Business Insider Magazine - Los Angeles South Bay » Management Insider

Cutting Edge Strategic Planning For Small Business Survival

Netman1 — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 01:24:19 +0000

STRATEGIC PLANNING

Large companies place resources and focus on strategic planning at least once a year. Small businesses seldom complete a strategic plan. Yet in every way, planning is just as important to a small business as to a large business.

While operating a small business successfully can be very rewarding, the typical small business does not have the staying power financially to weather a business downturn. Avoiding a business downturn requires that business managers not only attend to the day-to-day functions of the business but also have an eye on the horizon so that “bumps in the road” ... Continue Reading

CalChamber Goes to Court to Protect Businesses from Additional Wage-and-Hour Lawsuits

Editor and Publisher — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:00:38 +0000

(The California Chamber of Commerce) The California Chamber of Commerce is urging the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal to reverse a district court ruling that could result in numerous more wage-and-hour lawsuits against California employers.

The CalChamber is arguing that the district court ruling fails to follow the plain language of the law and disregards the long-standing California requirement that exemption determinations be made based on an analysis of employees’ individual job duties.

The CalChamber has joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Employers Group in filing a friend-of-the-court brief in ... Continue Reading

Ten Questions with Jeffrey Pfeffer

Editor and Publisher — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:45:39 +0000

(How to Change the World) Jeffrey Pfeffer is the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. He is the author or co-author of twelve books.Dr. Pfeffer received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Carnegie-Mellon University and his Ph.D. from Stanford.

He began his career at the business school at the University of Illinois and then taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and he has been a visiting professor at the Harvard Business School, Singapore Management University, London Business School, and IESE in Barcelona.

Pfeffer currently serves on the board of directors of ... Continue Reading

3 Things that Stop Sales

Editor and Publisher — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:12:32 +0000

How comfortable are you in asking people to become a paying client?

Once you know what’s getting in your way, it will be easier to overcome these issues.

By Kaya Singer

(BizNik) If you own a small business you likely spend more time marketing than everything else put together. You also know that in marketing there’s an order and a system to the process and when you follow the system correctly, it works and it brings you more clients.

One of the biggest mistakes small business people make is trying to sell to people before building a ... Continue Reading

Workplace Poster Needs Updating

Editor and Publisher — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:04:28 +0000

Required Updates Due to EEOC Notice Change

(The California Chamber of Commerce) A new mandatory change to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) notice in the Employment Notices Poster must be posted by November 21.

CalBizCentral, the source for California business and human resource compliance products, presented by the California Chamber of Commerce, is providing this supplement to download and post next to the 2009 Employment Poster.

The change is required by the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), signed by President ... Continue Reading

Stage Your Business to Sell

Editor and Publisher — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:38:54 +0000

(Sacramento) – Before you put your business on the market to sell, be sure you are prepared so you can get the best price possible. The California Association of Business Brokers (CABB – a non-profit trade organization) wants business sellers to know that there are several key things they can do to showcase their business and make it attractive to prospective buyers.
“Buyers want to know that there is growth potential in the business,” stated Ron Hottes, president of CABB and of several Business Team business brokerages. According to Hottes, there are is a checklist of things a seller should ... Continue Reading

Leadership Without a Secret Code

Editor and Publisher — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:41:50 +0000

(The New York Times)

This interview with Drew Gilpin Faust, president of Harvard, was conducted and condensed by Adam Bryant.

Q. Do you remember the first time you became somebody’s boss or supervisor?

A. I became chair of the department of American civilization at the University of Pennsylvania, and so it would have been in 1980. But a department chair is an interesting kind of boss, because it’s not clear ... Continue Reading

CalChamber Partners to Train Employees

Editor and Publisher — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:17:00 +0000

CalChamber Keeps California Companies Competitive; New Partnership With ETP Will Facilitate Training for Thousands of Employees Statewide

The California Chamber of Commerce and the Employment Training Panel (ETP) have joined forces in a newly announced partnership that will result in customized job skills training programs for members’ employees throughout the state.

“In this difficult economy, California employers need to have access to training that will improve the skills and productivity of our workforce and help keep our state’s companies competitive,” said Allan Zaremberg, President and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce. “Our partnership with ETP will help employees, employers and our ... Continue Reading

Survey: L.A. County Layoffs Next Year

Editor and Publisher — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:35:13 +0000

By HOWARD FINE

(The Los Angeles Business Journal) One-third of L.A. County businesses anticipate cutting their payrolls next year, more than double the 14 percent rate for the current year, according to a business survey released Tuesday.The findings by the Los Angeles County Business Federation survey come even as Los Angeles County’s unemployment rate jumped in September to a modern record high of 12.7 percent amid the recession.

The survey also found that lack of available credit, the state budget deficit and rising workers’ compensation costs were the top concerns of the 455 county businesses surveyed late September and early October. That’s ... Continue Reading

“No-Match” Rule Rescinded

Editor and Publisher — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:56:17 +0000

(California Chamber of Commerce) The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced that it has rescinded the 2007 “no-match rule,” which was blocked by court order shortly after issuance and has never taken effect.

The no-match rule established procedures that employers could follow if they receive Social Security Administration (SSA) no-match letters or notices from DHS that question work eligibility information provided by employees. These notices most often inform an employer many months or even a year later that an employee’s name and Social Security number provided for a W-2 earnings report do ... Continue Reading