The Seattle Paid Sick Time and Paid Safe Time Ordinance goes into effect on September 1, 2012. The Ordinance will require that employers with more than 4 full time equivalent employees provide to employees who work in Seattle specified amounts of accrued, job-protected paid time off for personal illness, family care and other purposes. Every... View Article
Our Equinox Focus Event last week “Tax Update: What You Need to Know for 2012 (and 2011, too)!” was quite a success with raves from our participants. I wanted to share some of my key takeaways from the program. – Pre-Opening Costs. For folks starting or launching a business, certain pre-opening costs are tax deductible. In... View Article
Today’s guest blog comes from Dave Shapiro, a group leader at Excell CEO. Dave mentors CEOs and business owners throughout the Puget Sound and West Coast to help them gain clarity about what is holding their company back and what will propel it to even greater heights. —————————————— One of the toughest issues to face is uncertainty…... View Article
When business owners hear the term “business continuity,” they most readily think of what to do in the case of a physical loss such as a fire, flood or earthquake. These physical losses are important risks to protect against but “business continuity” planning goes beyond that. Business continuity planning must also address the impact of... View Article
Our guest blog post is from Bert Holeton, President of The Mastermind Group (www.the-mastermind-group.com). ————————– When it comes to choosing the right individual to join your organization, or the right individual to promote into a key position, or the right combination of individuals to form a team – it’s all about performance and fit. To... View Article
Today’s guest blog post comes from Matt Bryant of Baldwin Resource Group, a risk management and insurance consultant with a focus on identification, evaluation, and classification of risk and subsequent development of risk management programs for organizations. Matt will be a panelist at our upcoming Equinox Focus event “Thrive in the Upturn” on May 25. —————————- For... View Article
We keep hearing about the “new normal” and that the business environment has changed and we must change with it. It’s still not clear what this “new normal” looks like; but we’re all working toward getting back to business. In doing so, we are looking at how to communicate our value to customers and get... View Article
Our guest blog post comes from Royal Raidle, Senior Business Relationship Manager at Wells Fargo and a participant in our upcoming banking panel at our April 27 Equinox Focus Event. ————————————- Small business owners continue to show growing confidence in the economic recovery. That’s according to the most recent Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey conducted... View Article
Our guest blog post this week comes from Ron Raport, Vice President and Business Banking Officer at Columbia Bank. Ron will also be one of our panelists at our April 27 Equinox Focus Event. ————————— One of my best friends loves to give me grief about being a banker. And sometimes we bankers deserve all... View Article