Depending on what sources you refer to, 80 percent to 90 percent of all businesses in the United States are family owned. I think that trend holds true locally and may even range toward the higher percentage. The fact that the majority of our business community consists of family-run ventures doesn’t mean that being in the family business is easy. In fact, many entrepreneurial families will be quick to tell you that working with family is rewarding, but can also be challenging. [Read more...]
Evaluate freeware to lower costs
April 9, 2013 By
Established long before indoor plumbing and even the home telephone, the Dugas Studio, my family’s business, was founded in 1892 by my great-grandfather and operated quite differently than most family businesses today.
With Internet access continually expanding, handwritten appointment books and accounting ledgers have given way to technology that enables flexibility and sharpens the competitive edge for family businesses. [Read more...]
Managing our natural resources
April 9, 2013 By
During the Dust Bowl era of the early 20th century, millions of tons of soil eroded off the land into the sea. The United States saw the productivity of farms literally washing away. Farms went out of business, and many of the businesses in local communities that depended, directly and indirectly on farms, followed. [Read more...]
Business as usual in family firms
April 9, 2013 By
Family-owned businesses are an integral part of the economy and require hard work and determination on the part of family members who run them. [Read more...]
Safeguard your company from theft
April 9, 2013 By
It seems that embezzlement is a common news item these days. Every week or so, a news item appears in the Watertown Daily Times concerning a wrongdoer who has embezzled from an employer or organization. The type of embezzlement is as different as the creativity of the wrongdoer. We will focus on wrongdoers who use their organization’s checking account to further their scheme. The wrongdoers could work for their employer or be volunteers of a nonprofit agency or any other organization. [Read more...]
Getting to the roots of leadership
March 6, 2013 By
There are many ways to define leadership. However, leaders can successfully lead without defining how they have done so. True leaders demonstrate courage, creativity, values, compassion and dedication. They are individuals who guide a team to transform visions into reality. Leaders communicate effectively and ensure an effective and cohesive team to accomplish established goals. [Read more...]
A change for the Jefferson County ag industry
March 6, 2013 By
On Feb. 12, the Jefferson County Agricultural Development Corporation’s board of directors held their last meeting, during which board members moved to dissolve the not-for-profit local development corporation. While no one desired that the corporation cease to exist, it was a direction caused by outside influences with no concern for agriculture. [Read more...]
On the front lines of storm relief
March 6, 2013 By
It’s been 15 years since the Ice Storm of 1998. I remember waking up in the middle of the night to deep darkness and profound silence — no streetlights, no hum of the refrigerator and no purr of the furnace. Then the cracking and the crashing and thumping started as limbs from maple trees in the neighborhood around my house in Dexter started snapping and falling, some penetrating several inches into the ground. [Read more...]
Now is best time to plan for future
March 5, 2013 By
What if someone said to you, “Here’s $20,000 of someone else’s money. Give it away and do it well.” Sounds like fun, right? Certainly giving away money can be fun, but such a privilege can also be a burdensome responsibility balancing unlimited needs with limited resources. [Read more...]