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Volume 3 l No. 8
www.cvbusinessmonthly.com
BUSINESS MONTHLY columns Page 4
Jim Offner Agriculture drives the local economy
Page 13 Waterloo Main Street Facts about the parking situation in Waterloo
Page 14 University of Northern Iowa Know your market before you start a business
Page 15 Wartburg College How internships can help stem Iowa’s ‘brain drain’
BUSINESS MONTHLY staff directory EDITORIAL CONTENT Nancy Raffensperger Newhoff nancy.newhoff@wcfcourier.com (319) 291-1445
ADVERTISING Jackie Nowparvar jackie.nowparvar@wcfcourier.com (319) 291-1527
Jim Offner jim.offner@wcfcourier.com (319) 291-1598
Sheila Kerns sheila.kerns@wcfcourier.com (319) 291-1448
Cedar Valley Business Monthly is published monthly. It is a free publication direct-mailed to more than 6,500 area businesses. For distribution, call Courier Communications at (319) 291-1527 Contact Cedar Valley Business Monthly at P.O. Box 540, Waterloo, IA 50704.
BUSINESS MONTHLY on the cover MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey pauses during a recent tour of the Cedar Valley TechWorks facility under construction near downtown Waterloo.
MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, left, talks with Terry Johnston of Cedar Valley TechWorks during a recent tour of the facility near downtown Waterloo.
Growing business Agriculture continues to drive Iowa, Cedar Valley By JIM OFFNER jim.offner@wcfcourier.com
SPIRIT LAKE — As strong as the Cedar Valley’s agriculture heritage is, Bill Northey is fixed on the region’s — and the state’s — farm-rooted future. He says that future transcends the age-old business model of growing, transporting and selling corn and hogs. Northey, 50, Iowa’s first-term
agriculture secretary, notes that ag accounts for about a quarter of the state’s economy. “By the time you total up all the direct sales from agriculture, that’s $20 billion in sales,” he said. And, he said, it’s growing, embracing an increasing number of allied industries. “You look at manufacturing, insurance, banking and the rest that happen because of agriculture,” he said.
And that’s just the present, he said, adding that the future looks even brighter, thanks to efforts like the Cedar Valley TechWorks initiative in Waterloo. Northey recently toured the TechWorks facility, slated to welcome its first tenant, the University of Northern Iowa’s National Ag-Based Lubricants, this summer.
See NORTHEY, page A7
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Survey paints portrait Agriculture drives the local economy of a U.S. entrepreneur The Associated Press
What does an entrepreneur look like? A recent survey by the Kauffman Foundation, a pro-entrepreneur group, found that company founders, mostly in the technology sector, tended to be married, middle-class and middle-aged. ■ Family: Nearly 70 percent said they were married when they started the business. About 60 percent had at least one child. In the case of their own birth order, the biggest group, 42.5 percent, said they were the first-born. ■ Education: They overwhelmingly (95 percent) are college graduates. There was an even split between those who held only bachelor’s degrees and those with more advanced degrees. ■ Background: The survey said that 71.5 percent called their parents “middle-class.” That ranged from professional parents with postgraduate degrees to white-
collar workers with associate’s degrees. It found 82.5 percent were born in the U.S., with the next biggest country of origin being India, at 3.8 percent. ■ Work experience: About a quarter had zero to five years of work experience under their belts before launching or joining a start-up, while 27.6 percent had worked six to 10 years and 23.3 percent 11 to 15 years. The average age of company founders was 40. The survey was heavily skewed to the technology sector. The report’s authors wanted to survey those industries they considered “higher growth,” such as aerospace, computer software and hardware, biotechnology and engineering consultants. It randomly polled 549 employees from these “high growth” sectors by phone and e-mail between August 2008 and March 2009. Those termed “founders” were those who joined their company in its first year.
An agriculture-focused issue of the Cedar Valley Business Monthly is a natural. The questions about agriculture’s role in the region’s economy are many. The answers are exciting. The region’s raison d’etre Jim Offner has been agriis the Courier culture from business editor. the beginning. Contact him at Planted firmly jim.offner@ wcfcourier.com. in the middle of the corn capital of the country, the Cedar Valley has served as host to some of the most fertile — and profitable — enterprises in the country. In addition to corn, there are soybeans, hogs, dairy operations and even, in-season, fresh fruits and vegetables.
And then there is Deere & Co., which employs more than 5,500 area residents. That’s just some of what built our region into a major agricultural production center. It’s worth pondering the agricultural legacy that our region has built for itself and the country. But thanks to contributions from corporate leaders like Deere and some of the brightest minds from institutions of higher learning, such as the University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University, our attention is turning toward the future. Cedar Valley TechWorks is well on its way to becoming the agbased crown jewel of our region. The TechWorks buildings, formerly occupied by Deere’s tractor and component works, form the nerve center of an idea that melds the best of technology and our agricultural pedigree. Deere
donated the land and buildings. Planners have been hard at work gutting the property and retrofitting the buildings to house research and development center to focus on developing biofuels and technologies that will turn this region into the agriculture and technology center of the Midwest. This issue of the Cedar Valley Business Monthly, in addition to providing thought-provoking opinions on the state of business in the region, will offer insights into the role agriculture has played in the region’s past and its growth in the future. Thumb through the following pages and appreciate the diverse knowledge base that is serving to bring our region to the forefront of technology, as that field blends with agriculture in ways that will serve our region’s growth for decades to come.
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Get up and get going with supplements that promote joint health We just celebrated another anniversary of our freedom and independence. Our freedom of having healthy joints that enable us to be flexible and comfortably move is a wonderful thing, but as we age, it may become inhibited. There are Marilyn Bartels nutrients available with comis owner ofTnK Health Food Store in ponents that are Waterloo. Contact her vital to healthy at (319) 235-0246 joint function or, toll-free (888) and structure. 319-0246. These nutrients are referred to as “chondro-protective agents�. Included in these are glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, as well as anti-inflamatory herbs. They supply the raw material necessary to rebuild worn cartilage. Glucosamine, which naturally occurs in the body, plays a key role in the construction of cartilage, the tough connective tissue that cushions joints. It stimulates the production of glycosaminoglycans (the key component of
cartilage) including the incorporation of sulfur into cartilage. Sulfur is necessary in making and repairing cartilage. Glucosamine is made in the body from the simple carbohydrate glucose and the amino acid glutamine. As we age, we are not able to make enough glucosamine, resulting in the inflammation, breakdown and eventual destruction of connective tissue, especially the cartilage. When the cartilage wears down, it leaves bone endings exposed, which may result in pain, stiffness and swelling of the joints. In some clinical trials, glucosamine has been found effective in treating and slowing the progression of joint related diseases typically caused by the continuous wear and tear on our joints. It also has fewer gastrointestinal side effects than the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs often used in treating joint disorders. Even though glucosamine may be helpful for joint repair, often it is taken in conjunction with chondroitin, MSM and anitinflammatory herbs. Stop by your local health food store for helpful joint supplements.
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Risk management essential for ag producers in poor economy Over the past year, risk management has become an essential part of doing good business. Farm Credit Services of America recommends a cautious approach for farm operators. Factors contributing to the current environment are volatile commodity prices, increased input costs, record high Angie Treptow real estate values, is vice president concerns about for Farm Credit availability of Services of equipment or ferAmerica’s tilizer and counCedar Falls and ter-party risks. Manchester The volatility of offices. Contact her commodity prices at (319) 415-7665 makes crop insuror treptowa@ fcsamerica.com. ance particularly important. Land values shot up by 93.8 percent in Nebraska and 122 percent in Iowa in the past decade. Trends indicate land values may have peaked or leveled off. It’s important for producers to remember rising asset values don’t repay loans. Cash flow and profits do. Customers should build working capital positions, even before prepaying term debt. Working capital — current assets minus current liabilities — is the cash cushion for the operational side of the business. Consider the impact of the rise in input costs. Margining 30 percent of $750 an acre is quite different than margining 30 percent of $500 an acre. Having adequate working capital on hand helps. For agricultural suppliers, the key questions are how severe the national economic downturn will be and how long it will last. Farm Credit Services of America will continue to offer loans and leases that fit the financial and tax needs of producers and suppliers, along with competitive rates. With more than 76,500 customers and assets of more than $13 billion, FCSAmerica is one of the region’s leading providers of credit and insurance services to farmers, ranchers, agribusiness and rural residents in the region.
AUGUST 2009
NORTHEY From page A3
NABL will occupy the third floor of one of two former John Deere production buildings on the TechWorks site. “I think there are so many opportunities in bringing folks together who are looking at biofuels, biotechnology and processing products,” Northey said. The size and scope of TechWorks will multiply the opportunities, Northey said. “In some cases, those entrepreneurs and researchers out there are very scattered, and there are great advantages to encouraging them and also putting them in one place where they can related and share ideas,” he said. “So, not only can the existing facility house lots of folks, but there’s also lots of room for new buildings.” The local and state economies will vault into new growth areas once the TechWorks project is fully functional, Northey said. “I believe agriculture is such a cornerstone to all the opportunities we have in the future,” he said. “Once folks establish businesses here, they need ag products. These are businesses that are going to stay. “They create more value on the farm, as well as businesses and jobs off the farm,” he said. On the manufacturing side, Northey notes John Deere’s strong roots in the area continue to grow stronger. “Those jobs are staying solid there,” he said. “I also think there’s a personality with John Deere, as well. It’s a hard-working machine built right, built to
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not cheap,” he said. “But there are kets, and allied industries are beck- fruits and vegetables directly to last.” consumers,” he said. oning the young, Northey said. Biofuels are an emerging com- opportunities to get started.” “Quite a few folks are selling Specialty livestock, farmers marponent to the area’s ag-based economy, Northey said. Ethanol creates a demand for corn. “It’s a big deal for Iowa, and it creates its own local jobs, inside and outside the plant.” The emerging biofuels market may help save shrinking rural communities and ultimately save family farms. “Off the farm, hopefully there are ways to add value-added products to that activity and that crop,” Northey said. “So, we can create new jobs like we have with ethanol, by looking at other processing and specialty production. We’re developing technology in how we manage our crop and sensing equipment and all kinds of things, and those will offer opportunities for our small towns as well. There’s also discussion about opportunities for broadband that will open up for folks, so they can work where they love to live, which is a small town in Iowa.” Some of those emerging technologies will be crucial in encouraging younger generations to get into farming and agriculturerelated careers, Northey said. “There’s a lot more interest, it seems, in the last few years than there was in many years prior to that,” he said. “The 1980s were certianly a tough time and caused people to look toward doing something else. But the last few years, with technologies applied to agriculture more aggressively and more profits seen, I think young folks can see where they fit into this.” Challenges remain, he acknowledged. “Land is not cheap; equipment is
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Partnership will benefit degree-seeking adults in Cedar Valley Professional educators recognize adult learning differs significantly from traditional full-time student learning. As a member of the Executive Committee of The Commission of Accelerated Programs Tom Castle (CAP), I have is dean of the Institute at Mount had the opporMercy College. tunity to learn from and network Contact him at (319) 363-8213, with regional and ext. 1843 or tom@ national experts mtmercy.edu. The in the field of adult college’s Web site learning. is www.mtmercy. A 2004 study by edu. the U.S. Department of Labor found more than 60 percent of the U.S. population between the ages of 25 and 64 had no college education. Other studies show as many as 37 million adults are interested in earning a bachelor’s degree but are unable to participate, often due to a lack of programs near their home or place of employment. This barrier does not exist in the Cedar Valley. There is a rich history of adult accelerated learning Iowa. More than 11 years ago, Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids began offering adult accelerated degrees in conjunction with Kirkwood Community College. The program grew fast — an indication the classes filled a gap in local workforce development and education. Today, the Mount Mercy-Kirkwood partnership boasts more than 800 graduates. The program’s success has inspired a new partnership between Hawkeye Community College in the Cedar Valley and Mount Mercy. Mount Mercy professors will teach courses on Hawkeye’s main campus. The program was created to meet the area’s growing demand for quality, affordable adult accelerated programs with evening and weekend classes. Mount Mercy will offer flexible and personalized accelerated programs for working adults seeking to earn
professional degrees in a realistic time frame. Officials at both institutions recognized the benefits such a program would bring to the Cedar Valley, especially at a time when the economy dictates that workers retool their skills and knowledge to adjust to rising competitive standards. The U.S. Department of Labor reports demographic shifts are expected to worsen the gap between qualifications and job demands, creating a shortage of 9 million qualified workers by 2014. Education is the key to maintaining a qualified national work force — and can oftentimes mean the difference between a promotion and a pink slip. Adults looking to earn their college degree are already working in the real world. They have fulltime jobs and lifestyles that cannot accommodate classes during the workday. Mount Mercy understands this. The program enables students to attend a four-hour class one night per week for five consecutive weeks. The accelerated format enables working adults to earn a degree in significantly less time than taking traditional classes. This program understands the needs of adult learners and is able to accommodate these needs without compromising the quality of education. Mount Mercy professors will travel to Hawkeye’s campus to teach, enabling working adults in the area the convenience of enrolling in courses nearer their home and place of business. Mount Mercy will offer two majors at Hawkeye: management and applied management. Mount Mercy’s management and applied management majors emphasize strategic decision making, ethical leadership, analytical reasoning, problem solving, and professional communication. Because adults accepted into the program have professional work experience under their belt, they immediately begin to apply the knowledge they gain from each class to what they’ve already done in the work force.
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Take good care of an inheritance to improve your finances Inheriting money is typically a gift from someone close to you that deserves to be cherished and put to good use. If managed well, the benefit to you can far exceed what even the bestintentioned benefactor might have imagined. If you are like Larry K. Fox many baby boomis senior financial ers, you either advisor with Ameriprise have or likely Financial Inc. will receive some in Waterloo. inheritance from Contact him parents or othat (319) 234-7000 ers during your life. Even if the amount of money received may not put you on easy street, it can make a difference if you handle the inheritance properly. A 2006 study by the AARP Public Policy Institute showed that about 20 percent of baby boomer households received an inheritance, and another 15 percent expect to receive one in the future. The median value of those who have received an inheritance was $64,000 (in inflationadjusted dollars) in 2004. While that may not be enough to drastically alter your life, it certainly is significant enough to make a substantial difference in your financial situation. Any sum you receive should be helpful. The larger the amount, the more decisions you will have to make. Here are some steps to consider as you determine what to do with this newfound source of wealth: ■ Be realistic about what it means. An inheritance does not give you license to suddenly change your lifestyle (except in those rare cases where your inheritance is a sum of several hundred thousand dollars or more). It might help you handle an emergency need or achieve a longtime goal, however. Be cautious about altering your approach to money just because of a sudden new source of wealth. For most, this is a one-time event that won’t be repeated.
■ Determine how it fits within your overall financial strategy. Consider the impact of an inheritance and the effect on your financial life. Determine if the money you’ve received will be used for a specific purpose, or incorporated into other existing assets you already established to help achieve certain goals. ■ Look into possible tax implications. It is important to discuss your situation with a tax adviser who can help you understand the often intricate and complex laws associated with your inheritance. Some of the questions related to taxation revolve around the specific type of asset you inherit. For instance, if you inherit shares of a stock, the cost basis for the stock will not be its original purchase price, but valued at the price on the day the decedent died. This may provide a tax advantage for you at the time you sell the shares. If you inherit retirement plan assets, such as an individual’s workplace savings plan or an IRA, there are different tax laws that will apply. To make the most of your inheritance, it is vital that you comply with appropriate tax laws to avoid any penalties. ■ Develop your own estate plan. The receipt of an inheritance is a good reminder that all of us have a need to prepare for the disposition of our estates at death. If you don’t have a will or haven’t updated one lately, be sure to do so. Also, review the beneficiaries you have named for your retirement plans (workplace plans as well as IRAs) to be sure they are current. If you plan how to manage your inheritance, it may have a more significant impact on your overall financial situation. Even if you decide to use the money for an immediate purpose, you want to make sure that your strategy is consistent with your entire financial approach. Enlisting the help of professionals to guide you along the way, including an attorney, accountant and a financial adviser, can help you best manage this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
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TechWorks presents opportunities for agriculture, business Since the beginning of time, the one constant in agriculture has been change. Agriculture has gone from each family feeding itself to a few families feeding their community to a few farmers feeding the world. Cary Darrah Advances in irriis general manager gation, production of Cedar Valley practices, equipTechWorks in ment, chemiWaterloo. Contact cals, fertilizer and her by telephone at (319) 232-1156 or genetics has kept (319) 415-5005 or agriculture on the via e-mail, at www. leading edge of cedarvalley technology and techworks.com. supplied the world with food, clothing and other products. New uses have been one of the most valuable pieces of agricultural production and technological advances; from wool and cotton to peanut butter, corn sweeteners and biofuels, many products have emerged to add value to the raw commodities produced around the world. The TechWorks campus, located in downtown Waterloo, provides the opportunity for Iowa to be on the cutting edge of technology in agriculture. TechWorks is emerging as the pinnacle of research and development, manufacturing, education, showcasing new uses and products from the commodities and natural resources available in Iowa. TechWorks is working in conjunction with our universities and community colleges to bring research and education to the
forefront by maximizing both private and public resources. The testing labs will facilitate education and product research and can also be used with the business incubator/accelerator to help new businesses get off to a solid start. Companies and organizations locating at the TechWorks campus will add value to products grown in Iowa and increase the income of farmers and agribusinesses, helping the economy in the Cedar Valley and the state. Communicating the story of agriculture — both the history and the future — is a valuable component of TechWorks. Present and future generations need to understand the history and the future of agriculture and the important role it plays in our everyday lives. Nearly 400,000 jobs in Iowa are ag-related, or one out of every five jobs. We need to communicate the importance of agriculture to those who live in or visit Iowa. Fewer of us today have a connection to the farm, and we lose touch with the hard work and determination it takes to produce all the things we take for granted. The AgriTech Exhibition Center will share the hardships and triumphs of those who have come before and the exciting things to come, as well a showcasing the products that are being developed and manufactured at the Campus. TechWorks is a project that we in the Cedar Valley and the state of Iowa can be very proud of, and one we need to support. This is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss.
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Adult day care a livesaver for those taking care of a loved one For many people, growing older has a set of challenges that most of us never anticipate. What if you experienced a stroke that resulted in a physical disability? What about heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, loss of vision or hearing, arthritis, frailty Mark Witmer or a host of other is executive director of North age-related conStar Community ditions. And, what Services Inc. in if you were no lonWaterloo. Contact ger able to comhim at (319) 236- pletely take care of 0901 or www. yourself? Many of northstarcs.org. us have been independent our entire adult lives; used to taking care of ourselves, a certain pride in being self-sufficient. As we age, the likelihood of experiencing disability increases significantly. We all know families who are taking care of an aging loved one; helping to manage their finances, coordinating medical appointments or actually living with them, taking on the role of full-time caregiver. While care giving for a loved one is tremendously rewarding, it is also exhausting and time consuming. Caregivers often have difficulty finding the time or energy to take care of the normal responsibilities of their own lives, like working, housekeeping or recreation. Families in this situation often find adult day care can be a real life saver. Adult day care services provide a variety of services, such
as assistance with medications, nutritional meals and snacks, social and physical activities, daily activities and educational programs as well as following through on prescribed physical therapy activities, nursing assistance and care. Caregivers also benefit from adult day care services. Caregivers who work are able to be more productive because they are not worried about their loved one. Adult day care also gives caregivers the opportunity for some “alone” time; to get some things done around the house, to go shopping, play a round of golf or just to get some much-deserved rest. There is a sense of relief that comes from knowing that your loved one is cared for and safe during the day. Adult day care services are available in the Waterloo — Cedar Falls area at two sites known as Newel Post. The Newel Post Adult Day Care programs are operated by North Star Community Services, Inc. Located in Waterloo on Tiffany Place and Canterbury Court, our two facilities are comfortable, inviting, and accessible. The program is staffed by dedicated, well-trained, and caring people who have a genuine love for their jobs and the people they serve. The cost of adult day care services is very reasonable. Plus, there are a variety of funding sources that are available for those who qualify. To learn more about adult day care services or to schedule a tour at one of our beautiful Newel Post facilities, call (319) 433-0584.
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‘Green Space, Your Place’ reshapes a partnership Terms like “eco-friendly” and “sustainability” are all the buzz in today’s media. In these extraordinary times of decreasing resources and increasing needs, we have realized our connectedness to Mother Mollie Benning Luze Nature and the vital importance is director of horticulture at of turning from the Cedar Valley users to stewards. Arboretum & The Cedar ValBotanic Gardens, ley Arboretum & 3336 Kimball Ave., Botanic Garden’s Waterloo. Contact her at (319) 226- 2009 theme is Space, 4966 or director@ “Green Your Place,” as cedarvalley arboretum.org. we encourage the Cedar Valley to join in the green movement to partner with nature and improve our built environment.
We are lucky in the Cedar Valley to be surrounded by wonderful outdoor and recreational amenities, all opportunities to solidify our people-to-plant partnership. Public green space connects people to people by encouraging face-to-face interaction and civic participation. It provides space to admire art and nature as well as a collective space to honor and celebrate. It seems to bring out the best in us to cultivate happiness. Perhaps most importantly, public green space provides a calm environment to nourish a sense of wonder in youths and adults. No sensory overload — just fresh air and natural beauty. One of our greatest responsibilities at the arboretum is to serve as an outdoor classroom. It is our goal to provide a space to teach the power of observation and higher level thought process.
Learners from preschool through higher education need informal settings to connect the dots between the classroom and real experience. To ensure that we support and encourage our future generations of plant scientists in all their many forms, we must make the connection between students, the formal classroom and our natural world. Land and agriculture is our continuity, and what will connect one generation to the next. Knowing tomorrow’s success and development will result from steps we take today, we must teach youths to be Earth advocates and innovators. Because today we cannot imagine what future studies will find, how plants will fuel tomorrow’s technology. The face of agriculture is changing. Future farming will require additional technology and overall employment likely will con-
tinue to decline and productivity increase. Horticulture and organic farming will continue to expand, as will the importance of buying locally. We depend on plants for existence. Green is the color of plants and our future. Plants not only refresh our spirits and add beauty to our landscape, they nourish our bodies and provide solutions to the challenges of our world. Please join the Cedar Valley Arboretum & Botanic Gardens in moving outside our garden gates by involving the Cedar Valley in a meaningful way, teaching our youths to observe and instill a plant connection that will fuel all of our futures. The Cedar Valley Arboretum & Botanic Gardens is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit independent organization and is located directly east of Hawkeye Community College on Orange Road in Waterloo.
The arboretum serves a diverse population including the elderly and very young of varied income and skill levels, and encourages the participation by persons with disabilities. The grounds are open April through October, dawn to dusk, and admission is free to the public. Make sure to attend the arboretum’s annual Fall Harvest Festival from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20. The festival is the arboretum’s signature event, a family weekend for the Cedar Valley community and Northeast Iowa. The main attraction each year is the scarecrow contest, with unique scarecrows made in every shape and size by community businesses and individuals. Other events include an openair market, games and crafts for children of all ages, picnic food and local talent performances.
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Downtown Waterloo parking: Facts and fiction First of two parts. Who hasn’t heard the complaint, “I couldn’t find a parking space?” I have probably said it myself once or twice. So, I was as shocked as anyone to learn there are more than 3,700 public parking spaces in downtown Waterloo. Perhaps a more accuSindee rate statement is, Kleckner “I couldn’t find is executive director of Main a parking space Street Waterloo. exactly where I wanted it, when I Contact her at (319) 291-2038. wanted it.” That is why parking is such a hot topic of conversation. There seems to be a disconnect between the perception and reality of parking downtown. Downtown Waterloo has been through some rough patches with the construction of East Fourth Street over the past two years. The street went from no traffic and no parking during construction, to nonmetered parking, and now there are meters. Believe it or not, parking meters provide a benefit to downtown businesses. They contribute to your bottom line. Regulating parking assures that one of the most valuable pieces of real estate downtown is providing its maximum benefit. Time limits, parking meters and parking enforcement are all tools that protect an asset that is important to your customers: convenience. These regulations are in place for one reason: to encourage turnover of parking spaces to attract more people downtown. The Traffic Code for the city of Waterloo states “any vehicle which remains in an individual parking space after the prescribed time for parking is hereby determined to be illegally parked.” What does that mean? It means if the parking meter is a two-hour meter, it is intended to be used in increments of two hours or less, not as a solution for
Time limits, parking meters and parking enforcement are all tools that protect an asset that is important to your customers: convenience. long-term parking needs. It also means that plugging a meter for a full work day is a parking violation. It is important to use the parking ramps, public parking lots, and 10-hour meters to meet extended parking needs. If you have ever worked for a big-box store, you know that the spaces closest to the doors are not intended for employees; they are intended for people who spend the shortest amount of time in the store and, therefore, turnover the spaces more often. Leasing a parking space is not expensive, and there are several spots available in the ramps and public parking lots downtown. Parking spaces in the ramps range from $35 to $50 a month. This equates to about $1.50 - $2.50 per day during the workweek. Parking spaces in the open lots are $30 a month — less than $1.50 per work day. These prices don’t compare to the hundreds or even thousands of dollars of potential lost revenue when a customer decides not to stop or shop because of a perceived parking issue. They say it costs six to 10 times more to attract a new customer than to keep an existing one. We all know how important it is for a customer to have a pleasant experience. This experience extends beyond your front door. Just like you make sure your store is clean and your employees are appropriately dressed, you should want your customers to have available parking. No doubt about it, on-street parking is convenient. That is why those spaces should be for customer use only. Use the public ramps or lots for extended parking and save the on-street parking for customers and visitors. Park smart.
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Market intelligence is key to business startup Some entrepreneurs start or operate their businesses like a lot of people buy lottery tickets: They spend their money first, then see if they are a winner. Problem is, for every winner, there are thousands of losers. We can all relate to the success story Ron Padavich of someone who came up with an is director of strategic marketing idea and quickly services at the got rich from it. University of That gives us hope Northern Iowa. that if they can do Contact him at it, so can we. Well, (319) 273-6942 or there are thouronald.padavich@ sands of bankrupt uni.edu. business ventures out there that thought the same thing. What you really need is some way to put the odds in your favor. Wouldn’t it be better to understand your chance of success before you invest your hard-earned money? Strategic marketing services recently completed a project for a young Hispanic entrepreneur with the idea of preparing and selling authentic Latino food products to Iowa food retailers. On the surface, it might seem like a no-brainer. Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population and their ranks are growing in Iowa. According to the Food Marketing Institute,
Hispanic consumers tend to shop for groceries more often, buy more food items, and spend 20 percent more at the grocery store then the typical U.S. consumer. This is all a lot of entrepreneurs would need to forge ahead with their business idea. Our client however, who had limited resources, needed more assurance. We proposed conducting research with both Latino and non-ethnic grocery stores in highly populated Latino areas in Iowa, as well as food distributors that sell to both Latino and non-ethnic retail food vendors. We soon discovered that many of the Latino business owners we needed to interview did not speak English. One of the advantages of being a part of the university is that we have numerous readily available resources to help us address unusual situations. A call to the language arts department resulted in finding a Spanish-speaking individual whom we hired and trained to make the calls on our behalf. Our confidentiality agreement precludes me from disclosing the detailed results of this project, but what I can tell you is that, as a result of this project, our client now has a realistic picture of the market along with a list of obstacles he will have to contend with if he chooses to pursue his business idea. In addition, if he chooses to proceed with his business, he
IRS bad at regulating tax preparers WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS does a poor job overseeing paid tax preparers used by more than half the nation’s taxpayers, the agency’s inspector general said in a report released in late July. The IRS has acknowledged problems overseeing tax preparers, announcing in June that it intends to propose new rules by the end of the year. The rules, which could come as regulations or proposed legislation, could include licensing and training requirements. The IRS held its first pub-
lic forum to gather input on the new rules July 30 in Washington. About 60 percent of taxpayers pay someone to prepare their returns, according to the IRS. An additional 20 percent or so buy computer software. However, tax preparers don’t have to be licensed, unless they represent clients in proceedings before the Internal Revenue Service. Industry leaders, including H&R Block and the National Association of Tax Professionals, have said they would welcome better oversight of tax preparers.
knows the most receptive market penetration point. What this will allow our client to do is focus his limited resources in the area where he has the greatest
chance of success. Once established he can expand into other areas as resources allow. Just like picking apples, gather the lowest and easiest fruit first, then work
your way up the tree. That is the basis of market research. Find solid ground on which to stand to launch your business.
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Area presents opportunities for retaining young minds Iowans have heard ad nauseum that our younger generation is fleeing the state in droves — the so-called “brain drain.” Depending on the period chosen since 1995, Iowa is among the leaders Saul Shapiro in out-migration, but the problem is is assistant most acute among vice president for institutional those with college advancement at degrees. Wartburg College We’re second and director of to North Dakota, communication and it’s not an and marketing. inconsequential Contact him at (319) 352-8379. number. Iowans have an affinity for higher education. The Generation Iowa Commission reported earlier this year that 62 percent of Iowa’s high school graduates go to college with 33 percent attaining a bachelor’s degree. The existing work force includes 24 percent with a B.A. Ironically, Iowa should have a “brain influx.” It is the top net importer of college students in the Midwest and among the leaders in the nation, which speaks well of its higher-education reputation. Students from the Chicago
metropolitan area inundate the University of Iowa campus and are well-represented elsewhere. Yet Iowa’s in-migration is up only among people without a high school diploma or a high school diploma only. Commissions have studied ways to stymie the out-migration. Governors have floated various ideas like tuition reimbursement and special tax breaks and pursued initiatives, such as Vision Iowa, to keep our children from abandoning us. Reality, of course, is that no political act short of encouraging global warming — swamping the coasts and shortening our winters — may dissuade young people intent on moving to the youth enclaves like Wrigleyville in Chicago or Old Town in Alexandria, Va., or to sunnier climes. Others with the inclination to stay may be thwarted by the lack of job opportunities — only 12.2 percent of jobs in the state required a bachelor’s degree or higher — or lower pay, albeit with higher cost-of-living elsewhere. It is presumptuous to maintain that Wartburg, with 1,800 students — has found the magic elixir. But our statistics are comparatively favorable: 72 percent of our students are from Iowa and
71 percent of them stay, while 23 percent of our out-of-state grads relocate to Iowa. I first became actively involved with Wartburg in my previous life as editor of The Courier. We had a disproportionate number of Wartburg grads in the newsroom: great work ethic, fundamentally well grounded and an excellent growth curve. I became a member of the professional advisory board at the college to enhance our ability to keep that pipeline flowing: high-ability, low-maintenance employees and non-existent relocation costs. The Courier, obviously, wasn’t alone in that take. The Cedar Valley is home to 7,000 Wartburg alumni. Interestingly, about one in six Wartburg grads is married to another grad. Not surprisingly, statistics indicate couples are more likely to stay put than singles. Much of Wartburg’s success in keeping students in the Cedar Valley is because businesses and institutions have provided internships. Nearly two-thirds of third- and fourth-year Wartburg students complete a for-credit internship. That’s significant, because a National Association of Colleg-
es and Employers’ survey found that two out of three interns are offered full-time jobs. Eighty percent of Wartburg students prefer to intern in the Cedar Valley during the academic year. The jobs involve many of our 50 majors. In recent years, internships have included working as student-engineers at John Deere; helping develop advertising campaigns at ME&V; reporting at KWWL and The Courier (and KCRG in Cedar Rapids); working at the Cumulus group radio stations; becoming press officers for Sen. Charles Grassley and U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley; shadowing emergency-room doctors at the Waverly Health Center and Sartori Memorial Hospital in Cedar Falls; conducting lab experiments on soybean renewables at the National Ag-Based Renewables Center; and being a personal trainer at the River Plaza Athletic Club. The internships are an invaluable experience. “Internships really help develop the whole student,” Wartburg internship coordinator Jo Dorrance said. “Students who come to me after an internship show much more maturity. It prepares them for a career in ways that
can’t be learned in the classroom. They learn to be team players in a corporate environment, and they learn whether a profession will be a good fit for them.” They also are critical for a community, particularly if the internship becomes a full-time position. William Withers, the Grant Price chair of the communication arts department at Wartburg, noted young people go where their peers are — a “tribal” effect. “Where those young people are in-migrating, those businesses, those communities and economic development is thriving,” Withers said. The residual effect is many of these young people are serviceoriented. Iowa college students have one of the highest rates of community engagement in the nation. Wartburg ranks third among the more than 100 schools involved in Break Away, the national service organization. In difficult economic times, it is hard to clear budgetary space for internship programs. But it’s an investment well worth making, both in the short term for businesses and institutions and in the long term for the well-being of the state.
Volunteerism is a way of life for Iowans in farming communities Anne Nass
is communications coordinator for the Volunteer Center of the Cedar Valley in Waterloo. Contact her at (319) 272.2087 or anne_nass@ vccv.org.
“Volunteerism” is not necessarily a term that comes to mind when we think of farmers. But recent unfortunate weather conditions proved those terms apply to agriculture. On June 21, a tornado hit the Dudden farm west of Dike. While the sows at this hog confinement were spared, the farrowing house was destroyed. Shortly thereafter, dozens of neighbors, community members and volunteers arrived to assist with cleanup and to lend a hand in whatever manner needed. I have witnessed this type of commitment a number of times, having been raised in a rural community and having participated in organizations such as 4-H and FFA. Then as now,
people residing in rural areas come together more often than not to assist others in need. No one thought of it then or considers it now to be “volunteering.” It is a way of life. As a child, when a local farmer had a heart attack, neighboring farmers planted his fields. When the same farmer died that fall from complications of heart disease, the same neighbors, with the assistance of farmers from another county, harvested those fields. The wives not harvesting and local families who weren’t farming supplied meals for hungry workers. They asked for nothing in return. It was simply the “right thing to do.” This same small community rallied again when another farm family
incurred the severe injury and eventual loss of their beloved 3-year-old child in a farm-related accident a few years later. Crops were cared for, meals were prepared, and child care was provided for the other children in the family. Again, the word “volunteer” never occurred to anyone involved. On another occasion, wind took down a well needed barn used to house cattle and store hay. The next weekend the farming community razed the remnants and built a new barn from the ground up. Again, neighbors provided enough food to feed twice those present. No one ever complained, and it actually turned into a social event with a party held
in that new barn prior to welcoming the cattle to their new home. No one considered it a “service project,” although in fact, it was just that. Now, it’s nearly 40 years later and while some things have changed on the Iowa landscape, the people there haven’t. People help people in need. You can give it any name you’d like — volunteering, philanthropy, volunteerism or service learning. Iowans see a need and find a way to meet that need. They give time, labor, materials, food and cash donations. Some good things never change. If you have an interest in volunteering, contact the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley at 272-2087 or visit www.vccv.org.
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Kent Feeds navigates difficult agribusiness economy Based in Muscatine, Kent Feeds is part of a family of feed companies with more than 20 manufacturing facilities stretching from Oklahoma to Vermont. With three of these plants in Iowa, Kent Feeds has been an Iowa icon in agribusiness for more than 80 years. Long known as a Doug Miner leader in providing is Waterloo plant quality animal feed manager for Kent and nutrition conFeeds Inc. sultation, Kent has Contact him evolved with the at (319)235-0387. industry through some fairly volatile times. While the global recession of 2009 may be one of the most challenging times ever for U.S. agribusiness, here are reasons management at Kent Feeds remains optimistic that agribusiness will survive and thrive in Iowa.
Demand for food grows
“Now, more than ever, we have a truly global economy,” says Rich Dwyer, president of Kent Feeds. “Emerging markets around the world have growing populations with increasing spendable income which, in turn, creates a growing demand for food. This means increased demand for both plant and animal food sources, and nobody grows food better than the United States. Within the U.S., nobody does this better than Midwest farmers. The unique combination of fertile land for crop growth and plentiful food sources for livestock will continue to position the Midwest better than other competing areas.” While current market conditions have made things very difficult on livestock producers, this is not unique in recent history. Markets tend to be cyclical and correct themselves over time. Most industry experts predict that lean times in 2008 and 2009 will give way to prosperity in the future.
Selling products, expertise Innovation has been an important driver to agribusiness success for many traditional businesses as they have evolved to meet demand. Whether the business is grain, livestock or feed production, increased productivity and yield have allowed America’s heartland to remain one of the most progressive and efficient food producing regions in the world. Innovation through research and development has always been an important component of the Kent Feeds business model. “You can buy animal feed from many companies around the region,” said Bruce Read, Kent Feeds vice president of nutrition. “What differentiates Kent Feeds is that we bring decades of experience in research and nutrition to the table. We have a staff of experienced nutritionists and field specialists that can provide customized solutions to meet very specific dietary requirements. We also have a product
development center where we perform ongoing research to provide an extra level of confidence in our products.”
While there can be a tendency to focus on price alone during a recession, spending a little more for superior quality will often give you a better return. Think globally, act locally Despite the economy, there Despite trying economic condi- remains opportunity for growth, tions, the number of animals fed according to John Howard, in Iowa remains high, and projec- Kent Feeds vice-president of tions are positive for the state. Being an established business with ties to the local community can be a tremendous asset during difficult times. Building a reputation of quality over many decades doesn’t hurt, either. Customers are operating leaner, but animals are still there to be fed. We have history in the area, and our relationships with our customers have been one of our greatest assets. Our focus continues to be providing our customer with the highest quality products.
Focus on adding value
One of the best ways to endure tough times is to focus on added value products and services.
Find all your latest news in
marketing. “It has been a challenging year, but we’re seeing growth in key segments,” he said. “We have brands that are enjoying record years in both our livestock and companion animal segments. Most of the growth we’re seeing is on highly differentiated value.”
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4-H a valuable experience for all kinds of kids “I can’t be in 4-H, I don’t live on a farm.” “I don’t have any animals, so I can’t join 4-H.” “I thought 4-H was for farm kids.” These are comments we hear all the time. 4-H is more than livestock and farming. 4-H offers Andrea a wide variety of Traeger is Grundy County learning experi4-H & Youth ences and project Coordinator. areas for youths Contact her at to learn and grow. (319) 824-6979 or 4-H is an organitraegera@iastate. zation that offers edu. youth opportunities in communications, leadership and career development, livestock, home improvement, computer technology and so much more. 4-H is instrumental in building live skills in youths and making our communities better places to live and work. 4-H will continue to grow and develop with the head, heart, hands and health of the youth around the world. Everyone can join 4-H. Youths in kindergarten through third grade can participate as Clover Kids, and youths in grades four through 12 can be 4-H members. Parents, grandparents, siblings and friends can also be a part of our 4-H family by volunteering through opportunities as leaders, mentors, project area workshop leaders and helping with many events throughout the year. In a successful 4-H experience,
members can choose what project areas they want to learn about and what events and activities they want to attend. Just like everything else, the more a youth is involved in 4-H, the more they get from the experience. As they get older, they can expand their experience by volunteering to help or share their knowledge and skills with others. The knowledge 4-H members learn through the 4-H program is something they can take with them for the rest of their lives. Many of our 4-Hers use their 4-H record book to help them fill out scholarships and job applications. Many events and workshops are designed for the whole family to attend. Parent or other adult involvement supports a successful 4-H experience. By being involved, you can share your knowledge and skills with the club, encourage your children’s involvement and celebrate your children’s successes. And best of all it is a great way to stay informed. “4-H is about the learning experience, not about winning,” said Katie Hooper, 4-H alumna and Grundy County 4-H summer assistant. “You learn from your mistakes, your fellow 4-H members and through trial and error. Nothing is perfect. 4-H will give you the experiences you need to definitely become an active member not only in your community but throughout your life. Take what you can and learn what you can. The rest will fall into place.”
As 4-H alumna, I continue to look back at my 4-H career and am pleased that I chose to be part of a wonderful program and 4H family. I grew up in Grundy County 4-H and was a nine-year member of the Palermo 4-H Clovers. I was involved in project areas such as visual arts, photography, food and nutrition, home improvement, child development and sheep, to name a few. Some of my fond memories are the moments I shared with my friends at meetings and at the fair in the summer. At our meetings, we got to be a part of the decisions made for our club’s activities, learned how to do presentations and had opportunities to do some hands-on activities. I really enjoyed going on intermediate member trips to places like the Grotto and attending the State Youth Conference in Ames. As a
senior (ninth-12th) 4-H member I was also a part of the Grundy County 4-H Council that helped plan events for youth in the county such as a lock in at the YMCA, 4-H teen dances, holiday parties, workshops and livestock weigh-ins. I always looked forward to the Grundy County Fair in the summer. I enjoyed spending time with friends, showing my exhibits and learning new ideas for the next year. Then, in the fall, I worked hard on my 4H record book and attended the 4-H awards banquet. I earned awards in many project areas and as a senior was awarded the Danforth I Dare you award. I took a break from 4-H during college but still had a part in helping my siblings with their projects and supported them at the fair. I have been a 4-H assistant leader and assistant County Council leader
before landing my current job as the Grundy County 4-H & Youth Coordinator. Some things I have taken with me are the ability to communicate, leadership skills and fond memories of the time I spent as a Grundy County 4-Her. Now as I work with the 4-H program I have an opportunity to watch other youths grow in their skills and knowledge of various project areas. And I have gained many friends through the families that I have been fortunate to meet. I am thankful for the things I gained through 4-H and hope that others take the opportunity to check it out for themselves. Encourage your children to try 4-H and see where it can take you. Join 4-H. Contact your local Iowa State University Extension for more information.
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Official soft trails are coming to Wyth State Park By LORI EBERHARD
There have been soft trails in George Wyth State Park, but they have not been “official” and have not been maintained. That changes this year, thanks to Cedar Valley Association for Soft Trails, which is partnering with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in an agreement to create official soft trails at George Wyth State Park. The trails will be available to the public for running, hiking, and mountain biking. Having official soft trials will enable events to be held at George Wyth that haven’t been possible in the past. To make this trail system successful all groups using them will have to work together. A few groups already looking forward to the completion of the soft trails are the University of Northern Iowa Cross Country team, mountain bike groups and any group that enjoys a little more
of a rugged surface for outdoor recreation. The expected kickoff for the soft trails will be Aug. 9, which is when the Hartman Reserve Nature Center is having its third annual Eco-Triathlon. This event consists of a 3.4-mile kayak, 8 miles mountain biking and a 3 mile run. The addition of these trails will allow for a more diverse experience for riders, hikers and runners. The soft trails will be a great addition to the existing Cedar Valley Trials system in making it a more bike-friendly community. As the soft trails become more popular, the Cedar Valley will benefit by more visitors and trail users coming and enjoying the already-great Cedar Valley trails. In this way, the community can help the trails and the trails can help the community grow with potential economic benefits to be had to the local business owners
and to the communities. Formal soft trails will benefit the environment in that there will be fewer rough trails created. This will help lessen the environmental impact on the soil with compaction and erosion concerns. It also will benefit the wildlife by not turning all of their trails into soft trails and letting them have their space, as well. If these trails become a hit and if the organizations that want them and use them continue to help the parks staff maintain them, then that partnership has a far better chance of expanding and being able to create additional trails. If this partnership fails, then the trails will just be left to grow over and will no longer be easily accessible to the public. With the tough economic times that are occurring and governmental budget cuts, some of the best ways businesses can succeed now is by partnering with other agencies that have similar interests and goals on projects.
East Central Iowa Cooperative a big part of ag economy Agriculture is the No. 1 business in the state of Iowa, and East Central Iowa Cooperative is proud to be a big part of that in Black Hawk and surrounding counties. ECIC is a full service cooperative, Dennis Maas supplying prodis general manager of the East Central ucts and services Iowa Cooperative. in the areas of grain, livestock, Contact him at (800) 400-3247. feed, consumer lifestyle and pet foods, fertilizer, chemicals, seed and energy products such as gas, E-85, diesel and lubricants. ECIC has eight locations serving several communities. We have an elevator in Cedar Falls, an elevator and an agronomy center in Hudson, an elevator and an agronomy center in Jesup, an elevator in La Porte City and an elevator in Waterloo.
In 2008, like many other homes and businesses, we sustained the largest catastrophic event in the history of the coop, the flood in Cedar Falls. Our elevator location is just north of Main Street. The experience, no matter how bad it was, was softened by the city of Cedar Falls and its employees and how they helped in the wake”of the disaster. Law enforcement, CFU and street personnel all came to our aid. During the recovery and cleanup Cedar Falls city employees continued to assist us in our daily needs. We could not have asked for more support. Since the recovery, we are continuing to work with the city of Cedar Falls on a long-term plan to eliminate this type of damage to our facilities in the future. Again, the city employees have been great to work with. East Central Iowa Cooperative compliments the City of Cedar Falls on its professional employees.
As with many businesses in the Cedar Valley, we are not immune to the economic downturn that is occurring. We are constantly looking for efficiencies to gain in our core businesses, and one way to do that is to utilize larger equipment with fewer man hours. The agricultural structure has been evolving in this direction for some time. Consolidation is not a new terminology in agriculture. Technology has adapted to changes in agriculture. Advances in chemistry, precision ag, seed technology, equipment and general farming practices have all contributed to ag production which in turn is better for the environment. Agriculture is alive and well in Black Hawk and surrounding counties. East Central Iowa Cooperative is proud to be a big part of production agriculture and contributing to the economy in the Cedar Valley area.
We ask that as the trails are being done that all users follow the official trails and not make their own. After rains, stay off of the trials and follow the International Mountain Bike Association rules for these trails. If everyone works together and follows a few simple rules the
soft trials will be another great way for people to enjoy the Cedar Valley and George Wyth State Park. Lori Eberhard is manager of George Wyth State Park in Cedar Falls. Contact her at (319) 232-5505 or lori.eberhard@ dnr.iowa.gov.
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www.GreATercedArvAlleychAmber.com Greater Cedar Valley Chamber of Commerce
40th Annual Fall Golf Classic August 25, 2009 Pheasant Ridge Golf Course
Register your foursome today! There are a limited number of morning reservations remaining for this four-person best shot. Cost for the morning tee time is $240. Cost includes golf, cart and dinner. Shotgun starts are at 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Cart Sponsor:
August Calendar of Events August 14 August 18 August 18 August 20 August 25 August 27
Cedar Falls Ambassadors, Cedar Falls office, Noon Waterloo New Teachers' Breakfast, Hawkeye Community College, 1501 E. Orange Rd., Waterloo, 7:30 a.m. Membership Task Force, Location TBD, 4:00 p.m. Cedar Falls New Teachers' Breakfast, Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, Univeristy of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, 7:30 a.m. Fall Golf Classic, Pheasant Ridge Golf Course, 3205 W. 12th St., Cedar Falls Board of Directors, Location TBD, 8:00 a.m.
You are cordially invited to participate in the annual Discovered Resources Job Fair. Over a thousand job seekers attended and visited with over eighty company representatives last year. Take advantage of this opportunity to showcase your business and meet your staffing needs.
Tee and Green Sponsors/Putting Green
Come join us!
Community National Bank, Iowa Metal Spinners, Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo, Fahr Beverage, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, US Bank, Regions Bank, Lincoln Savings Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Allen Health System, Veridian Credit Union, Mauer Eye Center and Sign Fusion Tee or Green Sponsors/19th Hole
Brummel Madsen Insurance, Comfort Suites, 1st National Bank, Wingate by Wyndham, Manatt’s, Inc., Jacobson Financial Services, PIPAC, Lockard Development, BankIowa, Barmuda MMC, Matthias Landscaping, Inc., Benton’s Ready Mixed Concrete, Holiday Inn – Cedar Falls and United Beverage
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 1:00pm – 4:30pm FIVE SULLIVAN BROTHERS CONVENTION CENTER WEST 4TH AND COMMERCIAL WATERLOO, IOWA
Where Opportunity Meets Potential The Mission of the Discovered Resources Job Fair is to provide opportunities for employers and job seekers to discover resources and solve employment needs.
Organized by:
Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services
To register your foursome, call Kim Schleisman at 266-3593 or email kim@greatercedarvalleychamber.com.
Hawkeye Community College Iowa Workforce Development Greater Cedar Valley Alliance
For additional information contact:
Mike Howell (319) 234-0319 michael.howell@iowa.gov or Linda L. Laylin (319) 232-1156 laylin@cedarvalleyalliance.com
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Welcome New Chamber Members
Cedar Valley Partners PO Box 133 Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Phone: 319-610-7492 Fax: 888-354-1827 Website: www.cedarvalleypartners.com Contact: Jeff Hassman Category: Management & Public Relations Consulting Design Studio Floral & Accessories 1409 LaPorte Rd. Waterloo, IA 50702 Phone: 319-236-5072 Fax: 319-236-6617 Website: www.designstudiofloral.com Contact: Mark Nading Category: Florists-Retail Hydrite Chemical Company 2815 WCF & N Dr. Waterloo, IA 50703 Phone: 319-232-9731 Fax: 319-232-1112 Website: www.hydrite.com Contact: Dan David Category: Chemical Sales & Manufacturing Robert C. Krogh Waterloo, IA Category: Individuals Dave Mazur Cedar Falls, IA Category: Individuals
www.wcfcourier.com
MCG BioComposites LLC 3425 Sycamore Ct. NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 Phone: 319-378-0077 Fax: 319-378-1577 Website: www.mcgbiocomposites.com Contact: Sam McCord Category: Bio Composite Materials Midwest Contractors Inc. PO Box 279 Cedar Falls, IA 50613 Phone: 319-266-2528 Contact: Dorinda Pounds Category: Contractors-General Building
Friday, July 31, 2009
AUGUST 2009
Welcome New Alliance Investors New Investors in the Alliance Artisan Ceiling Systems Firms, Institutions & Local Government Extending their Investment in the Alliance ACES ASPRO Blue Line Moving & Storage, Inc. CBE Group DEC Real Estate L.C. First National Bank Cedar Falls ME&V University Book & Supply Western Home Communities
Greater Cedar Valley Chamber of Commerce presents...
Waterloo & Cedar Falls New Teachers' Breakfasts Waterloo Breakfast
Tuesday, August 18 7:30 a.m. Brock Student Center, Hawkeye Community College
Cedar Falls Breakfast
Thursday, August 20 7:30 a.m. Gallagher Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, University of Northern Iowa
A Limited Number of Teacher Sponsorships are available!
If you are interested in showing your support for our Cedar Valley Teachers and networking with fellow business people, please contact Erin Bishop at 233-8431 or erin@greatercedarvalleychamber.com.
Superintendent Sponsors
Principal Sponsors
Gift Sponsor
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Ribbon Cuttings
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SAVE THE DATE! Thursday, September 24 7:30 - 9:00 a.m. Sky Event Centre 8th Floor in the Black's Building, Waterloo
BankIowa 6804 University Ave., Cedar Falls
The Book ReView Waterloo Public Library, Waterloo
The program will include updates on city and county issues from Mayor Jon Crews, Mayor Chad Deutsch, Mayor Tim Hurley and a representative from the Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors. Grainger 827 Fisher Dr., Waterloo
Wal-Mart 525 Brandilynn Blvd., Cedar Falls
MidWestOne Bank 3110 Kimball Ave., Waterloo
Waterloo Dog Park Hwy. 63 & Ansborough Ave., Waterloo
Welcome New Waterloo Ambassador, Joe Surma
Joe Surma Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare
Joe Surma, Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, has been selected to serve as a Waterloo Ambassador. Geof Grimes, StruXture Architects, recently resigned after serving as an Ambassador since 1987. The Chamber sincerely appreciates his dedication and service.
There is no cost to attend; however, reservations are required. Please RSVP by September 17 to the Chamber offices, 233-8431 or 266-3593. Parking is available, at no cost, in the public parking ramp located on Park Avenue. You may access the Black’s Building on the 2nd floor and take the elevator up to Sky Event Centre, located on the 8th floor.
Sponsored by:
Co-Sponsored by:
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Friday, July 31, 2009
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Green Cedar Valley !
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Tips to help your business "Go Green" "As a commercial construction company, it is important for our entire organization to be conscious about our environment. Did you know that per every square foot of new construction two and a half pounds of waste is generated? This makes the construction industry one of the main contributors of landfill waste. This is why we at The Samuels Group take many measures throughout our office and field procedures to minimize this number as much as possible. We recycle not only in our office, but at every jobsite as well. A neat idea to take to the office is to use paper that was printed only on one side and recycle it by using it your fax machines on the opposite side. When our team is out at a job site we are able to recycle many items. We work with the local recycling companies to meet their standards of recycling. After meeting their procedures, we evaluate to see if there is more we can do. For example, if we are unable to find a company that recycles drywall we will search other options until we find a creative way for it to be recycled. There are many options out there for companies to research, but sometimes we just need to get creative in our thinking." - Jessica Glenetski, The Samuels Group "Is your business certified? Through the GCVI Certification program, businesses can be certified as ‘green’ -- meaning that they meet minimum requirements toward reducing their negative environmental impact, promoting earth-friendly choices and encouraging healthy lifestyles. By making these efforts, the GCVI hopes to improve the quality of life for those visiting and living in the Cedar Valley and for people across the globe. Take advantage of the FREE certification program by visiting www.greencedarvalley. com. - Brooke Burnham, Waterloo CVB
Does your business have a green tip that you would like to share? E-mail it to erin@greatercedarvalleychamber.com.
Reminder to Save Some Green! Friday, August 7 and Saturday, August 8 is tax free weekend!
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Friday, July 31, 2009
AUGUST 2009
ACES Advanced Systems, Inc. Allen Health Systems Anytime Fitness – Waterloo B & R Quality Meats, Inc. BankIowa Barmuda MMC Beacon of Hope Hospice Bishops Buffet Black Hawk County Gaming Association Black Hawk Waste Disposal Inc. Cadillac Lanes Candlewood Suites Cardinal Construction Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) 2009 Edition
Fact Sheet C O M M U N I T Y
University of Northern Iowa Campus Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa, metro population totals over 163,000 people located in Northeast Iowa. We are within a day’s drive of all major Midwest markets – only 180 miles south of the Twin Cities, 263 miles west of Milwaukee, and 265 miles west of Chicago. Additional demographic information on the metro and surrounding economic areas are available online at: www.cedarvalleyalliance.com ■ Population
New York
■ Location Highway distance from Waterloo-Cedar Falls to:
Atlanta, GA .................................. 960 miles Chicago, IL.................................. 265 miles New York, NY........................... 1,125 miles Dallas, TX.................................... 845 miles Kansas City, MO.......................... 295 miles Los Angeles, CA....................... 1,855 miles Minneapolis, MN......................... 180 miles St. Louis, MO .............................. 345 miles Denver, CO.................................. 790 miles *MSA defined as Black Hawk, Bremer, and Grundy Counties **Cedar Valley Region defined as Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Chickasaw, and Grundy Counties
2000
2007
2012
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA (MSA)*
163,706
163,329
162,980
Black Hawk County Cedar Falls Waterloo Evansdale Hudson
128,012 36,145 68,747 4,526 2,117
127,446 37,583 66,387 5,000 2,164
126,130 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Bremer County Waverly Grundy County Cedar Valley Region**
23,325 8,968
23,734 9,269
24,200 N/A
12,369
12,149
12,650
213,199
211,131
211,610
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Program; Projections from Woods & Poole, 2007 Data Pamphlets
■ Labor Market Population
248,248
Source: Cedar Valley Laborshed Analysis, 2008
■ Work Force
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA MSA*
Cedar Valley Region**
94,200
120,630
3,600
4,760
3.8%
3.9%
Total Civilian Labor Force Total Unemployment Unemployment Rate
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Special thanks to the following for their support of the 2009 Spring Golf Classic
Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa
cedar valley business monthly
Source: Iowa Workforce Development, 2008 Annual Average
2009 Community Fact Sheet Now Available! Pick up your copy at the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance or Chamber of Commerce. An electronic version is also available at www.cedarvalleyalliance.com.
Carney, Alexander, Marold & Co., L.L.P. Cedar Valley Hospice Comfort Suites Community National Bank Con Agra Foods Courier Communications Crossroads Center Culver’s Frozen Custard Restaurant d’vine Medical Spa Dalton Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, Inc. Fahr Beverage, Inc.
Fairfield Inn Farmers State Bank 1st Insurance Services First Security State Bank Friendship Village Hampton Inn of Waterloo Hawkeye Community College Heartland Inn Crossroads Hellman Howard R. Green Hy-Vee Food Stores Hydrite Chemical Company Iowa Community Credit Union Iowa Hospice Isle Casino Hotel Waterloo KWWL Television Liberty Bank Lincoln Savings Bank Maples Lanes Bowling Center Matt Parrott & Sons Company McLaughlin Investment Services Midwest Air Taxi MidWestOne Bank Donna Miller NAI Realty Commercial
Networking Solutions Next Generation Wireless Northwestern Mutual/Group Benefits Design Pedersen, Dowie, Clabby & McCausland Insurance Perkins Restaurant, Inc. Pi Sigma Epsilon Professional Insurance Planners Proshield Fire Protection Ramada Convention Center RE/MAX Cedar Valley – Sherry Padavich Regions Bank Riddle’s Jewelry River Plaza Athletic Club RSM McGladrey, Inc. The Russell Lamson Rydell Chevrolet Mitsubishi The Samuels Group Schmitt Telecom Partners, Inc. Screaming Eagle American Bar & Grill Scott’s Electric Service Roofing Co. Silver Eagle Harley Davidson/
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PAGe 23 Buell Skip’s Pro Shop Speer Financial Inc. Spinutech Web Designs Sprint Wireless Express Sulentic Fischels Commercial Group Tyson Fresh Meats U.S. Bank United Beverage United Concrete Van Meter Co. University of Northern Iowa Veridian Credit Union VGM Club VGM Forbin VGM Group Village Inn Restaurant – Waterloo Wartburg College Waterloo Convention & Visitors Bureau Waterloo Jaycees Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Western Home Communities Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare
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AUGUST 2009
Push spineless manager to deal with problem By Marie G. McIntyre
Your Office coach
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
Q. Two people in our small
office consistently come in late, leave early and take two hours for lunch. As the human resources manager, I’ve told my boss that we need to put a stop to this, because other employees are starting to complain about unfair treatment. My boss gripes about this tardiness, but if I ask him to confront the employees, he always says “It won’t do any good” or “Maybe we should just get rid of them.” His refusal to deal with performance issues is driving me crazy. What can I do?
A. When faced with perfor-
mance discussions, many otherwise fearless managers turn into complete cowards. If your boss dreads the idea of an unpleasant conversation, you could offer to talk with the employees as part of your HR responsibilities. However, he must be willing to impose appropriate consequences if the tardiness continues. If your office lacks personnel poli-
cies, you might also draft some basic guidelines and present them to your boss for approval. Explain that written rules will not only help to clarify expectations, but will also provide legal protection. To cover the current situation, be sure to define standard work hours and include a “progressive discipline” policy. Should your boss still continue to tolerate these transgressions, then you must bring in more firepower. Have your rule-abiding employees describe how their absent colleagues create business problems, like unanswered phones or neglected customers. This might finally prompt some action. But if all else fails, wait for the next time that he proposes to “just get rid of them.” Quickly reply that you absolutely agree, then offer to process their termination papers after one final warning. Q. How do I get my co-worker to stop annoying me? She is very self-centered, whiny and needy. I have told her this and
given her the cold shoulder, but a lot about yourself. she can’t take a hint. I just want Marie G. McIntyre is a workher to leave me alone. How can I place coach and the author of make that happen without cre- “Secrets to Winning at Office ating tension in the office?
A: When you informed your co-worker that she is self-centered, whiny and needy, did she reply that you are rude, insensitive and immature? Because if you actually made such hurtful comments, that’s exactly what you are. Although you can avoid people who annoy you in your personal life, you don’t get to choose your work colleagues. So instead of reacting emotionally, you must develop strategies for managing these relationships. For example, when your selfabsorbed co-worker tries to engage you in irrelevant conversation, calmly say “I’m sorry, but I’m really busy right now, so I don’t have time to talk.” Then return to your work. If she persists, keep repeating this statement. Because your feelings toward this woman seem to go beyond mere annoyance, you may want to consider why she makes you so angry. If you can determine the reason for your intense reaction, you might learn
Organize your home as you would a garden I do not have much experience with agriculture, but I do appreciate fresh produce, organic food and supporting local businesses. This year, I helped my mother-in-law plant a vegetable garden. Gardening has Jessica many similariCrouch in Shaklee director ties to organizing. at Organized For When you think You! Contact her of your house as a at (319) 504garden, you may 6689 or jessica@ find it easier to organizeanywhere. de-clutter. com. If you pull a weed
as soon as you see it, you usually do not need a shovel. If you wait until the perfect time, you will spend more time and effort than you want. Clutter tends to grow like weeds. Control clutter by attacking it when it starts. Your garden would look funny if you interspersed vegetables and flowers, and it would take more time to cultivate and harvest. Keep like items together when you organize. It will help you find what you need when you need it. Grouping items may also encourage putting things away. Garden one area at a time before you move to the next. When you organize, work in chunks. Take a
folder, a drawer or a room, organize, and then move to your next project. Keeping your garden close to your house makes it easier to use when cooking. Similarly, keep items closest to their point of use when organizing. Keep your most frequently used dishes near your dishwasher for ease of unloading. Sometimes you have to remove a couple good plants to allow the rest of your garden to grow. When you organize and encounter items that get in the way, it may be easier to let them go. Goodwill, a battered women’s shelter, your or a neighbor may need what you have.
Politics.” Send in questions and get free coaching tips at www. yourofficecoach.com.
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Business owners invest in their firms, not stocks JOYCE M. ROSENBERG AP Business Writer
NEW YORK — When the economic recovery finally arrives, many small business owners won’t try to rebuild their shrunken stock portfolios. They’ll be putting their money in what looks like a better bet: their companies. Owners have plenty of reasons for putting money into their businesses first, and those reasons are likely to remain when the economy picks up. For many, there’s the immediate need of boosting cash flow. But they’ll also be working on longer-term issues, carrying out expansion plans that have been put on hold and making the capital investments they couldn’t afford during the recession. Moreover, with the stock market on an uncertain path and other investments paying the slimmest of returns, small business owners believe they’ll make more money by investing in themselves. Rami Hachamoff, who has an engagement ring business in Atlanta, has lost money in mutual funds, but he’s not planning to rebuild his portfolio. Instead, he’s already on the path he expects to take when the economy is healthier. He’s withdrawing more money from his funds and putting it toward getting a retail location to help his company, Allure Diamonds, grow. Hachamoff said the business he’s in has become more difficult
and competitive over the past three years, especially as engaged couples are looking for better prices on diamond rings. “For me to capture as much of the market as I can, I really need to put myself out there” in a store in a good location, he said. And that will take a significant financial commitment. Meanwhile, Hachamoff said of his stock investments, “to see this mutual fund that’s already depreciated maybe depreciate even further is really not an option.” Hachamoff was also considering buying a home this year and was looking at foreclosed properties, but “I decided not to do it at this time and to use this capital and again put it back into my business.” Over the years, many small business owners have made their companies their primary, and sometimes sole, investments. Financial advisers and accountants counsel owners to diversify their holdings beyond their firms because of the reality that, if the business goes down, the owner is left with nothing. But in the current economic and investing climate, that’s a harder sell than usual. Some owners believe that putting more money into their personal portfolios would be, as the old saying goes, throwing good money after bad. Chuck Wilson, a wealth manager with Doyle Wealth Management Inc. in St. Petersburg, Fla.,
said many owners are inclined to say, “this is my business, I know it and I know what I can get in returns from it.” “More importantly, they’re in direct control of it,” Wilson said, noting that there is a trust issue among business owners after they’ve seen the bets placed by professional investors devastate the stock market over the past two years. And, he said, they’ve seen other investors lose billions of dollars in the Ponzi scheme run by Bernard Madoff. There’s also the issue of time, and how long it will take to return a stock portfolio to its pre-credit crisis levels. “It’s a very big sting to lose 30 percent of your portfolio,” said Jason Carr, who with his brother Rodney owns Softline Home Fashions, a Gardena, Calif.-based wholesale home furnishings business. “I think rebuilding is going to take a lot longer than usual. We need to be more secure.” Carr said he and his brother believe their business is more likely to give them the income they need than investing in stocks will, especially with many portfolio managers likely to remain cautious in the months ahead. He’s also well aware of the potential for more losses. “I’d rather make 1 percent in the checking account than lose 20 percent” by investing in stocks,” Carr said. The Carrs are already putting
Shortage of blue-collar workers could be lurking The Associated Press
Could there be a shortage of blue-collar labor? Between 2004 and 2014, there will be 40 million job openings for workers without a bachelor’s degree, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s more than twice the number of jobs for people graduating from fouryear colleges and universities. That’s something guidance counselors aren’t telling
those frantically competing for entrance into America’s best schools, says Joe Lamacchia, author of the recently published book “Blue Collar & Proud of It.” “Blue collar means skilled individuals who make the world go around,” said Lamacchia, who owns a landscaping company in Newton, Mass. “We’re talking about people who are there to fix the plumbing, the leaks, and the wiring when it’s broken.” Masons, electricians, loggers,
fishermen and car mechanics were interviewed for the book, which Lamacchia said he was driven to write because he wants people to take pride in what they do, even if they didn’t go to college. “These are jobs and careers that take years to master,” Lamacchia said. “Just the way you can’t become a doctor overnight, you won’t become an ironworker by signing a piece of paper. It’s hard, rewarding work.”
more money into their company, investing in a distribution center in Canada. The company has showrooms in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta and Montreal.
“We’re taking advantage of new markets and hopeful planting seeds for a better future when the economy turns around in a year or two years,” Carr said.
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AUGUST 2009
Some businesses drop prices to build relationships JOYCE M. ROSENBERG AP Business Writer
NEW YORK — For many small business owners, the recession can have an upside in giving them opportunities to strengthen their relationships with customers. Many opportunities grow out of adversity, for example when customers can no longer afford to pay the prices, rates or retainers agreed to in better times. Amy Power, who owns a Dallas-based public relations firm, had a client, a spa, that opened for business in October 2007, the month that the stock market peaked and then began its huge decline. “They really took a hard hit,” said Power, president and CEO of Power Public Relations. “They were ready to pull the plug on their PR programs.” She faced a similar situation with a second client, a dental office. So Power took a big hit herself, and cut the retainers that both clients paid by two-thirds. But Power said she also made a vow to these clients: “I will work just as hard. You’re not going to fall by the wayside.” “I think they appreciate that there’s a certain amount of honor that goes with that kind of agreement,” Power said. “I believe my firm will be better positioned for stronger relationships and better business” when the economy improves. Just ending the relationship because the client can’t pay the full retainer wasn’t an option. “That doesn’t do either one of us
any good,” Power said. Many other public relations firms are being forced to make the kinds of adjustments Power has made. At many companies struggling or just worrying about the economy, marketing expenses are among the first budget lines to be cut. Richard Dukas has had a number of clients say they need to cut the retainers they pay his firm by 50 percent or 60 percent. He’s told them OK. “The philosophy is, some revenue is better than no revenue,” said Dukas, president and CEO of New York-based Dukas Public Relations. But Dukas also has his eye on the future. “If it’s a good client and we believe in their business, then we’re going to try to weather the recession with them.” He’s also found that being very flexible can have more immediate rewards. One client had to cut its retainer in half, and “we obviously didn’t like it at the time.” Since then, “that client referred us to another piece of business at a healthy retainer,” Dukas said. And that new client sent two more clients his way, giving him a total of three new accounts. Cutting retainers, rates and prices is clearly a key way to build relationships in a recession. So is paying keen attention to all of a customer’s needs. Accel Inc., a Lewis, Ohio, company that designs, engineers and assembles packaging, does a lot of business with retailers of health and beauty products. Chairwoman and CEO Tara
Abraham said her company “You can’t say, ‘this guy doesn’t works with customers to come have money, I’ll call him in eight up with packaging that’s appeal- months. You really can’t do that,” ing and is a good value. Tuchman said. However if the packaging creHe, too, has been making price ates problems for people working in the stores — think of styrofoam peanuts flying everywhere that must be cleaned up — the customer is ultimately not getting a good deal. So, Abraham said, part of her company’s job is to consider what happens when the products get to the stores. “How do we reduce labor costs in the stores?” she said. “We’re looking at the supply chain under a magnifying glass from end to end.” “You have to look at business completely differently than you did three years ago,” Abraham said. “We’re working hand in hand with our clients and their engineers and merchandising teams to make sure collectively we’re joined at the hip and making sure that we have a very clear idea of what their goals are.” Premiere Corporate, a New York-based company that puts together travel packages to sporting events, saw business slowing last fall as the credit crisis took hold and the stock market collapsed. Clients cut back their budgets for discretionary travel. Some just stopped calling. Executive Vice President Robert Tuchman made sure he kept in touch with all his clients, knowing that he needed to hold on to their business even if they weren’t spending just then.
British pubs disappear as worldwide recession drags on LONDON (AP) — The recession is killing British pubs at an accelerating rate, an average of 52 every week in the first half of the year, an industry group said Wednesday. Pub closures have put 24,000 people out of work in the past year, the British Beer & Pub Association said, citing figures compiled by CGA Strategy Ltd.,
which tracks the drinks industry. That compares to an average of 39 per week in the second half of last year. Ever-increasing taxes on beer are contributing to the pain, the association said. The last two budgets have seen a 20 percent increase in beer tax, which alone has added nearly $1 billion to pubs’ tax bills.
The association said pubs that serve food are weathering the recession best, with an average of one closure a week. All the other closures involve pubs that concentrate on drinks. Pub keepers have been complaining for some time about legislation which has banned smoking, and of competition from cut-price beers in supermarkets.
adjustments to keep his clients and build for the future. His company has worked with clients to come up with customized travel packages that each can afford.
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AUGUST 2009
Some small businesses forgo raises for second year JOYCE M. ROSENBERG AP Business Writer
NEW YORK — It’s something many small business owners across the country are dreading: Telling staffers they won’t be getting a raise for a second straight year. “I got a lot of blank stares,” Matt Spaulding recalled. “I think they were really trying to process it” when he told his five employees there would again be no raises in 2009. Many owners are finding that business just isn’t strong enough to give workers the raises they deserve. Some bosses are trying to ease the pain in other ways, giving the staff flex time, lunches or field trips. Others are dipping into savings accounts to pay bonuses, or structuring their compensation so it’s more performance-based. Although profits at Spaulding’s public relations business haven’t been large, he was able to put some money aside the last few years. So he decided to go into that savings and give employees bonuses, which he said were more manageable than raises. “Right now, with this economic uncertainty, I cannot commit to a fixed, larger expense,” said Spaulding, president of Spaulding Communications in Decatur, Ga. Moreover, because of the uncertainty, Spaulding wasn’t sure raises would stick. “It would be disheartening if I came to you and said, ‘you know that raise I gave you? We’re going
to have to take that away,’” he said. Human resources consultants say they’re hearing from many clients that raises are again just not possible this year. Rick Gibbs, a senior human resources specialist with Administaff, a Houston-based company that provides human resources outsourcing, said many of his firm’s clients are reworking their compensation to be less dependent on traditional yearly raises. Instead, he said, they’re going with plans set up with specific goals about what the organization is trying to do, and making payments accordingly. Many companies are also moving away from merit raises, which Gibbs said are often “based more on tenure and less on what they (employees) actually do for the organization.” Gibbs said a rethinking of how employees are compensated is a good idea even in good economic times. But right now, it’s a necessity for many businesses. Companies are being forced to look closely at “what do we do, how do we price, how do make money on what we do and translating that to what can each individual employee does to move us in the right direction,” Gibbs said. Owners also need to be mindful of how they relay the bad news, even when this is the first year that staffers are going without raises. Most important, Gibbs said, is that the news not come as a total surprise. Owners need to
be keeping employees informed about how the company is doing, so they will be prepared for the possibility of not getting raises. Gibbs said an owner can break the news to employees as a group, but the next step is to hold individual meetings with the staff. If compensation is going to be based on peformance, this is the opportunity to let workers know what’s expected of them. “Those may not be easy discussions,” Gibbs said, especially when underperforming staffers need to be told they have to shape up to earn bigger paychecks. If owners encounter anger or resistance, then it’s time for employees to hear some reality. The economy is bad, the business is struggling and everyone, even you, has to perform to get better pay. Of course, the news will sting, and many owners try to ease the pain. Chris Rosica, CEO of Paramus, N.J.-based Rosica Strategic Public Relations, can’t give his staff of 19 raises this year, so he’s trying to make up for the deficit in other ways. Staffers who need help with some of their expenses, such as commuting, are getting some money to help defray their costs. Rosica is also trying to keep the atmosphere at his company a little lighter. He’s taking everyone down to the Jersey shore for a day during August, and closing the office an hour
Plants to offer farmers cash for cobs DES MOINES (AP) — Two new technologies offer the promise that corn growers could turn their cobs into cash. Companies from California and South Dakota plan to build two plants in Iowa. One will turn the cobs into ethanol, and the other will use cobs to produce fertilizer.
A $200 million plant being built by Sioux Falls-based Poet Energy will make cellulosic ethanol, which can be produced from plant material such as cobs, wood chips and switchgrass. Poet’s plant in Emmetsburg, is expected to produce about 25 million gallons of ethanol per
year when it opens in 2011. It could generate as much as $10 million per year in extra income for farmers. San Francisco-based SynGest, Inc., plans to build an $80 million facility in Menlo that will be the first to make ammonia fertilizer from corn cobs.
early, at 5 p.m., on Fridays. A former chef, Rosica said he’s also holding cooking classes for them. And, he said, he’s also letting
staffers know that their hard word is appreciated. “We’ve been acknowledging them more than before,” Rosica said.
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Many business owners putting recession plans on hold NEW YORK (AP) — Pam Kassner has already canceled two vacations this year. She just didn’t feel comfortable taking time off with business so uncertain. Kassner, owner of the marketing firm Super Pear Strategies in Pewaukee, Wis., was supposed to go to Florida in February, but had recently lost a big client. A second trip in April was also shelved. “I was just starting to feel anxious, that it just didn’t feel like the right time to go away,” Kassner said. The recession has made many small business owners rethink their vacation plans. Some, like Kassner, want to stay close by so they can keep working with clients and customers. Others, who have seen their revenue fall, don’t want to spend money on what seems like an extravagance. Still, many owners do go ahead and take vacations. Many believe taking a break, especially when it means time with their families, is something they need, and that will actually benefit their businesses. Others don’t want the recession to stand in the way of once-in-a-lifetime trips. David Lewis is leaving his human resources outsourcing firm for a weeklong vacation in the Mediterranean.
“It’s my 20th wedding anniversary, and there was absolutely no way I was going to miss the opportunity of going away with my wife,” said Lewis, president of OperationsInc, based in Stamford, Conn. Lewis said his company went from about 40 percent revenue increases each of the past three years to flat growth this year. He’s not worried about taking a trip because his cell phone and e-mail will allow him “to essentially seamlessly run my business from 6,000 miles away.” But Lewis is concerned about the message his employees might take away from his trip, which might be seen as a luxury. “I have preached and pled the case that times are tight and we need to be as button-down as we can to ride it out,” Lewis said. Some owners have had to cancel vacations because they need the money to run their companies. Rachel Imison and her husband are forgoing their usual trip to Britain with their two children to see family. The couple, who own Graphic Imagery Inc., a printing company in South San Francisco, bought a building and a printing press this year, and are reducing expenses because they have payments to make.
“If I didn’t get out on the water “When you’re a small business owner, you cut everything back to or do a road bike ride, I would be insane,” she said. the bone,” Imison said. Imison said her family also had She said the recession has hurt a break, what she called a combusiness, but “we’ll be OK.” “We’re getting everything ready for the upturn,” she said, explaining that the new printing press, which is digital, is expected to bring in new revenue. Many owners, even if they have to give up vacations, do take breaks, understanding time away from the business gives them a chance to relax and think more clearly when they’re in the office. Chris Goddard and her husband have canceled their vacations for the foreseeable future because of what she calls “the most challenging time for me since I started a PR agency” 15 years ago. Goddard, president of CGPR in Marblehead, Mass., said, “it’s important be here and take care of our clients.” She also doesn’t want to take away resources — human and financial — from her company right now. But Goddard, like many other small business owners, knows that she needs to take some time away to maintain a work/life balance. So she’s closing the office at 2 p.m. on Fridays and making sure she gets in plenty of the sailing and cycling she loves.
‘Job-Hunter’s Survival Guide’ chock full of useful tips The Associated Press
NEW YORK — The “Job-Hunter’s Survival Guide” is a paperback manual of little more than 100 pages, chock-a-block with bullet points and tips, wrapped in a road-sign shade of yellow. The author, Richard Nelson Bolles, 82, wrote the best-selling “What Color is Your Parachute?” guide to job searching — now running at over 400 pages in the 2009 edition. Bolles’ best-hits collection of advice, due out this month, is culled from his 40 years of career guidance: ■ Yes, unemployment is at its highest level in more than a quarter-century, but “there are
always jobs out there.” In May, the Labor Department said there were 2.6 million job openings. Competition is fierce for these openings, but keep telling yourself that there are always going to be vacancies, Bolles’ book says. ■ The average length of joblessness was 24.5 weeks in June, according to the government. You have some time. So figure out what you really want to do, as specifically as possible, Bolles says. Not what the marketplace is asking for, but what your ideal job would look like. “The more focused you are, the more likely you’re going to find a job.” ■ Post as complete a resume as possible everywhere online that
you can: LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook, he advises. ■ Now, the key: Approach the companies you’ve deemed a good fit. Seek out potential employers — from the phone book, acquaintances, online searches or social-networking sites — and sell them on your specific skills, Bolles says. Even if they don’t have anything to offer you, they’ll find it easier to help you out. That’s the most active and hardest way to approach a job search, Bolles says, but much more effective than using online job boards or replying to companies’ posted openings. You’re offering your services rather sending in applications with swarms of others.
promise trip to Montana in April. It cost them nothing, because they stayed with relatives and used airline miles to pay for their tickets.
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www.wcfcourier.com Coast Agricultural Cooperative, which deployed the unit in May. The concept harkens to a bygone age when cattle grazed in pastures and ranchers butchered them. That changed in the early 1900s when the government required meat inspection at federally regulated
Cattle rancher Elizabeth Poett on the Poett ranch near Lompoc, Calif.
Fresh kill
Deb Garrison, organizer of the Central Coast Agriculture Cooperative.
AP PHOTO
AP PHOTO
Locally killed is latest trend in high grade meat LOMPOC, Calif. (AP) — The end of the line for cattle raised at Elizabeth Poett’s spread on the Central Coast used to come at an inland slaughterhouse after a five-hour drive crammed in a trailer with other spooked animals. Now death comes to Rancho San Julian in the form of a mobile butchering vehicle that caters to small ranchers offering premium meats marketed as free-range, grass-fed and sustainably raised. While “locally slaughtered” may not join those buzz words on meat labels, the practice allows the eighth-generation rancher and her peers to do what their ancestors took for granted: raise animals from manger to cuts of meat. “They are treated like animals should be treated when they’re harvested here with, I believe, dignity and respect,” said Poett, 29, as her Dolce & Gabbana designer sunglasses mirrored the rugged, scenic golden pastureland of her home. Soaring interest in meat from free-roaming cattle and more than $180,000 in government grants helped give ranchers in the remote area the momentum to get the mobile unit on the road and cut out the middlemen between farms and shoppers. Food scares traced to large slaughterhouses, such as last month’s recall of 380,000 pounds of beef from a JBS Swift & Co. plant in Colorado due to possible E. coli contamination, are also prompting shoppers to seek shorter paths from stable to table, said Debra Garrison, chief executive of the Central
AUGUST 2009 slaughterhouses. Since then, beef production has become consolidated with 76 percent of the nation’s cattle slaughtered in 26 plants, each capable of handling more than 500,000 animals a year.
See FRESH KILL, page 33
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PAGE 33 AP PHOTOS
Workers clean outside the Central Coast Agriculture Cooperative’s mobile slaughterhose at far left. At left, Steve Greco washes down just-quartered sections of a cow hanging on hooks suspended from the ceiling of the mobile unit.
FRESH KILL From page 32
That’s according to John Nalivka, president of livestock industry consultant Sterling Marketing Inc. Ranchers, meanwhile, who once raised animals to harvesting age, mostly now sell calves to big feedlots that fatten them on corn-based feed before sending them to slaughter. Those changes have shuttered most small regional slaughterhouses, with the number of processors nationwide decreasing from a peak of 1,665 in 1976 to 630 last year. However, a growing number of ranchers have gotten into the pasture-raised beef niche. Eatwild.com, which promotes grass-fed meat, listed only 50 ranchers when it went online a decade ago, said Jo Robinson, who runs the Web site. Now it lists about 1,300 ranchers, with three to five — mostly new — added a week. With most local slaughterhouses gone and new facilities expensive to set up, ranchers are taking the mobile unit for a spin at a cost of $240 per animal for slaughter and butchering. “This is the first chance we have had since a lot of the little slaughter plants of old have closed up,” said rancher Jack Varian, who until recently sold his cattle to feedlot operators. By the end of summer, six ranches will be using the “mobile harvest unit,” a tractor-trailer outfitted with knives, meat hooks and a freezer that is based on a similar unit in Washington state.
The vehicle, which employs three butchers and shares a USDA inspector with a nearby meatpackaging shop, charges nearly three times as much as a stationary facility. But with the nearest slaughterhouse hours away, Garrison said costs equal out once trucking expenses and time away from the ranch are factored. Poett’s customers pay a premium for the beef. Her boneless rib eye steak costs $22 per pound, while a similar cut from conventionally raised cattle costs $11.99 at a Vons supermarket in Los Angeles. Kim Schiffer, 52, who buys beef from Poett at the Santa Barbara farmer’s market, said she’s happy to spend more for better quality meat that supports an enterprise she believes in. “I really believe in voting with my dollars,” said Schiffer. “I’m voting for locally produced meat that doesn’t have to be trucked a long way using fossil fuels. ... I’m voting for what I think are fresher and probably cleaner-processed meats.” On a recent afternoon on the Poett family’s 170-year-old ranch, a sturdy black Angus steer was guided into a pen where a butcher pressed a short wand to its forehead and shot a small metal rod into its skull with a pop. The beast collapsed and the butcher sliced beneath its chin. When the mammoth body stopped jerking and kicking, workers took the animal into the trailer and soon its carcass was hanging from a hook in the trailer’s stainless steel interior, a fat-encased knot of bones and red sinew.
Poett’s family sells about half its 500 head of cattle each year, many of which wind up in the large slaughterhouses that process thousands of animals each day.
She’s proudest of the 80 or so that will be processed in the mobile unit at a slower pace. She said it will allow them more noble deaths and cut out the need for a long final slog in the back of a
trailer to a far-off killing floor. “It’s a dream to be able to run this beef business like I’ve been able to do it with the mobile harvest unit,” she said. “I sleep better at night.”
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Stores seek short stays in shopping centers By Sandra Pedicini The Orlando Sentinel
ORLANDO, Fla. — Here today and gone within months, companies large and small are opening more temporary storefronts in malls and strip centers. National-brand “pop-up stores” and tiny shops testing the market are becoming the retail world’s version of a marriage of convenience. Commitment-shy store owners are setting up shop for just a few months in retail centers jilted by some of their more established tenants. Typically, leases last for several years. But businesses that want shorter leases are finding malls and shopping plazas more willing and able to accommodate them. “It’s better they have the unit occupied even if you’re not collecting full rent on the space,” said David Marks, an Orlando-based consultant for retail real estate. “You’re probably going to see more of them, not less of them, over the next couple of years.” Landlords aren’t the only ones who benefit. Companies use temporary storefronts for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, they want to create a sense of urgency in shoppers. And from big-name brands to start-up businesses, retailers also use temporary locations to test new concepts. At Florida Mall in Orlando, three temporary stores recently opened. In the past, “we’ve never had to have very many,” general manager Brian Peters said. But lately, he said, “we’ve had a few extra opportunities.” Those opportunities would be spaces left behind by Bombay Co., KB Toys and Club Libby Lu, all national chains that went out of business or shuttered mass numbers of locations. Kiwi, a trendy clothing boutique, opened in June and its lease is expected to expire by the end of this year. National accessories chain Bijoux Terner opened in March and should close at summer’s end. A2Z Toys, however, is
expected to extend its lease and become a long-term occupant, Peters said. That often has happened in the past, retail consultants say. Short-term leases have typically been “a way to experiment, create an incubator for a tenant,” Marks said. Simon Property Group, which owns Florida Mall, always has had a short-term leasing department, though these days “we may be more aggressive in terms of courting these types of retailers,” spokesman Les Morris said. At Orlando Fashion Square, Best Friends Puppy Boutique recently departed after its brief lease expired. The mall has other short-term tenants but would not disclose them. At Orlando Premium Out- Maria Salaverry, sales associate at Kiwi in the Florida Mall, helps a customer select a pair of jeans. lets, a no-frills Burberry outlet aimed solely at children opened last month in the space formerly occupied by a departed Girbaud store. The children’s store will close in the fall. Tommy Hilfiger also has a temporary clearance outlet at the mall. At that center, which is 100 percent leased, “we see this more as a marketing event,” said Michele Rothstein, a spokeswoman for Simon Property Group’s outlet mall division. “It’s nice to have something short-term that has a sense of immediacy to get people to the center. ... There is a fun shopping adventure to these temporary stores as well.” Indeed, a big-name chain often seeks publicity when putting up a temporary store, said Mike Kraus, a retail adviser with AllBusiness. com. That’s especially true of those in high-profile locations such as Target’s Bullseye Bazaar, which opened for three days earlier this year in the Tribune Tower in Chicago. In this difficult retail environment, “it all goes back to buzz and creating awareness for a brand,” Kraus said. “You get national media and others that are Twittering about it and posting it on Facebook.”
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Workers settle for part-time employment By Hugh R. Morley McClatchy Newspapers
HACKENSACK, N.J. — Frustrated job hunters are increasingly, and reluctantly, turning to part-time work to make ends meet and improve their chances of getting a full-time job, say employment agencies and search firms. They say that while job hunters in the past would shun part-time opportunities, preferring to focus on looking for full-time work, the grim economy has made parttime work more palatable. “Nine months ago, I would have seen people holding out for the full-time job,” said Marlena Lechner, a career development specialist for Jewish Family Services of Teaneck, N.J., who has helped three clients get part-time work in recent weeks. “Now people have to take what that can get.” Pete Weigang, branch manager for Manpower Inc., said now he frequently gets part-time work requests from people who
wouldn’t have touched it six months ago. “The longer they are out of work, I think the realization comes to them that the positions that were out there six months ago aren’t there,” Weigang said. “Now, the criteria for what they are willing to do and their pay requirements have dropped.” Aside from economic reasons, job hunters work part time to make contacts and add to their skills, recruiters say. And there’s often the hope the job will lead to a full-time position. In some cases, workers whose hours have been cut look for a second, part-time job to make up for the lost hours. Layne Johnson of Ridgewood, N.J., began consulting three days a week last August as an information manager for Rockefeller University of New York. He took the work after hunting unsuccessfully for nine months to replace the job he lost as global head of information management for Pfizer. “I thought, ’I just have to keep
myself professionally active,”’ Johnson said. Mike Petrula, 46, of Wayne, N.J., said he was willing to take part-time work almost as soon as he was laid off as a chemical manufacturer sales representative in March. “I take whatever I can get to pay the bills,” he said. But he added that a stint as a manager at a company that does high-speed medical document scanning also gave him experience outside his field. Reluctant part-time workers are part of the underemployed sector, which has risen dramatically since the recession began, federal statistics show. While the national unemployment rate is 9.5 percent, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics also publishes a “labor underutilization” rate that, along with unemployed workers, includes people working part time for economic reasons or people who have stopped looking for work. That rate, on a national level,
Beware office bullies during downturn By TALI ARBEL AP Business Writer
The recession is creating a “blank check” for office bullies, said one employee advocate. The downturn’s layoffs — job rolls have shrunk by 6 million since the recession’s start — may make a bad situation worse for victims, said Gary Namie, director of the Workplace Bullying Institute, an advocacy group. Namie is the author of the “The Bully at Work.” It was originally published in 2000, with an updated version released this June. The “absolute control of an employer is more apparent in a recession,” he said. That means workers are feeling the heat, as the bulk of workplace harassment cases involve superiors taunting their employees, he said. “People are more stressed
because there’s no escape,” he said. While previously employees could jump to another job when the verbal abuse, humiliation, career sabotage or intimidation he defines as bullying got to be too much, a new job is harder to find during a recession. Namie’s institute is pushing states to adopt legislation defining abusive conduct in the workplace and setting guidelines for employee behavior and possible litigation. The federal government currently prohibits harassment based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, disability and age. His advice for those who feel harassed: ■ Understand that abusive behavior — invading someone’s space with intent to intimidate or calling the person names — isn’t just rude. “It’s not inadvertent,
it’s not accidental,” Namie said. Recognize someone else’s actions as a problem that’s hurting you. ■ Try to get sick leave time, he said. Often workplace bullying goes on for a long time and can even cause stress disorders for targets. ■ Build an economic case against the bully. Has there been high turnover or absenteeism? Is there low morale? Has productivity sagged due to a tense, inefficient atmosphere? “You have to make the argument that the bully’s too expensive to keep,” Namie said. Take this case to the highest-level person in your company that doesn’t have a personal connection to the source of harassment. ■ If you can, look for another job. Getting away from the bully might be the easiest way to resolve the problem.
stood at 16.5 percent of the workforce in June. It was 8.8 percent in December 2007, when the recession began. Bureau figures show that the number of people involuntarily working part time has nearly doubled nationwide since the
recession began, from 4.6 million to 9 million. Three-quarters of those have had their hours cut due to a lack of work or business conditions, the figures show. Just under onequarter are working part time — that’s all the work they could get.
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Small companies need holistic midyear checkups NEW YORK (AP) — Small business owners might want to put two important items at the top of their midyear to-do lists: Get a financial checkup, and do more networking. Summer is a good time for owners to plan for the rest of the year. But the recession has likely chilled many companies’ plans to expand or make big capital expenditures. And many owners have already have done as much cost-cutting as they could to help their companies weather the poor economy. So, many of the savvy owners who schedule midyear financial checkup appointments with accountants or tax attorneys are likely to be seeking other kinds of guidance as well, such as finding ways to bring in more sales. Certainly, there are financial issues to discuss, especially since there are new federal and state laws designed to help companies during the recession. Joseph Maloney, a certified public accountant with Maloney Reed Scarpitti & Co. LLP in Erie, Pa., noted that businesses may
be able to reduce their quarterly estimated tax payments, which would help those with waning cash flows. Maloney said more tax law changes may be in the offing, and he suggested owners not only see their financial advisers now but keep in touch to “see what adjustments might have to be made” for the rest of 2009. But a thorough midyear checkup will always go beyond taxes and cutting expenses, and touch on a company’s strategy. This year, Maloney said, many owners are having to brainstorm with their advisers about ways to bring in new business, especially with the drastic changes in industries such as financial services and autos. Financial advisers are also a natural place for owners to begin networking. Those who specialize in working with small businesses are often able to bring together clients who need each other’s products or services. Chambers of commerce and trade or entrepreneurs’ associations are also good places to go. So
are trade shows, and many owners are making a point of going to more of them this summer. Summer is also a good time to find and join a networking group. Many groups hold summer parties and other events, and most are always seeking new members. Like a chamber of commerce, a networking group will bring together owners from diverse industries. They’re not hard to find — talk to a handful of business owners, and at least one is sure to be part of a networking group. Searching the Internet will also quickly yield the names of groups that are either nearby or online. Your financial adviser may also be a networker. Networking doesn’t have to be through an organized group. Owners taking their children to Little League games and other sports can get leads or customers through casual conversations with other parents. Some business owners make connections while waiting on cashiers’ lines in stores. Events to mark the Fourth of July are also fair game
Financial collapse changes picture for business students The Associated Press
The collapse in global financial markets is skewing where one prominent business school expects its graduates are going to wind up as companies cut hiring. London Business School said it expects a big drop in the number of this year’s crop of graduates who will go into financial services. More students this year are interested in working for startups, starting their own businesses as entrepreneurs, or working for pharmaceutical or consumer goods companies, said the school’s career services director, Diane Morgan. That comes amid higher interest from students in business education and fewer openings in companies that have traditionally pursued b-school grads.
Consultancies and private equity firms, in particular, have curtailed recruiting on campus, she said. The school’s data on employment show that last year’s graduates had a slightly tougher time finding work than did the 2007 grads. This July’s class could have it even rougher. Meanwhile, applications for the school’s full-time MBA program rose 17 percent for the class starting in August. Business school students have traditionally looked at the MBA as a way to make a career transition. However, banks and other financial companies now want to hire those with prior experience, Morgan said. In 2008 the financial services sector — investment banking, asset management, commercial banking, private equity — hired
44 percent of its class. This year LBS expects about 30 to 35 percent of its 300 graduates will go into finance, Morgan said. She has some advice for those interested in an MBA: ■ Leverage your summer before you even start school. Begin networking prior to classes. Offer to stay with your company as long as they need you until classes start, and keep in touch — your former employer is one of your best resources for jobs in the future, Morgan said, whether through references or an opening held for you. ■ Be flexible. You can change your industry, your company function and your geographic base, but not all at once. Transitions can take years, Be excited for what you’re doing in the meantime, Morgan said.
for networking. There are also networking possibilities at the Small Business Administration’s Small Business Development Centers, located at many colleges around the nation. These centers exist to help and advise small companies, and many SBDCs offer low- or no-
cost classes and seminars, even during the summer. That can give an owner a chance to learn new skills, get some ideas and also do some more networking. SBDCs can be located through the SBA’s Web site at www.sba. gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/ sbdc/index.html.
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Being paid to change into uniform a matter of law By Carrie Mason-Draffen Newsday
Q. I work in a hospital and have
to change into a uniform when I get in. How much time should the hospital allow me to do this? And can it legally ask me to come in early to change and not pay me for that time?
A. How much time you have to change is between you and the hospital. But whether you must be paid for that time is a matter of law. The answer, however, isn’t straightforward. If you are a nonexempt employee, you have to be paid for the time you work, and that could include changing into a uniform. Nonexempt employees fall outside the executive, administrative, professional and outside-sales categories. Assuming you are a nonexempt employee, then another test to consider is whether your uniform meets the labor-law definition of a uniform. Your work clothes meet the definition of a uniform if they wouldn’t double
as street clothing and if they are something you are required to change into at work, said Irv Miljoner, who heads the Long Island, N.Y., office of the U.S. Department of Labor. And here’s another caveat: If the uniform is a jacket that takes seconds to put on, it wouldn’t be considered part of your workday. “If the donning and doffing essentially is an insignificant amount of time, like putting on a blazer, then it can be discounted (unpaid),” he said. On the other hand, if you take six minutes to dress for work and six minutes to undress at the end of your shift, that adds up to an hour a week. If you are nonexempt, you must be paid for that time. For further information, call the department, (516) 3381890 or (212) 264-8185. Q. My daughter works at a discount department store. Although she is often approved to work extra hours to fill in for co-workers, management sends her home early at the end of the week so she doesn’t go over 40 hours and qualify for overtime.
She typically has 25 hours of work on the schedule but the requests to fill in would take her up to 42 hours if she worked them all. Is this legal?
A. Well, the company isn’t
working in your daughter’s best interest, but its actions seem legal. As odd as the practice seems to you, it is common, Miljoner said. And perhaps it’s common because it’s legal. “Employers have the right to control hours worked even if they are doing it to preclude the necessity of having to pay overtime,” he said. On the other hand, a company cannot change a pay week willynilly to avoid paying overtime, Miljoner said. So a Sunday to Saturday workweek can’t suddenly be changed to a Wednesday to Tuesday workweek to avoid paying overtime. Federal labor law says that overtimeeligible employees must earn at least 1 ½ times their regular hourly rate. While this is legal, your daughter should speak to her supervisor. The request may prompt a
One resume mistake can cost you a job The Associated Press
Just one typo in a resume could cost you a job, according to a recent survey. Three out of four executives said just one or two inadvertent strokes of the keyboard would remove an applicant from consideration for a job, while 40 percent said they wouldn’t hire a candidate who had a typo in their resume. The telephone survey of 1,000 senior executives was conducted on behalf of staffing firm Accountemps, a unit of Robert Half International Inc. “Employers view the resume as a reflection of the applicant,” said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of
“Job Hunting for Dummies.” ‘’If you make errors on your application materials, the assumption is you’ll make mistakes on the job.” To illustrate the point, Messmer offers these real-life errors made in resumes: ■ “Hope to hear from you shorty.” ■ “Have a keen eye for derail.” ■ “Dear Sir or Madman.” ■ “I’m attacking my resume for you to review.” Messmer offers these tips to avoid an embarrassing gaffe: Get help. Enlist detail-oriented family members, friends or mentors to proofread your resume and provide honest feedback. ■ Take a timeout. Before sub-
mitting your resume, take a break and come back to it with a fresh set of eyes. You might catch something you missed the first time. ■ Print a copy. It’s easy to overlook typos or formatting mistakes when reading a resume on a monitor, so print it out for review. Read through it slowly and pay close attention to font styles and sizes, along with spelling and grammar. ■ Try a new perspective. Sometimes readers inadvertently skip over parts they have read previously. Review your resume backward to help avoid this problem. ■ Read it aloud. Your ears might catch errors your eyes have overlooked.
manager to make the personnel problem work better for everyone. Carrie Mason-Draffen is the author of “151 Quick Ideas to
Deal With Difficult People.” She welcomes questions for the “Help Wanted” column. Contact her at 631-843-2450 or carrie.draffen@ newsday.com.
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Being unemployed can be more stressful if you’re married The Associated Press
Being out of work is stressful. Being married may make those worries weigh even heavier. Unemployed husbands and wives recently surveyed noted experiencing stress more often than single job seekers, 81 percent to 51 percent respectively. The poll of 2,261 U.S. adults, conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of employer information Web site Glassdoor.com, also found that more than a third of both employed and unemployed respondents said job stress associated with work or finding work caused physical or emotional symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia and high blood pressure. The highest rates of stress were reported among those between ages 35 and 44, while two out of three said the stress affected other areas of their lives. Nearly 40 percent of job hunters said it hindered their personal relationships with friends and family, while almost a quarter said workrelated stress had an impact on their relationships as well. “Especially during an economic recession, many are scared to death that they’ll be out in the open job market,” said Rusty Rueff, career and workplace expert for Glassdoor.com. “Dealing with your worries and then those same worries of your spouse can feel like the weight of the world on your shoulders, so it makes sense the number is so much higher for those in a marriage or with a family.” The Harris Interactive poll was conducted in the United States between June 22 and June 24.
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