January 2019 issue of In Business Magazine

JAN. 2019

The 2019 Meetings & Conventions Guide

Venture Capitalizing How deep is the venture capital pool for Phoenix (and Arizona) businesses?

Fear of Failure Hinders Innovation

Learn from 2018’s Privileged Data Breaches IT Challenges for

Growing Enterprises $4.95 INBUSINESSPHX.COM

THIS ISSUE Global Chamber Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits

Snell Snell & & Wilmer Wilmer is is proud proud to to celebrate celebrate 10 10 years years in in Los Los Cabos, Cabos, Mexico.

Mexico.

Thank Thank you you for for trusting trusting Snell Snell & & Wilmer Wilmer with with your your real real estate estate development, development, transactional transactional and and regulatory regulatory needs. needs.

Alvaro Alvaro Fox Fox

Carlos Carlos Freaner Freaner

Carlos Carlos Sugich Sugich

Roberto Roberto Ibarra de Rueda Ibarra de Rueda

Alfredo Alfredo Solórzano Solórzano

Understanding Understanding what makes makes you you unique.® unique.® what www.swlaw.com www.swlaw.com

ALBUQUERQUE | DENVER | LAS VEGAS | LOS ANGELES | LOS CABOS | ORANGE COUNTY ALBUQUERQUE | DENVER | LAS VEGAS | LOS ANGELES | LOS CABOS | ORANGE COUNTY PHOENIX | RENO | SALT LAKE CITY | TUCSON | WASHINGTON, D.C. PHOENIX | RENO | SALT LAKE CITY | TUCSON | WASHINGTON, D.C.

JANUARY 2019

COVER STORY

20

Venture Capitalizing

In Business Magazine explores the venture capital pool for Phoenix — and Arizona — businesses.

The 2019

& Conventions

MAGAZINE

Guide

JAN. 2019

IN BUSINESS

Meetings

VENTURE

Venture Capitaliz ing

CAPITAL

How deep

is the venture capital pool Phoenix (and Arizona) for businesses ?

Fear of Failure

JANUARY

Hinders Innovation

2019

Learn from 2018’s Data Breaches IT Challenge s for Growing

Privileged

• INBUSINESSPHX.COM

THIS ISSUE

Enterprises

Global Chamber Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits

FEATURES

26

Unlocking Your Company’s Hero Potential

DON’T MISS OUT!

Get a year of In Business Magazine Subscribe now at inbusinessphx.com

PARTNER SECTIONS

Discussing the way people’s fear of failure makes them afraid to innovate, Jeffrey Hayzlett offers seven steps for driving change.

32

The 5 Most Cringe-Worthy Privileged Data Breaches of 2018

BeyondTrust’s analysis looks for a common root cause.

GLOBAL CHAMBER

®

Global Chamber® Events

DEPARTMENTS

WINTER 2019

phoenix.globalchamber.org/events

January 7 2019 Business Outlook 9am in Scottsdale

January 9, 16, 23 & 30 U.S. Market Entry Series 9am in Scottsdale

January 15 Global Business Leadership in 2019 9am in Scottsdale

January 20

Rep. Sinema in 2015 with Ambassador Fujisaki of Japan at Taliesin West. Thank you to

9am in Scottsdale

Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation for your membership and support — and for hosting

Expand Success: Update from Exporters

that Global Chamber® event. And thank you to all our members, in and out of politics.

Join the Cross-Metro ‘Wave’

January 27 9am in Scottsdale

Mobility and Managing a Global Workforce

by Doug Bruhnke, CEO at Global Chamber®

Spotlight Event February TBA International State of the Metro

Inside this Section

2

Progress and Update on NAFTA: USMCA Is Born

3 4 6 7 8

Staying in Compliance with International Employment Law More Market Opportunities: The Country of Georgia On International Benefits, including Insurance China’s Opportunities Outweigh the Challenges Ticket to Paradise: Our Global Real Estate Market

A blue wave? What color is a cross-metro area growth wave? That’s our focus — helping members grow anywhere they wish to by sharing the resources and prospective clients and partners they need. We are a trusted advisor for anyone growing across metros and borders.

Global Chamber® is not political. We do not take a stand for or against any particular party or candidate. We just want more business and trade. Our initiatives are business-focused, working with companies nearly solely, and along the way we engage with government leaders to make them aware of global business and to encourage their engagement.

Pick any 10 countries. Can you name their top political parties and what they stand for?

Do you know their leader and government form? Now imagine that across all 195 countries — could you do it? Former CIA head Bobby Inman has spoken at Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations and he could answer questions about any country, past, present and expected future. When I heard him speak, I realized, first, how brilliant he is, and second, that no mortal person can have their finger on every political party and issue. And that’s one good reason why we don’t wade in.

Can you imagine our Global Chamber Moscow team coming out in opposition to Vladimir

Putin? That’s not going to happen. We focus just on the things that matter to businesses and leaders ... and make warm connections along the way. Our personal politics stays personal.

That all said, we love politicians who “get it” and who are dedicated to improving business and the lives of people within their district and country. And so you will see us supporting leaders who help our members be successful. One of those leaders is Kyrsten Sinema, now Senator-elect Sinema, who for years as a congresswoman demonstrated hard work and intelligence in the areas that matter to our members. She has been open to meet, to listen and to support their success. We have been proud to host Senator-elect Sinema as a speaker several times. Don’t let anyone convince you that all politicians are bad — it’s nonsense. Let’s celebrate good leadership in companies and the government — and work to get better at all of it.

We’re always happy to have a dialogue with the goal of assisting in our mission of facilitating cross-metro business success.

Blue, red, green or any color wave — let’s keep growing across metros and borders, the cross-metro wave! That’s the wave we care most about. It’s here, it’s real, and we hope you’ll join us to create more cross-metro and cross-border business success.

GlobalChamber.org

35 WINTER 2019

UNITING, STRENGTHENING, AND ADVANCING ARIZONA’S NONPROFIT SECTOR. ARIZONANONPROFITS.ORG

Passionate Work The Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits is an action-oriented group of partners across Arizona — both nonprofits and those in the community who support them — dedicated to uniting, strengthening and advancing Arizona’s nonprofit sector. The Alliance envisions an Arizona where all nonprofits are valued, empowered and thriving.

p. 2 Arizona Gives Announces Employee Giving Landing Pages for Businesses p. 4 Corporate Philanthropy p. 5 On The Board and In The Spotlight

p. 6 Rethinking our Approach to Community Solutions p. 8 A December of Challenges for Charities

9

Guest Editor

Zack Ferres, CEO of Coplex, introduces the “Venture Capital” issue.

1

Global Chamber

CONTENTS

As we are just coming off one of the most generous and philanthropic seasons of the year, and with a brand new year at our fingertips, now is an important time to consider how we will continue to support our communities in the coming year. As business owners, professionals and entrepreneurs, you have an important opportunity to engage in and support the nonprofit sector as we work together to make Arizona a place we are all proud to call home.

The business (or for-profit) community is a critical and valued partner in the important work nonprofit organizations across the state are doing to support our communities and the causes and people we care most about. We rely on our business colleagues to support our missions in a variety of Kristen Merrifield, CAE, CNAP ways: as board or committee members, through employee volunteerism, sponsorship, partnership, in-kind services and the list goes on.

As you think about your strategic plan for the coming year, what your priorities will be, and how you will engage your employees and teams, we encourage you to include philanthropy, volunteerism and partnership with the nonprofit sector. But we aren’t only considering the community impact or our own needs when suggesting these activities. Ryan Scott, in an article for Forbes.com, said, “A culture of giving back is not only one of the most inspiring ways to engage employees, it also offers something even better than engagement: worker passion. When you build a culture of giving back, especially when you lay out an ambitious agenda for impact, you set the stage for a purpose-filled environment that inspires passion.”

According to Deloitte’s “2017 Volunteerism Survey” (http://bit.ly/2017-volunteerism-survey), nearly 9 out of 10 (89 percent) working Americans believe companies that sponsor volunteer activities offer a better overall working environment than those that do not. In fact, 70 percent of respondents say that volunteer activities are more likely to boost employee morale than company-sponsored happy hours, and 77 percent say that “volunteering is essential to employee well-being.”

Deloitte leader John Hagel goes on to say that sustained increased performance improvement comes from a worker who is passionate about what he does. Hagel lays out employee passion as embodying these principles: • A long-term commitment to achieving an increasing impact in a domain • A questing disposition that creates excitement when confronted with an unexpected challenge • A connecting disposition that motivates the individual to systematically seek out others who can help them to get to a better answer faster when confronted with an unexpected challenge

10

Feedback

Rowlan Hill, Gregory Lawary and Natalie Marston-Salem respond to In Business Magazine’s burning business question of the month.

11

Briefs

“Overcome Recruiting Challenges,” “Avoid Common Bookkeeping Mistakes” and “Local Standouts Recognized for Achievements and Philanthropy”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

1

43 Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits

SPECIAL SECTION Valley

Presents

A Guide to Your Next Great Event FEATURING Children’s Museum of Phoenix Glendale Convention & Visitors Bureau K1 Speed MereStone Rawhide Western Town & Steakhouse Thunderbird Executive Inn

51 2019 Meetings & Conventions Guide

JAN. 2019

4

INBUSINESSPHX.COM

16

Technology

$4.95 INBUSINESSPHX.COM

12

By the Numbers

“IT Challenges for Growing Enterprises” and “IT Challenges: When to Lean on Automation”

17

Legal

Attorneys discuss mergers, anti-trust laws and the duties of the filing parties.

18

Healthcare

“Send-to-Site Medical Care,” “Advancing Whole-Body Donation” and “BCBSAZ Motivating Health and Wellness”

27

Books

New releases give fresh insights on business thinking.

28

From the Top

As the first female general manager for Lyft, Drena Kusari works to build strong ties with the Phoenix community.

34

Power Lunch

French Transplants on Scottsdale Soil: Voilà Plus: Soup is a hot choice on Valley menus.

Survey by Financial Finesse examines how companies benefit by improving employee retirement preparedness.

66

13

Steven L. Blue discusses the three biggest pitfalls companies must address in transforming from rust-belt to high-tech.

By the Numbers

Survey from Enterprise Bank & Trust underscores how a wellconstructed strategic plan helps guide many organizations through the chaos.

14

CRE

“Luxury Wing Debut at Scottsdale Fashion Square,” “Scottsdale Fashion Square’s Past and Future” and “Crowdfunding Real Estate”

Roundtable

ON THE AGENDA

29

Spotlight

Arizona Good Business Summit — Local First Arizona 2019 Leadership Speaker Series — Tempe Chamber of Commerce

30

Calendar

Business events throughout the Valley

When Forbes released its “Best States for Business 2018,” Arizona was one of two states that had most improved its ranking, moving up six spots to number 17. Forbes also predicts that, from now through 2022, Arizona will expand at the second-fastest rate in the nation. http://bit.ly/forbes-best-states

Jan. 2019 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 Jess Roman, Interim Chief Executive Officer 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 Chamber® (480) 595-5000 www.globalchamber.org Ronit Urman, President NAWBO Phoenix Metro Chapter (480) 289-5768 www.nawbophx.org Anne Gill, President & CEO Tempe Chamber of Commerce (480) 967-7891 www.tempechamber.org 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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RESPECT THE FANS RESPECT THE PLAYERS RESPECT THE GAME

T HE P E O P L E ’S OP E N 2019 JAN. 28 – FEB. 3 TPC SCOTTSDALE

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© Enterprise 2018

Jan. 2019

NATIONALLY RANKED.

LOCALLY FOCUSED.

VOL. 10, NO. 1

Publisher

Rick McCartney

Editor

RaeAnne Marsh

Art Director

Benjamin Little

Contributing Writers

Steven L. Blue

Kendall Crever Jeff Gardner Morey J. Haber Stacey Hanke Jeffrey Hayzlett Mike Hunter J. Elise Keith Rustina Knutzon Richard Lieberman Karen Loiterstein Cynthia Meyer Ruth Urban

Enterprise Bank & Trust was recently ranked number 14 out of 161 nationally-ranked banks1. And while we’re proud of that fact, it’s just part of who we are. Whether your focus is on your business, your family or the quality of life in your community, you’ll find us there. We’re committed to supporting dreams, securing financial futures and delivering on community investment.

Learn more at enterprisebank.com/phoenix

Greg Ward Tim Williams ADVERTISING Operations Louise Ferrari Business Development

Cami Shore Events

Member FDIC 1. Bank Director, 3rd Quarter 2017, Volume 27, Number 3

Louise Ferrari

Camron McCartney Amy Corben

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For a full monthly calendar of business-related events, please visit our website.

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Corporate Office InMedia Company 1 N. 1st Street, Sixth Floor Phoenix, AZ 85004 T: (480) 588-9505

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www.inmediacompany.com Vol. 10, No. 1. In Business Magazine is published 12 times per year by InMedia Company. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to InMedia Company, 1 N. 1st Street, Sixth Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85004. To subscribe to In Business Magazine, please send check or money order for one-year subscription of $24.95 to InMedia Company, 1 N. 1st Street, Sixth Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85004 or visit inbusinessphx.com. We appreciate your editorial submissions, news and photos for review by our editorial staff. You July 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. © 2019 InMedia Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

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

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ZACH FERRES, COPLEX

Capital Moves

It was only a few years ago when the Valley was a venture capital wasteland. That has turned around — thanks in large part to the high-profile successes of Infusionsoft and WebPT. Each big tech success story spawns greater interest and capital for the local tech ecosystem; some of the bigger tech exits have been Carvana, LifeLock, HealthiestYou and Tuft & Needle.

Almost 70 percent of the U.S. venture capital dollars going into tech companies is now outside of SF (as discussed in a recent issue of The Economist, http://bit.ly/silicon-valley-changing). This is getting secondary and tertiary venture markets like Phoenix on the map as real players in the global tech scene. In the past couple of years, we’ve seen some of the “who’s who” VCs like Kleiner Perkins, Foundry and Sequoia cut checks into Arizona companies. I’m optimistic that we’re going to continue to see Phoenix be a real place for tech companies to be born.

The cover story in this issue delves into the venture capital landscape of today’s Phoenix, which encompasses a wider range of business sectors. In Business Magazine editor RaeAnne Marsh brings together details of venture capital activity here to give an overview that shows Phoenix businesses are attracting investor attention from far beyond our local borders.

The new year is, historically, a time to review one’s practices and consider what changes might be appropriate for the coming year. With that in mind, this January issue of In Business Magazine presents feature article “Unlocking Your Company’s Hero Potential” by Jeffrey Hayzlett on how a business’s leadership can get beyond the fear of failure that produces stagnation to nurture the sharing of innovative and strategic ideas. And, with cyber break-ins now a ubiquitous threat, it’s also worth looking back at some of last year’s most conspicuous attacks, and take to heart the analysis in “The 5 Most Cringe-Worthy Privileged Data Breaches of 2018” from BeyondTrust’s Morey Haber.

A couple of helpful “how-to” articles fill the Briefs page, with tips on how to avoid common bookkeeping mistakes and overcoming recruitment challenges. The Technology page addresses the strain that growth — from expansions in workforce and operating systems — places on IT resources. Other business-relevant content covers a range of other topics.

Also in this issue is the annual Meetings & Conventions Guide, the Valley’s most comprehensive guide to events venues.

I’m pleased to help bring you this January issue of In Business Magazine. I hope you enjoy the read.

Zach Ferres is the CEO of Coplex, a nationally ranked venture builder that partners with industry experts to start high-growth tech companies.

Coplex has helped start more than 280 startup companies around the globe that have an aggregate market value of more than $4.5 billion.

Ferres sold his first technology company at age 24 and was recognized as one of the top 33 student entrepreneurs in the world. Outside of Coplex, Ferres is an award-winning speaker, a runner, and a columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine.

Sincerely,

Rick Weekly McCartney Podcast ® hosted by

OUR PODCAST Join us for interesting, informative and inspiring conversations with top local businesspeople in the Greater Phoenix area.

Listen now at inbusinessphx.com.

Zach Ferres Chief Executive Officer Coplex

CONNECT WITH US:

Venturing Out Talk about supporting business — the venture capital market is

We want to thank Zach Ferres for

alive and well in America and doing its part here in Phoenix as well.

leading this month’s issue of In Business

Backing projects of all kinds and investing in business and growth

Magazine. His insight, knowledge and

in the metropolitan Phoenix area has long been a goal by economic

innovative nature are giving both him and

developers. Both innovative and traditional investments in ideas,

Coplex a very well-deserved reputation

developments and growth are where we see a competitive edge

in the venture capital world both here in

when it comes to attracting and retaining talent — and, ultimately,

Phoenix and around the world. His ability to bring this community

economic success. Many top companies — with money — seek

together through events and other opportunities is changing

everything from startups to major real estate developments to

the way people see our VC community and has resulted in many

back. We are ripe for these investments and, as RaeAnne addresses

successes in business.

—Rick McCartney, Publisher

in our cover story, it is happening here in a big way.

The 2019

& Conventions

MAGAZINE

Guide

JAN. 2019

IN BUSINESS

Meetings

VENTURE

Venture Capitaliz ing

CAPITAL

How deep

is the venture capital pool Phoenix (and Arizona) for businesses ?

Fear of Failure

JANUARY

Hinders Innovation

2019 • INBUSINESSPHX.COM

THIS ISSUE

Global Chamber Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits

Learn from Privileged 2018’s Data Breaches IT Challenge s for Growing Enterprises

$4.95 INBUSINESSPHX.COM

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Get a year of In Business Magazine Subscribe now at inbusinessphx.com

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

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JAN. 2019

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VALLEY LEADERS SOUND OFF

New Year’s Resolutions — What is a business best practice you plan to continue, modify or implement in your business this year?

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

ROWLAN HILL

GREGORY LAWARY

Owner Blue Leaf Estate Auctions Sector: Auctions

Founder and Owner Definitive Entertainment, LLC Sector: Electronics

The use of social media and online advertising has proved to be the most effective way of reaching new customers and clients and utilizing this technology can do wonders for a company’s brand. We want to embrace all of the capabilities of advertising that the Internet has to offer, especially in an industry where several online auction companies are emerging. Some sophisticated features that keep Blue Leaf ahead of the game and capture new leads include automating processing, pixel tracking and analyzing data.

With our company being an alive and in-person business, we are continuously tuning our online outreach to attract buyers to come out and enjoy a live auction. By listing the advantages our business has to offer compared to other companies (for example, the socialization and instant gratification aspect of live auctions), we have been able to rise to the top of our industry.

Needless to say, this would not have been possible without effective online marketing, as well as a strong social media presence.

When starting a home theater or total automation project for your home or business, it is a best practice to have a budget. As a rule, we like to make sure the client has a budget before the project consultation. Having a budget actually helps to focus the audio/video technician on the fundamentals when laying out a plan for the client’s system.

It also helps to eliminate unnecessary equipment, labor and programming.

Putting a budget together is not as hard as most people believe. Most clients know what they would like the system to do for them but do not know the costs of what it takes to implement and control it. But they do know how much they don’t want to spend! That is where we recommend our clients start, while keeping in mind, of course, that the larger the budget, the better the sound and picture quality and the more their new system will be able to do for them.

Blue Leaf Estate Auctions 602blue.com

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

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With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, Rowlan Hill is a self-taught master auctioneer who is just as comfortable selling fine art at a black-tie affair as he is selling horses in Wranglers. Unique in his field, Hill is among a minuscule number of black auctioneers in the white-dominated profession and is the only African American in North America to hold champion auctioneer status.

NATALIE MARSTONSALEM Co-Founder and Co-Owner Fountain Hills Recovery Sector: Healthcare At Fountain Hills Recovery, we have extremely high standards for client care. As a treatment facility specializing in drug and alcohol addiction recovery, we provide specialized treatment on a highly personal level. It’s important to us as a family-owned organization to develop meaningful relationships with our clients and their families and be a source of support throughout the entire recovery process.

In 2019, our goal is to continually lead by example in raising the standard of care for addiction treatment in Arizona and across the United States.

As a testament to our unwavering commitment to providing our clientele with the finest private luxury rehab treatment possible, Fountain Hills Recovery recently earned LegitScript Certification, which recognizes the facility among the nation’s leading addiction treatment centers.

Definitive Entertainment, LLC www.definitiveentertanment.com

Fountain Hills Recovery fountainhillsrecovery.com

Leaving a management position at a thriving consumer electronics company, Gregory Lawary established Definitive Entertainment in 2003. DE is a licensed, bonded and insured independent company specializing in entertainment and security systems, entry access and digital signage for home and business.

Natalie Marston-Salem, with husband and co-founder John Salem, began Fountain Hills Recover in 2016 to honor the memory of her father. Overseeing every aspect of operations from community outreach to clinical programs to the residential quality of life for patients, the two share a commitment to a hands-on approach in aiding the active recovery of FHR patients.

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

QUICK AND TO THE POINT

Overcome Recruiting Challenges Hiring challenges abound across many of Arizona’s industries. With low unemployment and more companies dipping into the talent pool, it can be difficult to find skilled talent. Here are tips to help a business take a focused approach and improve its chances of landing the best talent.

Don’t skimp on compensation. Offering a good salary and benefits is an advantage, but it’s especially true today. A business should use resources to check starting salaries in its area to ensure pay ranges are competitive —and also consider non-monetary incentives like flexible hours and telecommuting.

Put your best foot forward. Know one’s company’s strengths and make sure the company culture is central to the hiring strategy. Enticing perks, a commitment to social responsibility and innovation are often appealing to good candidates.

Stop looking for the “perfect” fit. Given the small pool of available talent, it could be that no applicant will possess all the experience

a company requires. Instead, it might be better for a company to consider hiring individuals who show potential and the ability to learn quickly, then create development plans to bring them up to speed.

Move quickly. Speed is essential. Good candidates don’t remain available for long. If it takes weeks for a business to hire, it’ll miss out. But it’s important to do the due diligence: Conduct reference checks and skills testing to determine a good fit.

In today’s hot market, it sometimes takes weeks or even months to find the right person.

Keeping up with new developments and trends will allow a business to increase its reach, target its search and find professionals who are a good fit. —Rustina Knutzon, market manager for Robert Half Technology and The Creative Group, business units of Robert Half (www.roberthalf.com), the world’s first and largest specialized staffing firm, which has offices in Phoenix and Tucson

Avoid Common Bookkeeping Mistakes Here are the top three common bookkeeping mistakes by small-business owners, and how to avoid them.

Mistake #1: Not safeguarding the business’s money. It’s not uncommon for new business owners to hire a friend or relative to do the bookkeeping. They find an easy way to have someone — anyone — handle this tedious task.

Unfortunately, business owners sometimes put temptation into someone’s hands without taking any precautions.

To protect the business, the owner should always run a background check on anyone who has access to the company money. A good method is to set up a separation of duties — one person to pay the bills, another to handle the invoices. If the business is too small for two people, other choices are for the owner to learn to do the bank reconciliations or hire an outside service for oversight. The owner should sign the checks personally (no signature stamps, please) and review all the backup documentation.

Mistake #2: Not keeping the cash flowing to fund business expenses. It’s important to set a schedule to send invoices out on a consistent basis. This includes sending monthly statements to customers who haven’t

paid yet. Finally, a business owner should never be afraid to call and ask for money owed.

Often it is merely a lost invoice or email.

Mistake #3: Not reconciling all the business’s accounts. It is not wise to simply trust that all is well in the business’s bank accounts; it is critical they are reconciled at least monthly. This is where a business owner will catch fraud, missing deposits or charges that don’t belong. These are common errors bookkeepers encounter. Besides the bank accounts, it’s also critical to reconcile other balance sheet accounts such as credit cards, loans and payroll.

Taking steps to avoid these common bookkeeping mistakes will help bolster your business’s financial success. —Ruth Urban, president and CEO of On the Money (www.onthemoneyaz.com), which is committed to helping small-business owners take control of their finances by creating systems and tracking tools, then teaching them how to use those tools to make better-informed money decisions

LOOKING GOOD

Local Standouts Recognized for Achievements and Philanthropy ACHIEVEMENTS

Princess Gets Five Diamonds from AAA The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, an iconic destination resort in North Scottsdale, was recently awarded AAA Five Diamond status — for the 28th consecutive year. First earning the stellar designation in 1991, the Princess is the longestrunning Five Diamond property in Arizona, and its 750 rooms also make it the largest in the state to earn the distinction. scottsdaleprincess.com

Burch & Cracchiolo a ‘Best Law Firm’ Burch & Cracchiolo, P.A., a full-service law firm founded in Phoenix in 1970, has been ranked in the 2019 U.S. News-Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” list nationally in three practice areas and regionally in 13 practice areas, the latter predominantly Tier 1.

Receiving a tier designation reflects the high level of respect a firm has earned among other leading lawyers and clients in the same communities and the same practice areas for their abilities, their professionalism and their integrity. bestlawyers.com/firms/burch-cracchiolo-p-a/10969

PHILANTHROPY

Plexus: Healthy Food Products and Commitment to Fight Hunger The Nourish One Initiative is an ongoing commitment

by Plexus WorldwideTM, a leading direct-selling global health and wellness company focused on health and happiness, to benefit Feeding America, the nation’s largest organization dedicated to fighting domestic hunger through a network of food banks. For every serving sold of Plexus Lean Whey Meal Replacement and Plexus Lean Vegetarian — new products launched in 2018 — Plexus and Plexus Charities will provide a monetary donation equivalent to one meal for a child or family in need through Feeding America. plexusworldwide.com

UnitedHealthcare Helps Improve Access to Eye Care Phoenix-area children recently received free comprehensive eye exams — conducted by boardcertified optometrists at the Alhambra Family Resource Center — and glasses donations as part of a grant program from UnitedHealthcare to nonprofits in cities across the country to coordinate free comprehensive eye exams, vision screenings and glasses donations. uhc.com

According to the MetLife & U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index for Q4, approximately 40 percent of small business owners say they have been actively searching for new hires throughout 2018, but many (67 percent) are having difficulty finding candidates with the skills they need. uschamber.com/sbindex

JAN. 11 2019 INBUSINESSPHX.COM

METRICS & MEASUREMENTS

Employee Financial Wellness and the Company Bottom Line Companies benefit by improving employee retirement preparedness

by Greg Ward and Cynthia Meyer

Think Tank Director Greg Ward and Cynthia Meyer are the primary authors of Financial Finesse’s “Special Report: The ROI of Improving Employee Retirement Preparedness.”

Liz Davidson, CEO, who founded the nation’s first unbiased financial wellness firm in 1999, says quantifying the cost savings from improved retirement preparedness enhances the firm’s original predictive ROI model, which was recognized by Society of Actuaries in 2017 with a first-place award.

Davidson recently created the nation’s first online CE course on creating an effective financial wellness program on FiduciaryEducation.com.

New research quantifies the improvements in employee retirement preparedness which generate ROI for an employer by reducing the costs of delayed retirements. The “Special Report: The ROI of Improving Employee Retirement Preparedness,” from Financial Finesse’s Financial Wellness Think Tank, found that, for a 50,000-employee company, this could lead to a savings of $65 million or more per year.

Liz Davidson, Financial Finesse CEO, notes that improvements in employee financial wellness are incremental, and increase with the number of interactions, so companies should focus on creating multiple channels to reach employees and engagement techniques that encourage them to keep coming back.

The financial wellness program repertoire for increasing retirement preparedness and decreasing delayed retirements

includes easy-to-use retirement calculator, auto-enrollment, auto-escalation and one-on-one financial coaching. Financial wellness programs that include financial coaching help employees break through blocks to retirement savings by tackling debt and student loans, managing cash flow and navigating important life goals like marriage, parenthood and home ownership. Results are cumulative and interact with each other, so the longer a company has a holistic financial wellness benefit in place, the more workforce financial wellness shifts.

Davidson’s guidance for large companies considering implementing a workplace financial wellness benefit is to start with a workforce financial wellness assessment to customize the program for specific workforce demographics and vulnerabilities.

Major Findings from the ROI Predictive Model • Repeated engagement with financial wellness programs that

years) and older employees still seeing a reduction of one year.

improves average workforce financial health from a 4.0 to a 6.0 (on

This suggests that comprehensive financial wellness programs

a 10-point scale) increases employee retirement plan contribution

that repeatedly engage employees can be effective in mitigating

rates by a factor of 38 percent from original rates.

current costs of delayed retirement as well as future costs.

• The projected average workforce age at which an employee

• Even modest improvements in employee financial wellness

could retire and replace 80 percent of their income drops two

generate meaningful savings. An improvement of the average

years, from 68.95 years to 66.96 years.

workforce financial wellness for 4.0 to 5.0 (on a 10-point scale)

• When applied across a total workforce of 50,000 employees,

leads to a 17.85-percent increase in retirement plan contribution

that reduction in average retirement age could generate powerful

rates, reducing the average projected retirement age by one year.

employer savings of more than $65 million.

This could generate more than $33 million in savings from reducing

• Reductions in retirement age occur across all career stages,

delayed retirements.

with employees under 35 seeing the largest reduction (2.67

financialfinesse.com

JAN. 2019

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In its 2018 Global Human Capital Trends, Deloitte identified financial wellness as an area businesses are directing innovative programs, with the aim to “both increase worker productivity and meet new social expectations.” bit.ly/employee-well-being

METRICS & MEASUREMENTS

Top Business Challenges During Political and Economic Uncertainty

A well-constructed strategic plan helps guide many organizations through the chaos

by Karen Loiterstein

Operational efficiency, obtaining new customers and talent acquisition are the top priorities for businesses going into 2019, according to a recent Enterprise Bank & Trust Think Tank survey. Heading into 2019, business is ripe with opportunity; however, political and economic landscapes present a lot of uncertainty and angst for business owners. With privately held businesses concerned about the competition for talent, competitive pressure and succession planning, having a well-constructed strategic plan in place helps guide many organizations through the chaos.

“A strategic plan should not be confused with a business plan, which describes how a business — usually a new one — will achieve its goals,” says Jeff Friesen, president of the Arizona Region at Enterprise Bank & Trust. “Rather, a strategic plan should help your business perform better, more efficiently and more profitably.”

The survey revealed that companies are on the fence about the importance of a strategic plan. While some companies plan just a year or two out, the more seasoned businesses have a strategic plan that spans a period of three to five years, or longer.

“Our focus is on what we call the ‘big rocks’ – the top two or three most important goals,” says Bill Lavidge, CEO of Phoenixbased marketing firm LAVIDGE. “Also, don’t ignore the lowhanging fruit. Don’t spend a ton of time on it, but you should do things that are quick and easy — things like employee perks.”

Among the main benefits to having a strategic plan include controlling costs, increasing profitability or market share, surviving economic downturns and unknowns, recruiting talent and key executives. Survey results uncovered three key concerns that many organizations will be addressing in their strategic plans for 2019.

One strategy that makes the cut for seasoned business owners is recession-proofing their business. While it’s

KEY TAKEAWAYS – A CHECKLIST

impossible to completely recession-proof a business, there are steps that can be taken before and during a recession that help guide decision-making and pivots that can spell the difference between a downturn and disaster.

“There is always uncertainty in business. We will always have recessions and bull markets; we’ll always have issues like supply problems,” explains Mary Henry, co-owner of Phoenixbased consulting firm Impetus Solutions. “The key is to avoid being too rigid in your strategic plan — you need to build in flexibility to allow for fluctuations.”

Without question, there are economic and political uncertainties that make strategic planning particularly important for 2019. Trade tensions and the availability of — and competition for — talent are just a few examples of conditions that pose risk to continued economic growth.

However, other common indicators, such as productivity growth and the housing and manufacturing markets, show some signs of a cooldown.

The survey revealed that across all industry segments, obtaining more customers (55 percent) and operational efficiency (57 percent) are the top two strategic priorities for 2019, followed by talent acquisition and technology enhancements.

Top Strategic Priorities for 2019

Top Concerns for 2019

Operational efficiency

57%

Staffing/talent

79%

Obtaining more customers

55%

Competitive pressures (e.g., inflation/pricing pressure on labor and suppliers)

68%

Talent acquisition and retention

49%

Succession/leadership planning

44%

Growing current customers

44%

Technology (e.g., do I have the understanding and resources I need to

31%

Technology enhancements

32%

keep up?)

Customer service improvements

27%

Governmental policy questions — tariffs/trade, etc.

Budget allocation

12%

Uncertainty around tax policy and tax implications for my business

17%

Growth through M&A

11%

Protecting my business from cybersecurity and fraud

10%

Risk mitigation

10%

Supplier relations

9%

22%

Source: Nearly 150 Enterprise Bank advisors, corporate clients and partners were surveyed to learn of best practices and top concerns when it comes to strategic planning. website

The 2018 Enterprise Bank & Trust Think Tank survey found only 47 percent of companies with annual revenues less than $10 million had a strategic plan, compared to nearly 90 percent of companies with annual revenues of $50–$100 million. website

Based on the survey’s results, Enterprise Bank & Trust derived an actionable checklist to help companies develop an effective and focused plan. Considerations include: • Start with the end in mind — goals for the business • Stay focused and realistic • Conduct frequent check-ins on the most important goals • Develop quantifiable Key Performance Indicators • Communicate the plan throughout the organization • Never forget, more important than planning is executing on the plan

Karen Loiterstein is senior vice president of Marketing at Enterprise Bank & Trust, a division of Enterprise Financial Services Corp. Enterprise Bank & Trust operates 28 branch offices in the St. Louis, Kansas City and Phoenix metropolitan areas. Enterprise Bank & Trust offers a range of business and personal banking services, and wealth management services. enterprisebank.com

JAN. 13 2019 INBUSINESSPHX.COM

PROPERTY, GROWTH AND LOCATION

BY MIKE HUNTER

Luxury Wing Debut at Scottsdale Fashion Square

Neighborhood Ventures is the first Arizona company to offer commercial real estate investment opportunities to nonaccredited investors, a business model that owes thanks to new laws that have opened up commercial real estate investment to nonaccredited investors and thus enabling Arizona residents to invest a minimum of $1,000 in projects once available to only the wealthy.

The company’s new project, Venture on Marlette — a 12-unit apartment complex with two and threebedroom units located at 813 E. Marlette in the popular Midtown Phoenix neighborhood in North Central Phoenix — follows on the heels of the company’s successful first investment opportunity, the 12-unit apartment project Venture on Wilson in Downtown Tempe, which closed in June 2018. A total of 104 people invested $500,000 in the purchase of the apartment complex near Tempe Town Lake and remodeling is currently underway, with sale of the property slated for 2021. neighborhood.ventures

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Scottsdale Fashion Square fashionsquare.comAccording to CBRE’s Q3

GET REAL

Scottsdale Fashion Square’s Past and Future Scottsdale Fashion Square has evolved incrementally as the retail industry — and the market — have changed since the property’s earliest days in the 1960s when it was a small, open-air center anchored by Goldwater’s department store. Highlights of many key changes over the years include building a two-story retail bridge to connect two separate retail properties into one that became an enclosed mall environment housing a new Dillard’s department store; adding Arizona’s only Neiman Marcus; adding

DICK’s Sporting Goods and the relocation/

will include high-end residential units, class

Arizona’s first Nordstrom and a number of

expansion of Harkins Camelview Theatres;

A office space and a hotel/hospitality center

other upscale retailers with an expansion

among other important updates.

on a seven-acre parcel immediately north

Future phases in the ongoing

of the mall that reaches from Goldwater

across Camelback Road; the arrival of Macy’s to replace Sears; the addition of

JAN. 2019

featuring hand-painted artwork on the storefront. Bottega Venetta, the Italian brand known for its exquisite leather and other luxury goods, completely renovated the store interior with a new, two-story front entrance. Omega, the luxury Swiss watchmaker, has redesigned its store to replicate its flagship store in Switzerland.

“Macerich has a long and productive history of consistently investing in our top properties, including Scottsdale Fashion Square, where we are reimagining the real estate to ensure it remains an essential destination for world-class retailers and brands and, of course, the region’s discerning shoppers,” says Scott Nelson, senior vice president of development at Macerich. “In Arizona, Scottsdale Fashion Square is already the region’s undisputed luxury leader. As we elevate the experience and draw even more of the most coveted retail names, this exceptional property will continue to attract shoppers seeking the most inspired collection of luxury brands and experiences.”

redevelopment of Scottsdale Fashion Square

Boulevard to Scottsdale Road.

MarketView reports Metro Phoenix’s office, retail and industrial commercial real estate sectors, overall, exhibited strong activity across all property sectors. The Phoenix retail market recorded 259,915 square feet of net absorption in the third quarter; since the first of the year, net absorption was 147,471 square feet.

Photos courtesy of Scottsdale Fashion Square

CROWDFUNDING REAL ESTATE

Scottsdale Fashion Square is showing how to make a grand entrance. What was an unobtrusive side of the mall partially hidden behind the old Camelview Theatres has been renovated as a wide courtyard fronted by — a staple amenity for a luxury destination — a valet stand, and leading to a striking, two-story glass entry to the mall’s new luxury wing.

A ribbon-cutting was celebrated November 19, a week after the luxury wing debuted. Featuring high-end furnishings and finishes and a new Swarovski-inspired light column as centerpiece in the central Crystal Court. The wing is anchored by long-time retail residents Neiman-Marcus and Dillard’s.

Among the major new exclusive-to-market retailers that have opened stores in Scottsdale Fashion Square are Saint Laurent, a luxury, prêt-à-porter retailer with boutiques in Paris, Beverly Hills and other major luxury centers around the world; Hublot, an inventive brand that combines exotic materials and Swiss watchmaking tradition; Peloton, whose high-end, at-home fitness equipment marries sophisticated technology with expert-led group classes and other media content; b8ta, the retail destination for discovering the latest in electronics and other innovative products; and Morphe, the renowned beauty brand created by artists and influencers.

And, spurred by Macerich’s investments in upping the luxury quotient at the mall, many current top brands are evolving by recommitting, expanding and renovating their retail presence at the property. Some examples: Louis Vuitton, the French luxury house famed for signature leather goods, accessories and more, recently remodeled its flagship location at Scottsdale Fashion Square. Johnny Was, the Los Angelesbased brand that offers luxury Boho fashion and accessories for women, completely renovated its current location,

INNOVATIONS FOR BUSINESS

TECH NOTES

IT Challenges for Growing Enterprises

IT Challenges: When to Lean on Automation In every business, there are repetitive processes that take valuable time away from supporting growth or, worse, lead to burned out IT staff, frustrated employees and unhappy customers. The first step is to identify where these repetitive processes live in IT, which could be: • Deploying new devices, operating systems or patches • Tracking or managing software licenses • Setting up and verifying the integrity of encryption and other security layers • Deploying applications based on specific user roles • Responding to help desk tickets/troubleshooting Occam’s razor informs us that the simplest solution tends to be the correct one. In IT, automation is as simple as it gets. Look to automate as many repetitive or timeconsuming processes, ideally leveraging as few solutions as possible to get there. Thankfully, we now have options such as zero-touch deployment and unified endpoint management that allow IT to provision and manage devices and applications based on users and roles, rather than by isolated device types.

Automation also applies to application self-healing, ensuring that critical applications remain installed and correctly configured, whether they are removed or corrupted unintentionally or maliciously. This automated application integrity provides the continued health and performance of devices needed to improve employee uptime and reduce IT support tasks. —Tim Williams, vice president of global marketing and product strategy at FileWave (www.filewave.com), whose 20-plus years in multi-platform endpoint management and endpoint security includes leading global sales, marketing and product management teams at Netopia, Altiris, Symantec and HEAT Software, among others

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Rapid business growth is a universal goal, but the inability to scale infrastructure and resources can easily become a growth inhibitor. Whether it’s e-commerce, CRM or deploying and managing employee devices, growth places strain on IT resources, with employees, endpoint devices and operating systems growing faster than IT staff.

With every new period of growth or technology shift, IT is often tempted to respond with new processes or point solutions targeting specific platforms or endpoint management functions. While these solutions may tick the boxes on current needs, this approach leads to unnecessary complexity in IT over time, or limitations on adoption of new productivity tools by end users. Soon, IT will spend more time putting out fires than supporting growth.

It is important to ensure that flexible processes and infrastructure are in place to scale the business with control over the most critical configurations. Focusing on a solid foundation of endpoint management can help make even the most complicated device environment simple — for now and for the future.

FOCUS ON SCALABLE SOLUTIONS

In periods of rapid growth, the normal strain on human resources to deploy and manage devices is amplified. Manual processes and the pressure to keep up leads to disorganized purchasing and deployment decisions with very little thought given to standards, security or long-term management.

It’s important to invest time and resources in developing a solid foundation that will allow an organization to both grow and change over time.

Platform-agnostic client management capabilities reduce IT complexity and increase visibility over a device, app and user landscape that, by business necessity, is becoming more diverse and complicated. A solid foundation of endpoint management will include the built-in

A concern for business is employees finding their own IT solutions, leading to “shadow IT” — the installation of apps and services that are unmonitored by IT.

flexibility and automation to help a business scale when it needs to, with security and control built into every end-user device.

SUPPORT PRODUCTIVITY FOR IT AND END USERS

While automation is great, the big-picture view must also consider network load times and employee productivity. IT teams don’t want to push out an update and crash their network during peak work times. They also don’t want to miss any critical updates for devices that are off the network or on an unreliable connection. Look for solutions that backup their automation with persistent delivery features and no requirement for end-user interaction to ensure devices remain compliant without impacting productivity.

Of course, employees don’t actually care about the latest patches or OS upgrades.

What they care about is getting the apps and content they need to be productive.

Frustrated by waiting for IT to respond, users often find their own solutions, leading to “shadow IT” — the installation of apps and services that are unmonitored by IT. To ensure employees have the correct (and correctly configured) apps, resources and tools to support their productivity, focus on solutions that allow employees to download what they need, whenever and wherever they need them. In today’s highly mobile workforce, this “just in time” access to resources helps improve everyone’s productivity and eliminates shadow IT. Our business, after all, is not IT; it is transportation, communication, insurance — our business is the business. Simple, automated, multiplatform endpoint management enables IT to empower user productivity. By doing that, IT is no longer an impediment to rapid growth, but an active contributor to it.

—Tim Williams, vice president of global marketing and product strategy at FileWave (www.filewave.com)

LAW MATTERS TO BUSINESS

Merger in Sight?

Pre-merger review under the HartScott-Rodino Act and the duties of the filing parties

by Richard Lieberman and Jeff Gardner

In November 2017, the United States Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit to block AT&T’s $85-billion purchase of Time Warner. The lawsuit was eye-opening and sent significant ripples across legal and business landscapes. In particular, the suit showed an inclination of the federal government to block a large merger between two companies that were not direct competitors but, rather, proposed to integrate “vertically.” Moreover, it demonstrates that the anti-trust scrutiny of potential transactions remains active regardless of the changes in the White House.

THE HART-SCOTT-RODINO ANTITRUST IMPROVEMENTS ACT OF 1976

As background, federal antitrust laws apply to virtually all industries and to every type of business. These laws prohibit practices that restrain trade, reduce competition or are designed to secure monopoly power.

The Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act) requires parties to large proposed merger or acquisition transactions to file a notice with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice in advance of the transaction, unless an exemption from that filing exists. The FTC and DoJ have 30 days to decide whether to review the transaction for potential anti-trust implications or to permit it to occur. The parties may not consummate that transaction until HSR Act clearance has been obtained.

If the government seeks to review the transaction, it will typically send out an information request seeking substantial additional information to assist with reviewing the competitive impact of the proposed transaction.

In preparing the initial filing and responding to the government’s information requests, parties need to fully comply with those disclosure obligations to avoid potential penalties for non-compliance. In 2016, the FTC imposed $12.1 million of penalties against three companies that either failed to file the required reports or did not file complete submissions.

HSR ACT FILING THRESHOLDS

HSR Act compliance is required for mergers and for acquisitions of equity, assets or other non-corporate interests.

The thresholds for which proposed deals must file the HSR Act notice depend on the size of the transaction or the size of the parties. Those thresholds are adjusted each year, typically in January or February. The current thresholds (as this January issue goes to press) are that no reporting is required if the acquiring person will not hold voting securities, assets or noncorporate interest of the other party above $84.4 million. If that threshold is crossed, reporting is required if one party has

annual net sales or total assets above $16.9 million and the other has annual net sales or total assets of at least $168.8 million. All transactions in excess of $337.6 million must file unless exempt.

ANTI-TRUST REVIEW

Most transactions filed under the HSR Act do not result in additional scrutiny by the DoJ or FTC. In 2016, the FTC reported that 1,832 filings were made under the HSR Act. Of those, 238 (about 13 percent) raised competitive concerns and were reviewed in more detail; 54 resulted in a second request for information; and the government brought 47 enforcement actions. Those filings not only sought to block transactions, but also included actions for failure to file the required notices and information with the DoJ and FTC. More importantly, significant transactions were abandoned by the parties following the DoJ’s review, including the Staples-Office Depot, and the Penn State Hershey-Pinnacle transactions.

Historically, the DoJ and the FTC scrutinized and, at times, sought to block “horizontal” mergers — those that involved two or more competing companies within a specific industry.

What is particularly noteworthy about the government’s case against AT&T is that the contemplated merger did not involve competitors in a specific industry; the merger was, instead, “vertical,” which often avoids government action. The DoJ believed that the AT&T-Time Warner merger would limit competition and raise customer costs — perhaps by as much as $500 million per year, according to the government’s expert witness in the case.

The DoJ’s lawsuit signaled that the regulator may be examining a different approach to antitrust regulation — one where large corporate mergers would be closely scrutinized even where the mergers did not involve direct competitors in a specific industry.

In June, a federal district court judge approved the purchase, but the DoJ appealed that ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Oral argument on the appeal took place on Thursday, December 6. There is no ruling yet. For now, businesses, lawyers and consumers will need to stay tuned.

In 2016, the FTC imposed $12.1 million of penalties against three companies that either failed to file the required reports or did not file complete submissions.

Richard Lieberman has extensive experience in a broad range of business law issues, including mergers and acquisitions, securities, corporate governance, finance and banking, employment, executive compensation, bankruptcy and corporate restructuring, litigation and legislation.

Jeffrey Gardner focuses his practice on securities litigation, class action, employment, and intellectual property matters. He currently serves as national CoChair of the Section of Litigation Trial Practice Committee of the American Bar Association.

Richard Lieberman and Jeff Gardner are members with Jennings Strouss. jsslaw.com

JAN. 17 2019 INBUSINESSPHX.COM

YOUR BENEFIT IN BUSINESS

WELL, WELL, WELL by Mike Hunter

BCBSAZ Motivating Health and Wellness Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona recently launched Get Fit. Don’t Quit, a health and wellness program as part of its mission to make Arizonans healthier.

BCBSAZ teamed with fitness icon Jake “Body By Jake” Steinfeld in this effort to empower Arizonans to live a healthier lifestyle. The program is built around the idea that small steps lead to big payoffs, and shows people fun, simple, positive changes they can make in their day-to-day lives to support longterm wellness.

Engaging videos offer tips on how to be more active, eat better and live well. They also include motivating and inspirational interviews with athletes and wellness leaders, of which the following is a sample:

Send-to-Site Medical Care It’s a new business on an old model: The doctor makes house calls.

DispatchHealth equips its medical teams with all the tools necessary to bring healthcare to a person’s home by packing up essentially 70 percent of an emergency room. CEO and cofounder Mark Prather, M.D., MBA, notes the team — referred to during the height of flu season as the “Traveling Flu Crew” — arrives fully equipped to perform a variety of advanced tests and treatments, including blood tests, a 12-lead EKG, IVs, strep tests, sutures, staples, splints and more.

The medical teams consist of board-certified physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners with significant experience evaluating acute injuries and common illnesses in the emergency department environment. Onsite, a nurse practitioner or physician assistant and an EMT provide the hands-on care, and a boardcertified ER physician is always available on call.

DispatchHealth treats everything an urgent care center does and more, and can perform a variety of advanced tests onsite to address common to complex illnesses and injuries. To ensure continuity of care, a detailed report of the visit is then provided to each patient’s primary care physician,

• “What you get out of the game is what you put into the game.” —Willie Bloomquist • “The number one thing is to stay consistent.”

—Catherine Anaya • “You always have to try something once, because if you didn’t try it, you’ll never know.”

—Vanessa Ramirez “Every day we make choices that positively or negatively impact our health. We wish for better health or a better life, and a wish changes nothing but a decision changes everything,” says Jake. “By making the decision to join the Get Fit. Don’t Quit! family, you’ve made the decision to make a change.

Change is rough, change is tough, but with the right motivation and inspiration and the right tools that I will provide you, change now becomes very attainable. I want to empower you to change the words ‘I can’t’ to ‘I CAN!’ And then, you will be living with my very powerful mantra: DON’T QUIT!” “We know practicing a healthy lifestyle does not always come easily-it requires work and commitment,” says Pam Kehaly, president and CEO of BCBSAZ. “But, there is no more important investment than in your health and that of your loved ones.

Jake’s Don’t Quit program provides a fun and inspiring way to amplify our focus on health and wellness.

Together, we can make Arizona healthier.”

BY RAEANNE MARSH

living community and/or home health agency.

To deliver care to those with or without insurance, to a dozen markets nationwide, the service partners with payers, providers and health facilities and is partnered with most major insurance companies, and handles billing directly with those companies. An individual can request service via the DispatchHealth app, online or through a quick phone call, and can expect the medical team to arrive in less than two hours.

With 20 years’ experience as a board-certified emergency medicine specialist, Dr. Prather brought the mindset of immediacy to DispatchHealth: As his parents began to age, he had to manage several of their challenging medical experiences from a distance. It was then that he realized all seniors should have the ability to age in place, with proper care coming to them outside of a hospital setting.

His background gave him the impetus to create a company designed to improve access to care for the most vulnerable populations. Launched first in Denver, Colo., in 2013, DispatchHealth chose Phoenix as its second market, opening here in late 2017 before adding several other locations across the country.

DispatchHealth dispatchhealth.com

Advancing Whole-Body Donation Science Care, the world’s largest whole-body donation program, is a Phoenix-based company founded 18 years ago to address the shortage of human tissue for research and education.

“Doctors needed a safe way to train from a well-respected and documented provider of non-transplantable human tissue for research and education,” says CEO Brad O’Connell. “After an extended period of time, research, and communication with parallel industry experts such as the American Association of Tissue Banks, pathologists, state health agencies and other entities, Science Care was born.”

At the same time, the company’s no-cost, whole-body donation offers families an alternative to expensive funeral and medical expenses associated with the cost of dying.

O’Connell notes that Science Care’s founder, Jim Rogers, helped people plan end-of-life arrangements and had the foresight to partner with the AATB and a pathologist with 40 years of experience. “From there, individuals behind the company worked diligently to help create the

first non-transplant tissue banking standards to ensure consistency and repeatability of all processes that were then documented and could be audited against.”

For the first several years, Science Care was a methodical lab-focused organization. In the last eight years, the company has moved to a client service-focused team. And it has grown, since 2000, increasing from two locations nationwide to seven — including state-of-the art facilities in Phoenix, Long Beach, Miami, Chicago, Dallas, Denver and Philadelphia — and nearly doubling its infrastructure from 70 employees to more than 130.

Science Care partners with medical educators and researchers across all medical platforms, from education institutions and medical device startups to publicly traded companies. Says O’Connell, “We have assisted with programs in over 50 countries and facilitated more than 60,000 donations.”

Science Care sciencecare.com

azblue.com • getfitdontquit.com

JAN. 2019

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According to the recently released United Health Foundation’s “America’s Health Rankings® Annual Report,” Arizona ranks 30th in overall health, up one spot from 2017. The state’s strengths include low cancer death rate, low occupational fatality rate and low prevalence of low birthweight. Our challenges are low percentage of high school graduation, high levels of air pollution and low rate of mental health providers. americashealthrankings.org

Put healthier on your horizon.

Every Arizona business deserves nationwide coverage.

As Arizona’s market leader in health plans,* we offer proven options, innovative programs and coverage so expansive we’ve got your back from Phoenix, Arizona to Phoenix, Maryland.

Broad coverage. Healthier choice.

Explore your health plan options today. Visit uhc.com/azbusiness or call your broker to learn more.

*Source: HealthLeaders InterStudy [DRG] data supports ASO membership; FI and FEHBP based on statutory filings and SHCEs. Insurance coverage provided by or through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or its affiliates. Administrative services provided by United HealthCare Services, Inc. or their affiliates. Health Plan coverage provided by or through UnitedHealthcare of Arizona, Inc. Facebook.com/UnitedHealthcare

Twitter.com/UHC

YouTube.com/UnitedHealthcare

MT-1180806 8/18 ©2018 United HealthCare Services, Inc. 18-9203

Venture Capitalizing How deep is the venture capital pool for Phoenix (and Arizona) businesses?

by RaeAnne Marsh Not so many years ago, the lament in and about the local business community was lack of access to investment money.

“It has emphatically changed within the last 10 years, but, most notably, the last three years. Capital has become democratized and much more mobile, so no longer is it so heavily concentrated in New York and San Francisco,” says Chris Camacho, CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. “For Greater Phoenix specifically, we’ve come out of a recession, have had significant business growth over the last five years, and have increased liquidity, which makes more capital available for corporate investment arms to invest in young companies. I would argue that the hyper-level of venture capitalist and corporate investment over the last three years, because of the health of the national economy and Greater Phoenix economy, has really changed the availability of capital for companies here.”

“In Greater Phoenix, capital is much more mobile. Venture capitalists are no longer hardened on the idea of just investing in Silicon Valley or New York. Once the Greater

That increased business growth includes, notably, the high-profile successes of Infusionsoft and WebPT. As Zach Ferres, CEO of Coplex and our Guest Editor for this January edition, notes in his editor’s letter (page 9), “Each big tech success story spawns greater interest and capital for the local tech ecosystem.”

In fact, Brion Crum, VP of wealth development with Caliber Companies, credits Infusionsoft and WebPT as primary companies that really started putting Phoenix on the map with respect to venture capital investment. “When they started receiving those VC investments from, like, Battery Ventures and the larger well-known ones, it started getting other VCs to take a look at Phoenix,” he says.

Galvanize’s move into Phoenix in 2016 also made an impact. Observes Crum, “Synergies were created by the fact that Galvanize has a big presence in San Francisco, which gave them a lot of visibility to investors. And by the nature of the business and ecosystem being similar, when those companies expand to Arizona, it brings more awareness of other people, including investors.”

Mention of San Francisco brings up another point in our favor. Referencing the high cost of doing business in West Coast cities, Crum notes that Phoenix is one of the first places that founders, companies and investors start looking outside of San Francisco. “The economic development groups did a really good job getting the word out about the affordability, the amount of technical talent that is here and is being developed, which are important when someone is making an angelor VC-type investment.

“There have been a lot of concerted efforts with groups like YesPHX; a lot of visibility has been brought to Phoenix by groups that are affiliated with ASU; Galvanize coming here was great because that brought new VCs that were making investments into California to look at the same types of companies that were getting started here.”

Says Camacho, “In Greater Phoenix, capital is much more mobile. Venture capitalists are no longer hardened on the idea of just investing in Silicon Valley or New York. Once the Greater Phoenix market establishes a legacy of bringing out venture capital and having successful outcomes, it spreads so there’s much more confidence in the market. There have been a handful of companies, like Trusona who have received investments from high-profile venture capitalists such as Kleiner Perkins. While that was one isolated investment, it proves the top-tiered venture capitalists are now looking at this market.”

Another factor Camacho points to is the maturity of the management teams, as many venture capitalists now are looking at the man or woman running the enterprise and how they get their product to market and grow operationally efficient. “This is why the Greater Phoenix Economic Council remains heavily focused on the industry ecosystem where these entrepreneurs reside,” he explains. “We’ve created internal councils to support entrepreneurs by providing product feedback and operational feedback, and growing capital ecosystems.”

While success creates synergy in volume of interest begetting more interest, we are also seeing synergy within economic sectors. Notes Crum, “If you look at industries that Arizona seems to develop an expertise in, one of them is related to cybersecurity. Ori Eisen founded The 41st Parameter, which was acquired by one of the big companies, giving him a very successful exit. He used that to start another Internet tech company, Trusona. Those types of successful exits and people starting new businesses in an industry where there’s a lot of other people with an expertise — like cybersecurity — brings more awareness of why Arizona is a good place to start and grow other types of companies in those industries.”

Phoenix market establishes a legacy of bringing out venture capital and having successful outcomes, it spreads so there’s much more confidence in the market.”

—Chris Camacho

22 JAN. 2019

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Who’s Here and What Are They Investing In?

Who’s Here and Why Phoenix?

Arizona benefits from a lot of venture capitalists who live here and “support local.” In numbers alone, however, California is by far the heaviest hitter in terms of venture capitalists investing in Arizona businesses, tipping the scales at 31 compared to Arizona’s 24 and dwarfing any other state or country.

Arizona Founders Fund

Most Common non-California Investor Home States State

Number of VCs

Colorado

6

Massachusetts

6

Washington, D.C./Virginia

9

New York

13

Utah

6

Fun Facts Total states with VCs investing in Arizona firms

26

Total countries with VCs investing in Arizona firms

3

Total VCs investing in Arizona firms

64

Total funding for rounds from 1/1/17 to 10/31/2018

$314.93 million

Arizona Industries Receiving the Most Investment Internet Software & Services

25

39%

Mobile Software & Services

6

9%

Telecom Services

3

5%

Water

3

5%

Medical Devices & Equipment

3

5%

eCommerce

3

5%

Data source: Greater Phoenix Economic Council, November 2018

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The Arizona Founders Fund is Arizona’s first-ever dedicated institutional VC fund to invest in and grow the state’s next generation of great technology startups, investing $50,000 to $400,000 at the seed stage in Arizona-based technology companies.

“Our mission is to support all of Arizona’s technology founders who want to build gigantic and sustainable companies by providing them with access to capital, mentorship opportunities and new networks. We count some of Arizona’s most successful entrepreneurs and software executives among our biggest champions,” says Molly Iarocci, a senior associate with the Fund.

Asked why Metro Phoenix is a focus for the company, she responded, “Our question is, why not?”

Explains Iarocci, “There are a few key elements in a local ecosystem that are essential for startup activity and growth, and we believe that Arizona, driven by Metro Phoenix, has all of them in place. First, world-renowned industry founders and institutional companies are necessary for talent, knowledge and resource support. Arizona has been the home of more than 200 publicly traded companies, many from Metro Phoenix, including currently listed GoDaddy, Insight and Carvana, as well as several large privately held companies like Infusionsoft, WebPT and the recently acquired Tuft & Needle.

These companies were built by founders who have a voracious appetite for entrepreneurship and know how to seed, train and grow ideas and workforces into thriving businesses. This, along with the presence of large regional locations for several multi-national companies that include Intel, Microchip and On Semiconductor helps to create a skilled and technical labor force like Arizona’s, which now has approximately 168,000 tech jobs, and, ultimately, helps to activate more startup formation.

“Next, the region’s major research universities, business development centers (BDCs) and accelerators help support the ecosystem with research, talent and commercialization efforts.

Arizona State University, alone, earned 100 patents in 2017 (up from 62 in 2016), granted approximately 3,800 degrees from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering between 2016 and 2017 and has enrolled more than 22,000 students into

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the Engineering schools in 2018. Across the state, there are more than 50 BDCs and accelerators, including several based in the Metro Phoenix area such as the Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation, Galvanize and Chandler Innovations.

“Finally, a strong investor network that includes participation from both local and national institutional groups is crucial to the longevity of the ‘virtuous cycle’ nature of this ecosystem.

Strong businesses and founders paired with experienced and well-networked investors creates an environment that inherently catalyzes itself, attracting better companies and deals, more well-rounded talent and entrepreneurs, and, ultimately, more sources of capital. Along with more activity from local institutions, companies within the state have attracted investment from several large groups, including Greycroft Partners, Goldman Sachs, Bain Capital and Battery Ventures, among others. This, coupled with the acceleration in VC-backed investment dollars raised for the YTD 2018 period of $202 million (compared to $194 million for 2017 in total), points to an ecosystem that is ripe for growth, returns and reinvestment.”

The Arizona Founders Fund is interested in technology companies that: 1) are based in Arizona, 2) are built by strong founders who have assembled a scrappy team of both industry and technical experts, 3) have commercialized a proven technology that has reached a critical inflection point and is in revenue, and 4) compete in large, multibillion-dollar-sized markets.

Arizona Tech Investors

Arizona Tech Investors is a group of 90 men and women who invest their own money in startups. “We’ve invested in 57 companies, 45 of which are in Arizona,” says James Goulka, managing director. “We invest in startups in IT, life sciences and capital-efficient green tech (not wind farms, but the controller technologies, for example).”

Asked why the interest in Metro Phoenix, Goulka replied, “First off, it’s our community. We all live here, though some members live here part time. Secondly, we have powerful engines of innovation: ASU, Mayo, Dignity, Banner. Thirdly, the huge talent pools in semiconductors, aerospace, and defense include large numbers of trained people who leave to develop their own ideas.

And fourthly, we are a forward-looking community that’s willing to try new ideas.”

Goulka describes ATI’s focus: “We seek companies led by entrepreneurs with a demonstrated capability and zeal to making

24 JAN. 2019

things happen. Execution is key; we’re not interested in slick talk or senses of entitlement. We choose companies that have identified a real problem that needs to be solved, have deep knowledge of who has that problem, and offer a solution with a clear value proposition to customers. And the market has to be big enough.”

Cobre Capital (formerly Tallwave Capital)

As this article was being written, Tallwave Capital rebranded itself to Cobre Capital. Noting that is pronounced “ko-bray,” Nate Mortensen, principal, says, “Inspired by the regions we live and invest in, we selected the Spanish word for copper as the company’s new namesake.

This further ties the firm to our roots in the Southwest, and the portfolio companies therein.” Headquartered in Scottsdale, it is an early-stage venture capital firm focused on B2B software and technology companies.

Asked why Metro Phoenix is a focus for Cobre, Mortensen explains, “As a Metro Phoenix-based VC, we are heavily involved in promoting growth within our local market. While we invest broadly in the Southwest, we firmly believe there are great founders, companies and opportunities that can provide meaningful investment returns here in Arizona. There is growing interest, connectivity and support in startups and we fill a need for early-stage funding.”

Mortensen describes the types of businesses Cobre is interested in: “We focus on B2B software and technology companies at the seed stage. We look for scrappy founders across the Southwest, Mountain West, and West Coast with a working product, market validation and a big vision.”

Mucker Capital

Mucker Capital is an early-stage venture capital fund. “We also run one of the topranked startup accelerators in the country, MuckerLab,” says Erik Rannala, the VC’s cofounder and managing partner.

“Although we spent most of our careers in Silicon Valley, we believe great companies are being founded and built everywhere. We’ve been fortunate to meet great entrepreneurs and companies in Phoenix and look forward to investing more in Phoenix in the future!” says Rannala of Mucker Capital’s interest in Phoenix.

“We invest in software-enabled businesses, whether it’s a software-as-a-service platform used by large enterprises or a consumer service.”

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Opportunity Zones The Opportunity Zone Program created as part of 2017’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is a federal income tax incentive program designed to encourage private capital investment in economically distressed Opportunity Zones. As Mark Schultz explains in his in-depth discussion in the June 2018 edition of In Business Magazine, “The Opportunity Zone Program seeks to attract private capital for investment in projects and businesses located in economically distressed areas by providing significant tax incentives to investors in the form of the long-term deferral of taxable gain, a partial reduction in the amount of such long-term deferred taxable gain, and the exclusion of gain resulting from appreciation in the investor’s capital investment.”

What’s the potential for venture capital investment for businesses in these Opportunity Zones? Caliber’s Brion Crum explains that there is not an easy answer right now as to whether or not Opportunity Fund money can be used to make venture capital-type investment.

A business in an Opportunity Zone that is primarily generating its revenues from the sale of product or services in the local community, such as a coffee shop, would be an eligible investment for an Opportunity Fund. Any brand-new, groundup development on land in an Opportunity Zone would also meet the qualifications. Another legitimate option is investing into a building that is going to be the expanded new headquarters of a company relocating from out of state, and doing a significant renovation that makes a dollar-fordollar improvement in the value of the building – involving a substantial investment or changeof-use component. “Those are easy scenarios to understand — that’s what Caliber’s doing with our funds right now because there’s legislative clarity that those will meet the requirements, so that our investors will, in fact, get the tax benefits that go along with this,” Crum says.

“But,” he goes on, using Galvanize as an example, “here’s where it gets tricky. Galvanize is in a building in the Opportunity Zone. Every company that has a corporate headquarters or a significant presence of their business headquartered at Galvanize should be eligible for Opportunity Funds investment.

“What if they’re using international developers, so half their staff is in the Ukraine or Mexico, or something like that? They’re building a product or software or technology not actually in the Opportunity Zone, but the headquarters of the company is there. There are definitely people working there; there’s a job-creation component, so there is an economic benefit from it. And they’re building software that could be acquired, bought, shipped anywhere in the world, but those revenues are coming back into the United States in the office, the headquarters, that is in the Opportunity Zone.

The question from the Treasury Department that is hindering investment into such companies with profits from other ventures is, “Where are the revenues generated?”

Says Crum, “This is probably the biggest point of discussion that is holding up VC- and angeltype of investments into potentially growing tech companies in an Opportunity Zone. We’re hoping that Treasury comes back in February or late January and makes that clarification.

“Until we get clarification on that, it’s not likely that VCs are going to have enough comfort in the rules to know that they’ll meet the requirements if they invest in a software company that’s generating revenues from other places around the world outside of the Opportunity Zone.”

Arizona Founders Fund azff.co Arizona Tech Investors arizonatechinvestors.com CaliberCos. Inc. caliberco.com Cobre Capital cobre.vc Coplex coplex.com Greater Phoenix Economic Council gpec.org Mucker Capital muckercapital.com

“This is probably the biggest point of discussion that is holding up VCand angel-type of investments into potentially growing tech companies in an Opportunity Zone.

We’re hoping that Treasury comes back in February or late January and makes that clarification.”

—Brion Crum

INBUSINESSPHX.COM

JAN. 2019

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A PATH TO FOLLOW

Unlocking Your Company’s Hero Potential Seven steps that drive change

by Jeffrey Hayzlett

Jeffrey Hayzlett is the primetime television host of “C-Suite with Jeffrey Hayzlett” and “Executive Perspectives LIVE” on C-Suite TV and host of the award-winning “All Business with Jeffrey Hayzlett” on C-Suite Radio. Hayzlett is a global business celebrity, Hall of Fame speaker, Chairman/ CEO of C-Suite Network, and best-selling author.

His most recent book is The Hero Factor: How Great Leaders Transform Organizations and Create Winning Cultures. herofactorbook.com/ hero-factor .

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An idea can come from anywhere, or anyone — from the C-suite to the mailroom. Leaders don’t have a monopoly on innovation and strategic ideas. However, many people are afraid to innovate because they’re afraid to fail.

Don’t be afraid to fail!

Throughout my career, I’ve bought and sold more than 250 business and handled billions of dollars in transactions, and one of the most frequent questions I get asked is, “Jeff, what if you had failed?” To that, I answer, “So what? Will anyone die if I fail?” Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to fail, nor do I want to set up the team to fail. I do, however, want to encourage people to look at the bigger picture. No one wants to fail or even screw up, but unless you’re a surgeon, no one will die if you fail. There might be other consequences, but entrepreneurs and businesspeople alike need to learn how to handle failure. Don’t fear it; learn from it.

As Zig Ziglar once said, “Fear has two meanings: Forget Everything and Run, or Face Everything and Rise. The choice is yours.”

But, this is just the beginning. Here are seven steps to help you transform your business into a hero business.

STEP 2: FIND YOUR PURPOSE

STEP 1: CALL TO ACTION

STEP 3: FIND MENTORS

People are one action and one decision away from creating a better future and changing an outcome. As a leader, you must answer the call by disrupting the status quo. One of the things that irritate me the most is people saying, “This is the way we’ve always done things.” I always say to them, “Where is it written that we have to keep doing things the same way?”

They never give me a clear answer because there isn’t one.

Don’t be afraid to disrupt the status quo. To me, status quo equals mediocrity and lack of ingenuity. Muscle up the courage to stand for something bigger than yourself and mean it. Be the hero of your own story and dig deeper. Be a leader who’s nimble and able to pivot in order to keep up with the fastpaced business environment.

Businesses need to rediscover their “whys” to overcome any of the “hows” that come into play. Everything in business comes with a cost and sacrifice and it’s not always smooth and easy. What’s the purpose that gets you excited to handle the difficulties you’ll come across? Ask any entrepreneur and they’ll tell you that road is paved with nothing but pot holes and bumps, so what’s the outcome that keeps you moving forward? What values do you hold that are greater than your own satisfaction? The world is a messy place; clean it up and make your mess your business.

Have you ever asked your team if they know what the company stands for? Every business requires a high level of commitment from everyone, and that starts with your values.

Recent data shows that an overwhelming majority of U.S. companies (90 percent) report having a set of clearly defined corporate values. Yet, only 22 percent responded that 60 percent or more of their employees can recite their company’s core values. If your employees don’t know what they’re fighting for, it’ll have a negative impact on your employees, customers and the bottom line.

A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced person. Mentorship is for anyone seeking knowledge, and, regardless of where you are in business today, there’s always someone who did it before you.

The most impactful mentor for me was a gentleman by the name of Mike O’Connor, the owner of a print shop I ended up purchasing. He taught me the proper way to run a business, including what benchmarks to use to determine how much I needed to sell, how to set up metrics and KPI’s, and how to understand the targets I needed to hit. To this day, I use those same teachings, but on a larger scale.

In the U.S., there are more than 600,000 consultants, thousands of trade associations, and millions of people who

Ninety percent of U.S. companies report having a set of clearly defined corporate values, yet only 22 percent responded that 60 percent or more of their employees can recite their company’s core values.

BETTERING YOUR BUSINESS

Re-Entrepreneuring It has long been assumed that, in the development of any organization, the time for entrepreneurial activity is right at the

have achieved a healthy modicum of success. Here’s my advice when finding a mentor: Knowledge and experience aren’t partial to a specific industry. Don’t limit yourself. If you’re looking for a mentor, look for someone who will push you out of your comfort zone and someone who is capable of asking tough questions. Successful leaders create tension by constantly pushing the envelope. That’s how you grow.

STEP 4: ROAD OF TRIALS

Here’s a safe bet: You’ll be put to the test throughout your journey.

You must stay committed to your vision and the team and avoid taking shortcuts. Those are only quick fixes, not long-term solutions. Heroes can be knocked down, but they never give up.

Heroic leadership will bring its fair share of “haters.” When leaders try to push excellence, haters come out of the woodwork. In order to overcome that, understand that haters have anger toward people who are successful because they see you achieving something they haven’t summoned the courage to do yet. A hero leader’s attitude is, “we don’t take no for an answer. We don’t settle or conform to mediocracy, because it’s beneath us.”

beginning. Once an organization is established, qualities that were virtues in the organization’s start-up and early stages can become vices, and the entrepreneurial founders must cede control to professional managers who can nurture the fruits of their original vision more efficiently. Entrepreneurial thinking is tacitly discouraged because it can create novelty, and novelty is a threat to established organizations with large market shares.

Re-entrepreneuring argues that organizations must revive the entrepreneurial outlook of their founders in order to survive in today’s market. In an organization that encourages and nurtures an entrepreneurial outlook, everyone has the potential to unleash their inner entrepreneur and bring new and dynamic ways of thinking into their work environment.

Re-Entrepreneuring: How Organizations Can Reignite Their Entrepreneurial Spirit Charles-Edouard Bouée and Stefan Schaible

184 pages

Bloomsbury Business

$35

Intentional Success The book addresses the typical struggles aspiring business

STEP 5: CREATE HIGH-PERFORMANCE TEAMS

Having the right team in place helps leaders overcome obstacles. They are dedicated to make a positive impact and row in the same direction to move forward. Seek people who are committed to your mission and vision, with hardcore discipline and core values.

The old adage applies: “You are who you surround yourself with.” Keep the people around you who want to help you succeed and have the ability to guide you through difficult transitions with sound experience.

If you have to hire new people, look to hire people who are not like you, but complement you. Take your time to hire the right person, because hiring the wrong one can kill your growth. Also, hire people who are passionate about leaving their mark in the world and people who have high self-discipline.

STEP 6: NEW BUSINESS APPROACH

When was the last time you rebranded? If it’s been a while, you might want to change that. If your value proposition doesn’t resonate with customers, consider re-branding. Has there been a competitive disruption within your industry? Re-brand. If your goals aren’t being met, if you’re pivoting or are experiencing significant growth, re-brand.

A brand is nothing but a promise delivered and it’s summarized by the relationship between you and your customers. People are attracted, and are loyal, to brands because they form emotional connections to their products or services. Businesses spend money trying to get people to like them instead of getting people to want them. What makes your brand stand out from the crowd? What will make people smile when they think of you? Or look forward to having your product again?

STEP 7: RETURN HOME

When in doubt, bring it home. Go back to where you get your energy, what makes you curious and the ideas that make you better. Your past accomplishments are nice to talk about, but leave them in the past. Strive for the next win. Kill the status quo but don’t forget where you came from.

Covet this mentality and don’t slow down when pushing the envelope. Being an entrepreneur is a way of life. It’s in your blood. I know it’s in mine.

Available: 1/8/2019

owners encounter when starting, managing, growing and maintaining a successful venture. Brad and Cathy Taylor provide a clear guide through the perilous journey that destroys more than 65 percent of all new businesses. The Taylors share tools, practical applications, potent anecdotes and real-life examples of intentional success, when there is no “Plan B.” Joining the approximately 1.4 million businesses in the U.S. that are run by married couples, their experience has empowered them to share practical advice on how to achieve a work-life balance while realizing the benefits of being in a business partnership with one’s partner in life.

Intentional Success: The Power of Entrepreneurship-How to Build an Extraordinary Small Business Brad Taylor and Cathy Taylor Made For Success Publishing

176 pages Available: 1/22/2019

$23

Ninja Future Ninja Future is an essential read for businesses and individuals striving to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving world. Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, casts his eye toward the future, charting how the innovative technologies of today will transform not only the way business is done but society itself. During his more than three decades at the head of CTA, Shapiro has witnessed, and been a part of, one of the most extraordinary periods of technological change in human history. Today’s world is almost unrecognizable from that of just a decade or two before; in just a few short years, the Internet has already transformed how we access information, purchase goods, get from place to place and do our jobs. And even greater changes are on the horizon.

Ninja Future: Secrets to Success in the New World of Innovation Gary Shapiro William Morrow

“Mentorship is for anyone seeking knowledge, and, regardless of where you are in business today, there’s always someone who did it before you,” says Jeff Hayzlett, also noting that knowledge and experience aren’t partial to a specific industry.

352 pages On shelves & online

$25.99

JAN. 27 2019 INBUSINESSPHX.COM

MINDING THEIR BUSINESS

Drena Kusari: Helping Lift Lyft

With a hyper-local focus, community is key

by RaeAnne Marsh

LEADERSHIP IN PROFILE • Under Drena Kusari’s leadership, Lyft has added more than $100 million in economic value in Phoenix and ridership has grown more than eight times.

• Kusari earned her MBA at Harvard Business School.

• Kusari’s decade of experience in techenabled services includes analyst at Goldman Sachs and senior strategy consultant with McKinsey & Company advising Fortune 500 companies.

• Kusari serves on the boards of Junior Achievement of Arizona, Harvard Business School Club of Arizona, Visit Scottsdale and the ASU Research Park.

• Kusari has served as a mentor for Social Venture Partners and is a mentor and advisor at Gjirafa Lab, one of the leading technology incubators in the Balkans.

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As the first female general manager for Lyft, now overseeing both the Southwest region and Hawaii, Drena Kusari attributes the growth and success of the business at the local level to strong community ties and relationships developed with partners. This is a sensibility she brings naturally to her position.

Kusari was born and raised in Kosovo. Kosovo, which became independent in 2008, is not only the newest country in Europe but also one of the smallest — with fewer than 2 million people, it is less than half as big as the Phoenix metro area.

Being from a small country gives Kusari appreciation for the community feel at Lyft and the impact it has locally.

Lyft’s mission as a company is to improve people’s lives through the world’s best transportation, which is accomplished by providing smart, reliable and affordable rides to thousands of passengers daily. But Lyft’s backbone is the community it serves — including both passengers and drivers. The company also works with its partners on many events, raising money for various nonprofits and causes, and providing countless reliable rides home instead of putting someone behind the wheel impaired. Lyft’s success at the local level in nurturing and extending what the brand embodies as a whole results from the support it has garnered from its communities and partners. In Arizona, this same success and growth has come through partnering with governmental and educational institutions, sports and entertainment venues, nonprofits and many other partners.

Kusari leads her team to be alert to opportunities for Lyft to help local partners and address a need that is at the forefront, whether that’s creating designated pick-up and drop-off zones, alleviating parking issues or just enhancing the fan experience of a beloved sports team.

Her own work in the community has been essential in her success as a general manager at Lyft and has encouraged her to seek out mentoring opportunities, which includes advising nonprofits and startups and serving on several boards. She

Lyft is committed to staying hyper-locally focused. For Arizona, this involves a holistic approach that includes providing transportation options in rural communities.

encourages other women in business to be confident in their abilities and what they have to offer in the workplace.

She believes that, by surrounding oneself with mentors, one can learn from their experiences in the long run. It’s also important, she says, to be reflective, celebrate the small wins and continue to rely on those accomplishments if there is ever doubt. She credits her parents for teaching her these lessons: to work very hard, stay humble and always be kind.

Kusari’s philosophy is to consistently empower her team to grow and find new opportunities to develop and learn new things. Her approach has always been “no job is too large and no job is too small,” which she has successfully instilled in her local Lyft team culture.

Given that the team spends day-in and day-out at their Driver Hub, Kusari also knows first-hand how crucial the driver community is to Lyft, embodying Lyft’s mission on a daily basis. She shares that some of her greatest satisfaction comes from seeing the drivers thrive. She is also inspired by their passengers’ kindness and generosity toward their drivers. Some of them go further than simply leveraging the tipping feature to show gratitude toward drivers. One example involves a driver who had recently become a father and was driving long hours on the Lyft platform to provide for his wife and newborn daughter. The driver and his passenger had gotten to talking and, after the long ride, the passenger said he would like to help the driver pay his monthly car payment.

As the ride ended, they went online to make the payment. The passenger not only made the next payment, he made the next 12 payments for the driver. This anecdote brings to life the amazing experiences and exchanges drivers and passengers have on a daily basis.

Kusari embraces Lyft’s corporate directive to keep working alongside partners to help make Phoenix a great city and destination for tourists and locals alike.

Lyft lyft.com

BY MIKE HUNTER

JANUARY 2019

Local First Arizona

Arizona Good Business Summit Wed., Jan. 30 10:00a – 6:00p

Rick Bowers, president of TTI Success Insights

Building a legacy as a purpose-driven business is the goal of the Arizona Good Business Summit.

Hosted by Local First Arizona, the summit is open to all business owners and community leaders, and features national and local leading experts rethinking traditional business models and bridging the connection between thriving enterprises and healthy communities.

“The Arizona Good Business Summit was created for businesses to stand out from their competitors and grow by having a positive impact on the community,” explains Thomas Barr, executive director of Local First Arizona, noting Arizona’s premier business leaders and experts will share their experiences to show it’s possible to increase profits while forging a legacy as a purposedriven business here in Arizona.

For entrepreneurs, small businesses and longlasting enterprises in attendance, the full-day agenda aims to bolster business as a force for good. Topics include disrupting broken systems in business for the betterment of community and redefining corporate social responsibility through true examples of accountability and stewardship.

Local First Arizona has attracted keynote speaker Kim Jordan, co-founder of New Belgium Brewing. In twentyfive years as an entrepreneur, Jordan has developed her company to be the intersection of business and community and will share her story of being recognized as one of the most innovative companies in America.

Founded in 2003 by Executive Director Kimber Lanning, Local First Arizona is a community and economic development organization working to build a diverse, inclusive and prosperous Arizona economy by innovatively connecting people, locally owned businesses, and communities.

— Kendall Crever Members: $79; non-members: $99 Phoenix Convention Center 100 N. 3rd St., Phoenix localfirstaz.com

Tempe Chamber of Commerce – Women in Business Council

2019 Leadership Speaker Series

Fri., Jan. 18 & 25, Feb. 1 & 8 8:00a – 9:30a The Women in Business Council of the Tempe Chamber of Commerce is presenting a four-week speaker series built around the theme “Growth through Collaboration.” Each week will feature a speaker acclaimed in her or his field.

Speaking the first week will be Tyrone Holmes, Ed.D., who will present “Building Powerful CONNECTIONS in a Culturally Diverse Society.” Dr. Holmes, founder of T.A.H. Performance Consultants and author of Making Diversity a Competitive Advantage: 70 Tips to Improve Communication, will address the unconscious bias, cultural misunderstanding, language differences, communication errors and stereotypes that can have a negative impact on human communication and performance, and take attendees through an interactive program with his L.U.C.A.S. Approach® that will help them learn to understand others despite differences and learn to build powerful business relationships with a diverse group of individuals.

The second week, Park Howell will present “How to Clarify Your Story to Amplify Your Impact and Simplify Your Life.” Powell founded The Business of Story when, after more than 30 years’ experience in advertising, he recognized profound changes in consumer dynamics being brought about by the Internet.

Focusing on the power of story to connect with people, he will help attendees learn how to be heard using the power of brand and business storytelling.

Kathleen Duffy Ybarra will present “How to Find the Right Talent to Build a Strong Team” for week 3. President of nationally respected recruiting firm Duffy Group, Inc., Ybarra is dedicated to helping individuals find joy in their work while she stays attuned to each client’s particular recruitment needs.

The series wraps up with Deborah Ostreicher speaking on “Distinguished Communications.” The CEO of Distinguished Communications and author of The Art of Effective Communication will share her strategy to help attendees learn to make an impact by following these three steps: enter with a bang, enlighten the audience, and exit like a pro.

— ­ Mike Hunter

SAVE THE DATE

Upcoming and notable 2019 TECNA DC Fly-In Feb

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Mon. – Wed., Feb. 4 – 6

Business leaders from small- and mediumsized tech companies nationwide come to Capitol Hill to advocate for public policies that are techfriendly and will create jobs and reinvigorate the economy. aztechcouncil.org State of the City Breakfast with Mayor John Giles Feb

Tues., Feb. 5

5

Join Mayor Giles for his State of the City update on recent, present and future happenings in Mesa. Hear his vision for Mesa’s future and how he sees the impact on both residents and businesses in Mesa. mesachamber.org 2019 Day of Advocacy at Arizona State Capitol Feb

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Wed., Feb. 6

Single event – members: $25; non-members: $35

Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits offers attendees an opportunity to learn, network and participate in small-group meetings with legislators.

Four-week series – members: $80; non-members: $112

arizonanonprofits.com

marinalink™ by State Farm 510 E. Rio Salado Pkwy., Tempe

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JANUARY 2019 NOTABLE DATES

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Tue., Jan. 1 — New Year’s Day Mon., Jan. 21 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day

JAN. 29 2019 INBUSINESSPHX.COM

JANUARY 2019 Wed., Jan. 9

5:00p – 7:00p

10th Annual Business Volunteer Awards Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce Event celebrates the Chamber’s outstanding volunteers and members. It will feature foods from around the world (and around the corner!) as well as wine and beer.

Members: free; non-members: $30 McCormick Ranch Golf Pavilion

7505 E. McCormick Pkwy., Scottsdale

scottsdalechamber.com Tues., Jan. 8

Fri., Jan. 11

7:00a – 9:00a

8:30a – 5:00p

Economic Update and Forecast

TTISICON 2019: Evolution of Excellence

ACG Arizona and FEI Arizona Chapter

TTI Success Insights

Breakfast event includes an economic update and forecast from Joseph Quinlan, managing director and chief market strategist of U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management.

International conference 2019 focuses on helping attendees experience a transformational journey around one primary goal: realizing the best talent for their business.

Members: $59; non-members: $79; after Jan. 4, add $10

Tues., Jan. 15

11:30a – 1:30p

Women in Leadership Luncheon Chandler Chamber of Commerce Women in Leadership meets on a monthly basis to meet the needs and enhance the development of women on their professional journey.

$395

Members: $25; non-members: $30; at the door: add $10

Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa

JW Marriott Desert Ridge

SoHo 63

2400 E. Missouri Ave., Phoenix

5350 E. Marriott Dr., Phoenix

63 E. Boston, Chandler

acg.org/Arizona

ttisicon.com

chandlerchamber.com

8

9

11 Fri., Jan. 11

Tues., Jan. 15

6:45a – 8:30a

11:00a – 1:00p

Luncheon

Mesa Chamber of Commerce

Economic Club of Phoenix

This monthly morning talk show discusses a variety of topics, with hilarious one-liners from host and veteran Valley comedian Mark Cordes.

Speaker is Wyatt W. Decker, M.D., vice president of Mayo Clinic and CEO of Mayo Clinic in Arizona.

As a vice president of the largest not-for-profit integrated multi-specialty group practice in the nation, Dr. Decker helps direct Mayo Clinic’s research, education, and clinical operations in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota. In addition, as chief medical information officer, he oversees IT and digital strategy for the Mayo Clinic, which currently includes a new electronic health record (EHR) implementation at all Mayo Clinic facilities.

Crescent Crown Distributing

January Business Program

1640 W. Broadway Rd., Mesa

National Association of Women Business Owners – Phoenix

mesachamber.org

“Are You Ready to Increase Your Revenue Generating Activities?” will be presented

by Connie Kadansky, an accomplished executive coach, trainer and public speaker known for helping individuals develop strategy, structure and actions plans. She simplifies proven sales techniques into bite-sized steps.

Fri., Jan. 11

$85

11:30a – 1:30p

2019 Legislative Forecast Luncheon Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry Luncheon brings together statewide business leaders, members of the Arizona congressional delegation, state legislators and policy decision makers for a preview of the upcoming legislative session.

Members: $70; non-members: $90

Gainey Ranch Golf Club

Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa

7600 E. Gainey Club Dr., Scottsdale

2400 E. Missouri Ave., Phoenix

nawbo.org/phoenix

azchamber.com

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

INBUSINESSPHX.COM

Camelback Golf Club

7847 N. Mockingbird Ln., Scottsdale

wpcarey.asu.edu/calendarofevents

$43

JAN. 2019

11:30a – 1:30p

Mesa Morning Live

$20 in advance; $30 at the door Wed., Jan. 9

15

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

Wed., Jan. 16

Wed., Jan. 16

Tues., Jan. 22

7:00a – 9:30a

4:30p – 6:30p

2019 East Valley Breakfast with the Governor

2019 Policy Impact Celebration

East Valley Chambers of Commerce Alliance and East Valley Partnership

Arizona Association for Economic Development

Hear more from Governor Doug Ducey in the days following his State of the State address.

Registration deadline is January 3.

Event celebrates policies, best practices and champions of economic development.

Members: $50; non-members: $75

Members: $65; non-members: $95

Doubletree by Hilton Phoenix-Gilbert

Norris Design

1800 S. SanTan Village Pkwy., Gilbert

901 E. Madison St., Phoenix

evcca.org

aaed.com/event/jan22nd

8:30a – registration; 2:00p – lunch and awards

Tues., Jan. 29

10th Annual Phoenix Golf Tournament

Luncheon Meeting

Arizona Technology Council

Central Phoenix Women

This scramble-format tournament brings industry leaders and technologists together for a day of networking and sportsmanship at Troon North Golf Club. The tournament will be followed by lunch, raffle prizes and awards presentation.

Featured speaker is Mary Jane Rynd, president and CEO of Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.

Members: $150; non-members: $175

$75

Troon North Golf Club

The Camby

10320 N. Dynamite Blvd., Scottsdale

2401 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix

aztechcouncil.org

centralphoenixwomen.org

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Wed., Jan. 16

11:00a – 1:00p

22 Thurs., Jan. 17

Legislative Kick-Off Reception

WESTMARC

Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce

WESTMARC hosts the Annual State of the State Address each year. This forum allows Governor Ducey to share his Annual Legislative Agenda with the West Valley community.

The Chamber’s largest networking reception of the year mixes business and politics, as attendees enjoy cocktails and get a sneak peek at this year’s top legislative issues. Lawmakers and the business community are invited to a reception honoring the start of the First Regular Session of Arizona’s 54th Legislature.

$100 Renaissance Glendale Hotel & Spa 9495 W. Coyotes Blvd., Glendale westmarc.org

Members: free; non-members: $100 Phoenix Art Museum – Great Hall

MAGAZINE

Guide

JAN. 2019

IN BUSINESS

& Conventions

VENTURE

Venture Capitaliz ing

CAPITAL

How deep

is the venture capital pool Phoenix (and Arizona) for businesses ?

Fear of Failure

JANUARY

Hinders Innovation

2019 • INBUSINESSPHX.COM

THIS ISSUE

Global Chamber Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits

Learn from Privileged 2018’s Data Breaches IT Challenge s for Growing Enterprises

$4.95 INBUSINESSPHX.COM

DON’T MISS OUT!

Get a year of In Business Magazine Subscribe now at inbusinessphx.com

1625 N. Central Ave., Phoenix

phoenixchamber.com Thurs., Jan. 17

Meetings

29

5:00p – 7:30p

West Valley State of the State Luncheon

The 2019

11:30a – 1:00p

5:00p – 7:00p

Thurs. – Fri., Jan. 31 – Feb. 1

All day

Business After Business

Arizona Photonics Days 2019

Chandler Chamber of Commerce

Arizona Technology Council

Monthly evening mixer sponsored by Local Listing Pro & Realty Executives is an opportunity to meet new Chamber members, make business contacts and get a chance to win the “Chamber Cash Pot” sponsored by Earnhardt Ford.

The Optics Valley Committee of the Arizona Technology Council and the University of Arizona BIO5 Institute host the Global Photonics Alliance partners for two days of technical discussions and businessto-business meetings. Event kicks off with a Welcome Reception on Wednesday, January 30th, at the Aloft Tucson University Hotel.

Members: $5; non-members: $15

$250

Famous Dave’s BBQ

University of Arizona – BIO5 Institute Keating Building

3250 W. Frye Rd., Chandler

1657 E. Helen St., Tucson

chandlerchamber.com

aztechcouncil.org

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

JAN. 31 2019 INBUSINESSPHX.COM

INNOVATIONS FOR BUSINESS

BEYONDTRUST’S 2019 SECURITY PREDICTIONS For a discussion of some of the key emerging cyber threats and challenges that may rear their heads in the year ahead, check out BeyondTrust’s 2019 Security Predictions

by Morey Haber, chief technology officer, and Brian Chappell, senior director of Enterprise & Solutions Architecture. beyondtrust.com/blog/ beyondtrust-2019security-predictions

Morey J. Haber is chief technology officer at BeyondTrust. With more than 20 years of IT industry experience and as author of Privileged Attack Vectors, Haber joined BeyondTrust in 2012 as a part of the eEye Digital Security acquisition. Currently, as chief technology officer, he overseas strategy for both vulnerability and privileged access management solutions.

BeyondTrust is a global security company that helps businesses reduce risks against data breach threats. beyondtrust.com

JAN. 2019

32

INBUSINESSPHX.COM

The 5 Most Cringe-Worthy Privileged Data Breaches of 2018 Is there a common root cause?

by Morey J. Haber

Privileged attack vectors and stolen personally identifiable information (PII) obtained have been a constantly paired news item throughout 2018. In 2019, we can expect privileged attack vectors to continue to reign as the No. 1 root cause of breaches for both consumer and business data theft.

Below, I have compiled my list of the top-five most noteworthy breaches for 2018 (as of press time). My ranking may be surprising to some readers, and some of the incidents are not even that high profile, but the size, duration and type of business all contribute to the ranking.

While Gartner has acknowledged that Privileged Access Management was the top security priority for 2018 (bit.ly/beyond-trust-cisos-recommends ), many organizations are still in denial of their privileged account risks. These inadequately controlled cyber risks frequently stem from poor identity and password management hygiene. Organizations must learn to programmatically discover and manage their privileged accounts, because the attack vector is not going away anytime soon.

NOTABLE MENTION: ORBITZ

One breach that occurred in early 2018 is not officially ranked, but is notable because it has the distinction of being a completely Internet-based business, with no brick-and-mortar presence for customer interaction. It is a dot-com company and should have understood that strong cybersecurity is critical. [For a full discussion of this breach and Orbitz’s public statements, view this article online at www.inbusinessphx.com.]

Now, let’s take a look at the breaches that made the top-five list for 2018.

Gartner acknowledged last June that Privileged Access Management was the top security priority for 2018. http://bit.ly/beyond-trust-cisos-recommends

#5: ADIDAS

Adidas announced in June that an “unauthorized party” gained access to customer data on Adidas’ U.S. website. While no details have thus far been publicly released regarding the attack and breach methodology, the company says they believe only customers who purchased items from the U.S.-hosted version of Adidas.com may have been affected by the incident.

While it is unknown if the attack vector involved a configuration flaw, vulnerability and exploit combination, or privileged attack, the threat actors did obtain contact information, usernames and encrypted passwords. It is also unknown whether or not it was possible to decrypt the heisted passwords since the rest of the breach details do not fall under regional jurisdiction laws like GPDR, and were not publicly released.

So, as far as 2018 breaches goes, this lands squarely at the bottom of the top-5 list, but represents data that can be used for future phishing and privileged attacks. Leaked personally identifiable information forms the basis for future privileged attacks.

#4: SAKS FIFTH AVENUE AND LORD & TAYLOR

On April 1, 2018 (and not an April Fool’s joke), Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue announced that their stores were the subject of a massive credit card data breach. This security incident is believed to have compromised 5 million customers’ credit card information.

While the size is significant, what is perhaps even more shocking is the extended duration in which the security compromise was ongoing. Clients who used a credit or debit

MyFitnessPal users are believed to have had their information compromised.

CNBC reported at the time of disclosure that threat actors claimed responsibility for breaching individuals’ usernames, email addresses and hashed passwords. While the incident did not expose users’ credit card information (unlike Saks and Lord & Taylor) due to architectural designs in data, process segmentation and payment storage, it lay bare the cyber risks inherent of storing IoT data in the cloud.

Based on reports from Forbes and CNBC, the incident arose due to “unauthorized access” to user data. That alone reflects inadequate privileged access management and underscores this attack as another reason mature identity and privilege management capabilities and processes are critical for organizations to embrace.

#2: T-MOBILE

card at any of the stores’ retail locations between May 2017 and April 2018 were most likely affected. However, the breach was not identified or disclosed for almost a year!

Similar to Adidas, few details were publicly released regarding the attack vector. However, The New York Times reported the attack was likely initiated by an email phishing scam sent to Hudson’s Bay (Canadian-based owner of Saks and Lord & Taylor) employees. The threat actors reportedly targeted accounts with malicious software via a link, file or other attack vector to infiltrate the environment.

It is important to note, the vast majority of malware can be stopped with simply the removal of administrative rights from an end user’s workstation. That is basic privilege management.

It’s to be hoped, we all can learn from this example to identify phishing attacks and remove end-user administrative rights. And implement threat analytics to identify these types of incidents sooner.

#3: UNDER ARMOUR

Scarcely a month after the Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor breach, Under Armour learned that someone had gained unauthorized access to MyFitnessPal, a platform that hosts IoT device data for tracking a user’s diet, exercise and health. Upwards of 150 million

Fast forward a few months to August and land on our second-worst breach of 2018. T-Mobile announced that threat actors stole the personal data of approximately 2 million of its customers (3 percent of its clients). The leaked data was typical: usernames, billing zip codes, phone numbers, email addresses and account numbers, as well as information on whether customers prepaid or postpaid their accounts.

T-Mobile’s cybersecurity team reportedly “discovered and shut down an unauthorized capture of some information” after the breach.

Those words are key. Was it a man-in-the-middle attack (MITM), was data stolen from a database or log files, or did someone have inappropriate privileged access? The public may never know the full details, but the word “unauthorized” implies the threat actor did not have authorization to collect the privileged data in the first place. This brings us full circle back to yet another privileged attack based on poor identity and privilege management hygiene.

And, making things a little greyer, T-Mobile indicated that no passwords were compromised, but recommended, “It’s always a good idea to regularly change account passwords.” That statement should make customers wary, since, in 2015, Experian, which processes credit applications for T-Mobile, was itself breached. That incident impacted 15 million customers! Compromised customer data in 2015 included social security numbers, drivers’ licenses and passports for T-Mobile customers. In retrospect, it appears T-Mobile did not learn its lesson three years ago.

#1: STARWOOD

In 2016, Marriott acquired the Starwood hotel chain, including leading brands like St.

The vast majority of malware can be stopped with simply the removal of administrative rights from an end user’s workstation. That is basic privilege management.

Regis, Westin, Sheraton and W Hotels. Two years before the acquisition, an incident began that was identified only last week. So, for four years, “unauthorized access” occurred within the Starwood reservation system that, ultimately, involved the leaking of names, phone numbers, email addresses, passport numbers, birthdates and reservation information (arrival, departure and points) for an estimated 500 million customers. Additionally, a subset of those customers numbering in the millions may have also had their credit card numbers and expiration dates disclosed. The size, severity, duration and breach lasting over a major acquisition puts the Starwood breach atop all others in 2018.

In an official statement from the company, “Marriott learned during the investigation that there had been unauthorized access to the Starwood network since 2014.” And, “Marriott recently discovered that an unauthorized party had copied and encrypted information, and took steps towards removing it.”

As the statement reveals, the threat actors had “unauthorized access,” which implies inappropriate identity and privileged access to key systems that, strictly by the nature of the data, should have been segmented. For example, in line with PCI DSS standards, credit card access should never allow reassembly, even if encrypted, to allow association with the data owner.

The threat actor must have gained lateral access across zones and systems in order to perform the many types of operations needed to exfiltrate the data. Outside of poor incident monitoring technology, log monitoring, privilege management, and network and data segmentation, Starwood failed in an epic fashion to identify and contain the incident.

Considering the recency of the Starwood breach announcement, I expect there to be more revelations regarding the incident over the coming months.

Since the breach falls under the European GDPR regulations for some of its 1,200 properties, Starwood may incur significant financial penalties of up to 4 percent of its global annual revenue if found to be liable for breach rules. That is significant for any business and should be a strong message for every executive, employee, stockholder and board member.

FINAL WORD

Will 2019 bode any better with regard to improved security and data protection? Only if we really start to heed the security lessons of 2018 and years past.

JAN. 33 2019 INBUSINESSPHX.COM

MEALS THAT MATTER

BY RAEANNE MARSH

French Transplants on Scottsdale Soil: Voilà Mix intimate and cozy with the high style of white cloth tablecloths, and … Voilà. Helping set the ambience as quintessentially French, a large rendering of “Luncheon of the Boating Party” by renowned French Impressionist PierreAuguste Renoir dominates one wall while an adjoining wall presents various views of Paris icon the Eiffel Tower in artsy black-and-white photography. Softly in the background, the music is French pop and musicals. That this is a piece of France transported to the Valley is obvious even before a look at the menu cinches it: Dishes are listed in French, with English “subtitles” describing them.

Husband and wife Chef Jean-Christophe and Ségolène Gros had so enjoyed earlier visits to the Valley that they decided to make it permanent. Moving here in 2015, they set about securing a site that fit their dream of opening a restaurant that was “small and cozy, so we could talk to our guests,” Ségolène explains. In less than half a year, they opened Voilà.

LA NOIX DE SAINTJACQUES Scallops in puff pastry & beurre blanc sauce $33

The meal starts with a warm baguette served in a brown paper wrapper, with a small bowl of a flavorful but mild garlic aioli. Follow this with some moules (mussels) or escargots, smothered in fresh, sautéed parsley butter, or a salad with a wonderfully mellow balsamic dressing. Helping maintain authenticity, all produce comes from Europe. Entrée selections for lunch run heavily to quiche — a gourmet choice as executed by Chef Christophe. The thin, light, pastry crust perfectly balances on the palate with the almost custard-like creaminess of the various fillings that include eggs, salmon and spinach; eggs and vegetables; and eggs, bacon, onions and cheese. Among heartier choices on the menu is the steak and French fries.

A warm friendliness greets diners, inside as well as on the patio that wraps around the front of the restaurant.

Voilà French Bistro

LA CHOUCROUTE Scallops, Shrimps, Mussels, Cod, Scottish Salmon served over Sauerkraut, potatoes & white wine sauce $32

(480) 614-5600 voilafrenchbistro.com

Liquid Refreshment for Lunch: Soup Soups are as perfectly suited for winter meals as smoothies are for summer. Wafting aromas warm the olfactory senses while spoonfuls warm the body. Several fast-casual Valley restaurants make soups a hot choice on their menus.

JAN. 2019

34

INBUSINESSPHX.COM

Café Zupas

Gadzooks Enchiladas & Soup

Soup&Sausage Bistro

Soups (and salads and sandwiches) are house-made

Enchiladas and soup is what the

for a hearty and tasty meal

daily. Dishes are globally

storefront lettering promises.

here. But the borscht pictured

inspired, and recipes feature

The soups nicely complement

here is the king of this bistro’s

spices and flavors from around

the variety available for create-

soups, cooked with a variety of

the world.

your-own enchiladas.

vegetables in a Ukrainian style.

Numerous locations around

3313 N. 7th St., Phoenix

13240 N. 7th St., Phoenix

the Valley

4031 E. Camelback Rd., Phoenix

(480) 319-2208

cafezupas.com

(602) 279-5080

soupsausagebistro.

gadzooksaz.com

eat24hour.com

With a nod to Shakespeare: Soup by any other name … includes pho, a Vietnamese broth soup that has become a fast-food category of its own; there are numerous pho restaurants throughout the Valley.

Soup is far from the only choice

Photos courtesy of Voilà (top and far left), Café Zupas, Gadzooks Enchiladas & Soup, Soup&Sausage Bistro (bottom, l to r)

10135 E. Via Linda, Scottsdale

GLOBAL CHAMBER

®

Global Chamber® Events

WINTER 2019

phoenix.globalchamber.org/events

January 7 2019 Business Outlook 9am in Scottsdale

January 9, 16, 23 & 30 U.S. Market Entry Series 9am in Scottsdale

January 15 Global Business Leadership in 2019 9am in Scottsdale

January 20 9am in Scottsdale

Expand Success: Update from Exporters January 27 9am in Scottsdale

Mobility and Managing a Global Workforce

Spotlight Event February TBA International State of the Metro

Inside this Section

2

Progress and Update on NAFTA: USMCA Is Born

3 4 6 7 8

Staying in Compliance with International Employment Law More Market Opportunities: The Country of Georgia On International Benefits, including Insurance China’s Opportunities Outweigh the Challenges Ticket to Paradise: Our Global Real Estate Market

Rep. Sinema in 2015 with Ambassador Fujisaki of Japan at Taliesin West. Thank you to Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation for your membership and support — and for hosting that Global Chamber® event. And thank you to all our members, in and out of politics.

Join the Cross-Metro ‘Wave’

by Doug Bruhnke, CEO at Global Chamber®

A blue wave? What color is a cross-metro area growth wave? That’s our focus — helping members grow anywhere they wish to by sharing the resources and prospective clients and partners they need. We are a trusted advisor for anyone growing across metros and borders.

Global Chamber® is not political. We do not take a stand for or against any particular party or candidate. We just want more business and trade. Our initiatives are business-focused, working with companies nearly solely, and along the way we engage with government leaders to make them aware of global business and to encourage their engagement.

Pick any 10 countries. Can you name their top political parties and what they stand for?

Do you know their leader and government form? Now imagine that across all 195 countries — could you do it? Former CIA head Bobby Inman has spoken at Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations and he could answer questions about any country, past, present and expected future. When I heard him speak, I realized, first, how brilliant he is, and second, that no mortal person can have their finger on every political party and issue. And that’s one good reason why we don’t wade in.

Can you imagine our Global Chamber Moscow team coming out in opposition to Vladimir

Putin? That’s not going to happen. We focus just on the things that matter to businesses and leaders ... and make warm connections along the way. Our personal politics stays personal.

That all said, we love politicians who “get it” and who are dedicated to improving business and the lives of people within their district and country. And so you will see us supporting leaders who help our members be successful. One of those leaders is Kyrsten Sinema, now Senator-elect Sinema, who for years as a congresswoman demonstrated hard work and intelligence in the areas that matter to our members. She has been open to meet, to listen and to support their success. We have been proud to host Senator-elect Sinema as a speaker several times. Don’t let anyone convince you that all politicians are bad — it’s nonsense. Let’s celebrate good leadership in companies and the government — and work to get better at all of it.

We’re always happy to have a dialogue with the goal of assisting in our mission of facilitating cross-metro business success.

Blue, red, green or any color wave — let’s keep growing across metros and borders, the cross-metro wave! That’s the wave we care most about. It’s here, it’s real, and we hope you’ll join us to create more cross-metro and cross-border business success.

GlobalChamber.org

1

Progress and Update on NAFTA: USMCA Is Born

by Dan Ujczo, Practice Group Chair of International and Regional Practices at Dickinson Wright

Global Chamber® keeps the global community updated on trade developments.

The United States, Canada and Mexico signed a trilateral agreement as part of the renovation of the North American Free Trade Agreement on November 30, 2018.

The negotiators from all three countries deserve high praise for their efforts to conclude the deal at a rapid timing and tempo. It is important for all companies to review the text to determine the potential impacts on their operations. While many of the NAFTA’s provisions are left intact, there will be changes for all companies. The time is now to begin these preparations.

As a starting point, the published U.S.Mexico-Canada Agreement (known as the “USMCA” in the U.S.) text is consistent with our presentations made during webinars at Global Chamber and our own firm. We are committed to staying on every change that could impact your business.

USMCA Highlights 1. Structure — Contrary to the narrative that the U.S. Trade Representative was “red in tooth and claw” and tearing up existing North American supply and value chains, the USMCA text preserves significant components of the existing NAFTA, and many “modernized” chapters can be traced to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). In many chapters, the text eschews the original organization of the NAFTA and mirrors the CPTPP. All companies will need to review and edit documents and certificates to account for this reorganization.

2. Rules of Origin — The USMCA text preserves most of the original NAFTA’s rules of origin (ROO) methodologies but incorporates CPTPP principles. While these hybrid “in the weeds” changes will not grab headlines, all companies will need to review these changes to ensure existing and planned operations comply with the likely

2 Global Chamber

®

ROO. Autos, textiles, agriculture, polymers and chemicals all have heavily-revised ROO, warranting close inspection.

3. U.S. Policy Objectives — From the Preamble forward, the U.S. advances its policy objectives of moving production back to North America and allowing trade enforcement. There is an interesting definitional change to “customs duty” that is not found in the original NAFTA nor CPTPP that potentially will provide the U.S. with greater flexibility to impose import restrictions (e.g., tariffs). It is not an overstatement to advise that the U.S. has made progress on virtually all its July 2017 NAFTA objectives. In the limited areas where the U.S. has made concessions — such as seasonality provisions with Mexico and government procurement — there are now U.S. domestic actions (e.g., Buy American, Hire American) or legislation pending that will seek to achieve U.S. goals. The dispute resolution system formerly known as Chapter 19 appears to be the only area where the U.S. actually conceded without any fallback position. The U.S. also included strict rules regarding trade negotiations with nonmarket economies (e.g., China), state-owned enterprises and currency manipulation.

4. Canada’s Objectives — Canada largely preserved access to the U.S. and Mexican markets and kept the Chapter 19 dispute resolution system and cultural exemptions intact. Canada also supported progress in the automotive ROO, labor and environmental chapters.

5. Mexico’s Objectives — Mexico kept market access for agricultural/seasonal produce, revised the sunset clause from the U.S.proposed five years to a de facto 16 years review, and maintained the state-to-state (NAFTA’s Chapter 20) dispute resolution system.

6. Auto Rules of Origin — a key negotiating objective of the U.S. was to rebalance the North American automotive sector to provide rules more favorable to high-wage jurisdictions and to make it more difficult for non-originating (e.g., China-sourced) goods to enter the auto supply chain “through the back door”. The new auto rules require at least 75 percent of the automobile to derive from North American components (up from 62.5 percent in NAFTA), place higher origin thresholds on various tiers of auto parts, require that 70 percent of all steel and aluminum originate in North America, and establish a labor value content (LVC) that incentives sourcing of auto suppliers at plants paying at least $16 per hour.

7. Supply Management/Dairy — Canada’s supply management/dairy concessions go beyond CPTPP and equate to a market access concession of 3.58 percent to 3.75 percent (CPTPP was 3.25 percent), as well as the elimination of Class 6 & 7 dairy pricing schemes that were an alleged source of injury to U.S. dairy farmers in Wisconsin, New York State and Vermont. Additionally, there are restrictions on the amount of dairy powders that Canada can export into the global market and greater transparency/consultations required before Canada can make any further

changes to supply management. Moreover, there appears to be greater access provided to the U.S. on poultry (turkey) and eggs.

8. Intellectual Property — Canada and Mexico made concessions on data protection for biologics/pharmaceuticals(10 years) and copyrights (75 years) that went beyond any CPTPP proposals. Additionally, Canada and Mexico agreed to stop in-transit IPR violations, a key U.S. request over the past several years.

9. Modernization — Companies operating in the three countries will benefit from innovative customs and trade facilitation (e.g., borders), digital, and a series of red-tapecutting measures throughout the agreement.

The agreement also includes, for the first time in a U.S. trade deal, currency manipulation and state-owned enterprises chapters.

10. Immigration — The original NAFTA’s temporary entry (immigration) system is largely preserved, with a few minor enhancements.

11. Section 232s — The steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Canada and Mexico, and the resulting retaliation, will continue with an agreement between the parties to resolve the issues. With regard to autos tariffs, the U.S.-Canada side letter largely mirrors the U.S.-Mexico letter, with caps at $2.6 million in vehicles and $180 billion in auto parts. It is important that this side letter only comes into play for nonconforming autos and the imposition of tariffs. The parties also agree to consult for 60 days before imposing any new tariffs of this kind. The parties signed the agreement, and now the process continues.

Next Steps • Consultations have continued with the private sector in all three countries and the respective legislative bodies (e.g., U.S. Congress).

• The parties are preparing for ratification.. In the U.S., this will require a series of analyses — including a largescale review by the International Trade Commission — to examine economic impact, labor market impacts, etc. These will be completed, if on schedule, by late March.

• The process will continue with the draft legislation presented to U.S. Congress in spring 2019 for an up and down vote.

• Processes will advance similarly in Mexico and Canada.

Staying in Compliance with International Employment Law

by Carol Wheeler, Regional Alliance Manager of West Coast at Safeguard Global

Hiring employees to work for your organization in parts of the world where you don’t have an in-country entity is risky behavior — if you’re not prepared. There are several reasons to hire globally, whether you’re exploring expansion into a new market, hiring talent that isn’t available where you have an entity, or to support a specific venture or project. Often, the need for flexibility may outweigh the desire to take the time and expense to set up an entity in-country.

The acceptance and normalcy of the “gig” economy coupled with technological sophistication allows workers and organizations to work seamlessly from anywhere in the world. However, the ability to remain compliant to the employment laws (of all 195 countries) governing where you want to hire may not be quite as flexible.

There are a few good reasons to ensure you’re not running afoul of the local laws and regulations. But when companies fail to recognize the risks involved, not only the company but often the employee pays the price. Here are some ways to avoid risking employment non-compliance: 1. Register in-country. Before you hire in a country where you haven’t hired in before, set up an in-country entity and register with the local authorities. By setting up a legal entity before you hire, you will be given a local taxpayer ID and have done the work to set up in-country payroll. This requires planning as it is an investment with considerable up-front expenses, time and resource investment. If

you’re testing a new market or setting up for a temporary project or program, be sure to work in the added resources to your plan.

2. Hire an independent contractor. This solution will work for a specific type of worker; the classification of an independent contractor has specific guardrails around the type of work and how much responsibility the worker can carry. If your employee is going to have set schedules or responsibilities for work outside of specifically project-based work, you run the risk of being out of compliance. Otherwise, it may be an option; check with the country in which you plan to hire.

3. Employ a third party to act as employer of record. An international employer-of-record service can provide incountry resources to employ the worker — they manage the employment contracts, taxes, benefits costs, etc., and you manage the work and direction of the employee. With the right employer of record, all your HR and payroll needs are taken care of for you.

Gambling with employment law in hopes that you are in compliance — or that, if you’re not, you won’t be caught — can greatly impact your organization. Truthfully, if you’re looking at quickly moving in-country, you likely have little experience with the local employment and tax laws that will impact how you hire. If your hiring method misses a step, your project or expansion begins to cost more money, take longer to ramp up and, ultimately, can set a strategic plan back.

GlobalChamber.org

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More Market Opportunities: The Country of Georgia

by Elshan Baloghlanov, Managing Director of WCC International

Thank you Georgia Ambassador to the U.S. David Bakradze (pictured), who recently spoke at Global Chamber®. We were inspired to write this backgrounder article on opportunities for companies in Georgia. While the entire Black and Caspian Sea region is thirsty for investments, technology, know-how, goods and services, Georgia has a special place in terms of transparency and ease of doing business, including: • Competitiveness and economic reforms of Georgia are reflected in its rankings by reputable international organizations.

Since 2003, the World Bank has recognized Georgia as one of the world’s fastest-reforming economies and as a leader in fighting corruption. Georgia ranks 9th in the 2017 World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index, 13th in the 2017 Economic Freedom Index, and 59th out of 128 global economies in the Global Competitiveness Report.

Georgia has the lowest corruption rate in the region, according to Transparency International, and international credit rating agencies (Fitch, Moody’s Investors Service, and Standards and Poor’s) rated Georgia as a stable country.

• Private-sector and export-oriented national economy and trade agreements concluded with EU, Turkey, CIS and select countries in the Middle East allow duty-free access to a wider marketplace of about 900 million. In addition, Georgia is a beneficiary of GSP program, a preferential tariff system with U.S., Canada, Japan, Norway and Switzerland. The Association Agreement signed between Georgia and the EU provides Georgian producers with access to the EU’s single market of 28 countries in Europe. To make full use of opportunities under the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA), local businesses need to take steps to improve their competitiveness by, for instance, upgrading their production processes, technology and equipment.

• Diverse export portfolio of Georgia — with its signature and natural products, including wine, hazelnuts, walnuts, citruses, fruits, beef and lamb — successfully being exported to worldwide markets.

Traditionally, Georgia has strengths in producing and exporting wine and other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Georgia also serves as a transit country for exporting energy resources of its immediate neighbor Azerbaijan to Turkey, European Union and Israel. According to national trade statistics of 2017, Georgia’s main export markets are Russia (9.8 percent), Turkey (8.2 percent), China (8.0 percent), Bulgaria (7.9 percent) and Azerbaijan (7.3 percent), whereas Georgia’s main sources of imported goods are Canada (18.2 percent), Turkey (13.7 percent), Ireland (8.6 percent), Russia (6.9 percent) and China (5.6%).

• Georgia is currently producing apparel for renowned brands that include Moncler, Tommy Hilfiger, Zara, Marks & Spencer, Koton, Puma, Mexx, Next, Lotto, Per Una, Autograph, Lebek, Hawes & Curtis and Roberto Cavalli.

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U.S.-Georgia Bilateral Trade From the bilateral trade perspective, Georgian exports to U.S. in 2017 consisted primarily of metals, petroleum, apparel, and food and beverage products. U.S. exports to Georgia included transportation, construction and agricultural machinery and equipment, and computer and electronics, as well as agricultural products, and alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. There is ample room for U.S. and Georgian companies to grow trade turnover by investing in the logistics chain and offering innovative financing options.

Getting Goods In and Out Georgia serves as a transit country, for the flow of both passengers and goods, connecting the Caspian and Central Asia region with Europe. You may wonder how to get goods in or out of Georgia. Here are the options: • Getting goods by air — Tbilisi International Airport (TBL) regularly receives passenger and cargo flights from major international airports. There are no direct flights connecting Tbilisi to any North American destinations at present. However, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways conduct regular passenger and cargo flights to and from Tbilisi. On the other hand, Silkway Airlines — with direct flights to New York’s JFK and Chicago O’Hare airports, to Georgia’s Tbilisi, as well as to Central Asia, Europe and the Middle East — may be a compelling reason for U.S. businesses to consider the development of an airborne logistics chain together with business partners in Georgia, a very crucial linkage for the growth of global trade and for transportation of U.S. or Georgian origin high value goods and other just-in-time deliveries.

• Getting goods by sea, rail and road — You can ship or receive your goods by sea from any major U.S. seaport and receive or dispatch them from Poti Port of Georgia, a major seaport and harbor off the eastern Black Sea coast. The capacities of the Poti Port have increased with the operation of road and railroad ferry terminals. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars, the railway line launched in 2017, is a transport interconnection channel among the European Union, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey and linking them with Central Asia and China by rail and sea. In late 2017, a goods train took only 18 days to travel from China via Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia to Istanbul in Turkey — considerably less time than a journey by sea. According to the Transportation Minister of Turkey, the BTK railway route is the shortest way to deliver cargo from Russia to countries in Africa and the Middle East. Currently, Turkey exports construction materials, detergents, food and agricultural products via the BTK to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia, while importing mainly grain, iron and zinc.

• Opportunity to ship goods in a timely and cost-effective fashion by air, sea, rail and road via interconnected regional seaports

and rail networks between China and Europe and a transport corridor throughout Georgia, as well as four free-trade zones offers a viable option for U.S. investors looking at Georgia as a high-value destination.

Incentives by the Government of Georgia The Government of Georgia offers different financing packages and incentive programs that might draw the interest of U.S. businesses. Enterprise Georgia encourages and promotes the concept of «Produced in Georgia» and provides information support, investment and export facilitation, as well as training services. It also provides access to low-interest rates in the range of 1 to 3 percent for business expansion, new production and long-term debt or leasing options with a collateralization requirement of less than 50 percent of property value.

Georgia’s state-owned Partnership Fund offers co-investment options from 25 to 75 percent of the investment project value and with required minimum of 17-percent IRR in projects related to energy, agribusiness, hospitality and tourism, manufacturing, and infrastructure and logistics. The Fund is always in search of experienced business partners and industry-specific management firms committed to participating in long-term, commercially viable projects. The Fund invests primarily in the form of equity and mezzanine, and less so in debt financing. On the other hand, the U.S. offers a great amount of knowledge, resources and expertise that can help Georgia in the development of joint business ventures on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. Energy projects, Transportation and Logistics are very promising areas for PPPs with the Fund, which is a very essential instrument in attracting foreign direct investments into Georgia.

Incentives Available in the United States Georgia needs U.S. investment, technology and know-how to increase business productivity, quality and safety of products and in developing new products to substitute imports and increase exports, especially since U.S. businesses offer a wide range of solutions for all sectors of economic activity in this regard. The U.S. business ecosystem, with its public and private participants, offers many opportunities for locals and foreigners doing business with Georgia; access to U.S. capital, export credit and insurance, cross-border lease and financing, as well as skills, knowledge and technology transfers are available for businesses in both countries.

The U.S. government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation(OPIC), U.S. ExIm Bank, SBA’s International Trade Office and select private U.S. companies, as well as multilateral organizations with a presence in Washington, D.C. — like the World Bank’s MIGA, Europe’s EBRD and Asia’s ADB — offer innovative financial solutions to support private investors in emerging markets.

Financial products include debt financing, insurance and support for private equity investment funds, and offer attractive financing and riskmanagement solutions against the loss of assets, income and property, and other headaches in global trade and cross-border investments.

Over the past two decades, OPIC has invested $579 million in 54 business projects in Georgia, including financial sector, microfinance,

education, tourism and hotels, food services, healthcare, and agriculture. While, currently, OPIC’s investment portfolio in the country is about $145 million, another $277 million of U.S. funds is in the pipeline. OPIC is not only mandated to lend capital, but also authorized to provide skills, knowledge and technology transfers for businesses overseas. To increase this number, OPIC needs strong ties between U.S. and Georgian businesses.

Opportunities in Agriculture and Food production Georgia is traditionally an agricultural country. It’s climatic diversity — 22 micro-climates varying from cool and dry to warm and humid — provides the perfect environment for cultivation of a wide range of crops. These diversified micro-climates allow for a longer than normal harvesting season and a wide range of growing conditions.

Agricultural processing, including food and beverage, is increasing rapidly, with many food products intended for internal consumption and export to CIS and EU countries. There is great demand for food processing and packaging means in many market segments, especially for small and mid-sized companies dealing in meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables. There is also huge demand for modern and efficient farming techniques, agricultural machinery, mechanization (tractors and other implements), fertilizers and agricultural financial services such as crop insurance and agro-leasing services; all present opportunities for foreign investors.

Opportunities in Renewable Energy Hydropower and solar technologies as well as hybrid mini-grids that the U.S. offers can improve energy access and provide energy continuity for small, medium and large energy needs of Georgia.

Georgia is surrounded by countries with projected structural power deficit (e.g. Turkey, southern Russia) or expensive power generation, opening up attractive export opportunities for U.S. companies. Cost of hydropower energy production is very competitive in the region.

Georgian government offers 15-year Power Purchasing Agreements for eight months annually (September through April) where the average cost is USD 5.5 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Georgia, with its 300 rivers suitable for energy production, is one of the top countries in water resources per capita, and second in Europe by volume of water reserves. At present, only 20 percent of total hydro potential is utilized by large- and small-scale power producing companies. Renewable projects of Georgia operate on the Build-OwnOperate (BOO) model.

Risks, Concerns and Challenges Along with those opportunities for cross-border trade and investment come some challenges. Differences in laws and regulations, and cultural, language and trade barriers are the primary reasons U.S. companies may hesitate about expanding sales or investments into foreign markets. The opportunities in Georgia and the region outweigh the challenges. We encourage you to contact us and the Global Chamber to reduce risk and increase success.

GlobalChamber.org

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On International Benefits, including Insurance

by Ken Slaton, Senior Vice President at Global Benefits Group

An overlooked employee group can be those employees traveling or working outside of corporate headquarters. These employees have needs for life, health, accident, disability and international travel insurance just as do those who work in the home office. However, those needs are likely not met by the insurance carrier used by the employer’s home office due to their unique requirements. A common misconception is that the home office plan provides the international protection needed.

Foreign-based employees consist of two groups. Expatriates (those working outside their home country) or Foreign Nationals (local nationals working in their home country for an international company).

Both these groups can enjoy international benefit plans that are similar to those of their colleagues working in the home office.

There are a number of benefits to consider, then, for these special employee groups: • Employees traveling or working outside HQ • Foreign-based employees (expatriates) • Foreign-based employees (foreign nationals) These special employee benefits can include: • Life insurance that is a flat amount or a multiple of salary. Along with life insurance is the additional inexpensive coverage of accidental death and dismemberment (AD&D).

When AD&D is included in the life coverage, then “double indemnity” is in effect. If the employee dies due to a covered accident, the AD&D and the Life policy both pay a benefit.

• Short-term and long-term disability that pay monthly benefits if the employee is unable to work due to an accident or illness.

As an alternative, permanent total disability may be available, which pays a lump sum benefit that is a multiple of the employee’s annual salary.

• International travel insurance is essential for staff who venture outside their home country for business purposes. This low-cost

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Global Chamber®

Global Chamber Phoenix and Tucson Global Chamber® is a growing and collaborating community of CEOs, executives and leaders in 525 metro regions around the world taking on global business and advancing growth and success. Contact us at info@globalchamber.org or (480) 595-5000.

Chairman/CEO Sponsors

Bill Miller, Kevin Hull, Mike Patterson, Amrish Patel and Ziv Bendor (l to r)

coverage provides a high level of benefit in the event of an emergency (accident or illness).

These plans include medical evacuation to a suitable medical facility for treatment.

• Worldwide health insurance is the most attractive benefit and is highly sought by employees. The health program can be tailored with or without deductibles, and with or without co-insurance. The worldwide aspect means the employee is insured anywhere in the world, even if they travel or are reassigned to another country. Working in a foreign country with full medical coverage provides a level of comfort not only for the employee but also for the employee’s spouse and dependents.

Special Services International carriers provide 24/7 customer service, online access to filing claims, and multiple language capabilities.

Global medical provider networks are available that have doctors, clinics and hospitals in countries around the world.

Many providers are on a direct-bill relationships with the carriers so the insured members have little or no out-of-pocket expense when undergoing treatment.

Just as the home office staff appreciate their benefits package; international employee benefits are critical in attracting and retaining top international talent.

Consider their specific needs, and watch employee satisfaction and retention rise.

BMO Harris Bank Polsinelli Spencer Fane Squire Patton Boggs Thunderbird School of Global Management President Sponsors Bank of America BBVA Compass Bank Dickinson Wright InWhatLanguage Radix Law Special Global Advisors Charles Bruce, Johnny Rockets, The Original Hamburger Hank Marshall, UK Honorary Consul in Arizona Melissa Sanderson, Freeport McMoRan Leila Aridi Afas, Toyota Michael Patterson, Polsinelli Jimmy Douglas, Tesla Electric Cars David Farca, International Business Group Susan Shultz, The Board Institute Committees All Metros, Industries and Regions Contacts CEO/Founder: Doug Bruhnke, doug@globalchamber.org Business Services: Cesar Trabanco, cesar@globalchamber.org Membership: Yvonne Luker yvonne@globalchamber.org Global Marketing: Mason Njaa mason@globalchamber.org

China’s Opportunities Outweigh the Challenges

by Todd Cornell, President of Cultur668

The 124th annual Canton Fair took place in October this year (2018), and it was bustling with buyers and suppliers! There is no doubt that this is the place to go for product and manufacturer sourcing of nearly any type. The Canton Fair has been taking place yearly since 1957. It started as a small tradeshow and has grown to be one of the world’s largest and most influential trade fairs. The Canton Fair, which takes place in the city of Guangzhou, the province of Guangdong, aka Canton, is only one hour from Hongkong and 30 minutes from Shenzhen, China.

The fair is divided into three “Phases”: 1) electronics & transportation, 2) household & gifts, and 3) clothing & outdoor. The sheer size of the fair is nothing short of mind-boggling, with three areas, each with up to 16 halls and multiple floors. The expanse can be overwhelming, and the possibilities are unlimited.

Source Products Direct The Canton Fair is a great place to source products. If you are looking for a basic product that your company can label, it is easy to find a large assortment of products that factories will gladly allow you to label with your own logo and create a basic product that is your own. This can save initial design, sample creation and factory setup costs — not to mention the time it takes to finalize and manufacture a product from drawings. Simply source a product that fits your needs and discuss with the manufacturer about labeling the product with your company image. Many times, colors and accessories can be added or changed to create a unique product that is your own by using the factory’s base product SKU. Depending on the scope of your business, you will find a large selection of manufacturers and trade companies. Obviously, pricing is better when you deal directly with a manufacturer, but, although working with a trade company may be more expensive, it may alleviate some challenges for those not well-versed in Chinese language and culture. Many times, however, when you ask if they are a factory or a trade company, the reply will be “factory.” It may be difficult to know one way or the other. The only way to be sure is to visit the factory.

Source Manufacturers Direct If you are looking for a manufacturer able to manufacture your company’s unique product design, you will have access to a plethora of manufacturers with which to discuss that possibility. In this situation, you would be best to avoid trade companies, as this would only complicate the communication and management process. Many times, trade companies will not have the vested interest or product knowledge required and will fall back on the factory for support.

It is not uncommon to have things lost in translation and culture habits when you add this extra, and possibly costly, layer. I highly recommend that you deal directly with the factory. Plus, by visiting one factory, you will most likely have access to other factories able

Mr. Kevin Zhou, Canton Fair international executive (left), with the author.

to manufacture the same or similar product. In China, it is not uncommon for product manufacturing hubs to develop in one city.

Therefore, you may have a broad range of other potential factories you could visit while in that city, allowing you important comparison opportunities. Finding them, however, may be the challenge.

Cultural Considerations While the opportunities are unlimited in China, establishing a mutually beneficial and amicable relationship may make or break a business deal. Tweaking the approach will likely afford you leverage to get the best deal or the best treatment. I recently consulted for one company who informed me that the big boss from their Chinese manufacturer didn’t visit them when he visited the States. This is a big red flag. It insinuates that the relations between the purchaser and the supplier are not good. After finding this out, I was not surprised by other challenges that they had shared about their project, which had been ongoing for some time before they reached out to me for guidance.

The cultural differences between business in China and most of the rest of the world are significant; however, I have always said that the differences between China and the U.S. are most likely the largest, possibly poised on opposite ends of the spectrum. The U.S. tends toward transactional strategies as a mode of conducting business, whereas, traditionally, China regards business as a sort of relationship, almost a friendship, where respect and harmony are important for successful business relations. The Chinese tend to be willing to give more to people they like. The opposite would hold true for those who are not seen in a positive light.

No matter what interactions your company has with China, be sure you have someone on your side who is clearly working for you, not just being paid by you. Opportunities abound in China, but having the wrong people crossing the bridge could foster inconceivable challenges.

A member of the Global Chamber, Todd Cornell is fluent in written and spoken Mandarin.

GlobalChamber.org

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Ticket to Paradise: Our Global Real Estate Market

by Renee Ervanian, Senior Vice President at Heiple Travers Realty

“Arizona continues to attract new residents and companies due to lower taxes and a friendlier business climate,” per Forbes in April 2018. True enough, and there are numerous other factors supporting Arizona’s transformation as a thriving location for site selection across the globe.

There are a variety of factors. An educated workforce with a broad spectrum of universities and tech schools has diminished the “skills gap.” Other factors that include advanced life science research, innovative work in water preservation, emerging technologies, growing aerospace and defense, more advanced manufacturing and continued agriculture production have helped attract attention of ACE (Americas Competitiveness Exchange).

Due to low vacancy rates in the commercial building and multifamily sectors, construction and cranes dominate the skyline in many parts of the Valley. According to the Association for Corporate Growth, Arizona gained more construction jobs than any other state between 2017 and 2018, adding an additional 4,500 jobs. The forecast for Arizona’s economy in 2019 from every angle includes more jobs, growth and more inflow. The U.S. Census Bureau measured

262,000 people moving to Arizona in the past year, including nearly 60,000 from California. Looking ahead, Arizona is again expected rank among the top states for economic growth, job gains and population increases.

In 3rd quarter 2018, the Phoenix office market alone had startling statistics that included: • Under Construction: 2,891,371 square feet • Average Rent: $25.04 per square foot • Vacancy Rate: 13.6 percent • Net Absorption: 1,097,616 square feet Because Arizona has become the place for talent to be bred, community to be built and business to thrive, investors looking to purchase commercial buildings, whether office, industrial, medical or retail have viewed Arizona as their “ticket to paradise.” That ticket is being punched more and more not just with other Americans, but with foreign-based companies that are landing in unprecedented numbers.

As our economy expands, global business and investments should create unlimited opportunities in years to come.

The latest business news on inbusinessphx.com and on twitter @inbusinessPHX

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WINTER 2019

UNITING, STRENGTHENING, AND ADVANCING ARIZONA’S NONPROFIT SECTOR. ARIZONANONPROFITS.ORG

Passionate Work The Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits is an action-oriented group of partners across Arizona — both nonprofits and those in the community who support them — dedicated to uniting, strengthening and advancing Arizona’s nonprofit sector. The Alliance envisions an Arizona where all nonprofits are valued, empowered and thriving.

CONTENTS

p. 2 Arizona Gives Announces Employee Giving Landing Pages for Businesses p. 4 Corporate Philanthropy p. 5 On The Board and In The Spotlight

p. 6 Rethinking our Approach to Community Solutions p. 8 A December of Challenges for Charities

As we are just coming off one of the most generous and philanthropic seasons of the year, and with a brand new year at our fingertips, now is an important time to consider how we will continue to support our communities in the coming year. As business owners, professionals and entrepreneurs, you have an important opportunity to engage in and support the nonprofit sector as we work together to make Arizona a place we are all proud to call home.

The business (or for-profit) community is a critical and valued partner in the important work nonprofit organizations across the state are doing to support our communities and the causes and people we care most about. We rely on our business colleagues to support our missions in a variety of Kristen Merrifield, CAE, CNAP ways: as board or committee members, through employee volunteerism, sponsorship, partnership, in-kind services and the list goes on.

As you think about your strategic plan for the coming year, what your priorities will be, and how you will engage your employees and teams, we encourage you to include philanthropy, volunteerism and partnership with the nonprofit sector. But we aren’t only considering the community impact or our own needs when suggesting these activities. Ryan Scott, in an article for Forbes.com, said, “A culture of giving back is not only one of the most inspiring ways to engage employees, it also offers something even better than engagement: worker passion. When you build a culture of giving back, especially when you lay out an ambitious agenda for impact, you set the stage for a purpose-filled environment that inspires passion.”

According to Deloitte’s “2017 Volunteerism Survey” (http://bit.ly/2017-volunteerism-survey), nearly 9 out of 10 (89 percent) working Americans believe companies that sponsor volunteer activities offer a better overall working environment than those that do not. In fact, 70 percent of respondents say that volunteer activities are more likely to boost employee morale than company-sponsored happy hours, and 77 percent say that “volunteering is essential to employee well-being.”

Deloitte leader John Hagel goes on to say that sustained increased performance improvement comes from a worker who is passionate about what he does. Hagel lays out employee passion as embodying these principles: • A long-term commitment to achieving an increasing impact in a domain • A questing disposition that creates excitement when confronted with an unexpected challenge • A connecting disposition that motivates the individual to systematically seek out others who can help them to get to a better answer faster when confronted with an unexpected challenge CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

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ALLIANCE OF ARIZONA NONPROFITS

This partnership has helped raise more than $13.4 million for Arizona’s nonprofit sector.

2

Arizona Gives Announces Employee Giving Landing Pages for Businesses

by Jennifer Purcell, Director of Community Engagement Arizona Gives is excited to announce a new way for businesses to get involved in Arizona Gives Day (April 2) through employee giving landing pages. The customizable pages can be created with just a few clicks and will allow a business to share their philanthropic principles and encourage employees to donate to a local nonprofit on Arizona Gives Day. How will it work? Businesses will register through AZGives.org and create their landing page. Just before and on Arizona Gives Day, the companies should send communication out to their employees, with a link to their dedicated landing page, encouraging their employees to donate to one or more nonprofit(s) of their choice.

At checkout, employees will select from a drop-down of participating businesses and

select their employer’s name. Doing so will ensure donations are counted and tallied on the company’s employee giving landing page and the business leaderboard page showing everyone’s total.

Arizona Gives has also created a fun way for businesses with similar employee sizes to engage in friendly competition with other local companies, and you may even win some prize money for your favorite nonprofit.

Registration for the employee giving landing pages will begin in January. You can check out more details at AZGives.org.

Business leaderboards will be based on the following employee size categories: 1–9

10–49

50–149

150–499

500–999

1000+

WWW.ARIZONANONPROFITS.ORG

About Arizona Gives & Arizona Gives Day

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Arizona Gives and Arizona Gives Day is a collaboration between the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits and Arizona Grantmakers Forum that began in 2013.

This partnership has helped raise more than $13.4 million for Arizona’s nonprofit sector. The statewide, 24-hour, online giving campaign, Arizona Gives Day, takes place on April 2, 2019.

Arizona Gives helps people find, learn about and contribute to the causes they believe in while enabling nonprofits to share their stories and engage the community through a unique online giving platform. Arizona Gives Day helps raise awareness about Arizona nonprofits and the critical role they play in our communities and state. It inspires people to give generously to nonprofits, making our state stronger and creating a thriving community for all.

Though Arizona Gives Day happens only once a year, Arizona Gives (AZGives.org) is available for year-

One option is to consider engaging your employees in Arizona Gives Day, coming up again on April 2, 2019.

This year, we are rolling out employee giving landing pages you can set up with just a few clicks. You can even engage in a little friendly competition with other local companies, and maybe even win some prize money for your favorite nonprofit. You can check out more details at azgives.org.

Whatever you choose, we applaud you for being that company that everyone loves working for — engaged, passionate and supportive of the world around you.

round giving. Donors can create an account to pre-schedule donations, set-up recurring donations and make changes to their giving throughout the year, or they can check out as a guest and give immediately. Donors can also use our advanced search filters to find nonprofits by the criteria they choose, such as location, focus area or even which organizations qualify for an Arizona tax credit.

Any qualified 501(c)(3) organization located in or providing services to Arizona can register to receive donations through AZGives.org. All nonprofit organizations are verified for eligibility before being allowed to participate on the website, ensuring that donors are giving to legitimate organizations.

Kristen Merrifield, CAE, CNAP Chief Executive Officer Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits

connecting

REAL people with

REAL

careers

via

HIRING companies

www.readbetterbebetter.org facebook.com / readbetterbebetter twitter.com / readbetteraz @readbetteraz

and

QUALITY

resources CareerConnectors.org 480.442.5806

CareerConnectors is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization

For more information about the program, or to find out how you can help, please contact Sophie Etchart, Founder & CEO of Read Better Be Better at sophiee@readbetterbebetter.org or (623) 229-7880.

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ALLIANCE OF ARIZONA NONPROFITS

Corporate Philanthropy

by Michael B. Cyrino, Community Relations Representative, Arizona Complete Health Do you engage your customers in your community involvement?

We have a wide range of stakeholders that includes the State, our providers, our members, the communities we serve and more. Many times we partner with one of our providers to conduct health screenings at events we sponsor or attend. In other opportunities, we support community efforts that further state initiatives like curbing the opioid epidemic. With everything we do, our members are the focus, and, because we are part of the community, we hear from members and neighbors about what their needs are. This is what drives our community efforts — to help form partnerships that build healthy, strong, vibrant and safe communities.

What drives your passion?

Day in and day out, I am fortunate to witness all the best things our world, state and community have to offer. I get to see the bright smile on a little boy’s face when he sees Deputy Leo come to visit. I get to see an elderly person stay in her home because of gracious volunteers who brought the electric to code, when she was expecting her house to be condemned. And I get to see the gratitude of a parent who is struggling with a sick child, but has a warm bed and hot meal at the Ronald McDonald House to come home to. Best of all, I get to witness firsthand the transformation of the health of our community, one person at a time.

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How do you determine the causes AzCH supports?

Our philanthropic activities are centered on social determinants of health, those things that impact our health but take place outside the clinical setting. These factors may include things like housing, employment, access to healthy foods and safe neighborhoods.

Our investment may be philanthropic in nature, but many times, it goes beyond a monetary investment and focuses on volunteer efforts, network connections, board advocacy and more. Additionally, our teams are comprised of members of the local community who all have a voice in the process. We take immense pride in meeting with each organization we support, hearing their mission, vision and outcome goals, and try to best align ourselves and our goals with the goals of the organization. From there, we have a cross-functional committee that reviews all requests and makes a determination of which and how we support organizations.

How do you encourage your employees to become community leaders and agents of change?

Our mission of transforming the health of the communities we serve draws a certain type of individual to work here. Our team is a reflection of the communities we serve, so our employees take great pride in going above and beyond their day-today duties. We have an Employee Council that ensures the voice of our employees is heard, and we have a Fun Committee that channels employee engagement out into the community through volunteer opportunities. And, through my own work, I am able to share the many different initiatives in which we are engaged where employees can actively take part. Some employees choose to donate weekly to a campaign via payroll deduction. Others prefer to volunteer their time, like cooking a meal for families at the Ronald McDonald House Charities or volunteering at St. Mary’s Food Bank. Our employees are empowered to choose how and where to give what they can, when they can. As we do with our members, we meet our employees where they are and support the many different ways they choose to give.

WWW.ARIZONANONPROFITS.ORG

On The Board and In The Spotlight Name: Yvonne Moss Company: Caritas Law Group, P.C. Job Title: Attorney

What drew you to the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits board?

I work with nonprofits on a daily basis. I was drawn to the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits because of its positive impact on the Arizona nonprofit sector.

What would you say to someone considering joining a nonprofit board?

Anyone interested in joining a nonprofit board should do their own due diligence (governing documents, financials, etc.) on the organization. Also, you get out what you put into the role, so be an active and engaged board member.

List your three favorite books.

To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee), Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston), Becoming (Michelle Obama) Name: Mario Aniles Company: Housing Authority of Maricopa County (HAMC) Job Title: CPA, Director of Finance and Portfolio Management

What drew you to the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits board?

The nonprofit sector continues to be a strong economic engine for our state, representing a significant portion of the economic growth, and I see the Alliance mission of uniting and strengthening this sector a critical factor in leveraging the industry’s resources and amplifying this impact.

What would you say to someone considering joining a nonprofit board?

I would recommend a prospective board member understand the mission and value proposition of the organization to define the driving force behind its purpose and ensure governance is in alignment when setting goals and expectations for management. I have found the intrinsic nature of many nonprofits to lead the organization to offer more than it should often results in spreading the organization thin and preventing the opportunity to maximize results on its core mission and service to clients.

List your three favorite books.

Getting to Yes (Roger Fisher and William Ury), Aztec (Gary Jennings), Journeyer (Gary Jennings)

Name: Deborah Turcott Company: PetSmart Charities, Inc. Job Title: Chief Operating Officer

What drew you to the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits board?

As a relatively recent transplant to Arizona, I wanted to serve the community of nonprofits with an organization that cares as deeply as I do for the mission-driven, community-building work that happens in the nonprofit sector. The Alliance is built on this exact premise. My career has been dedicated to this work, and it is an honor to join other professionals who seek to invest themselves on the board of the Alliance.

What would you say to someone considering joining a nonprofit board?

Do it. You don’t have to be perfect. The greatest attributes needed to join a board are a passion for the mission and the time to commit to it. The first is easy, the second is harder, but it will be well worth it and, in some instances, will improve your own life more than you can imagine.

Everything else you need to know about being a board member can be learned!

List your three favorite books.

The Giving Tree (Shel Silverstein), Let Your Life Speak; Listening for the Voice of Vocation (Parker Palmer), The Advantage (Patrick Lencioni) Name: Steve Yamamori Company: Rio Salado College Job Title: Director, Military and Veteran Programs

What drew you to the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits board?

The opportunity to help support the nonprofit community.

What would you say to someone considering joining a nonprofit board?

The Alliance offers you a way to impact our community and learn about the amazing things our members are doing to better the State of Arizona.

List your three favorite books.

Lone Survivor (Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson), Killing Jesus (Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard), Start (John Acuff)

5

ALLIANCE OF ARIZONA NONPROFITS

Rethinking our Approach to Community Solutions

by Thomas Barr On a slightly chilly yet sunny day in November in Arizona, crowds descended upon a local art festival, gazing at the unique vendors, their mouths watering at the smell of kettle corn cooking in the distance. A man in his 50s sat with his dog asking for spare change. My

ALLIANCE OF ARIZONA NONPROFITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

wife walked over to hand the man a few dollars and pet the pup. “His name’s Kansas City,” he said and thankfully accepted the money. “That’s where he was born!” We spoke with him for a few seconds until a security guard came over to tell him he couldn’t stay there any

VICE CHAIRS: Sonia Perillo Audubon Arizona with the National Audubon Society Glenn Wike Arizona Community Foundation

BOARD CHAIR: Kelly McCullough R Kids/R Entertainment SECRETARY: Yvonne Moss Caritas Law Group, P.C.

6

TREASURER: Ron Stearns CliftonLarsonAllen Shaylinn Aleman Arizona College Access Network (AzCAN)

longer. We went our separate ways.

How do we begin to change the broken systems that deeply impact our communities? Do we simply donate when we see a problem or crisis happening? It’s hard to argue against it, as charitable giving often has a direct,

Mario Aniles Housing Authority of Maricopa County Pam Gaber Gabriel’s Angels Karl Gentles Back to School Clothing Drive Len Gutman American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association

Donnette Hermes Ameliorate, LLC Amy Schwabenlender Human Services Campus Deborah Turcott PetSmart Charities Steve Yamamori Rio Salado College EX-OFFICIO: Kristen Merrifield, CAE, CNAP Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits

WWW.ARIZONANONPROFITS.ORG tangible impact that fills our hearts with pride. We live within a system that leaves many heavily reliant on charity, so how do we disrupt the broken systems that perpetuate these problems in our communities? How do we have conversations that question the necessity of charity and philanthropic giving in today’s society? As much as the man with Kansas City was grateful for the few dollars my wife gave him, doesn’t he deserve real change? Don’t we all?

Community organizations wrestle with these questions every day, as philanthropic giving and donations are the lifeblood for many nonprofit organizations that continue to do good work. For how could we serve the community without dollars coming in? How can business be done without profits being made?

It’s time to have more holistic, substantial conversations with our community partners and corporate

donors on what it takes to create real, lasting change. Local nonprofit and forprofit businesses must come together to identify broken systems in society. Don’t get me wrong — nonprofits need the community to support their work. And generous donations of donors should never be overlooked or minimized in any way. But a cross-sector strategy is needed now more than ever to build stronger systems that don’t maintain the very problems that many nonprofits serve. We need to identify what’s broken and create smart partnerships that solve problems together.

Conventional thinking often places nonprofit organizations at the end of the line, rather than at the beginning.

When nonprofits ask for money to fulfill their mission, we give. When they need volunteers, without hesitation we sign up our staff for a day of service. These actions are generous, meaningful and very important. But even more, what is

needed is for nonprofit and for-profit businesses alike to build lasting, longterm partnerships to create solutions to society’s greatest problems. We need to question ourselves and look critically at the very DNA that makes up our organizations and companies. Are our companies actively working to solve problems? Or could we actually be contributing to maintaining them?

For-profit businesses can and should be built to solve problems and nonprofits should be part of that solution. We need to continue to build bridges, find common ground, and have the necessary conversations about what it will take to create the change we all need.

Thomas Barr is the executive director at Local First Arizona, the largest coalition of locally owned businesses in North America.

January is National Mentoring Month.

Today, and every day, we thank our New Pathways for Youth mentors for their commitment to youth facing four times the adversity of other youth. They are creating new possibilities daily and we are grateful. Please thank a mentor or better yet, become one! New Pathways has 100 youth in Maricopa County waiting for their mentor right now.

To learn more go to npfy.org or call 602-258-1012.

Transform a LIFE. Be a MENTOR. 7

ALLIANCE OF ARIZONA NONPROFITS

A December of Challenges for Charities

by David L. Thompson Businesses and governments in Arizona and across the country rely on charitable nonprofits to help build the communities we want and address critical needs of our fellow residents. Those charitable organizations rely on steady funding, stable laws and consistent court decisions to advance their missions and be the reliable partner that businesses and governments expect.

This December, as nonprofits are looking back on the past year while looking ahead to 2019, uncertainty and change are the only constants; the outcomes of public policy challenges in the coming months will tip the difference in whether nonprofits can live up to business expectations and perform under government grants and contracts.

The issue grabbing most of the headlines is how the 2017 federal tax law will affect charitable giving and, thus, services in communities. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is predicted to cause 21 million fewer taxpayers to claim itemized deductions, meaning that giving to the work of charitable organizations could drop by $17 billion to $21 billion every year. Fewer resources means fewer people served, less engagement in communities and reduced purchases from local businesses by nonprofits. There are steps Congress could take to prevent this decline — such as enacting a universal or non-itemizer charitable deduction that would enable all American taxpayers to benefit for giving to charitable works, regardless of whether they itemize or take the standard deduction.

But, in addition to reducing giving, the 2017 tax law also imposes new taxes on tax-exempt organizations. In order to raise revenues to pay for other tax cuts, the law now requires charitable organizations, houses of worship, foundations and all other nonprofits to pay a 21-percent income tax on some of the expenses they and their employees have for transportation benefits, such

8

ALLIANCE OF ARIZONA NONPROFITS STAFF Kristen Merrifield, CAE, CNAP Chief Executive Officer KristenM@arizonanonprofits.org

as Valley Metro Rail passes and parking. Another tax targeting nonprofits requires organizations to pay taxes on each unrelated business activity they have and, unlike for-profit businesses, are now prohibited from applying the losses of one business line to cancel out profits in another “trade or business.” Both of these discriminatory new taxes are expected to divert billions from missions and from communities across the country at a time when revenues from charitable giving are also predicted to decline.

As consummate optimists and natural problem solvers, nonprofits are looking to fix these challenges and reverse the trends they may launch. Yet, it doesn’t take a political scientist to realize that split government in Washington, D.C., means that big policy changes are off the table for the next two years. There’s hope for repealing the new taxes, with business community help. But what of the other big challenges, such as reforming social services programs and entitlements, fixing federal grantmaking and contracting systems, and balancing sound employment policies that directly affect operations and the well-being of employees?

Charitable nonprofits recognize the same realities as others in the business community: To get anything done in the coming years, the action will be in state houses and city halls. For charities, that means promoting fiscally sound tax incentives for giving back; improved public policies that recognize and reflect the unique, cost-savings contributions nonprofits make to the economy every day; streamlined processes to allow for more effective partnerships; and workplace laws that treat nonprofits as equals in building Arizona’s quality of life.

David L. Thompson is vice president of public policy for the National Council of Nonprofits in Washington, D.C.

(602) 279-2966 x14 Jennifer Blair Director of Membership JenniferB@arizonanonprofits.org (602) 279-2966 x20 Robin Hanson Program Manager – AmeriCorps VISTA RobinH@arizonanonprofits.org (602) 279-2966 x19 Jacki Presnal Office Manager & Executive Coordinator JackiP@arizonanonprofits.org (602) 279-2966 x10 Jennifer Purcell Director of Community Engagement JenniferP@arizonanonprofits.org (602) 279-2966 x17 Angel Cancino AmeriCorps VISTA Program Coordinator AngelC@arizonanonprofits.org (602) 279-2966 x22 Juan Chavez AmeriCorps VISTA Leader JuanC@arizonanonprofits.org (602) 279-2966 x18

Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits 360 E. Coronado Road, Suite 120 Phoenix, AZ 85004 Phone: (602) 279-2966 www.ArizonaNonprofits.org

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Handshakes Speak for You Some handshakes will hurt your influence

by Stacey Hanke

Have you ever wondered what your handshake says about you? Your handshake is like your business card. It conveys your confidence, credibility and influence without a single word being spoken. Studies have shown this one simple gesture can enhance a social situation and make a positive impact on others.

In our culture, a handshake accompanies almost every introduction and initiates many conversations. It sets the tone for new relationships by signaling others of your integrity.

People often admit to judging others based on this small gesture.

Because of this, The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology encourages everyone to pay attention to their handshake as it has found significant consistencies in a firm handshake and a positive first impression.

Make a great first impression by considering your handshake and what it says about you, and avoid these eight types of handshakes that will hurt your influence with others: Dead Fish — Also known as the limp noodle, this handshake conveys weakness and uncertainty. It gives people the impression

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you have a passive personality and can be easily overrun. Don’t use this handshake even when tempted to be gentle with a person due to age or gender.

Hand Crusher — Want someone to forget your name immediately? Squeeze their hand with constant force. They’ll be so distracted by the pain that they’ll tune out anything you say.

This type of handshake diminishes trust others are willing to place in you. It sends the message you’re trying too hard, and people will likely question what you say after that.

Long Lingerer — Few things can make a handshake recipient more uncomfortable than someone who won’t let go of their hand. Handshakes should be no more than two seconds in length.

Anything longer begins to cross personal boundaries and feels like a desperate invasion of space.

Hip Hipster — First bumps and fancy handshakes have their place — with friends and family. They have no business in the workplace. They reflect a lack of awareness and a need to be revered as “cool” not credible. Images of frat boys

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» and football parties come to mind instead of

experienced professional.

Brush Off — A handshake is intended to kick-start a meaningful connection. When shaking someone’s hand, be deliberate with your eye contact and don’t rush the exchange. Nothing makes someone feel like they’re unimportant or being blown off quite like shaking hands with a person in a rush or looking around at others.

Wet Weasel — We all get nervous and have anxiety before big meetings or introductions. It’s natural. What isn’t natural, however, is the feeling of contacting someone’s sweaty palms. So, if you know you are likely to have unusually wet palms, carry a handkerchief in your pocket to use just before an introduction. Also, you can wash your hands with cold water to help keep them cool under pressure.

Hand Hugger — We’ve all shaken hands with someone who uses both of theirs to embrace ours both top and bottom. While this is perfectly normal in a personal situation with friends and family, it’s out of place in a professional setting. You can convey a message of warmth with your eyes, smile and choice of words. There is no need to embrace someone’s hand in such a personal manner.

Shugger — This is a handshake that pulls the receiver closer to you physically, almost as if you were going to hug the other person. It forces that person to come closer as your hand stays closely tucked into your body. While this type of handshake is common among friendly colleagues and peers, it sends a message of favoritism to those on the outside looking in. Remember your handshake conveys a message to everyone, not just the person with whose hand you’re shaking.

Perfecting the Perfect Handshake

Practice the perfect handshake first by seeking feedback on yours. Ask someone you trust to help identify areas of opportunity. Then practice it on others to solicit feedback and more guidance until you’ve mastered the art.

Some keys to the perfect handshake: • Anticipate the handshake. Ensure your hand is free, out of your pocket and not holding onto any items. Switching hands to shake is distracting and awkward.

• Use your right hand. Even if you’re a leftie, our culture dictates right-handed handshakes as key.

• Maintain a strong, confident posture. Remain upright and refrain from leaning. If necessary, take a step toward the person with whom you’re greeting. If you’re seated upon meeting someone, stand up before shaking their hand. This signifies respect to the person you’re meeting.

• Make intentional eye contact as you greet the other person. Once your hand makes a connection, ensure your eyes connect, too. Use a kind greeting such as “nice to meet you” or “great to see you again.” Incorporate their name with your greeting to help better solidify your introduction. This interaction trifecta will warm up anyone with whom you connect.

• Remain firm throughout the handshake. Grasp the other person’s hand with a firm grip without squeezing. Maintain the grip for two seconds before releasing. Don’t allow your hand to fall limp upon the initial grip.

• Shake from your elbow, not your wrist. Two or three pumps will do. Any more and your partner will begin to feel uncomfortable.

You want to be so confident in your handshake style that it is second nature. Seeking feedback and frequent practice will help solidify your good habits, so you can concentrate more on meeting the person and less on the impression you’re making. The more comfortable you become, the more confidence you’ll convey.

Stacey Hanke is the founder and communication expert of Stacey Hanke Inc. (staceyhankeinc.com). She is the author of Influence Redefined: Be the Leader You Were Meant to Be, Monday to Monday and Yes You Can! Everything You Need From A to Z to Influence Others to Take Action. Hanke and her team have delivered thousands of presentations and workshops for leaders of Fortune 500 companies, including Coca-Cola, Nationwide, FedEx, Kohl’s and AbbVie.

How High-Performance Organizations Make Meetings Effective Tip 1: Set clear expectations for all meetings.

Meeting norms, ground rules, guidelines — these set the foundation for building an effective meeting habit. They often include things like use of an agenda and keeping meetings on time. Whatever your rules, the leadership team must follow them.

The way the leadership group meets sets the real standard everyone else follows.

—J. Elise Keith, co-founder of Lucid Meetings (www.lucidmeetings.com) and author of Where the Action Is: The Meetings That Make or Break Your Organization

54 JAN. 2019

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# of Meeting Rooms

Largest Room

Total Meeting Space

# of Sleeping Rooms 62,000

Tempe Tourism Office 222 S. Mill Avenue, Suite 120 Tempe, AZ 85281 (480) 894-8158 tempetourism.com

Tempe

n/a

n/a

67,000

5,600

Visit Mesa 120 N. Center St. Mesa, AZ 85201 (480) 827-4700 visitmesa.com

Mesa

n/a

n/a

49,000

5,000

Camby Hotel 2401 E. Camelback Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85016 (602) 468-0700 thecamby.com

Phoenix

6

1200

20,000

277

Chandler Southgate Hotel 7475 W. Chandler Blvd.

Chandler, AZ 85226 (480) 961-4444 chandlersouthgatehotel.com

Chandler

5

1,800

6,800

159

Courtyard Scottsdale Old Town 3 3311 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85250 (480) 429-7785 bit.ly/phxsc-courtyard

Scottsdale

4

1,360

2,200

180

Crowne Plaza Hotel Phoenix – Airport 4300 E. Washington St. Phoenix, AZ 85034 (602) 273-7778 crowneplazaphx.com

Phoenix

8

5,376

9,300

290

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Phoenix Tempe 2100 S. Priest Dr. Tempe, AZ 85282 (480) 967-1441 bit.ly/phxmpdt

Tempe

12

7,493

30,000

270

DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Phoenix 320 N. 44th St. Phoenix, AZ 85008 (602) 225-0500 doubletreephoenix.com

Phoenix

10

3,500

10,000

242

Poco Diablo Resort & Conference Center 1752 Arizona 179 Sedona, AZ 86336 (928) 282-7333 pocodiablo.com Thunderbird Executive Inn & Conference Center 15249 N. 59th Ave. Glendale, AZ 85306 (602) 978-7987 thunderbirdexecutiveinn.com Glendale Civic Center 5750 W. Glenn Dr. Glendale, AZ 85301 (623) 930-4300 glendaleciviccenter.com Mesa Convention Center 263 N. Center St. Mesa, AZ 85201 (480) 644-2178 mesaconventioncenter.com Phoenix Convention Center 100 N. 3rd St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 262-6225 phoenixconventioncenter.com

Phoenix

Sedona

11

10

5,435

3,300

40,000

8,500

n/a

n/a

137

Hotels

Glendale

Glendale

Mesa

Phoenix

24

2

15

90

3,450

12,788

19,000

46,000

40,000+

40,000

40,000

160,000

134

n/a

n/a

n/a

Convention & Visitors Bureaus Experience Scottsdale 4343 N. Scottsdale Rd., Suite 70 Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 421-1004 experiencescottsdale.com Glendale Convention & Visitors Bureau 9494 W. Maryland Ave., Third Floor Glendale, AZ 85305 (623) 930-4500 visitglendale.com

INBUSINESSPHX.COM

City

900,000

51,000

Venue

n/a

5,169

# of Sleeping Rooms

n/a

21

Total Meeting Space

Phoenix

Desert Willow Conference Center 4340 E. Cotton Center Blvd.

Phoenix, AZ 85040 (602) 431-0001 desertwillowconferencecenter.com

Phoenix

Largest Room

Greater Phoenix Convention & Visitors Bureau 125 N. 2nd St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 254-6500 visitphoenix.com

# of Meeting Rooms

Black Canyon Conference Center 9440 N. 25th Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85021 (602) 944-0569 blackcanyonconferencecenter.com

City

Convention & Visitors Bureaus

Venue

Conference Centers

Scottsdale

Glendale

n/a

17

n/a

95,000

100,000+

612,500

14,000

8,500

JAN. 2019

55

City

# of Meeting Rooms

Largest Room

Total Meeting Space

# of Sleeping Rooms

702

1,200

128

11,200

25,000

312

Four Points by Sheraton North 2532 W. Peoria Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85029 (602) 943-2341 bit.ly/fpsphxn

Hotel Valley Ho 6850 E. Main St. Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 376-2600 hotelvalleyho.com

Scottsdale

11

4,000

13,000

191

Phoenix

13

5,400

13,000

250

Hyatt Regency Phoenix 122 N. 2nd St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 252-1234 phoenix.hyatt.com

Phoenix

32

12,000

45,000

693

Phoenix Airport Marriott 1101 N. 44th St. Phoenix, AZ 85008 (602) 273-7373 bit.ly/phxairport-marriott

Phoenix

15

750

24,716

347

Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel 100 N. 1st Street Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 333-0000 bit.ly/ren-phxdt

Phoenix

20

20,000

50,000

527

Renaissance Phoenix Glendale Hotel & Spa 9495 W. Coyotes Blvd.

Glendale, AZ 85305 (623) 937-3700 renaissanceglendale.com

Glendale

17

3,400

115,085

320

Embassy Suites Hotel PhoenixTempe 4400 S. Rural Rd. Tempe, AZ 85282 (480) 897-7444 bit.ly/eshp-tempe Hilton Phoenix/Mesa 1011 W. Holmes Ave. Mesa, AZ 85210 (480) 833-5555 bit.ly/hilton-phxmesa Hotel Palomar Phoenix, A Kimpton Hotel 2 E. Jefferson St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 253-6633 hotelpalomar-phoenix.com

Phoenix

Tempe

Mesa

Phoenix

8

10

17

10

Largest Room 3,696

4,000

5,600

3,159

10,000

10,000

25,000

10,000

232

224

260

Venue

2

21

Embassy Suites by Hilton Phoenix Biltmore 2630 E. Camelback Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85016 (602) 955-3992 bit.ly/eshp-biltmore

# of Sleeping Rooms

Phoenix

Scottsdale

Total Meeting Space

Hotel San Carlos 202 N. Central Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 253-4121 hotelsancarlos.com

# of Meeting Rooms

Embassy Suites by Hilton Scottsdale Resort 5001 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85250 (480) 949-1414 chaparralsuites.com

City

Hotels (con’t)

Venue

Hotels (con’t)

242

How High-Performance Organizations Make Meetings Effective Tip 2: Document and share meeting results.

Fear of missing out (FOMO) compels people to attend meetings

out written meeting results. When people can see in advance

they shouldn’t. Organizers don’t want to leave people out, so they

what a meeting is for, then see afterwards what happened,

invite everyone who might possibly want to weigh in. Having

they can decide whether they need to attend. This

irrelevant people in the room de-energizes the conversation and

keeps meetings more focused, and it keeps everyone

disrupts productivity.

more productive. —J. Elise Keith, co-founder of Lucid

Documented meeting results are the fastest and easiest way to combat meeting FOMO. Before the meeting, clearly document the

Meetings (www.lucidmeetings.com) and author of Where the Action Is

meeting purpose and desired outcomes. After the meeting, send

56 JAN. 2019

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Nestled on the historic campus of Thunderbird School of Global Management, the recently renovated Thunderbird Executive Inn will surprise and delight you with: 4 134 upscale guest rooms 4 More than 40,000 square feet of meeting space, including six state-of-the-art auditoriums and 24 breakout rooms 4 Unique diversions such as the world famous Thunderbird Pub, located in an historic WWII military airfield control tower Whether you’re planning a conference, business meeting, training program, trade show or simply a vacation escape to sunny Arizona — our hotel and conference center is an exceptional choice.

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City

# of Meeting Rooms

Largest Room

Total Meeting Space

# of Sleeping Rooms

200,000

740

Arizona Golf Resort & Conference Center 425 S. Power Rd. Mesa, AZ 85206 (480) 832-3202 arizonagolfresort.com

Mesa

9

5,170

12,000

186

209

Arizona Grand Resort & Spa 8000 Arizona Grand Pkwy.

Phoenix, AZ 85044 (602) 438-9000 arizonagrandresort.com

Phoenix

125

14,031

120,000+

744

1,000

Civana Carefree 37220 N. Mule Train Rd. Carefree, AZ 85377 (480) 653-9000 civanacarefree.com

Carefree

26

11,000

60,000

224

CopperWynd Resort & Club 13225 N. Eagle Ridge Dr. Scottsdale, AZ 85268 (480) 333-1900 copperwynd.com

Scottsdale

4

6,000

8,000

32

Crowne Plaza Phoenix Chandler Golf Resort 1 N. San Marcos Pl. Chandler, AZ 85225 (480) 812-0900 sanmarcosresort.com

Chandler

16

9,600

35,000

249

Sheraton Crescent Hotel 2620 W. Dunlap Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85021 (602) 943-8200 sheratoncrescent.com Sheraton Phoenix Airport Hotel – Tempe 1600 S. 52nd St. Tempe, AZ 85281 (480) 967-6600 sheratonphoenixairport.com Sheraton Grand Phoenix 340 N. 3rd St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 262-2500 sheratonphoenixdowntown.com Windemere Hotel & Conference Center 5750 E. Main St. Mesa, AZ 85205 (480) 985-3600 windemerehotelmesa.com Wyndham Garden Phoenix Midtown 3600 N. 2nd Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85013 (602) 604-4900 bit.ly/wyngar-phxmid

Phoenix

Tempe

Phoenix

Mesa

Phoenix

18

9

20

12

4

8,064

3,450

27,170

3,600

5,000

9,755

40,000

9,181

112,00

8,500

5,000

Venue

24,576

1,400

# of Sleeping Rooms

76

13

Total Meeting Space

Phoenix

Scottsdale

Largest Room

Arizona Biltmore, A Waldorf Astoria Resort 2400 E. Missouri Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85016 (602) 955-6600 arizonabiltmore.com

# of Meeting Rooms

Scottsdale Marriott Suites Old Town 7325 E. 3rd Ave. Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 945-1550 bit.ly/otsc-marriott

City

Resorts

Venue

Hotels (con’t)

243

342

114

160

How High-Performance Organizations Make Meetings Effective Tip 3: Define ‘The Way’ to meet for all core processes.

There are 16 different types of business meetings, and each has a

High-performance organizations know the type of

purpose. A regular team meeting is good for confirming progress and

meetings they need to run and how to run each

identifying problems, but it’s a lousy place to make a big decision. Big

one well. Each meeting gets a name and becomes

decisions demand a dedicated decision-making meeting. Similarly,

“the way” that kind of work gets done. For example,

the initial meeting with a prospective client (or funder) should look

the team’s check-in meeting becomes “the huddle.”

very different from the meeting where you ink the deal. Each of

The meeting to impress prospective clients early in the sales cycle

these pivotal meetings can be optimized to drive the results your

becomes a “services briefing.” Anything called simply a “meeting”

company needs.

isn’t specific enough. —J. Elise Keith, co-founder of Lucid Meetings (www.lucidmeetings.com) and author of Where the Action Is

58 JAN. 2019

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City

# of Meeting Rooms

Largest Room

Total Meeting Space

# of Sleeping Rooms

10,000

25,000

235

12,064

40,000

378

Fairmont Scottsdale Princess 7575 E. Princess Dr. Scottsdale, AZ 85255 (480) 585-4848 fairmont.com/scottsdale

Scottsdale

49

23,000

<150,000

648

Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Gainey Ranch 7500 E. Doubletree Ranch Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85258 (480) 444-1234 bit.ly/hyatt-gainey

Scottsdale

32

14,280

70,000

493

JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge Resort & Spa 5350 Marriott Dr. Phoenix, AZ 85054 (480) 293-5000 http://bit.ly/jwmarriott-phxdr

Phoenix

40

33,218

311,853

950

JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn Resort & Spa 5402 E. Lincoln Dr. Scottsdale, AZ 85253 (480) 948-1700 bit.ly/jwmarriott-camelback

Scottsdale

20

19,968

91,119

453

The Legacy Golf Resort 6808 S. 32nd St. Phoenix, AZ 85042 (602) 305-5500 bit.ly/legacy-golf-resort

Phoenix

3

1,200

2,164

328

The McCormick Scottsdale 7401 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85253 (480) 948-5050 http://bit.ly/mccormick-scottsdale

Scottsdale

6

2,365

13,000+

125

Mountain Shadows 5445 E. Lincoln Dr. Scottsdale, AZ 85253 (480) 624-5400 mountainshadows.com

Scottsdale

10

4,475

12,835

n/a

Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North 10600 E. Crescent Moon Dr. Scottsdale, AZ 85262 (480) 515-5700 fourseasons.com/scottsdale

City Scottsdale

Scottsdale

Grand Canyon Squire Inn 74 Arizona 64 Grand Canyon Village, AZ 86023 (928) 638-2681 grandcanyonsquire.com Harrah’s Ak-Chin Hotel & Casino 15406 N. Maricopa Rd. Maricopa, AZ 85139 (480) 802-5000 caesars.com/harrahs-ak-chin The Hermosa Inn 5532 N. Palo Cristi Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85253 (602) 955-8614 hermosainn.com

Grand Canyon

Maricopa

Scottsdale

13

8

3

4

4

6,800

5,940

3,400

4,020

1,989

14,000

35,920

4,500

5,000

2,326

240

210

250

300

34

Venue

7

23

FireSky Resort & Spa 4925 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 945-7666 fireskyresort.com

# of Sleeping Rooms

Scottsdale

Scottsdale

Total Meeting Space

Hilton Scottsdale Resort & Villas 6333 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85250 (480) 948-7750 bit.ly/hilton-sc-r-v

Largest Room

DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel Paradise Valley Scottsdale 5401 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85250 (480) 947-5400 http://bit.ly/dtr-pvsc

# of Meeting Rooms

Resorts (con’t)

Venue

Resorts (con’t)

How High-Performance Organizations Make Meetings Effective Tip 4: Train everyone.

Leaders spend up to 80 percent of their workday in meetings, yet

participate in the meetings, defined as “the way” to get

many have never received meeting training. Meetings aren’t just

their job done. Meetings represent an enormous salary

conversations with a lot of people; there are skills and techniques

investment, and high-performance organizations

to learn that radically improve meeting results.

ensure their people get a good return on that

High-performance organizations provide skills training to people leading meetings. They also train everyone how to

60 JAN. 2019

investment. —J. Elise Keith, co-founder of Lucid Meetings (www.lucidmeetings.com) and author of Where the Action Is

INBUSINESSPHX.COM

City

# of Meeting Rooms

Largest Room

Total Meeting Space

# of Sleeping Rooms

50,000

326

Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass 5594 W. Wild Horse Pass Rd. Chandler, AZ 85226 (602) 225-0100 wildhorsepassresort.com

Chandler

30

17,376

180,000

500

Sonesta Suites Scottsdale Gainey Ranch 7300 E. Gainey Suites Dr. Scottsdale, AZ 85258 (480)367-4616 bit.ly/sonesta-gainey

Scottsdale

11

2,925

8,300

162

Talking Stick Resort 9800 E. Indian Bend Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85256 (480) 850-7777 talkingstickresort.com

Scottsdale

22

25,000

113000

496

Tempe

20

9,384

30,000

303

27,000

293

Orange Tree Golf Resort 10601 N. 56th St. Scottsdale, AZ 85254 (480) 948-6100 shellhospitality.com/hotels/ orange-tree-resort

Scottsdale

4

5,000

10,000

160

The Phoenician Scottsdale 6000 E. Camelback Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 941-8200 thephoenician.com

Scottsdale

26

20,533

160,000+

643

Venue

10,000

9,216

# of Sleeping Rooms

50

16

Total Meeting Space

Scottsdale

Scottsdale

Largest Room

The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch 7700 E. McCormick Pkwy.

Scottsdale, AZ 85258 (480) 991-9000 destinationhotels.com/ scottsdale-resort

# of Meeting Rooms

Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia 4949 E. Lincoln Dr. Scottsdale, AZ 85253 (480) 627-3200 omnihotels.com/hotels/ scottsdale-montelucia

City

Resorts (con’t)

Venue

Resorts (con’t)

Phoenix Marriott Resort Tempe at The Buttes 2000 W. Westcourt Way Tempe, AZ 85282 (602) 225-9000 bit.ly/marriott-buttes

Tempe

15

10,000

40,000

354

Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort 7677 N. 16th St. Phoenix, AZ 85020 (602) 997-2626 squawpeakhilton.com

Phoenix

46

9,760

<48,000

563

Tempe Mission Palms, A Destination Hotel 60 E. 5th St. Tempe, AZ 85281 (480) 894-1400 missionpalms.com

584

W Scottsdale 7277 E. Camelback Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85251 (480) 970-2100 wscottsdalehotel.com

Scottsdale

8

3,500

14,000

230

105

We-Ko-Pa Resort & Conference Center 10438 N. Fort McDowell Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85264 (480) 789-5300 wekoparesort.com

Scottsdale

15

18,000

25,000

248

The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa 6902 E. Greenway Pkwy.

Scottsdale, AZ 85254 (480) 624-1000 kierlandresort.com

Scottsdale

41

25,000

200,000+

732

The Wigwam Resort & Golf Club 300 E. Wigwam Ln. Litchfield Park, AZ 85340 (623) 935-3811 wigwamarizona.com

Phoenix

25

10,800

100,000

331

JAN. 2019

61

Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort 11111 N. 7th St. Phoenix, AZ 85020 (602) 866-7500 tapatiocliffshilton.com Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa 5700 E. McDonald Dr. Paradise Valley, AZ 85253 (480)607-2350 sanctuaryoncamelback.com

Phoenix

Paradise Valley

36

11

16,000

3,204

65,000

8,000

Scottsdale Marriott at McDowell Mountains 16770 N. Perimeter Dr. Scottsdale, AZ 85260 (480) 502-3836 bit.ly/marriott-mcdowell

Scottsdale

24

5,005

14,527

266

The Scottsdale Plaza Resort 7200 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85253 (480) 948-5000 scottsdaleplaza.com

Scottsdale

21

10,080

40,000

404

INBUSINESSPHX.COM

# of Meeting Rooms

Largest Room

Total Meeting Space

# of Sleeping Rooms

5,000

n/a

The Cedars Banquet Hall 1702 E. Northern Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85020 (602) 944-2566 cedarsbanquethall.com

Phoenix

1

3,600

3,600

n/a

Chase Field 401 E. Jefferson St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (480) 339-5000 azchasefield.com

Phoenix

21

39,600

100,000+

n/a

Children’s Museum of Phoenix 215 N. 7th St. Phoenix, AZ 85034 (602) 253-0501 childrensmuseumofphoenix.org

Phoenix

3

5,000

<14,000

n/a

Comerica Theatre 400 W. Washington St. Phoenix, AZ 85003 (602) 379-2800 comericatheatre.com

Phoenix

5

40,000

80,000

n/a

The Croft Downtown Phoenix 22 E. Buchman St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 462-970 thecroftdowntown.com

n/a

2

5,000

8,500

n/a

Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center 122 E. Culver St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 241-7870 azjhs.org

Phoenix

2

2,500

5,500

n/a

Desert Botanical Garden 1201 N. Galvin Pkwy.

Phoenix, AZ 85008 (480) 941-1225 dbg.org

Phoenix

5

4,200

5,000

n/a

Largest Room

12,000

242

Special Event Venues Az Ice Arcadia 3853 E. Thomas Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85018 (602) 957-9966 arcadiaice.com Arizona Center 400 E. Van Buren St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 271-4000 arizonacenter.com Arizona Science Center 600 E. Washington St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 716-2000 azscience.org Bentley Gallery 215 E. Grant St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 340-9200 bentleygallery.com Boojum Tree 16026 N. 36th St. Phoenix, AZ 85032 (602) 867-8975 boojumtree.com Carnegie Center - Downstairs 1101 W. Washington St. Phoenix, AZ 85007 (602) 926-3604 http://bit.ly/azlibrary-carnegie

Phoenix

Phoenix

2

Outside space only

Phoenix

Phoenix

Phoenix

Phoenix

9

1

2

2

15,000 (ice rink)

15,700

n/a

45,000

n/a

n/a

22,000

22,000

10,000

10,000

1,800

3,000 (for nonprofits only)

City

3,935

8,000

Venue

2

10

# of Sleeping Rooms

Phoenix

Chandler

Total Meeting Space

Castles ‘n’ Coasters 9445 N. Metro Pkwy. E. Phoenix, AZ 85051 (602) 997-7575 castlesncoasters.com

# of Meeting Rooms

Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino 5040 Wild Horse Pass Blvd.

Chandler, AZ 85226 (520)796-4923 wildhorsepass.com/destinations/ wild-horse-pass-hotel-casino/

City

Special Event Venues (con’t)

Venue

Resorts (con’t)

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

How High-Performance Organizations Make Meetings Effective Tip 5: ABL: Always be learning!

Once it has “the way” to meet, the organization can experiment.

High-performance organizations have the process

For instance, what happens when we meet on Monday

stability they need in order to run conclusive experiments

instead of Wednesday? If we tweak the process, can we make

and continuously improve their meeting practices.

decisions faster?

—J. Elise Keith, co-founder of Lucid Meetings (www.lucidmeetings.com) and author of Where the Action Is

62 JAN. 2019

INBUSINESSPHX.COM

Largest Room

Total Meeting Space

# of Sleeping Rooms

Franciscan Renewal Center 5802 E. Lincoln Dr. Scottsdale, AZ 85253 (480) 948-7460 thecasa.org Heard Museum 2301 N. Central Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 252-8840 heard.org Herberger Theater Center 222 E. Monroe St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 254-7399 herbergertheater.org K1 Speed 2425 S. 21st St., Phoenix, AZ 85034 (602) 275-5278 k1speed.com/phoenix-location.html MonOrchid 214 E. Roosevelt St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 253-0339 monorchid.com Musical Instrument Museum 4725 E. Mayo Blvd.

Phoenix, AZ 85050 (480) 478-6000 mim.org The Palace 8035 N. 43rd Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85051 (619) 384-3545 thepalaceaz.com The Penske Racing Museum 7125 E. Chauncey Ln. Phoenix, AZ 85054 (480) 538-4444 penskeracingmuseum.com Phoenix Art Museum 1625 N. Central Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 257-1222 phxart.org

INBUSINESSPHX.COM

Phoenix

Phoenix

16

4,000

4,300

n/a

54

Rawhide 5700 W. North Loop Rd. Chandler, AZ 85226 (480) 502-5600 rawhide.com

Scottsdale

Chandler

14

46,000

75,000+

n/a

n/a

Rio Salado Audubon Center 3131 S. Central Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85040 (602) 468-6470 riosalado.audubon.org

Phoenix

Phoenix

2

1,920

3,000

n/a

n/a

Secret Garden 2501 E. Baseline Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85042 (602) 268-5522 secretgardenevents.com

Phoenix

Phoenix

4

2,500

3,000

n/a

Stand Up Live 50 W. Jefferson St., Suite 200 Phoenix, AZ 85003 (480) 719-6100 phoenix.standuplive.com

Phoenix

Phoenix

2

6,500

9,000

n/a

Turf Paradise 1501 W. Bell Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85023 (602) 942-1101 turfparadise.com

Phoenix

Phoenix

3

n/a

n/a

n/a

University of Arizona College of Medicine 550 E. Van Buren St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 827-2002 phoenixmed.arizona.edu

Phoenix

Phoenix

3

4,600

6,400

n/a

Valley Youth Theatre 525 N. 1st St. Phoenix, AZ 85004 (602) 253-8188 vyt.com

Phoenix

Phoenix

1

2,500

2,500

n/a

Venue at the Grove 7010 S. 27th Ave. Phoenix, AZ 85041 (602) 456-0803 venueatthegrove.com

Phoenix

Phoenix

1

2,250

2,250

n/a

The Wrigley Mansion 2501 E. Telawa Trail Phoenix, AZ 85016 (602) 955-4079 wrigleymansionclub.com

Phoenix

Phoenix

13

1,075

3,000

n/a

City

# of Meeting Rooms

Enchanted Island Amusement Park 1202 W. Encanto Blvd.

Phoenix, AZ 85007 (602) 254-1200 enchantedisland.com

Venue

# of Sleeping Rooms

Total Meeting Space

Largest Room

# of Meeting Rooms

City

Venue

n/a

Phoenix Zoo 455 N. Galvin Pkwy.

Phoenix, AZ 85008 (602) 286-3800 phoenixzoo.org

Special Event Venues (con’t)

Special Event Venues (con’t) Outdoor picnicstyle only

14

9

6

2

3

6

1

2

5

n/a

3,364

5,300

2,980

1,000

4,500

9,300

10,000

2,500

6,600

n/a

13,000

<20,000

9,000

1,500

6,000

30,000

10,000

5,000

8,600

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

JAN. 2019

63

CONSIDER US THE LAST RESORT. BECAUSE YOU’LL NEVER NEED TO LOOK ANYWHERE ELSE You’ll know you’ve made the right choice before the meeting even begins. Because we listen. We never rest. Our facilities and support staff handle your meeting with effortless elegance. And we stay focused on you, your vision and your clients. It’s how we work. So it never feels like work to you. It just feels right.

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© 2014 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. All rights reserved. Westin is a registered trademark of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., or its affiliates.

64 JAN. 2019

INBUSINESSPHX.COM

Aniles, Mario, 47

Haber, Morey J., 32

Loiterstein, Karen, 13

Slaton, Ken, 40

Balaghlanov, Elshan, 38

Hanke, Stacey, 53

Marston-Salem, Natalie, 10

Steinfeld, Jake, 18

Barr, Thomas, 29, 48

Hayzlett, Jeffrey, 26

Merrifield, Kristen, 43

Taylor, Brad, 27

Blue, Steven L., 66

Hill, Rowlan, 10

Meyer, Cynthia, 12

Taylor, Cathy, 27

Bouée, Charles-Edouard, 27

Holmes, Tyrone, Dr., 29

Mortensen, Nate, 24

Thompson, David L., 50

Bruhnke, Doug, 35

Howell, Park, 29

Moss, Yvonne, 47

Turcott, Deborah, 47

Camacho, Chris, 20

Iarocci, Molly, 23

Nelson, Scott, 14

Ujczo, Dan, 36

Cornell, Todd, 41

Jordan, Kim, 29

O’Connell, Brad, 18

Urban, Ruth, 11

Crum, Brion, 20

Kehaly, Pam, 18

Ostreicher, Deborah, 29

Ward, Greg, 12

Cyrino, Michael B., 46

Keith, J. Elise, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62

Prather, Mark, 18

Wheeler, Carol, 37

Ernanian, Renee, 42

Knutzon, Rustina, 11

Rannala, Erik, 24

Williams, Tim, 16

Ferres, Zach, 9, 20

Kusari, Drena, 28

Rogers, Jim, 18

Yamamori, Steve, 47

Gardner, Jeff, 17

Lawary, Gregory, 10

Schaible, Stefan, 27

Ybarra, Kathleen Duffy, 29

Goulka, James, 24

Lieberman, Richard, 17

Shapiro, Gary, 27

ACG Arizona, 30

Adidas, 32

DispatchHealth, 18

Macerich, 14

Alliance Bank of Arizona, 2

Distinguished Communications, 29

Mayo Clinic, 67

Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce, 30

Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits, 43

Duffy Group, Inc., 29

MeetInScottsdale.com, 52

Arizona Association for Economic Development, 31

East Valley Chambers of Commerce Alliance, 31

MereStone, 59

Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 30

East Valley Partnership, 31

Arizona Complete Health, 46 Arizona Founders Fund, 23 Arizona Tech Investors, 24 Arizona Technology Council, 31 BeyondTrust, 32 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, 18, 68 Blue Leaf Estate Auctions, 10 Body by Jake, 18 Business of Story, The, 29 Café Zupas, 34 CaliberCos. Inc, 20 Career Connectors, 45 Caritas Law Group, P.C., 47

Economic Club of Phoenix, 30 Enterprise Bank & Trust, 8, 13

Mesa Chamber of Commerce, 30 Miller Ingenuity, 66 Mucker Capital, 24

Scottsdale Fashion Square, 14 Snell & Wilmer, 3 Soup&Sausage Bistro, 34 Stacey Hanke Inc., 54 Starwood, 33 Support My Club, 49

FEI Arizona Chapter, 30

National Association of Women Business Owners – Phoenix, 30

FileWave, 16

National Council of Nonprofits, 50

T.A.H. Performance, 29

Financial Finesse, 12

New Belgium Brewing, 29

Tempe Chamber of Commerce, 29

First Bank, 6

New Pathways for Youth, 49

Fountain Hills Recovery, 10

On the Money, 11

Thunderbird Executive Inn & Conference Center, 57

Gadzooks Enchiladas & Soup, 34

Orbitz, 32

Global Benefits Group, 40

PetSmart Charities, Inc., 47

Global Chamber, 35

Pro One Media Productions, 57

Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, 31

Read Better Be Better, 45

Greater Phoenix Economic Council, 20 Heiple Travers Realty, 42

Robert Half, 11 Safeguard Global, 37

Central Phoenix Women, 31

Housing Authority of Maricopa County, 47

Chandler Chamber of Commerce, 30, 31

Jennings Strouss, 17

Cobre Capital, 24

Jive, 6

Coplex, 9, 20

JLL, 15

C-Suite Network, 26

K1 Speed, 59

Cultur668, 41

Local First Arizona, 29, 49

Definitive Entertainment, LLC, 10

Lord & Taylor, 32

Desert Financial Credit Union, 5

Lucid Meetings, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62

Dickinson Wright, 36

Lyft, 28

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

Rio Salado College, 47

Saks Fifth Avenue, 32 Science Care, 18

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

Surf, 8

T-Mobile, 33 TTI Success Insights, 30 Under Armour, 33 UnitedHealthcare, 19 Voilà French Bistro, 34 Waste Management Phoenix Open, 7 WCC International, 38 Westin Kierland, The, 64 WESTMARC, 31

OUR PODCAST: Join us for interesting, informative and inspiring conversations with top local businesspeople in the Greater Phoenix area.

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A CANDID FORUM

BY

Transform from Rust-Belt to High-Tech

The three biggest pitfalls companies must address

by Steven L. Blue The 2019

Meetings & Conv

MAGAZINE

e

JAN. 2019

IN BUSINESS

entions Guid

VENTURE

Venture Capitaliz ing

CAPITAL

How deep

is the venture capital pool Phoenix (and Arizona for ) busines ses?

Fear of Failure

JANUARY

Hinders Innovatio n Learn from Privileged 2018’s Data

2019 • INBUSINESSPHX .COM

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Global Chamber Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits

Breaches IT Challen ges for Growing Enterprises

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Steven L. Blue is the president and CEO of Miller Ingenuity, an innovative company revolutionizing traditional safety solutions for railway workers, and author of the new book Metamorphosis: From Rust-Belt to High-Tech in a 21st Century World.

StevenLBlue.com milleringenuity.com @StevenLBlue

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Many rust-belt company CEOs blame their company’s failure on everything under the sun: automation, offshore labor, AI and even their own employees. What these CEOs don’t realize is, the No. 1 reason their company failed had to do with themselves — they decided to live in “happy land” and live off the successes of yesterday. They chose to ignore the margins and new technology; they didn’t take the initiative to transform.

But while transforming an organization to higher technology products can be successful, it’s risky, expensive and unlike anything most have ever done before.

The following are the three biggest pitfalls to transforming a company from rust-belt to high-tech.

The workforce is not prepared for the change. Let’s take, for instance, a company that’s a rust belt manufacturer that makes plastic things, metal stamping, low-tech or notech kind of products. Its workforce doesn’t know how to do anything any differently, and it’s not their fault. The worst thing a CEO of such a company could do would be to tell them that they will either become electronic engineers or will get the boot. But long before the company can make skills transitions, it must make a cultural transformation. A culture that has done the same things the same way for decades cannot deal with a new paradigm of doing new things in different ways every day. What’s needed is a culture that is not only amenable to change but anxious for it. I tell CEOs all the time when I make keynote addresses, “The cultural model in your mind should be a Cirque du Soleil® culture.” In other words, they want people who come to work every day all jazzed up and wanting only one thing — that today be better than yesterday. And of course, the push back is, “Well, our employees are not circus performers and they hate their jobs.”

Well, whose fault is that?

People are excited to innovate, but they don’t know how to do it. Employees are afraid if they don’t magically

become “innovative” they’ll be fired. So, the CEO must ignite the spark for innovation. It’s the responsibility of company leadership to train them how to be innovative; to train them how to be creative. At Miller Ingenuity, I hired the ex-chief creativity officer from the QVC Network to do this. He rode shotgun with my employees for the better part of a year until they could do it on their own. It’s incumbent on the CEO to ensure employees are trained in the fundamentals of brainstorming.

Bringing high-tech products to the market wearing the same old marketing clothes. Long before a company launches new, high-tech products, it must reposition its image in the market from rust-belt to high-tech. The company must disrupt the market to get its attention. The company must disrupt its competitors to keep them off guard. That means shedding the tired old ways rust-belt companies go to market in favor of new tech ways. Gone should be the days of trade pub ads that say nothing, trade show booths that have more competitors than customers in them, and sales calls that don’t ask for orders but ask for tee-times. It’s vital to be very creative in this endeavor, otherwise the market won’t even notice.

At Miller Ingenuity, we just filmed and released a television series. Our flagship product in the high-technology space is a life safety product. My team and I had a professional film company produce a 13-episode video series called “Safety Starts Here.” It’s really a thinly-veiled advertorial for our safety products but, because it goes through a logical and professionally produced series, watching it is almost like watching a television show. And it positions us and further deepens the perception in the marketplace that we are a hightechnology company.

For CEOs running a rust-belt company, the longer they wait to radically transform it, the better the odds are their last play will be a Hail Mary . . . and it will fail. I promise you, if you take this one step at a time, carefully and deliberately, you won’t believe the metamorphosis that will occur.

The MetLife & U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index for Q4 2018 recorded an overall score of 69.3, indicating a pause in the upward trend of the Index. The fourth quarter score is down less than one-half a point from the third quarter’s record high of 69.7, still reflecting general optimism from the small business community. uschamber.com/sbindex