get leads and convert them into customers, there won’t be a business to lead. Small-business owners who are doing at least a million in revenue (or are quickly approaching it) need to understand and articulate their vision, which at Infusionsoft consists of our purpose, our values and our mission. Though this isn’t really a new or innovative concept, most entrepreneurs neglect this important piece of advice. The basic yet critical practice of having a clear vision helps guide and influence every strategic decision a company makes. Grounded in a purpose, values and mission, small-business owners will always have clear sight of their North Star and maximize their likelihood of success.

Q2: Best Practice?

Jeffrey Pruitt

Partner and CEO Tallwave | tallwave.com Company established: 2009 Number of employees: 23 As much as many of the foundational elements of building a business remain, what has changed — particularly in the technology world — is the need to involve customers early and often in the process. In highly commoditized landscapes, maintaining a feedback loop with customers will help a business remain competitive and relevant.

Q1: Truths?

Today, we’re afforded a nearly endless supply of tech tools that enable businesses to research the marketplace and find the white space, test their theories among potential customers, gain feedback, and truly understand the customer journey. That knowledge, and building those roadmaps, is like gold to the businesses that leverage them. Every company, regardless of industry, needs to be thinking about how it will transform digitally. Otherwise, it runs the risk of falling victim to myopia.

Q2: Best Practice?

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DECISIONS THAT MATTER

No Time for Teamwork?

Three checkpoints to keep a startup’s culture on track in tough times

by Mario Moussa, Ph.D., and Derek Newberry, Ph.D.

Mario Moussa, Ph.D., and Derek Newberry, Ph.D., are the authors of Committed Teams: Three Steps to Inspiring Passion and Performance.

Dr. Moussa teaches in the Executive Programs at Wharton School of Executive Education. Dr. Newberry is a lecturer at the Wharton School of Business. moussaconsulting.com

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“Culture?”

The half-formed question hung in the air between the puzzled speaker and a room full of students. We were hosting Larry, a founder of three successful energy startups, as a guest lecturer in our seminar on corporate culture at the University of Pennsylvania. We had just asked the veteran entrepreneur what we thought was a simple warm-up question: How do you create a high-performing culture on a startup team?

Larry pondered the question, scratching a headful of curly locks. Having spent the previous night preparing for an upcoming board meeting, he looked more than slightly disheveled. “Well,” he responded, “when you’re in a startup you’re going 100 miles an hour 24 hours a day. You don’t really have time to think about your team culture.” Admittedly, it might seem odd that startup members should pay any attention to team culture. How can a business owner think about the softer side of a business when he needs to go 100 miles an hour just to keep the lights on?

Our answer is simple: He has to.

Co-founding Twitter taught Biz Stone that he would have to find ways to shape team rules and behaviors while exponentially growing the social media messaging service.

As he learned: “A culture is going to form whether you like it or not, and if you pay attention to it, you can craft something that makes the company stronger.” Stone realized that the company’s success depended in large part on his team’s ability to build in a reflection process during each major organizational transition.

So, how can a business owner reflect when he can barely keep up with his product cycle, let alone his team dynamics?

Our research on effective teamwork at the Wharton School tells us that checkpoints are a powerful tool to keep a team aligned at critical points, even when time and resources are tight. Checkpoints are predetermined triggers that lead to specific actions, such as a meeting or a decision-point; they

The Gallup Organization places the value to U.S. businesses of lost productivity due to worker disengagement at a staggering $500 billion.

are automatic actions that the owner initiates only when the right conditions arise, keeping him from getting lost in endless discussions about team issues.

We recommend establishing three types of checkpoints with a startup team: Participation Checkpoints: Create the Ground Rules Startup teams are unique in that many are created among circles of friends. These teams grapple with a tough question: Is it a good idea to do business with one’s buddies? Tim Brady faced this dilemma when he mulled an offer by his old college friend Jerry Yang to become the first employee at Yahoo! What enabled Brady to take the leap was a conversation with Yang that helped them separate professional decisions from their personal relationship: “So one of the things that really helped me was that he and I had a conversation before I joined, ‘Okay, here are the ground rules.’ And this is really what made me think about it. ‘Okay, if this happens, I walk away.’ We had the conversation in order to preserve our friendship, having no idea what was going to happen, but that conversation got me thinking about it and why was I involved.”

By establishing “ground rules,” Tim and Jerry were able to come to a clear understanding of the terms of Tim’s involvement in the company, his reasons for being there, and what would cause him to break the commitment. Creating these agreements makes it easier for everyone to buy in to a transition or a founder’s exit when the time comes.

When a business owner brings in team members, he needs to create checkpoints that flag major decisions about their level of involvement in the startup. If they are only with the startup part time to begin with, what would make them go full time, and how will the parties know when that moment has been reached? What would cause them to leave the company?

The answers to these questions become the checkpoints that trigger discussions around promotions, firings or divestments.

BETTERING YOUR BUSINESS

Predictable Prospecting Problem Checkpoints: Raise the Yellow Flag Another aspect of communicating well is to know when to slow down and raise a “yellow flag.” The term comes from athlete-turnedentrepreneur Jeremy Bloom. Bloom believed that his marketing company, Integrate, was hitting snags in part because he and his co-founder were not on the same page about when to take risks. His partner had a driverlike communication style and didn’t pick up on Jeremy’s subtler cues about feeling discomfort with a big decision.

When Jeremy had finally had enough of feeling like his input was ignored, he came up with a rating system for “yellow flags” — points of caution before proceeding. The partners would put a number on their level of discomfort with a decision or pressing issue, from 1 to 10. Sometimes, Jeremy felt mildly unsure of a decision, but not enough to block it. Other times he would say, “This one is an 8 for me. We need to reconsider.” Their system was based on a clear, easy-to-understand way to raise the issue of discomfort. As startups move quickly and the stakes are high, assessing a team’s appetite for risk regularly is crucial to keeping them aligned with major decisions. Simple ideas like Bloom’s comfort scale reading or a 15-minute stand-up meeting are effective ways to ensure teammates are in sync. Problem checkpoints are essential for raising uncomfortable issues while priming the team to take risks and experiment.

Pivot Checkpoints: Prepare to Fail Failure is a way of life in startups. The key is having a clear sense of when to decide on a pivot and what information will help the business owner set a new direction. What is one’s measure of success and how long does one allow the team to fail to hit the mark before changing? Knowing the answer to this question will enable the business owner to adapt and experiment rapidly to hook customers before his cash flow runs dry. The success of Kodak Gallery as a photo sharing service is a testament to the power of clear road signs pointing the way toward perseverance or change. When Vice President of Products Mark Cook set out to create the service, he had his team develop clear hypotheses from the beginning about why and how customers would want to use such a service. They began with the basic assumption that customers would want to share photo albums from specific events.

Early users clamored to the site, eager to share wedding and conference photos. But no one was able to create an album and many complained about the scarcity of features. Many entrepreneurs would have pulled back at this point, but because the team had identified a clear metric in advance — user interest in creating such albums — they were able to see beyond the setback and identify a pivot opportunity. They had confirmed that customers would come to the site if it were more userfriendly. The revamped site ended up building a base of 75 million users before being sold to Shutterfly in 2012.

The first step is to identify the business’s pivot checkpoints. With the team, the business owner needs to identify the key assumptions driving the product idea and determine a metric, whether it be unique visitors to a site, number of social media shares, or customer ratings. The next step, just as important, is determining a timeline for persevering or pivoting based on those metrics.

In an intense startup environment, managing team dynamics and team culture can be a low priority. Yet it is exactly in moments of rapid change that teams have to work hardest to stay on the same page. The three checkpoints are an efficient way to keep a team on track and ready to move with the wild swings of startup growth.

If an organization’s success is driven by B2B sales, its sales force need to be expert prospectors to successfully target, qualify and close business opportunities. This game-changing guide provides the immediately implementable strategies needed to build a solid, sustainable pipeline — aimed at sales and marketing executives, team leaders, and sales representatives. It teaches how to target and track ideal prospects, optimize contact acquisition, continually improve performance, and achieve revenue goals — quickly, efficiently and predictably. The book includes easy-to-use charts and email templates, and features full online access to sample materials, worksheets and blueprints to add to a prospecting tool kit.

Title: Predictable Prospecting: How to Radically Increase Your B2B Sales Pipeline Authors: Marylou Tyler and Jeremey Donovan

$25

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education

Pages: 256

Available: 8/19/16

Reflections on Progress This is a thought-provoking series of essays written for Project Syndicate from 2011 to 2015. The essays are organized into three sections: global economic interdependence, inequality and the political economy of reform, and the specific challenge of Europe. The common theme is the need for growth-oriented and socially inclusive policymaking in an interdependent world. These kinds of policies offer the potential for another wave of unprecedented human progress aided by breathtaking new technologies. However, a huge and destabilizing disruption is possible if policymaking is not globally cooperative and is not focused on inclusion and greater equity.

Title: Reflections on Progress: Essays on the Global Political Economy (Hardcover) Author: Kemal Dervis

$20.99

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Available: 8/23/16

Pages: 208

Value as a Service Across a host of industries, we will move to a model that Bernshteyn calls value as a service. It is already common knowledge that many traditional-products companies are converting the delivery of their offerings to the asa-service model. With the completion of this transition assumed, the coming disruption will focus less on the delivery model and more on the value delivered. Value as a Service is the simple idea that measurable value delivered for customers will be the ultimate competitive battleground. Every customer will want to understand the exact value that they are being provided. They will want a quantifiable difference as they compare their options. Is your business ready to embrace this coming disruption? Are you ready?

Title: Value as a Service: Embracing the Coming Disruption (Hardcover) Author: Rob Bernshteyn Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group Press

$20 Available: 8/26/16

Unemployment for millennials is double the national average, according to a survey by Moneyrates. The analysis of all 50 states and the District of Columbia against eight economic and lifestyle factors that matter to millennials puts Arizona tied with Virginia as the second-worst state for millennials to live. rates.com/research-center/best-states-for-young-adults

27 20JULY1 6 INBUSINESSMAG.COM

INVESTING IN COMMUNITY

The Good News Continues UP NEXT MONTH The Complex Profile of Today’s Individual Donors

Richard Tollefson is president of The Phoenix Philanthropy Group, an Arizona-based international consulting firm serving nonprofit organizations as well as institutional and individual philanthropists.

As the only member of the Giving Institute in the Southwest, Tollefson’s organization has conducted Giving USA preview events in Arizona, Nevada and California, as well as online webinars through the Social Venture Partners International Network.

Research and writing of the Giving USA report is conducted by Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy in partnership with Giving USA Foundation and the Giving Institute.

Giving USA 2016’s Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2015 reveals a second straight year of record giving, but fundraisers must remain diligent

by Richard Tollefson

Charitable giving by American individuals, estates, foundations and corporations increased 12.2 percent over two years in 2014 and 2015 (the largest two-year increase since 2003-2005).

Today’s Americans, in fact, give one billion dollars per day in their efforts to assist others, accounting for $373.25 billion in 2015.

According to the Giving USA 2016 report, total contributions from individuals — including donoradvised funds, family foundations and planned gifts — equaled 87 percent of all charitable giving in 2015. But what does that mean to corporate executives sitting on nonprofit boards? What does it mean that contributions to almost all nonprofit sectors rose in 2015 (see “Who Received” graphic)?

While the report certainly contains news worthy of celebration, it also means: • Nonprofits should not rest easy. Economic health spurs philanthropic growth. In other words, as the economy improves, giving increases. So, too, do the number of new nonprofits — even in light of recent trends toward partnerships, alliances and consolidation. While that growth may not rise significantly (though it could), competition for philanthropic dollars will continue to increase. The savvy nonprofit knows it must continue with assertive and forwardthinking approaches to its fundraising operations, especially since competitors are, themselves, becoming increasingly sophisticated in their fundraising operations.

• Nonprofits should stay the course. Fundraising strategies should maintain a focus on the individual, with relationship-building at the heart. Even one-time transactional gifts — those spurred by a natural disaster, or by a friend who encourages a first-time donor to participate in a charity run/walk, or even an impersonal online gift — provide opportunities to build long-term relationships. Donors want to be acknowledged and thanked, and with appreciation often increase their loyalty and giving.

phoenixphilanthropy.com

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Eroding Donor Retention: For every 100 new donors gained by the typical nonprofit, 96 other donors lapse.

Overall donor retention held steady last year at 46 percent.

FUNDRAISING STRATEGY AMID ECONOMIC AND PHILANTHROPIC GROWTH

With nearly 1.2 million U.S. nonprofits competing for the same philanthropic dollars, the most competitive nonprofits understand that they must: • Heighten their brand, visibility and marketing efforts. Organizations that can articulate their case for support — Why us? Why now? Why should the donor care?

Why should the donor invest? — are positioned for greater fundraising success.

• Take a holistic approach to fundraising. Varied strategies work. When working with individuals, consider online transactions, social media, direct mail, special fundraising events, leadership annual giving programs and membership societies, and major and planned gifts.

When working with corporations, seek philanthropic gifts, sponsorships, in-kind gifts and even volunteers. The most successful nonprofits target individuals, corporations and foundations in a holistic approach.

• Retain donors. It is far less expensive to retain donors than to constantly seek new ones. Relationship-building is one of the most prized skills of successful fundraisers.

While this year’s report is definite cause for celebration, especially as donors moved back to their giving priorities pre-recession, most nonprofits would agree there is still much work to do to move their organizations toward success.

Graphics provided by The Phoenix Philanthropy Group and Benefactor Group

Aug

JUNE 2016

U.S. Small Business Administration – Arizona District

‘Selling to the Federal Government’

Wed., July 6 | 1:00p – 2:30p (and monthly) The U.S. government is the largest single purchaser of goods and services in the world, awarding approximately $500 billion in contracts every year. Participating in the process to gain access to these federal contracts can be challenging and overwhelming for small-business owners.

On the first Wednesday of every month, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Arizona District Office presents a seminar on the benefits of participating in federal government contracting and introduces small businesses to powerful tools to compete for and win federal contracts.

SBA works with federal agencies to award at least 23 percent of all prime government contract dollars to small businesses annually. The monthly training seminar educates small-business owners about the different certifications available and illustrates how to leverage the certifications to access federal contracts. The seminar demonstrates where to find opportunities to bid on, while connecting small businesses with relevant resources to assist them through the process.

The Service Disabled Veteran Owned, Woman/Economically Disadvantaged Woman Owned, Small Disadvantaged Business/8(a) and Hubzone certifications are federal certifications designed to ensure small business participation in federal contracting while spreading opportunity to socioeconomic groups. Once a small business entity registers in the System for Award Management (www.sam.gov), it can participate in federal contracting and gain new customers in this market.

The SBA Arizona District Office has relationships with resource partners such as the Procurement Technical Assistance Center, Small Business Development Center network, SCORE and the Women’s Business Centers that work with smallbusiness clients regularly to help determine small business’s readiness for government contracting as well as to find teaming partners and to identify opportunities for bidding on proposals.

The “Selling to the Federal Government” monthly seminar offers the opportunity for networking and for small-business owners to launch their business to the next level through federal contracting.

—Shivani Dubey

Association of Fundraising Professionals – Greater Arizona Chapter

2016 AFP Arizona Statewide Conference Thurs. & Fri., July 21 – 22 | 7:00a – 4:30p (Thurs.), 8:00a – 1:30p (Fri.) The 2016 Summer Conference of the Association of Fundraising Professionals will be held in Phoenix’s slightly cooler suburb, Carefree. Presented by the Greater Arizona chapter of the organization, it is a day-and-a-half event that will cover a myriad of topics and feature two keynote speakers. The theme “Fundraising 360” represents all aspects of fundraising — from crafting the message and donor stewardship to planned giving. “The Association of Fundraising Professionals 2016 Summer Conference is an opportunity for fundraising professionals in the State of Arizona to come together to help strengthen and advance their career, network and have fun!” says Liz Kaplan, executive director of the Arizona Coyotes Foundation, who is chairing the event.

The event will start with a breakfast keynote presentation by Mallary Tytel, president and founder of national consulting firm Healthy Workplaces, “Simple Strategies for Creating Best Results.” The conference will end with lunch keynote speech “Words Matter: Communicate with Confidence, Credibility & Impact” by Pamela Jett, an internationally recognized communication skills expert.

The time between those presentations will be filled with workshops that include “Innovative Collaborations,” “Text to Give,” “CEO/Board Partnership” and “Demystifying Planned Giving.” There will also be a panel presentation each day. The “Building Your Board” panel will feature Marcus Sipolt, of Audrey’s Angels and the Fiesta Bowl; Chris Linn, of Feeding Matters; and Chuck Warshaver, of Playworks Arizona; with Adele Dietrich, CFRE, as moderator.

The “Funders” panel will feature Jacky Alling, of the Arizona Community Foundation; Laura McBride, of APS; and Trisha Constas, of Bank of America; with Liz Kaplan as moderator.

Observing that this event is aimed at helping fundraising professionals learn and grow in their profession, Kaplan says, “My hope is that attendees take away a handful of great ideas that they can use in their everyday work.”

—RaeAnne Marsh Members: $275; Partners (includes Alliance of Arizona

Free

Nonprofits member organizations): $300;

SBA Arizona District Office

non-members: $325. Single-day rates available.

2828 N. Central Ave., Ste. 800, Phoenix

Carefree Resort & Conference Center

sba.gov/offices/district/az/phoenix

37220 N. Mule Train Rd., Carefree http://bit.ly/afp-arizona

JULY 2016

SAVE THE DATE

Upcoming and notable ACG-Arizona Summer Social Aug.

Tues., Aug. 16

16

Beat the heat at the ACG-Arizona 2016 Summer Social at the Casablanca Lounge in Scottsdale, and enjoy some great networking, awesome food and even better cocktails. acg.org/arizona 2016 Marketing Technology Summit Aug.

Thurs., Aug. 18

18

The Arizona Technology Council and the Business Marketing Association, Phoenix Chapter, present the eighth annual Marketing Technology Summit, an intense halfday program featuring top-tier educational content. bmaphoenix.org Boardroom Basics: Nonprofit Board Leadership Workshop for Young and Emerging Professionals Aug.

Thurs., Aug. 25

25

Created by the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits in partnership with The Manifesto Project Arizona, this workshop is designed specifically for young and emerging professionals interested in serving on a nonprofit board. arizonanonprofits.org

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JULY 2016 NOTABLE DATES

Mon., July 4 – Independence Day

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JULY 2016 Fri., July 8

7:00a – 9:00a

First Friday Networking Breakfast Glendale Chamber of Commerce Each month, this event will showcase a featured speaker, an opportunity for all members in attendance to introduce their company and/or products and services.

Event always closes with a raffle.

Members: $10, $12.50 after Tuesday the week of event; future members: $30.

Fri., July 1

Cuff Restaurant

5:00p – 10:00p

5819 W. Glendale Ave., Glendale

glendaleazchamber.org

Red White & Boom!

Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce Festival-goers can look forward to the bright lights of patriotism in an environment overflowing with family-friendly activities, entertainment by Georgia Chrome, food, beer, and local food purveyors offering a wide variety of summer treats. Presented by San Tan Ford. $5; age 5 and under: free Pecos Park

17010 S. 48th St., Phoenix

Thurs., July 7

red-white-boom.com

5:00p – 7:00p

PM Connect

Fri., July 8

Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce

Mesa Morning Live

This is a fun night of networking. Light bites and refreshments will be served.

Mesa Chamber of Commerce

Members: free; guests: $20 preregistered, $25 at the door

Live TV talk show in the style of the “Late Show.”

Bowlmor Scottsdale

$20; at the door: $30

7300 E. Thomas Rd., Scottsdale

scottsdalechamber.com 1

Crescent Crown Distributing 1640 W. Broadway, Mesa 6

Wed., July 6, 13, 20 & 27

6:45a – 8:30a

7 7:00a – 9:00a

Fri., July 8

8

9

mesachamber.org

12

11:30a – 1:00p

Business Over Breakfast

Chamber Chat – Midday

Glendale Chamber of Commerce

Gilbert Chamber of Commerce

This weekly event is a great opportunity for members to come together over breakfast, make new connections, exchange leads and referrals and build relationships to help grow your business.

Members: $20; future members: $30

This informal gathering is a fun way to share conversation with other professionals while learning more about businesses and services within the community. No agenda; no script — just good food, great company and friendly conversation. Includes lunch buffet.

Cucina Tagliani

$10, pay at door.

Tues., July 12

17045 N. 59th Ave., Glendale

Pizza A Metro

glendaleazchamber.org

832 S. Greenfield Rd., Gilbert

‘Branding Yourself: An Important Step Toward Leadership’ Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce – Professional Women’s Alliance

gilbertaz.com Sat., July 9

5:00p – 9:00p

6th Annual Biz Bowl Greater Phoenix Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce Prizes for costumes, best/worst bowlers, raffles, silent auction and more. Register as a 6-person team, or as a single bowler and be paired with a team.

Members: $175/lane; non-members: $225/lane; individual: $30 AMF Christown Lanes

1919 W. Bethany Home Rd., Phoenix

phoenixgaychamber.com

JULY 20 1 6

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INBUSINESSMAG.COM

11:00a – 1:00p

Rebecca Clyde, CXO and founder of Ideas Collide Marketing Communications, will share why personal branding is an important step toward preparing for a leadership role and achieving both personal and professional success.

Members: free (with lunch: $30); nonmembers with lunch: $50 Phoenix Country Club 2901 N. 7th St., Phoenix phoenixchamber.com

Please confirm, as dates and times are subject to change.

For more events, visit “Business Events” at www.inbusinessmag.com

Thurs., July 14

10:00a – 2:00p

Thurs., July 28

6:00p – 9:00p

Blood Drive

Create-A-Canvas Chamber Night Out

Mesa Chamber of Commerce

Glendale Chamber of Commerce

The need for blood is constant and only volunteer donors can fulfill that need for patients in our community. Nationwide, someone needs a unit of blood every two to three seconds, and most of us will need blood in our lifetime. This blood drive is conducted in conjunction with the American Red Cross.

This is a social evening filled with complimentary wine, beer, appetizers, paint and fun. Each attendee will have a chance to paint his/her own 11x14 canvas.

Space is limited.

Free

$35 Gogh Paint 20165 N. 67th Ave., Glendale

Mesa Chamber of Commerce

glendaleazchamber.org

40 N. Center St., Mesa mesachamber.org Tues., July 12

Tues., July 19

11:30a – 1:00p

5:30p – 8:30p

‘Getting Practical Solutions’

Candidate Forum for Congressional District 5

Mesa Chamber of Commerce

East Valley Chambers of Commerce Alliance

Jeff Cutler is the presenter at this month’s “Grow Your Business” event. Lunch is included and networking adds an additional dimension to this educational event.

Members: $15; non-members: $25

The community is invited to learn more about the candidates running for Congressional District 5. All candidates have been invited to participate in the public meet and greet as well as the forum and have been encouraged to set up tables with campaign literature for distribution to attendees.

Superstitions Springs Golf Club

Free

6542 E. Baseline Rd., Mesa

The Falls Event Center

mesachamber.org

gilbertaz.com

12

14

15

19

4635 E. Baseline Rd., Gilbert

20

21 Thurs., July 21

26 5:00p – 7:00p

Celebrate Christmas in July

Glendale Chamber of Commerce

Mesa Chamber of Commerce – Women’s Networking Group

Members: free; future members: $30 Pot of Gold Auctions & Estate Sales 215 E. Western Ave., Avondale 8:00a – 9:30a

3:30p – 5:00pm

Business After Hours These events provide an opportunity for chamber members and their guests to come together in a relaxed atmosphere while sharing ideas, products and services offered. Attendees are encouraged to bring flyers or brochures on their company for the member display table.

Fri., July 15

Tues., July 26

28

glendaleazchamber.org

The Women’s Networking Group provides information, entertainment and a networking forum for women professionals and entrepreneurs. Monthly events vary between networking sessions and educational programs.

Members: $10; non-members: $20 Organ Stop Pizza mesachamber.org

‘Likes, Fans & Retweets: Create Your Recipe for Social Media Success’

Wed., July 20

Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce

The Female Edge – Women Business Networking

This Friday Forum workshop will show participants how to quickly and effectively manage their social media to drive results.

Attendees will leave with one week of content planning and next steps for maintains content and understanding results.

Arizona Small Business Association

11:30a – 1:00p

Free

Not exclusive by category. Food is available for purchase. All attendees may present a 60-second commercial. Showcased Business Spotlight per speaker list; only paid members can speak in the Business Spotlight.

Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce

The Social Box Neighborhood Eatery

7501 E. McCormick Pkwy., Scottsdale

1371 N. Alma School Rd., Chandler

scottsdalechamber.com

asba.com

If your event is directed to helping build business in Metro Phoenix, please send us information to include it in the In Business Magazine events calendar. Full calendar online. Events@inbusinessmag.com

1149 E. Southern Ave., Mesa

31

JULY 20 1 6

INBUSINESSMAG.COM

WE VALUE WHAT WE OWN

BY MIKE HUNTER

2016 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro

City: 17 Hwy: 21 Transmission: 5-speed shiftable automatic MSRP: $41,850

Wireless Listening Headphones without wire means moving around the office with neither interruption nor limits to distance.

These powerful headsets will introduce perfect sound for relaxation between meetings or for smooth listening at any time.

JULY 20 1 6

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INBUSINESSMAG.COM

The TRD-tuned suspension makes off-roading no problem, and it puts the “Pro” in the title of this edition. In front sits the TRD-tuned 2.5-inch TRD Bilstein® coil-over-shock setup matched to TRD-tuned springs for a 1-inch lift in ride height.

The back gets 2-inch TRD remote-reservoir Bilstein® shocks to help give it the extra wheel travel and control needed to conquer almost any extreme surface.

Toyota toyota.com

Bose

Beats by Dr. Dre

Users can pair and

The company

Crossfade Wireless V-MODA

play with their

took its best

V-MODA’s tuning

Bluetooth® device

headphones

team sets the

with 30-foot range

and made them

bar higher by

with the new Bose

wireless. In doing

improving the

wireless headset.

so, the company

renowned

Dual-mode Adaptive

had one goal:

Crossfade M-100

Noise Canceling is the benefit to

seamlessly merge

signature sound

Bose, and now it is without wires.

Bluetooth and its own Acoustic Noise

for virtually identical wired and

Great benefits include the 12-hour

Cancelling technology together with

wireless playback. Includes

rechargeable battery with fuel

no compromise to the technologies

smartphone and laptop

gauge and ability to take hands-free

or the audio performance Beats is

integration and is durable for

calls with the built-in mic. $349.95

known for. $379.95

those days in the field. $300

bose.com

beatsbydre.com

v-moda.com

For more than 30 years, 4Runner has fueled users’ need for adventure, tamed wild terrain all across the globe and cemented its status as an off-road icon.

The original entered the market in 1984 and was the original compact SUV.

Photos courtesy of Toyota (top), Bose, Beats by Dr. Dre, V-MODA (bottom, l to r)

TOYOTA 4RUNNER TRD PRO

This tough and rugged edition of the Toyota 4Runner is all about a bold new look and an equally bold level of performance on and off road. A legendary SUV, this edition boasts a bold front grill, black badging and even black-bezel headlights and lightweight, 17-inch, matte black TRD alloy rims.

4Runner TRD Pro includes a powerful 4.0-liter, 270-horsepower, V6 engine that gives the power one may need to crawl over unforgiving terrain. Standard Multi-terrain Select, Crawl Control and an electronic locking rear differential help give the traction needed to power through the tough stuff, too.

The cabin is all convenience and luxury for the discerning off-roader or the road-tripper. The red-stitched SofTex seats and Entune premium sound system make for an easy trip.

Technologically savvy, this beast includes apps for refined searches, navigation extras and audio options that will keep drivers in tune with their mobile device or streaming music of their choice. Built tough, the extras include a leather-wrapped shifter, floor mats that will withstand any adventure, and a heavy-duty sliding rear cargo deck for ease of use.

MEALS THAT MATTER

Marinated filet, mango, avocado, fresh herbs $21

DING’S CRISPY CHICKEN SANDWICH Crispy buttermilk fried chicken, baby swiss, sliced tomato, spicy slaw $15

Hillstone Restaurant: A Biltmore Classic A timeless appeal is what one can expect from Hillstone on Camelback Road in the Biltmore area. This classic cuisine fused with many of the more popular concepts, like sushi and steakhouse, truly does have a bit of it all.

In the heart of this business district, at lunch it is reservations only as the place is hopping with business meetings. The bar is open for dining as well, but this crowded hot spot is the perfect place to impress clients. The menu is first-rate, with items like the hand-cut French fries with spicy mayonnaise, so crispy and light. The sushi choices are handmade to order with the finest-grade fish. The Spicy Tuna Roll is a favorite because it is cubed tuna tossed in spices, giving it a fresh and powerful bite. The Thai Steak & Noodle Salad is made with marinated filet, mango, avocado and fresh herbs.

Hillstone is famous for its burgers. The California Burger is most popular, with its melted jack cheese, avocado, arugula,

Here’s Your Number Here are some great dining experiences where you order from the counter and then get presented with a number — and you’re on your way to a great meal. These gourmet choices think of you as more than just a number.

red onion and house-made mustard honey. The Ahi Tuna Burger is also not to be missed. Finally, one cannot miss out on the Ruby Red Salmon that is coated with Cajun spices, oak grilled and served with broccoli — so light and so flavorful.

The atmosphere, surprisingly, carries an appeal one might find on Wall Street or Los Angeles. Done in rich woods, the open space is dotted with booths and tables that give that open feel while allowing for the perfect private client consult.

The servers know the menu inside and out and are quick to make recommendations that are sure to appeal to the most discerning palate. This is a Phoenix must for any casual to formal lunchtime (or dinnertime) need.

Hillstone Restaurant 2650 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix (602) 957-9700 hillstonerestaurant.com

The Original ChopShop Co.

Flower Child

Hopdoddy

Like its name,

Known for its gourmet

This quick-and-to-the-

Flower Child is an

hamburgers and draft

point spot in Old Town

homage to the

beers, this happening

Scottsdale offers healthy

organic and natural

new brand is becoming

takes on rice bowls, salads,

foods of a past era.

a concept that lunchers

juices and fresh-made

Dishes are light and

are loving. Natural beef

drink concoctions. Ready-

made with local,

is part of this menu

to-eat dishes are in the

fresh ingredients,

of inventive burger

market cases and prepared

and are flavorful

combos that will please

fresh daily for your on-the-

takes on everything

connoisseurs. A full bar

go needs.

from vegetarian to

and other extras make

7158 E. 5th Ave, Scottsdale

natural-feed meats.

this a fun experience.

(480) 794-1536

3 Valley locations

2 Valley locations

chopshopco.com

iamaflowerchild.com

hopdoddy.com

Original ChopShop Co.

JULY 20 1 6

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INBUSINESSMAG.COM

Houston’s vs. Hillstone. The first Hillstone opened its doors in the spring of 1977. Hillstone’s founder, George Biel, recognized the need for a new type of restaurant that was nonexistent at the time. He brought in a minority partner to open their first restaurant in Nashville, which they named Houston’s in reference to their native state of Texas.

Photos courtesy of Hillstone (top), Original ChopShop Co. (bottom)

THAI STEAK & NOODLE SALAD

BY MIKE HUNTER

TEMPE CHAMBER

ADVANTAGE Summer 2O16 • tempechamber.org

Business Excellence Awards Announced The Tempe Chamber of Commerce presented two companies with Business Excellence Awards, the organization’s top honor for commerce, at its June 16 Annual Luncheon.

The Dhaba was named the Small Business of the Year. Caliente Construction was named the Large Business of the Year.

Caliente Construction Caliente Construction was founded in 1991 by Arizona natives Tom and Lorraine Bergman. Over the next decade, the company steadily grew, becoming an established presence and developing a strong and diverse customer base throughout the Valley’s private and public business community. After Tom’s death in 2005, Lorraine took over and weathered the real estate recession of the late 2000s. Today, it is an award winning company recently recognized as Arizona’s 28th largest contractor and as the 5th largest woman-owned business in Arizona.

“The Dhaba and Caliente Construction are outstanding examples of the type of business that makes our city thrive,” said Mary Ann Miller, president and CEO of the Tempe Chamber. “Their passionate dedication to their customers, staff and the community are unparalleled. We are proud they’re part of the Tempe Chamber, and we celebrate their continued success.”

The Dhaba In the 13 years since its founding, The Dhaba / India Plaza has become a comprehensive destination for Indian food and culture, serving more than one million customers to date. It has earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. Its focus on quality, the local community, customer service, music and dining resulted in its being selected as ASU’s only South Asian-approved caterer. Owner Raveen Aurora was selected by the National Restaurant Association as the Face of Diversity in Arizona for his leadership in promoting diversity and inclusion in the community.

The four remaining finalists for the award were:

ARCpoint Labs ARCpoint Labs is a national leader in the drug testing field. Its three fullservice toxicology labs in Tempe also offer alcohol screening, DNA and clinical testing, corporate wellness programs and employment background screening. It is among the fastest-growing third-party providers in its industry. ARCpoint Labs’ services encompass both on-site and off-site pre-employment, random, post-accident and reasonable suspicion drug testing. In addition, it serves many judicial, athletic and medical clients along with American Airlines and US Airways.

Bullock Training & Development Bullock Training & Development specializes in sales, management and leadership training for small- to mid-sized businesses. President Tracy Bullock managed strategic business development for 30 years with Procter & Gamble and now helps business owners, CEOs, and top salespeople accelerate their competitive advantage in the Arizona market. She was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award, named Top Female Executive, and is noted in Cambridge’s Top 101 Industry Experts for her work.

Te m p e C h a m b e r. o r g

Edward Jones Edward Jones is a leader in the financial services industry, with more than 7 million clients in North America and Europe.

The company is focused on building personalized customer relationships and adheres to a quality-oriented, long-term investment philosophy.

Locally, its Tempe campus employs hundreds of workers and conducts broker training and mutual-fund processing. It has 12,500 offices worldwide and is extensively involved with charitable causes, including the Valley of the Sun United Way and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Tempe Mission Palms Hotel The Tempe Mission Palms Hotel has been serving the community and its visitors since 1985. It is the No. 1-rated hotel in Tempe on Tripadvisor.com and received the Four Diamond AAA award for six consecutive years. It employs 200 people and was recently presented with the Conference Center of the Year recognition. It features a rooftop pool and offers several restaurants, including the award-winning Mission Grille, Harry’s Place Lounge and poolside Cabana Bar & Grill.

T E M P E C H A M B E R A D VA N TA G E

1

Take the Tempe Pledge for a Sustainable Community Step 1: Why Take the Pledge?

Learn why taking the pledge is smart for your business.

Do You Support Sustainable Business Practices?

Step 2: What Level are You At? Get an idea of where your organization is at in sustainability.

The Pledge was developed to help businesses learn how to reduce waste, energy and water usage and to develop sustainable purchasing programs. With the launch of this program, the goal of the Tempe Chamber of Commerce is to help make businesses and the communities in which they operate more resilient and sustainable.

Step 3: Engage Get a list of tips to help engaging employees towards sustainable actions.

2

T E M P E C H A M B E R A D V A N TA G E

This comprehensive online resource and planning tool helps large and small businesses reduce their footprint. It is also a meaningful way to get additional exposure for your organization through online education, telling your story, and appearing in the Pledge Member directory. Sign up for free at http://tempe.pledge.green.

Step 4: TAKE THE PLEDGE Start taking the pledge now and share your goals and progress.

Visit http://tempe.pledge.green

A Shining Example of Sustainability: Special Moments Catering

by Brad Taylor, VP, Special Moments Catering Our long-term goals include a kitchen run completely from solar panels, trucks running from bio diesel or electric, and menus that focus 100 percent on locally grown and raised products. Our first step was a simple one: recycle everything. We were the only company in our strip mall to request a recycle bin from the city and to fill it on a regular basis. Keep in mind most trash that we create is ether cardboard boxes, paper or cans. We implemented our recycling program immediately, adding blue cans to our kitchen, offices and back-of-the-house locations.

We also have a food compost program. This is something we are very excited to be a part of. It’s the process of taking organic waste and turning it into fertilizer. In fact, it’s some of the best fertilizer you can put in your garden or flower beds. The process is very easy. We have buckets that we keep in our kitchen’s prep stations for food waste. Our staff, instead of putting that material in the trash, takes it out to 55-gallon barrels we store in the back of our building. Adding bokashi keeps the contents from smelling bad and aids in the breakdown of the organic

Te m p e C h a m b e r. o r g

items. We have partnered with a local vendor named Recycled City that comes once a week and removes the 55-gallon drums and gives us new, clean ones. It’s hard to believe, but we fill four to five of these drums each week. That equates to more than 200 gallons of compostable material that could have gone in the trash.

Recycled City takes the compost material to a farm and places it in large piles. After a month or so the breakdown process is complete and compost fertilizer is now ready for use. The majority of the fertilizer goes to community gardens that grow organic crops for the less fortunate. The rest of the compost is given back to the customers to use in their own gardens. It’s truly an incredible program.

Our company now offers a full line of compostable eating utensils and plates in its everyday service to help expand the reach of our Sustainable Initiative.

We will be rolling out an onsite compost program within the next month, allowing all customers to have the ability to compost their items.

Learn more about Special Moments Catering and its sustainability efforts at specialmomentsaz.com.

A Special Moments employee gets ready to begin the composting process”

Unused food soon to become reused as compost in the community

T E M P E C H A M B E R A D VA N TA G E

3

Ribbons Cuttings with the Tempe Chamber are sponsored by ManageStaff

Business is BOOMING!

Each month we celebrate Chamber members! Some are new, some have moved, and some are re-opening. If you are interested in hosting a ribbon cutting for your business, please contact Melody at 480.736.4284 or melody@tempechamber.org.

DriveTime | 720 W. Rio Salado Pkwy.

Richardson Funeral Home | 2621 S. Rural Rd.

AERO Federal Credit Union | 9845 S. Priest Dr.

Arizona Office Liquidators & Designs | 3920 E. Broadway Rd., Phoenix

The Savvy Stylist | 975 E. Elliot Rd., Ste. 104

IKEA Restaurant remodel | 2110 W. IKEA Way

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Ribbons Cuttings with the Tempe Chamber are sponsored by ManageStaff

The Money Source | 1910 W. University Dr.

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Arizona | 5000 S. Arizona Mills Circle, Ste. 145

Blaze Pizza | 105 W. University Dr.

AAA Paint & Supply | 1425 E. University Dr.

Dunn Edwards Paint Corp. | 1719 E. Southern Ave.

Alaska USA Federal Credit Union | 9845 S. Priest Dr.

Te m p e C h a m b e r. o r g

T E M P E C H A M B E R A D VA N TA G E

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Tempe Chamber President Mary Ann Miller Says Farewell Tempe Chamber President/CEO Mary Ann Miller will be leaving her position after more than 21 years with the organization. She will leave her position effective August 31, 2016.

Brian Wood, of Waste Management and chair-elect of the Chamber, will head the search committee. “During her tenure, Mary Ann has guided the Chamber through diverse economies, from helping small businesses during the recession to assisting significant growth of key industries within our community. She has tirelessly advocated on behalf of our members and entire business community at City Hall, the State Legislature and in Washington.”

Miller joined the Tempe Chamber in 1995 as public affairs director. In 1999, she moved into her current role as president/CEO. “In August, the Tempe Chamber will be moving into a new location, new offices with, literally, a new point of view,” Miller said. “As we end our time at this location, it seemed a fitting opportunity for me to guide us to our new home, and then set the Chamber off on its own.”

During her time at the Tempe Chamber, Miller received an MBA from Arizona State University and a Certificate in Organization Management from the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Organization Management.

Miller developed the first-ever statewide legislative agenda for local chambers, and spoke on policy development at state, regional and national conferences. She served on the Board of Arizona Chamber

Executives, and was named Local Chamber Executive of the Year in 2008 by the Arizona Chamber. She received the Howard Pyle Vocational Service Award from Tempe South Rotary in 2011.

Wood added, “Mary Ann will be missed tremendously, and we are saddened to say good-bye. Before she goes, though, we want to genuinely thank her for her dedication and loyalty to the Chamber and our community. I want to also personally express my appreciation for her influence on me — her authentic leadership has been inspirational.

Although Mary Ann will never know the number of people she has positively affected, her ‘ripple effect’ is nothing less than exceptional. We wish her all the best as she begins this exciting new chapter of her life.”

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16th Annual ASU Sun Devil Football Kickoff Luncheon

ASU Sun Devil Football Season Kicks Off!

Date: Friday, August 19 Location: Tempe Mission Palms Hotel 60 E. 5th St. Tempe, AZ

The August 19th Sun Devil Football Kickoff Luncheon is the official start to ASU football

of single-seat opportunities and be a part of the biggest event of the season.

Registration: 12:00 p.m.

Program: 12:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

season! “Voice of the Sun Devils” Tim Healey and Rose Bowl-winning QB Jeff Van Raaphorst emcee this exciting afternoon as Head Coach Todd Graham kicks off the season with his players, coaches and other special guests.

Sparky, the ASU Spirit Squad and the Dixie Devils will be on hand to set the exciting and energetic tone of the luncheon. Join other fans at a VIP table with a player or coach, or take advantage

Interviews and Q+A with team stars and Coach Graham make you part of the energy and action of the new season. It’s a must-attend event for anyone who bleeds maroon and gold.

The event is presented by Tempe Chamber of Commerce, ASU Sun Devil Club and ASU Alumni Association.

Visit www.tempechamber.org or call 480-967-7891 for more information or to register.

Reserved Seats: $60/person Table of 10: $600/table Table of 10 with a Coach or Player (9 Guests): $700/table

Te m p e C h a m b e r. o r g

T E M P E C H A M B E R A D VA N TA G E

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Board of Directors Chairman of the Board: Brian Wood Chair-Elect: Dawn Hocking Treasurer: Bill Goodman Vice-Chairs: Peter Adams, Paul Mittman, Glenn Williams Immediate Past Chair: Tim Ronan Mary Ann Miller, President and CEO maryann@tempechamber.org Sean Donovan, Vice President, Media and Program Development sean@tempechamber.org Melody Elkin, Vice President, Membership Development melody@tempechamber.org Julie Flanigan, Director of Finance julieflanigan@tempechamber.org Courtney McIntyre, Director of Operations and Membership Engagement courtneymcintyre@tempechamber.org

Directors: Peter Adams, Kjell Andreassen, David Bonkowski, Tracy Bullock, Jihan Cottrell, Bill Goodman, Misty Howell, Jenna Rowell, Lynda Santoro, Robert Nyal Sewell, Manny Tarango, Brad Taylor, Glenn Williams Ex-Officios: Andrew Ching, Angela Creedon, Joe Hughes, Vic Linoff, Stephanie Nowack, Lou Silverman Committee Chairs: Tracy Bullock, Patricia DiRoss, Gwen Gustafson, Cliff Jones, Paul Quinn, Tim Ronan, Lou Silverman, Mike Stinson Tempe Chamber of Commerce 909 E. Apache Blvd., Tempe, AZ 85281 480.967.7891 www.tempechamber.org

Mark Tarabori, Membership Relations Director marktarabori@tempechamber.org

GiveToPCHF.org

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Summer 2O16 • aztechcouncil.org

IN THIS ISSUE 2 A Winning Session Legislature, governor support tech community through actions

4 National Interest

Chief Science Officers program gets attention all the way to White House

5 Seeing the Light The move is on to protect Arizona’s dark skies

6 New Dimension

Committee to advocate manufacturing advancement

WHO WE ARE The Arizona Technology Council is Arizona’s premier trade association for science and technology companies.

Phoenix Office 2800 N. Central Ave., Suite 1920 Phoenix, AZ 85004 Phone: 602-343-8324 • Fax: 602-343-8330 info@aztechcouncil.org

Tucson Office

The University of Arizona Science and Technology Park 9040 S. Rita Rd., Ste. 1150 (near I-10 & Rita Rd.) Tucson, AZ 85747 Phone: 520-382-3281 • Fax: 520-382-3299 tucson@aztechcouncil.org

MANAGEMENT AND STAFF Steven G. Zylstra President + CEO

Leigh Goldstein Vice President,

Anne Rody Director,

Operations + Events Finance + Administration

Merry Lake Merrell Director,

Marketing + Communication

Deborah Zack Senior Director,

Brian Krupski Director of Membership

Membership Services Services

Melissa Craven Executive Assistant to

Alex Rodriguez Vice President, Southern

Don Rodriguez Editor

President + CEO

Arizona Regional Office, Tucson

Ron Schott Executive Emeritus, Phoenix

Don Ruedy Executive Emeritus, Tucson

Justin Williams Executive Emeritus, Tucson

Jeremy Babendure, Executive Director,

Ph.D. Arizona SciTech Festival

aztechcouncil.org

Arizona Technology Report

Arizona Technology Council: The Voice of the Technology Industry

President’s Message Who are the leaders to follow?

As Arizona and the rest of the nation enter the home stretch leading to the November elections, this is a question that comes up again and again. When it arises in the state’s technology Steven G. Zylstra, community, the answer is easier to President and CEO, Arizona Technology Council reach: They walk among members of the Arizona Technology Council.

Several council initiatives are preparing rising stars for the corner office and helping keep the fire burning in their bellies once they’ve arrived. The Council does this through programs created as part of its mission to empower Arizona’s technology community. We work to identify and support those people who just need the right connections with the right coaching to continue their climb.

As happens many times in business, the best opportunities can occur over a game of golf. That was the case in 2008 when the first foursome teed off in Sedona at our first CEO Retreat, which brought together CEOs, presidents and business owners for workshops, keynote presentations and, most importantly, networking. We’ve demonstrated that sometimes you only can learn something new from someone who has been there, too.

If that sounds like something for you, the annual event returns to Sedona Aug. 8–9, opening with golf at Seven Canyons – Sedona followed by the rest of the program at Enchantment Resort.

The success of the retreat also helped trigger the idea that C-level executives need support year-round. With that in mind, the Council launched the Executive Roundtable in Phoenix. With the assistance of professional facilitators, business leaders accepted into the group address in a peer-to-peer setting the issues they and their companies face. Each group provides a confidential, non-competitive environment for sharing experience-based knowledge. On the heels of the Roundtable’s success, the Council later launched the similar CEO Network in Tucson.

Most recently, we turned our attention to helping leaders reach that next level. The Council partnered with ImpaQ Solutions to create the Transformational Leadership Program. For the past six months, the first cohort has attended sessions where they received one-on-one executive coaching, and gained invaluable insight through assessments and feedback. These observations from Matthew Forkner, deputy general counsel at GoDaddy, might best capture what to expect: “Having participated in other programs that were light on substance and little more than organized pep rallies, I was extremely skeptical at the outset. But I’ve been blown away and very impressed with the program. It created a greater awareness in me of my strengths and weaknesses, and gave me very clear guidance on what I can do as a leader moving forward.”

Incidentally, applications are now being accepted for the second cohort. In fact, if you would like more details on any of the three programs, I encourage you to visit the Council’s website at www.aztechcouncil.org.

There is some level of leadership in all of us. Sometimes, all it takes is finding the right avenue to help it grow. And we at the Council are here to help leaders find their pathways to success.

ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY REPORT

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A Winning Session

Legislature, governor support tech community through actions As the voice for the state’s technology community, the Arizona Technology Council becomes intimately involved with helping shape the public policy that can drive our industry forward. Fortunately, the Council’s priorities for the most part meshed with those of our lawmakers, as proven by action in the 52nd Arizona Legislature combined with the support of Gov. Doug Ducey.

There were a number of successes impacting the state’s technology community during the recently adjourned session. Briefly, some of the most critical were: JTED Restoration — In a bid to reverse slashed funding of the state’s Joint Technical Education Districts (JTEDs), the Senate and House each came up with bills to restore funding for the programs credited with giving high school students an early exposure to much-needed careers such as those in technology. Legislators expressed concerns about the previous cuts as they began negotiations to frame the restoration and

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create transparency and reporting requirements. After the legislation was approved by the Legislature, it quickly was signed into law.

Secondary Crowdfunding Markets — At an economic development stakeholders meeting staged by Sen. David Farnsworth with involvement of the Council, concern was raised over the inability to sell equities purchased through the crowdfunding platform if the holder chose to do so for financial or other reasons. The senator sponsored a bill that expanded the isolated transaction exemption to allow the sale of such securities. The Legislature unanimously approved this bill.

Dodd-Frank Private Small Fund Advisor Exemption — Most states had exemptions in their statutes for venture capital firm managers with 15 or fewer clients based on federal law and had to adopt new exemptions after the Dodd-Frank Act was enacted. However, Arizona did not update its statutes to avoid registration, putting the state at a disadvantage when trying to attract venture capitalists. Under a Senate bill, a private fund

investment adviser would not be required to be licensed in Arizona or make a notice filing if the adviser meets specific conditions. The new law goes into effect Sept. 1.

Arizona Commerce Authority 2.0 — A House measure introduced the idea for the Governor’s Economic Opportunity Office, which would be a one-stop economic development shop focused on getting government out of the way of job creators by providing a direct link between the business community and the workers and capital they need. The office also would serve as an analytics and strategy team to check how well Arizona compares to other states.

In addition, there were other bills that the Council followed closely as they made their way through the Legislature before being signed into law

by Gov. Ducey: Patent Troll Prevention Act — Heading off a problem that has clogged courts even beyond Arizona, an assertion of patent infringementmade bad faith becomes prohibited under the act. Violations become subject to enforcement through private action and prosecution by the attorney general.

Medical Licensure Compact — The process of licensing physicians in multiple states becomes streamlined by adopting a prevailing standard for licensure. In addition, the Arizona Medical Board and the Arizona Board of Osteopathic Examiners in Medicine and Surgery will be authorized to issue a temporary license to allow a physician who is not an Arizona licensee to practice here for up to 250 consecutive days.

Expenditure Limitation for Community Colleges — This permits a community college district board to refer to voters a permanent change in

the base limit used to determine expenditure limitations. Alex Rodriguez, the Council’s vice president based in its Southern Arizona office, was especially active in helping gain support for this measure.

Speaking of funding for education, the Legislature passed a spending package that included $32 million in new money for our state universities. This action helps make up for the $99 million that was cut last year. Also, thanks to voters who made their way to the polls to approve Proposition 123 crafted by the governor and which will add $3.5 billion in new spending over a decade to K-12 schools with the help of state land trust money.

Granted, it wasn’t all good news for the Council’s members. Once again, the case was made to recapitalize the Angel Investment Tax Credit, one of the most successful programs to make its way out of the Legislature in recent years. That success was apparent from the proven return on investment shown in a recent economic impact study. The program uses about $2.5 million of tax credits annually, so a $7 million funding request would have continued the program for a few years.

While there was still bipartisan support in both chambers, 11th hour negotiations over holding harmless K-12 education funding was the top priority for members, which left many other budget priorities, including the Angel Investment Tax Credit, on the chopping block.

But the Council doesn’t view this as a defeat. It presents another opportunity to make the case for the credit. Members will be back next session to work with the Legislature on helping craft public policy that supports a tech agenda while bolstering economic development in Arizona. This activity ranges from one-on-one meetings to testifying in hearing. It’s all about democracy in action.

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3

National Interest

Chief Science Officers program gets attention all the way to White House Imagine launching an idea unlike anything that’s been done. Now imagine that idea gets the attention of colleagues across the country.

Even better, the White House is interested.

This is what is happening with the Chief Science Officers (CSO) program, which puts Arizona students in charge when it comes to getting their schools interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The program is an affiliate of the Arizona SciTech Festival, which counts the Arizona Technology Council Foundation as one of its foundational sponsors.

The interest in the CSO program reached this pinnacle when six students — from sixth grade to high school seniors — made their way to Washington, D.C., in mid-May to promote their program to Arizona’s congressional delegation as well as members of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). They were accompanied by Foundation CEO Steven G. Zylstra and Executive Director Jeremy Babendure, who also is the Festival’s executive director.

By coincidence, Zylstra, Babendure and the students were there the same week as the annual White House Science Fair. “What made it timely for us is, at the White House Science Fair

CSO Marie of Michael Anderson School

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ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY REPORT

CSOs (from left) America, Sage, Dominique, Marie, Jonathan and Dhruv with John Holdren and Megan Smith at the White House.

was a student who said to the president that there really should be more student voice and a student science advisor,” Babendure says. Enter the CSO program, which already has gained some traction in Arizona with 140 students in the role at their respective schools throughout the state.

The way to Washington actually was first paved earlier this year when Zylstra was contacted by Marc Wynne, who until August 2010 had been an administrator of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. Wynne now is a fellow in the White House Leadership Development Program assigned to OSTP. “He knew we were coming to Washington for other meetings, so he called up and said, ‘How would you like to come to the White House and meet with the OSTP?’” Zylstra says. Separately, Rep. Raul Grijalva had invited CSOs to make their case to Congress on the benefits of their program.

That led to the May meeting with Grijalva and others, capped by Zylstra and Babendure guiding the students through the halls of Congress to talk with Arizona’s lawmakers and their staff. “The kids enlightened our congressional delegation on the CSO program and sought their support in different ways,” Zylstra says.

At the White House, the Arizona group led a briefing that included OSTP Director John

Holdren and U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith. “She basically challenged us, saying, ‘What would it take to actually start a CSO cabinet in every state of the nation?’”

Babendure says. Although not at the meeting, “we do know the president has been informed about the CSOs” in Holdren’s weekly update to Obama, Babendure says.

Word of the successful trip has spread. Since arriving home, Babendure has been fielding calls about spreading the CSO program to the other states, “We’re thinking about making it more like a franchise system,” he says. “We really are at the onset of a national movement, and I think this meeting with OSTP really was that catalyst to make that happen.”

John Holdren (right) shares a laugh

The Kitt Peak National Observatory on a clear, starry night

Seeing the Light

The move is on to protect Arizona’s dark skies It’s a rare sight — if a person can even see it. That’s why the Arizona Technology Council is interested in helping preserve a commodity that literally disappears at the flip of a switch: darkness.

The dark skies over the state were an early gateway for the state’s movement into science and technology circles. Astronomers and others have turned to Arizona’s dark sky corridor to observe the night sky for research, stargazing, GPS monitoring and defense purposes, Jeffrey Hall, director of the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, has said. The international astronomy community has come to our state for celestial activities at such locales as Lowell Observatory — remember Pluto? — and Kitt Peak west of Tucson.

Don’t forget eastern Arizona’s Mount Graham, home of the world’s largest optical telescope. Such interest contributes to Tucson being home of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory, the nation’s research and development center for ground-based nighttime astronomy. The only other state that comes closest to earning such a level of interest in its star-filled skies is Hawaii.

According to the group Astronomy, Planetary and Space Science (APSS), such research by 2008 was reported to have an economic return of nearly $250 million annually in Arizona while the infrastructure to support the research was valued at more than $1 billion.

However, as the state grows, so has light pollution. To counter the influx, Flagstaff, Tucson and other communities have adopted lighting ordinances. Lighting codes mandate shielded fixtures that direct light to a target, which is usually the ground. Phoenix is wrestling with this issue as newly installed LED street lights are far brighter than the softer yellow lights they are replacing. While LED is cheaper to operate, it chips away at the darkness in bigger chunks.

aztechcouncil.org

Protecting the dark skies definitely is a balancing act of determining what best serves Arizona’s interests: economic development or public safety. Fortunately for all parties, there is a cooperative spirit that exists here. That was witnessed in 2012 when astronomers and billboard companies negotiated a pact that created a boundary for LED billboards and the nit level, or visible-light intensity, at which they could be lit.

The issue returned in the recent session of the Legislature, this time to increase the previously approved area for billboards to include Mohave County. While negotiations eventually led to limiting the expansion to the western half of the county and restricting all future billboards to 200 nits — the intensity of a flat-screen desktop monitor — a final decision was sidetracked by budget discussions.

You can bet the Council, as it had been in the last session, will be back at the Legislature next year to help APSS and all interested parties craft a measure that benefits the state. After all, it’s not an issue of who’s right and who’s wrong but rather finding the right balance. Besides the impact on astronomical pursuits, a change in the dark skies also can affect the ecosystem, waste energy and even disrupt circadian rhythms.

The intention of advertisers to help keep our economic engines humming along also is part of the equation.

It’s worth noting interest in Arizona’s dark skies goes beyond just the science and business communities. Grand Canyon National Park has been designated a provisional International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association and the National Park Service. The label is granted to legally protected parks accessible to the public that have exceptional starry night views. There seems to be plenty of company for the enlightened.

ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY REPORT

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New Dimension

Committee to advocate manufacturing advancement To address the issues related to new processes that are rapidly changing the traditional methods of manufacturing, the

Arizona Technology Council has established the Additive Manufacturing Committee.

Additive manufacturing (AM) refers to methods in which parts are fabricated layer by layer compared to cutting a part out of a solid block of material. It’s more commonly known as 3-D printing.

The new committee was formed to promote AM and educate potential users; act as a

forum to influence local regulation, national certification and standards organizations; and serve as a rallying point for collaboration.

The young technologies related to AM already are applicable to many different industries and exist for a range of materials — from chocolate and pancakes to polymers, ceramics and metals. The nature of the manufacturing processes allows a high degree of geometric control and complexity. Polymer AM technology already has revolutionized the rapid prototyping industry. With recent improvements to metal AM technology, these processes are poised to enable rapid manufacturing.

Still, there is more potential to explore.

The industry needs more formal education and training; better methods to select ideal candidates for printing; approaches to post-process, inspect, qualify and certify parts created by these new methods; and

Examples of products created with additive manufacturing

Millennial View Unique voice among new Council board members

The Arizona Technology Council added the millennial point of view with one of three recent appointments to its board of directors.

The newest board members are Brad Jannenga co-founder of WebPT; David Woody, senior vice president, technology operations and transformation at American Express; and Chad T. Fogg, an operations and logistics manager for Uber Technologies.

By appointing Fogg to its board, the Council is fulfilling part of its agreement with The Manifesto Project of Arizona, which is dedicated to making Arizona the place for young talent. Fogg will serve in a one-year, non-voting role but be actively engaged in advising fellow board members about the millennial perspective.

“We’re fortunate to have both senior executives and young leaders interested in making positive changes in the technology community by becoming involved in boards such as ours,” says Steven G. Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council. “The future of every community depends on the availability of talent, and we need every generation to be committed to making our goal of building a high-tech hub in Arizona a reality.”

Jannenga is the former chairman, president and chief technology officer of WebPT, the leading Web-based electronic medical record solution for the rehab therapy community. While heading WebPT, he led the company through several significant milestones, including back-to-back appearances on Inc. 500’s list of the fastest-growing companies in America and a partnership with Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Battery Ventures.

In recognition of his efforts, Jannenga was presented with Ernst & Young’s 2013 Entrepreneur of the Year award and the

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ARIZONA TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Chad T. Fogg

Brad Jannenga

David Woody

Phoenix Business Journal’s 2013 Tech Titan award. He also serves on the boards of WebPT, IrisPR, StartupAZ Foundation and the Warehouse District Council. Jannenga held a series of key roles earlier at several technology companies and was instrumental in the successful development of three additional vertical B2B Software as a Service platforms.

At American Express, Woody has global responsibilities for infrastructure operations, technology operations and governance oversight for all technology transformation initiatives. He also leads the technology efforts to support the creation of the American Express Global Business Travel joint venture.

Previously, Woody led the company’s Data Center Program, making him responsible for building world-class data center facilities to provide global hosting capabilities with increased agility and service quality.

His earlier responsibilities included unit CIO for risk, information management and banking, which made him responsible for worldwide credit, risk, fraud, authorizations, customer marketing, information management and banking technology systems.

In his work with the online transportation network company, Fogg’s responsibilities cover Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. He has developed business intelligence tools — SQL queries, data visualization, risk tables, dashboards, pricing models and projections — used by more than 200 employees.

Fogg previously worked at TicketView, where he was a senior strategy analyst leading the company’s operations team in Scottsdale. He also was a revenue management analyst at US Airways/American Airlines.

design tools and expertise to leverage the geometric freedom more common to AM. Due consideration also needs to be given to the safety and environmental aspects of these technologies and their operation in compliance with local, state and federal regulations.

These are the types of activities for which the Additive Manufacturing Committee will serve as a forum to inform, integrate and promote statewide collaboration. The committee also will pursue research grants and address pending regulation and legislation related to AM. The committee’s activities were scheduled to launch in mid-June when representatives from small and large business sectors, Arizona State University and the Arizona Commerce Authority were scheduled to attend the inaugural meeting.

The agenda called for outlining the AM interests and activities across the state along with a tour of Arizona’s first titanium 3-D printer.

With such an early level of interest from industry, academia and government, organizers believe the committee has the potential to help establish Arizona as an AM leader. The

committee is looking to include all parties interested in advancing the adoption and growth of AM in Arizona, as well as those actively utilizing the technology.

For more information about the Additive Manufacturing Committee, which will meet the second Monday of each month, contact co-chairs Joe Manzo, CEO of Titan Industries, at joe.manzo@titan.industries or Dhruv Bhate, senior technologist at PADT, at dhruv.bhate@padtinc.com.

Examples of products created with additive manufacturing

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Business Is Rooted in Community

Kimber Lanning is an entrepreneur and economic specialist who works to cultivate vibrant, sustainable communities and inspire a higher quality of life throughout Arizona.

Lanning is actively involved in fostering cultural diversity, economic self-reliance, regional planning and responsible growth across Arizona’s urban and rural communities. She is the founder and executive director of Local First Arizona, an economic development organization focused exclusively on creating, growing and supporting Arizona talent.

Welcome to the 2016 Top 50 Small Business Resources Guide, featuring some of Arizona’s leading small and local businesses. These 50 businesses represent a diverse array of industries, but they all have one thing in common: They are rooted here in our community.

Being rooted in the community means direct benefits for you as a consumer. A study by Cox Business concluded Arizonans enjoy shopping at small businesses because of the “familiarity, engagement and convenience of smallbusiness owners and employees.” Additionally, the same study found that a majority of Arizona consumers believe small businesses offer better customer service. Any of the 50 businesses listed in this guide are likely to live up to these expectations of providing a great customer experience.

At Local First Arizona, we are working to make Arizona a better place by supporting locally owned businesses and building vibrant communities that residents are proud to call home. Studies tell us that up to four times more money stays and recirculates in the local economy when that money is spent with local businesses instead of national chains. When you support local businesses, either as an individual consumer or a fellow business owner, those dollars are directly responsible for local job creation, revenues for local schools and safety services, and vibrant and prosperous communities. As you peruse this guide, know that if you decide to seek out any of these businesses for their products or services, your choices will have a positive impact on your surrounding community.

We’re excited to see some of the 2,900 Local First Arizona business members featured in this guide, representing the best of Arizona’s local business community. Being a member of Local First Arizona, North America’s largest local business coalition, means you are a “certified local” business, a label that more and more people are intentionally seeking. Arizonans are thinking “Local First” on a regular basis, whether it’s going out to lunch, buying gifts for loved ones, getting an oil change or purchasing office supplies for their business.

Thanks to In Business Magazine for shining a spotlight on the importance of supporting small and local businesses, and for showcasing some of the best businesses that Arizona has to offer. We’re proud to partner on this endeavor to build a strong local economy and support a thriving small and local business community. And special thanks to the 50 businesses featured in this guide for their commitment and devotion to our community.

Sincerely,

Kimber Lanning Founder and Executive Director Local First Arizona

2016 Top 50 Small

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Meet our Top 50 highest-recomm businesses and ende small-business servi d small ces companies …

Contents Accounting & Tax Services . . . . . . . . . 54

Healthcare Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Office Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Alternative Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Human Resources / Hiring . . . . . . . . . 58

Payroll Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Business Banking / SBA Lending . . . . . 54

Information Technology . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Promotional Products . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Business Marketing Services . . . . . . . . 56

Janitorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Telecommunications / Mobile . . . . . . . .61

Business Organizations & Associations . . 56

Law Firms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Workers’ Comp Insurance . . . . . . . . . . 61

Employee Benefits / Insurance . . . . . . . 56

Office Furniture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

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Top Small Business Industry Leaders Accounting & Tax Services

Business Banking / SBA Lending

CBIZ and Mayer Hoffman McCann, P.C.

Alliance Bank of Arizona

CBIZ provides accounting, tax and business valuation, benefits and insurance, and consulting services to real estate, not-for-profit, retail, construction, healthcare, and manufacturing and distribution businesses in the Phoenix marketplace.

Alliance Bank of Arizona is a division of Western Alliance Bank, the go-to bank for business in its growing markets. Alliance Bank of Arizona offers a full spectrum of deposit, lending, treasury management and online banking products and services, plus superior, personalized service to meet the needs of local businesses.

Top Executive: Steven L. Gerard

Offices (Local / National): 1 / 100+

Local Headquarters: 3101 N. Central Ave., Ste. 300, Phoenix, AZ 85012 Phone: (602) 264-6835

Website: www.cbiz.com

Top Executive: James H. Lundy

Offices (Local / National): 11 / 43 national as part of larger company

Local Headquarters: 1 E. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85004 Phone: (602) 389-3500

Duran Accounting Solutions, LLC Duran Accounting Solutions provides accounting and tax solutions to businesses with integrity, professionalism and a high focus on customer service.

Website: www.alliancebankofarizona.com

National Bank of Arizona

Local Headquarters: 2633 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016

National Bank of Arizona provides local expertise and focuses on delivering awardwinning service. It is more than just a business bank; it has expanded to a full-service financial institution offering a suite of products and services tailored to business.

Phone: (480) 248-6755

Top Executive: Mark Young

Top Executive: Regina Duran

Offices (Local): 3 Website: www.duranaccounting.com

Offices (Local / National): 24 / 66

Local Headquarters: 6001 N. 24th St., Phoenix, AZ 85016 Phone: (602) 235-6000

YB Company, LLC YB Company was created with the purpose of assisting small-business owners achieve their entrepreneurial goals. Commitment to clients includes tailoring its accounting, consulting and tax services to their specific needs.

Website: www.nbarizona.com

Pinnacle Bank

Local Headquarters: 1601 N. 7th Ave., Ste. 350, Phoenix, AZ 85006

Pinnacle Bank is an Arizona-based, businessoriented bank serving small businesses and the community in Northeast Phoenix and Scottsdale and along the Camelback corridor. It has a specific expertise in SBA and residential mortgage and construction lending.

Phone: (623) 243-1272

Top Executive: Michael J. Thorell

Top Executive: Yesena Barraza

Offices (Local): 1 Website: www.ybcompanycpa.com

Offices (Local): 3

Local Headquarters: 14287 N. 87th St., Ste. 123, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Phone: (480) 609-0055

Alternative Funding

Stearns Bank N.A.

FSW Funding FSW Funding is a privately owned and operated asset-based lending company specializing in the financing needs of small and medium-sized businesses.

Top Executive: Robyn Barrett

Offices (Local): 1

Local Headquarters: 4530 E. Shea Blvd., Ste. 142, Phoenix, AZ 85028 Phone: (602) 535-5984

Website: www.fswfunding.com

Liquid Capital Liquid Capital provides innovative financing solutions for small to middlemarket businesses and a strategic accounts payable outsourcing program for large corporate and governmental buyers of goods and services.

Top Executive: Joel Gottesman

Offices (Local/National): 1 / 41

Local Headquarters: 8679 E. San Alberto Dr., Ste. 201, Scottsdale, AZ 85258 Phone: (480) 473-2105

Website: www.pinnaclebankaz.com

Website: www.liquidcapitalcorp.com

Stearns Bank is a top-ranked bank that has established a reputation across the Valley as a strong and stable business bank specializing in fast and flexible commercial finance.

Top Executive: Norm Skalicky

Offices (Local / National): 1 / 13

Local Headquarters: 9225 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Phone: (480) 314-4200

Website: www.stearnsbank.com/arizona

Wells Fargo & Company Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company that provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance. For the seventh consecutive year, it is the No. 1 Small Business Administration 7(a) lender in Arizona in amount of dollars loaned.

Top Executive: Pamela Conboy

Offices (Local / National): 260 / 6200

Local Headquarters: 100 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85003 Phone: (602) 378-4644

Website: www.wellsfargo.com

West Valley National Bank West Valley National Bank is the West Valley’s first locally owned and operated community bank, founded by local business leaders. WVNB is dedicated to looking after business owners and their financial needs.

The bank has now expanded to Scottsdale, Buckeye and Gila Bend.

Top Executive: Candace D. Wiest

Offices (Local): 4

Local Headquarters: 2440 N. Litchfield Rd., Ste. 100, Goodyear, AZ 85395 Phone: (623) 536-9862

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Website: www.wvnb.net

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Top Small Business Industry Leaders

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona

Healthy, productive employees are key to the health of a business. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) offers health insurance plans with a wide variety of price points and valueadded services such as health and wellness programs, as well as time-saving enrollment tools designed to help employers work smarter, not harder.

A WIDE RANGE OF PLANS TO FIT YOUR NEEDS Our plans are designed for Arizonans in every stage of life, so you can choose the plans that work best for you and your employees.

MEDICAL PLANS

Arizona companies come in all shapes and sizes. BCBSAZ has crafted numerous options with this in mind. Employers can choose the plan, network and contribution level that best meets their needs.

EYEWEAR PLANS

Complementary to the eye exam that’s part of BCBSAZ medical plans, BluePreferred Eyewear offers 16 benefit designs. Benefits include glasses, frames, contact lenses and more, and most plans have single rates less than $5/month.

Eyewear benefits are administered by EyeMed Vision Care, and our extensive network features Target Optical, LensCrafters, Sears Optical and Pearle Vision.

DENTAL PLANS

BCBSAZ offers a wide variety of dental options, for children and/or adults, including voluntary plans and optional orthodontic coverage that are available to employers with 10 or more enrolled employees. Standard plans offering 100 percent in-network coverage for diagnostic and preventive services makes this a popular option. Voluntary plans are available to organizations of all sizes.

ANCILLARY PRODUCTS

Employers can provide a number of other benefits to their employees through CSA General Insurance Agency, Inc., including life, short-term disability, long-term disability, accident, cancer, COBRA services and more.

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS DESIGNED WITH YOU IN MIND

We know business owners are busy. So at BCBSAZ, we are changing how employers manage and employees buy their insurance benefits. With the launch of BenefitStarter, our online benefit enrollment platform, employers have the ability to simplify the enrollment process, improve administrative functions, and provide a portfolio of product choices for their eligible employees.

BCBSAZ also has tools for members to help them manage their healthcare like never before.

Our Find a Doctor and treatment cost estimator tools provide detailed information that your employees can use to select a provider in their plan’s network and know the cost of treatment options before they visit a doctor.

A NAME YOU TRUST

With the largest Arizona-based insurer, you get more choices with the quality service you expect. In a recent satisfaction study of group customers (those who get their insurance through an employer), 92 percent of those surveyed reported they were satisfied with the service provided by BCBSAZ.* * The Customer Study and Group Benefits Administrator Study were conducted during the second and third quarter of 2015 by Thoroughbred Research, an independent research company.

At a Glance Company Name: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona Main Office Address: 2444 W. Las Palmaritas Dr., Phoenix, AZ 85021 Phone: (602) 864-5792 Website: azblue.com Number of Offices in Metro Phoenix: 2 Number of Staff: 1428 City Nationally Headquartered: Phoenix CEO/Managing Director: Rich Boals No. of Years with Firm: 45 Year Established Locally: 1939 Specialties: Employer Group Health Insurance, Individual Health Insurance, Dental Insurance

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Top Small Business Industry Leaders Business Marketing Services

Employee Benefits/Insurance

Ideas Collide, LLC

Holmes Murphy & Associates

Ideas Collide LLC provides solutions to any communications problem. Its aim is to be an extension of each client’s marketing team — serving as their “big ideas department” and their go-to for collaborating on every aspect of marketing, public relations, advertising and design.

Holmes Murphy is a premier independent riskmanagement and insurance brokerage firm. While today’s insurance market sees consolidations and mergers resulting in conglomerates more concerned about the bottom line, Holmes Murphy remains focused on clients’ needs and is committed to accelerating business success.

Top Executive: J. Michael Pearson

Top Executive: Daniel Keough

Offices (Local / National): 1 / 1

Offices (Local / National): 1 / 12

Local Headquarters: 6125 E. Indian School Rd., Ste. 1005, Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Local Headquarters: 7047 E. Greenway Pkwy., Ste. 210, Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Phone: (480) 659-4520

Phone: (480) 951-1776

Website: www.ideascollide.com

Infusionsoft Infusionsoft provides smallbusiness solutions built exclusively to help conquer the chaos through a Web-based system that combines intelligent automation with powerful CRM, email marketing, e-commerce and social media tools.

Top Executive: Clate Mask

Offices (Local): 1

Local Headquarters: 1260 S. Spectrum Blvd., Chandler, AZ 85286 Phone: (480) 807-0644

Website: www.infusionsoft.com

Steve LeVine Entertainment & Public Relations, LLC Steve LeVine Entertainment & Public Relations (SLE) is a full-service entertainment, events and public relations agency. SLE specializes in event planning, coordination and production, talent booking and management, marketing and promotions, new media and design, and has won multiple industry awards.

Top Executive: Steve LeVine

Offices (Local): 1

Local Headquarters: 7819 E. Paradise Ln., Scottsdale, AZ 85261 Phone: (480)284-6033

Website: www.slentertainment.com

Business Organizations & Associations

Website: www.holmesmurphy.com

Healthcare Insurance Adelante Healthcare Adelante Healthcare works to improve the health of its communities by providing the highest level of primary and preventive care, making care affordable for patients of all economic backgrounds, and operating in an environmentally responsible manner. Founded 30 years ago in the cotton fields and citrus groves of Maricopa County, Adelante now operates nine health centers in Central Arizona, including comprehensive sites in Mesa and Surprise that offer a wide array of services in unique healthcare environments.

Top Executive: John McDonald

Offices (Local): 10

Local Headquarters: 700 E. Jefferson St., Ste. 100, Phoenix, AZ 85034 Phone: (877) 809-5092

Website: www.adelantehealthcare.com

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona BCBSAZ offers various health plans for individuals, families, and small and large businesses. BCBSAZ also offers Medicare supplement plans to individuals over age 65. BCBSAZ is committed to improving the quality of life of Arizonans.

Top Executive: Rich Boals

Offices (Local): n/a

Arizona Small Business Association

Local Headquarters: 2444 W. Las Palmaritas Dr., Phoenix, AZ 85021

ASBA is the largest trade association in Arizona, representing 10,000+ member businesses and more than half a million employees in all 15 counties. ASBA creates opportunities for Arizona small businesses to make money, save money and achieve results.

Phone: (602) 864-4100

Top Executive: Rick Murray

Offices (Local): 2

Local Headquarters: 4600 E. Washington St., Ste. 340, Phoenix, AZ 85034 Phone: (602) 306-4000

Website: www.asba.com

Local First Arizona Local First Arizona is a nonprofit organization working to strengthen communities and local economies through supporting, maintaining and celebrating locally owned businesses throughout the State of Arizona.

Top Executive: Kimber Lanning

Offices (Local): 1

Website: www.azblue.com

Delta Dental of Arizona With 40 years of experience insuring healthy smiles across the state, Delta Dental of Arizona is passionate about oral health and its importance to generations of families. Delta Dental works hard to improve oral health by emphasizing preventive care and making dental coverage accessible to a wide variety of employers, groups and individuals. With the largest network of dentists, locally and nationally, Delta Dental offers a full range of plans to fit any budget and any size company.

Top Executive: Allan Allford

Offices (Local): n/a

Local Headquarters: 5656 W. Talavi Blvd., Glendale, AZ 85306 Phone: (602) 938-3131

Website: www.deltadental.com

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Local Headquarters: 407 E. Roosevelt St., Phoenix, AZ 85004 Phone: (602) 956-0909

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Website: www.localfirstaz.com

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Top Small Business Industry Leaders

Factor Financing: A Key Tool for Improving Cash Flow

Managing cash is critical to the success of any business. Whether you are providing a good or a service, it is important to make sure cash flow allows for day-to-day operations and growth. As a business owner, you never want to find yourself in a position where you can’t meet critical payments for payroll, taxes and key vendors — especially if money is tied up in outstanding invoices that the company is awaiting payment on.

“Unfortunately, while many companies are finding themselves short on cash, lending requirements have become extremely stringent,” explains Robyn Barrett, founder and managing member of FSW Funding. “While factoring has been in use for hundreds of years, it is often misunderstood and many business owners don’t realize it can offer an optimal solution to their company’s cash flow challenges.”

Companies faced with a cash-flow squeeze due to slow-paying customers or the reduction in an equity line may find that pledging invoices or accounts receivable to a factor can provide the cash needed to grow and operate.

Robyn Barrett

“Most of the companies we work with are seeking a good source of capital because they are in a high-growth or start-up phase,” explains Barrett. “Unlike a bank, we are not concerned with the company’s credit; we are looking at their sales and who they are selling to, so we are able to provide them the money they need.”

In most cases, factor financing can infuse cash into the company within 24 to 48 hours. The factor advances a portion of the invoice amount, usually 70 to 90 percent, after reviewing the credit-worthiness of the billed customer. When the bill is paid, the factor remits the balance, minus a transaction (or factoring) fee.

To secure a factor loan, a company will need to provide: • A detailed list of accounts receivable and accounts payable with samples of invoices, • Current and historical financial statements and tax returns for the previous year, and • Business organization documents.

At a Glance

The phrase “Cash is King” has never been more true in business than it is today. “Our goal is not to just provide cash in order to help companies survive, we want to help them thrive and create jobs for others,” adds Barrett.

Founded in 2001, FSW Funding, formerly Factors Southwest LLC, specializes in factor financing for small to mid-sized companies throughout the U.S.

No. of Years with Firm: 15

Company Name: FSW Funding Main Office Address: 4530 E. Shea Blvd., Ste. 142, Phoenix, AZ 85028 Phone: (602) 535-5984 Website: fswfunding.com Number of Offices in Metro Phoenix: 1 Number of Staff: 7 City Nationally Headquartered: Phoenix CEO/Managing Director: Robyn Barrett, Managing Member

Year Established Locally: 2001 Specialties: Asset-Based Lending, Financing for Small to Mid-Sized Companies, Flexible and Affordable Factoring

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Top Small Business Industry Leaders Healthcare Insurance (con’t.)

Information Technology (con’t.)

UnitedHealthcare of Arizona

Omnis Networks, LLC

UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare has developed mobile and Web resources, Health4Me and myHealthcare Cost Estimator, which provide cost and quality information to plan participants, including healthcare cost estimates that are customized to an individual’s location and health plan.

A single source for all colocation needs, including virtual private and dedicated servers, Omnis Networks provides value-based services to reliably deploy and implement solutions for the small and medium-sized business.

Top Executive: David Allazetta

OneNeck IT Solutions Corporation

Offices (Local): n/a

Local Headquarters: 1 E. Washington St., Ste. 1700, Phoenix, AZ 85004 Phone: (800) 985-2356

Website: www.uhc.com

Human Resources / Hiring

Top Executive: Kevin Martin

Offices (Local / National): 1 / 1

Local Headquarters: 1005 W. Geneva Dr., Tempe, AZ 85283 Phone: (480) 295 7797

Website: www.omnisdatacenters.com

OneNeck is a leading provider of hybrid IT solutions tailored for mid-market and enterprise companies, including cloud and hosting solutions, managed services, ERP application management, professional services, IT hardware and top-tier data centers.

Top Executive: Phil LaForge

Offices (Local / National): 1 / 15

AmeriSource HR Consulting Group, LLC

Local Headquarters: 5301 N. Pima Rd., Ste. 100, Scottsdale, AZ 85250

AmeriSource helps business owners build the foundation, manage the growth and establish efficiencies within their business.

Phone: (480) 315-3000

Top Executive: Camille French

Offices (Local): 1

Local Headquarters: 1221 E. Osborn Rd., Ste. A204, Phoenix, AZ 85014 Phone: (602) 343-6444

Website: amerisourcehr.com

Brodin HR Law Knowing that corporate executives, HR managers and or attorneys may well encounter situations when they simply don’t have the resources to deal with time-consuming legal projects and tough employment decisions — perhaps the staff is already stretched thin, or they are looking for an experienced third party to present options — Brodin HR Law can help, whether it’s a workplace investigation, HR compliance review, employment law issue or other legal services related to HR. Top Executive: Jeff Brodin

Offices (Local): 1

Local Headquarters: 3636 N. Central Ave., Ste. 700, Phoenix, AZ 85012 Phone: (480) 351-7700

Website: brodinhrlaw.com

Information Technology

Website: www.oneneck.com

Janitorial Jani-King Southwest Family-owned and -operated Jani-King Southwest provides state-of-the-art commercial cleaning services to hotels, restaurants, surgery centers, schools, financial institutions, manufacturing facilities and municipal buildings from regional support centers in Phoenix and Tucson.

Top Executive: Julie Robinson

Offices (Local): 1

Local Headquarters: 7250 N. 16th St., Ste. 302, Phoenix AZ 85020 Phone: (602) 433-0550

Website: janiking.com/southwest

The King Carpet Cleaning Services, LLC The King Carpet Cleaning Services has been providing carpet and tile cleaning services to thousands of very satisfied customers in the Phoenix metro area: Avondale, Surprise, Buckeye, Tolleson, Litchfield Park, Goodyear, Scottsdale, Tempe, Gilbert and Chandler.

Top Executive: Diego Rios

Offices (Local): 1

Local Headquarters: 11820 W. Roanoke Ave., Avondale, AZ 85392

Gartman Technical Services, Inc.

Phone: (623) 205-2499

Gartman Technical Services is a full-service IT company, specializing in designing the correct hardware, network and software configurations for its clients.

Gartman’s technicians are experienced in all aspects of hardware configurations, software and network integration.

Law Firms

Top Executive: Glen Gartman

Offices (Local): 1

Local Headquarters: 735 N. 19th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85009 Phone: (602) 788-8121

Website: gartmantechnical.com

itSynergy Since its inception in 1997, Phoenix-based itSynergy has been the leading IT consulting organization empowering small and midmarket businesses with strategic information technology guidance, comprehensive IT services, and custom software development solutions that provide distinct competitive advantages.

Top Executive: Michael W. Cocamower

Offices (Local): 1

Website: www.thekingcarpetcleaning.com

Carter Law Group Carter Law Group, P.C. is a Phoenix-based law firm with extensive experience representing nonprofit, tax-exempt and mission-based businesses. It provides corporate, tax, regulatory and general business advice, often for a flat easy-to-budget fee. Clients include a broad range of exempt and non-exempt companies, including charter schools and educational organizations, grant-making foundations, hospitals, behavioral health, federally qualified health centers, incubators and economic development efforts, trade associations, museums and nonprofits operating or making grants abroad.

Top Executive: Ellis M. Carter

Offices (Local): 1

Local Headquarters: 849 N. 3rd Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85003 Phone: (602) 456-0071

Website: carternonprofitlaw.com

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Local Headquarters: 7310 N. 16th St., Ste. 130, Phoenix, AZ 85020 Phone: (480) 588-4948

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Website: itsynergy.com

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Top Small Business Industry Leaders

Stearns Bank: A Strong and Stable Business Bank Stearns Bank has established a reputation across the Valley as a strong and stable business bank specializing in fast and flexible commercial finance. As a top-ranked bank, we stand ready to meet all your financial needs and get the job done!

Company Name: Stearns Bank N.A. Main Office Address: 9225 E. Shea Blvd.

Scottsdale, AZ 85260

NATIONWIDE PREFERRED SBA LENDER

• F ast in-house approvals & processing to close your loan quickly • Flexible terms up to 25 years • No defined “credit box” • Work with the same Stearns team throughout the entire loan process

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION LOANS

• T ypical loans up to $10 million (larger amounts welcome) • In-house project funding & supervision by our construction finance department • Work directly with us, from plans to completion

EQUIPMENT FINANCING & LEASING

• A direct source for new or used equipment

At a Glance

Phone: (480) 314-4200 Website: www.stearnsbank.com/arizona Number of Offices in Metro Phoenix: 1

• V ariety of terms available, such as no payments for 90 days • One-hour response time with personal contact all the time Stearns Bank is a $1.7-billion independent, employee-owned financial institution established in 1912, led by current owner and CEO Norm Skalicky since 1964. In 1997, Stearns Bank opened a bank in Scottsdale, Ariz., at its current location of 92nd Street and Shea Blvd. Besides Arizona, Stearns has branch locations in Minnesota, Florida and Georgia.

We will get the job done for YOU!

Number of Staff: 374 (nationally), 22 (Arizona) City Nationally Headquartered: St. Cloud, MN CEO/Managing Director: Norm Skalicky, CEO No. of Years with Firm: 52 Year Established Locally: 1997 Specialties: SBA Loans, Commercial/ Construction Loans, Equipment Finance Member FDIC. Equal Housing Lender

Wist Office Products: Buying ‘Local’ Has Never Been Easier When it comes to supporting the “buy local” movement, Wist Office Products is leading the way in sending the message that “when you buy from a hometown company, you benefit more than just your bottom line; you’re supporting higher-paying jobs for the people in your community and the local economy.”

As a third-generation, family-owned and -operated business headquartered in Tempe, Wist Office Products boasts a long history of supplying Arizona businesses with quality office products at competitive prices. From office supplies and janitorial products to office furniture and breakroom supplies, it’s the company’s commitment to excellent customer service that allows it to compete with the bigger, box-store chains in the office supply industry.

Wist’s commitment to customer service excellence has been recognized by numerous business organizations as the company has won several awards, including In Business Magazine’s Top 50 Small Business Resources (2013-2015), and Ranking Arizona’s Best Office Supply Company for the last nine years. It also is

At a Glance Company Name: Wist Office Products Main Office Address: 107 W. Julie Dr., Tempe, AZ 85283 Phone: (480) 921-2900 Website: www.wist.com Number of Offices in Metro Phoenix: 1 Number of Staff: 65

an annual winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Award for workplace flexibility, which demonstrates the company’s dedication to its employees.

As a charter member of Local First Arizona, Wist Office Products helps to strengthen and promote local business across Arizona. With free next-day delivery and easy, online ordering, Wist Office Products offers a solution to reducing the cost of business products while exceeding your service expectations.

Wist Office Products can be reached online at www.wist.com or by calling (480) 921-2900.

City Nationally Headquartered: Tempe CEO/Managing Director: Robert Wist, President Ian Wist, General Manager No. of Years with Firm: Robert: 40 / Ian: 28 Year Established Locally: 1955 Specialties: Office Supplies, Office Furniture, Janitorial Products, Breakroom Supplies and Exceptional Customer Service

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Top Small Business Industry Leaders Law Firms (con’t.)

Law Firms (con’t.)

Engelman Berger

Ryley Carlock & Applewhite

Engelman Berger is comprised of experienced lawyers who are well recognized for their expertise and committed to resolve commercial disputes and assist clients in preventing legal problems through proper planning.

Ryley Carlock & Applewhite provides legal support to clients in the areas of real estate; creditors’ rights and bankruptcy; bank regulation and licensing; labor and employment; corporate and securities; public finance and corporate trust; commercial litigation; taxation and estate planning; water, energy, natural resources and environmental; information technology; intellectual property; advertising; food and drug; government affairs; and eDiscovery, eReview and eRetention.

Top Executives: David Wm. Engelman and Steven N. Berger Offices (Local): 1 Local Headquarters: 3636 N. Central Ave., Ste. 700, Phoenix, AZ 85012 Phone: (602) 271-9090

Website: eblawyers.com

Offices (Local / National): 4 / 6

Local Headquarters: 1 N. Central Ave., Ste. 1200, Phoenix, AZ 85004

Fennemore Craig Fennemore Craig is a full-service law firm with more than 190 attorneys, and has helped the West’s entrepreneurs as well as its largest businesses for more than 130 years. The firm’s litigation skills extend to virtually every area important to business, including product liability, business torts, insurance coverage and bad faith, environment and natural resources, employment, medical negligence defense, professional liability, real estate, securities, intellectual property and tax controversies.

Top Executive: Kathy Hancock

Top Executive: James E. Brophy

Offices (Local / National): 1 / 5

Phone: (602) 440-4808

Website: www.rcalaw.com

Office Furniture Copenhagen Imports Copenhagen is focused on helping clients improve productivity by designing for them the perfect work environment, from executive suites to functional home offices.

Top Executive: Erik Hansen

Offices (Local / National): 4 / 7

Local Headquarters: 2394 E. Camelback Rd., Ste. 600, Phoenix, AZ 85016

Local Headquarters: 1701 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016

Phone: (602) 916-5000

Phone: (602) 266-8060

Website: fennemorecraig.com

Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP Founded in 1950, Lewis Roca Rothgerber LLP is one of the largest law firms in the Western U.S. The firm maintains thriving practices in litigation, real estate, business transactions, intellectual property, regulatory affairs, gaming, banking, bankruptcy, and energy and natural resources with more than 250 attorneys across nine offices in Phoenix, Albuquerque, Casper, Colorado Springs, Denver, Las Vegas, Reno, Silicon Valley and Tucson.

Top Executive: Kenneth Van Winkle Jr.

Offices (Local / National): 1 / 9

Website: www.copenhagenliving.com

Goodmans Interior Structures Goodmans represents millions of quality commercial furnishing products from manufacturers that include Herman Miller, Geiger, Davis, Nemschoff, Nucraft, Fixtures, Global, Hon, National, La-Z-Boy and more than 400 others. Services include taking the client from space planning through installation.

Top Executive: Adam Goodman

Offices (Local / National): 1 / 3

Local Headquarters: 1400 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85014 Phone: (602) 263-1110

Website: www.goodmansinc.com

Local Headquarters: 201 E. Washington St., Ste. 1200, Phoenix, AZ 85004 Phone: (602) 262-5311

Website: www.lrrlaw.com

The Luther Law Firm The Luther Law Firm focuses on securing and protecting intellectual property rights.

Its patents for individuals and firms of all sizes have produced millions of dollars annually from many well-known corporations in license fees to the inventors.

Top Executive: Barbara Luther

Website: thelutherlawfirm.com

Polsinelli offers clients the full array of business law and litigation services with a local presence and tremendous national and international reach.

Offices (Local / National): 1 / 18

Local Headquarters: 1 E. Washington St., Ste. 1200, Phoenix, AZ 85004 Phone: (602) 650-2000

Top Executive: Peter Agnefjäll

Offices (Local/National): 1 / 40

Local Headquarters: 2110 IKEA Way, Tempe, AZ 85284 Phone: (888) 888-4532

Website: www.ikea.com/us

Office Supplies OPACS Inc.

Polsinelli PC

Top Executive: Ed Novak

In addition to the store’s extensive stock of furnishings and furniture, IKEA Business offers its customers free consultation and design services — in its store or at the customer’s place of business.

Offices (Local): 1

Local Headquarters: 8149 N. 87th Pl., Scottsdale, AZ 85258 Phone: (480) 315-6508

IKEA

Website: www.polsinelli.com

OPACS recognizes and values the unique identity and culture of its clients’ organization and strives to customize programs and services to fit their needs. Expert sales team members will listen to the client to help identify the best service and value fit for the organization to maximize the productivity of its team and provide seamless procurement processes.

Top Executive: Travis Kimmel

Offices (Local / National / Int’l): 1/ 37 / 3

Local Headquarters: 8340 E. Raintree Dr., Ste. E, Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Phone: (602) 840-6678

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Website: www.opacs.com

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Top Small Business Industry Leaders Office Supplies (con’t.)

Promotional Products

Wist Office Products

3monkeys Print & Design, LLC

Competitive pricing among all product categories allows Wist to achieve success that is shared with team members, communities and clients, who experience reliable business practices, sound ethics and a commitment to sustaining the environment.

3monkeys is dedicated to the growth of its small-business clients. It provides services on the same level as a large corporation without the large corporation prices. In addition, its staff loves working with local artists and individuals who enjoy experiencing the personal touch.

Top Executives: Ian and Robert Wist

Top Executive: Paolo Diro

Offices (Local): 1

Offices (Local): 1

Local Headquarters: 107 W. Julie Dr., Tempe, AZ 85283

Local Headquarters: 5005 S. Ash Ave., Ste. 5, Tempe, AZ 85282

Phone: (480) 921-2900

Phone: (480) 247-9174

Website: www.wist.com

Website: www.3monkeyspad.com

Payroll Services

HP2

Compass-i LLC

HP2 has the experience and ability to ensure that the right promotional items, corporate awards, logo shirts or other personalized items are selected and designed properly and done to meet clients’ needs.

Compass-I was started in 2002 with the purpose of providing businesses a cost-effective and flexible escape from expensive employee leasing (PEO) arrangements and, later, ASO models. Compass-I’s mission is to bring together all the elements to support the employment life cycle through an on-demand platform. This approach allows clients to receive and, ultimately, pay only for the services they need and use. This provides a comprehensive solution that can expand and contract with business requirements.

Top Executive: Chip Shank

Offices (Local): 1

Local Headquarters: 301 W. Warner Rd., Tempe AZ 85284 Phone: (480) 893-1394

Website: www.compass-i.com

IOI Payroll Services, Inc. Interlogic Outsourcing, Inc. (IOI) is a national and award-winning provider of cloud-based payroll and employer services offering scalable solutions to enable businesses of all sizes to achieve greater efficiencies and reduce bottom-line costs by deploying state-of-the-art technology.

Top Executive: Eric Wildstein

Website: www.ioipay.com

Payroll Control Systems, Inc. PCS was founded in 1995, and is a leading provider of payroll, payroll tax, time and labor, and human resources solutions. The ongoing commitment of its teams of experienced payroll professionals to service, quality and excellence makes PCS one of the largest and fastest-growing independent payroll services providers in the country.

Top Executive: Joseph M. Reilly Jr.

Offices (Local): 1

Local headquarters: 1630 E. Bethany Home Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016 Phone: (602) 235-9099

Website: www.hp2promo.com

Telecommunications / Mobile Cox Business Cox Business provides voice, data and video services for more than 330,000 small and regional businesses, including healthcare providers; K-12 and higher education; financial institutions; and federal, state and local government organizations.

Top Executive: Ed Aaronson

Offices (Local / National): n/a

Local Headquarters: 1550 W. Deer Valley Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85027 Phone: (623) 322-2000

Website: www.coxbusinessaz.com

Offices (Local / National): 2 / 11

Local Headquarters: 4300 N. Miller Rd., Ste. 151, Scottsdale, AZ 85251 Phone: (480) 619-4110

Top Executive: Marc Hawkins

Nextiva Nextiva’s mission is to provide reliable, unified communications products backed by a dedication to delivering great service to businesses across the country.

Its cloud-based phone systems, fax communications and Web-based tools are designed to increase flexibility, productivity and efficiency for businesses of all sizes in a variety of industries.

Top Executive: Tomas Gorny

Offices (Local / National): 1 / 14

Local Headquarters: 8800 E. Chaparral Rd., Ste. 300, Scottsdale, AZ 85250 Phone: (800) 779-0600

Website: www.nextiva.com

Offices (Local / National): 1 / 2

Local Headquarters: 3230 E. Broadway Rd., Ste. C-130, Phoenix, AZ 85040 Phone: (480) 325-4020

Website: www.pcspay.com

CopperPoint Mutual

Planet Payroll There is more to Planet Payroll than simply payroll. It strives to be its clients’ No. 1 go-to for staff-related matters. In addition to offering total Human Resources solutions, it also offers health insurance, retirement plans, ACA compliance and much more.

Top Executive: Steven Barnett

Offices (Local): 1

Local Headquarters: 711 E. Carefree Hwy., Phoenix, AZ 85085 Phone: (623) 434-3436

Worker’s Comp. Insurance

Website: www.planetpayroll.com

CopperPoint Mutual provides workers’ compensation insurance coverage for more than 16,000 businesses statewide, ensuring workers the care they need if they are injured on the job. It has been providing workers’ compensation insurance to Arizona businesses since 1925.

Top Executive: Marc E. Schmittlein Phone: (602) 631 2300

INBUSINESSMAG.COM

Offices (Local): 1

Local Headquarters: 3030 N. 3rd St., Phoenix, AZ 85012 Website: www.copperpoint.com

JULY 2016

61

Put us to work for you CopperPoint provides workers compensation coverage that protects your employees and your business.

Introducing President & CEO Marc Schmittlein

“

I’m excited to be in Arizona where small business fuels a thriving economy. Whether it’s workers comp, safety or wellness, CopperPoint and our select agents are ready to help you protect your business.

602.631.2300 | copperpoint.com | Now represented by select agents.

”

JULY 2016

In Business Magazine is pleased to offer the MarketPlace for our readers. This section is for

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JULY 2016

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Anderson, Bob, 12

Goodman, Adam, 23

Moussa, Mario, Ph.D., 26

Smith, Don, 9

Babendure, Jeremy, 46

Gottesman, Joel, 22

Newberry, Derek, Ph.D., 26

Taylor, Brad, 37

Bergman, Lorraine, 11

Holman, Mary, 22

Pruitt, Jeffrey, 25

Thornton, Robert, 25

Bernshteyn, Rob, 27

Horowitz, Shel, 66

Reavey, Jim, 18

Tibshraeny, Mayor Jay, 10

Boals, Rich, 55

Howell, Park, 24

Rice, Chris, 12

Tollefson, Richard, 28

Buck, C. Adam, 19

Jannenga, Brad, 48

Romem, Issi, Ph.D., 14

Toney, Mike, 25

Clyde, Matthew, 24

King Smith, Lynne, 11

Rosas, Dina, 11

Treisman, Ryan, 17

Dervis, Kemal, 27

Lane, Mayor J.W. “Jim,” 10

Sayer, Kevin, 16

Tyler, Marylou, 27

Donovan, Jeremey, 27

Lanning, Kimber, 53

Schlosser, Mario, 16

Visser, Anton, 16

Fasulo, Bryan, 12

Mask, Clate, 25

Schuman, Ted, 23

Weiers, Mayor Jerry, 10

Fogg, Chad T., 48

McLane, Chuck, 22

Sirott, Michelle, 24

Woody, David, 48

French, Camille, 23

Miller, Mary Ann, 40

Sjouwerman, Stu, 17

Zylstra, Steven G., 43

1100 KFNX, 36

Conquest Training Systems, 25

Hillstone, 34

Scottsdale, City of, 10

Adopt Technologies, 17

CopperPoint

Hopdoddy, 34

SnapComms, 11

Horizon Community Bank, 8

Snell & Wilmer, 68

Ideas Collide, 24

Special Moments Catering, 37

Infusionsoft, 11, 25, 64

Stearns Bank N.A., 59

KnowBe4, 17

Tallwave, 25

Liquid Capital of Arizona, 7, 22

Tempe Chamber of Commerce, 35

Local First Arizona, 53

Tempe Mission Palms Hotel, 35

Dexcom, Inc., 16

Mesa Chamber of Commerce, 30, 31

ThinkSmallBiz, 64

Dhaba, The, 35

Morgan Stanley, 15

TicketForce, 11

East Valley Chambers of Commerce

NAPA, 12

Toyota, 32

National Bank of Arizona, 22

U.S. Small Business Administration, 29

Affinity Technology, 64 Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce, 30 Alliance Bank of Arizona, 3, 52 American Express, 48 AmeriSource HR Consulting Group, LLC, 23 APS, 5 ARCpoint Labs, 35 Arizona Diamondbacks, 33 Arizona Small Business Association, 11, 31

Insurance Companies, 9, 62 CREATEbuzz, 11 Cubex, 16 D Rosas Interior Architecture Design Group, 11 Desert Schools Federal Credit Union, 15

Alliance, 31

Arizona Technology Council, 43

Edward Jones, 35

Original Chopshop Co., The, 34

Uber Technologies, 48

Association of

Flower Child, 34

Oscar, 16

Vixxo, 18

Frutkin Law Firm, The, 19

Paper Cloud Apparel, 25

V-MODA, 32

FSW Funding, 57, 63

Park&Co, 24

WebPT, 48

Gilbert Chamber of Commerce, 30

Phoenix Children’s

Wist Office Products, 59

Fundraising Professionals, 29 Avnet, 50 Banner Health Network, 67 Beats by Dr. Dre, 32 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, 55 Bose, 32 Building 313, 11 BuildZoom, 14 Bullock Training & Development, 35 Caliente Construction, 11, 35 Cathy Hotchkiss, 63 CBIZ MHM, LLC, 22 Chandler, City of, 10

Hospital Foundation, 42

Giving USA Glendale Chamber of Commerce, 30, 31

Phoenix Philanthropy Group, The, 28

Glendale, City of, 10

Pinnacle, 12

Goodmans Interior Structures, 23

PlanetOne Communications, 23

GPS Insight, 2

Point B, Inc., 24

Grand Canyon University, 40

Prisma, 12

Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, 30

Redirect Health, 13

Greater Phoenix Gay &

Residences at Fountainhead, 12

Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, 30 HealthiestYou, 16

In each issue of In Business Magazine, we list both companies and indivuduals for quick reference. See the stories for links to more.

Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce, 30, 31

Bold listings are advertisers supporting this issue of In Business Magazine.

Wells Fargo, 49

CHECK US OUT /inbusinessmagphx @inbusinessmag

65 20JULY1 6 INBUSINESSMAG.COM

A CANDID FORUM

BY

Yes, Responsible Companies Perform Better Companies can bank social responsibility on their bottom line

by Shel Horowitz

Shel Horowitz, known as “The Transformpreneursm,” is co-author of Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World. This book, Horowitz’s 10th, shows how to profit by going greening, fixing hunger/ poverty/war/climate change, and marketing these commitments. greenandprofitable.com bit.ly/marketing-to-heal

JULY 20 1 6

66

INBUSINESSMAG.COM

Study after study shows that companies known for sticking to their values perform better on financial metrics. While this may be a surprise to some, it actually makes total sense that socially responsible investments do better.

Several factors increase the likelihood that conscious companies perform well: • Clean-hands companies don’t have to pay expensive lawsuit settlements around pollution, safety violations or discrimination.

• Brands that tell only the truth don’t worry about being caught in an embarrassing and profit-killing lie.

• When customers believe that a firm has their best interests at heart, they come back again and again — and since it’s far more profitable to bring back an existing customer than to bring in a new one, the profit ratios on repeat business are much higher.

• If faced with a choice between a company known as an ethical leader and one that is not, many consumers will choose to place their shopping dollars with the values-based company.

• Companies with a stellar reputation find it much easier to market.

• People like working for good companies with strong values and excellent working conditions; these companies waste a lot fewer resources on hiring and training because they retain the people they have, and those employees will be quick to recruit their friends when the company needs to hire.

• When customers fall in love with the way a company does business, they start recruiting other customers — they actually become that firm’s unpaid sales force, and that leads to greater profits through reduced marketing expenditures (we’ll talk more about this later).

• Ethical, eco-friendly companies are much more likely to build a lasting business, and build it more easily.

• Joint ventures are much easier to organize, because the other partners expect that they’ll be treated ethically and respected for what they bring to the enterprise.

• The high value of goodwill will be factored into the sale price if the business is sold.

And the No. 1 reason ...

• Ethical companies never have to worry about seeing their CEO pictured on the front page, in handcuffs.

Need a practical example? Consider superpremium ice cream. How is it that a funky, hippie company in northern Vermont, whose founders had no experience in either making ice cream or running a business when they started, grabbed almost half the market in a crowded field?

My theory is that Ben & Jerry’s succeeded precisely because of its branding as a socially conscious brand. Customers who knew about the company’s projects to help farmers, disabilityfriendly hiring practices, and commitment to renewable energy would choose Ben & Jerry’s over competing brands right next to them in supermarket freezers precisely because they wanted to support a company that supported the community.

Not surprisingly, socially and environmentally responsible companies perform well in the financial markets, too. Merrill Lynch put the value of “values based investing” (VBI) at $6.57 trillion by the end of 2013. Earlier Merrill Lynch reports noted, “companies that ranked high in responsible economic, environmental, social and corporate governance issues demonstrated lower volatility globally and provided higher dividend yields in the U.S. than those with lower scores” and “the question, then, is no longer about whether VBI is profitable but about how individual investors can define their priorities around sustainable investing.”

In other words, corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies reduce investment risk. Which leads to wondering: Would Merrill Lynch have gotten into so much trouble in 2007 and 2008 if the company, itself, had pushed an agenda of economic, environmental and social responsibility?

Top-tier consulting company Deloitte wrote an entire white paper on the advantages of strong CSR programs and the disadvantages of environmental liabilities during mergers and acquisitions. Risk assessment and due diligence lead to lower prices for companies whose acquisition could bring in toxic “assets” that result in lawsuits and negative publicity — while companies have increased their worth to a buyer by exercising CSR and environmental leadership, especially if they market these virtues properly. A grocery retailer, for example, paid more to acquire a company known for its community focus and sustainable approach to procurement, store operations and distribution, and community involvement programs.

—Adapted from Guerrilla Marketing to Heal the World by Jay Conrad Levinson and Shel Horowitz

Fiesta Bowl Charities has contributed $6 million in grants to Arizona nonprofits over the past five years, with $1.5 million distributed to more than 60 organizations during the 2015-2016 season alone.

This amount is more than any other college football bowl game in the country. fiestabowl.org/charities

the signs of

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