Archive for November 2011
MCLELLAN: Be lean: not just as a start-up, but always
There’s been a lot of talk here in Central Iowa and around the globe about lean start-ups. The whole idea is that rather than perfecting your idea/business and waiting until it’s completely capitalized, you launch …
BERKO: Dividend-paying stocks for a comfortable retirement
Dear Mr. Berko:
We’re in our early 50s and are good savers. The house we bought for $127,000 in 1989 is paid for. We didn’t take out home equity loans like many of our neighbors …
Read MoreBERKO: The separation of church and stocks
Dear Mr. Berko:
We have two children, ages 7 and 11. A financial adviser who is also a deacon in our church wants us to open a 529 college plan in the Putnam Voyager Fund. …
Read MoreBERKO: CIT Group faces big problems
Dear Mr. Berko:
My broker recommends I sell CIT Group shares that I bought at $49 in January of this year. He believes its revenues and earnings look weak, and he thinks the stock is …
Read MoreNATIONVIEW: Leadership & Training – An out-of-state perspective from the national level
Peter Handal is the chairman and CEO of Dale Carnegie & Associates Inc., a company that specializes in performance-based training for businesses of all sizes and in all sectors. Based in New York, Dale Carnegie …
2011 a good year for small business investment
As the saying goes, you have to spend money to make money. Before 2011 ends, business owners may want to think about investing in capital improvements to earn some tax breaks as well.
Some popular …
Read MoreIf they build (or convert) them, will they come?
The sexy-looking little red car parked in Gene Gabus’ Des Moines Motors showroom doesn’t run on gasoline, ethanol or batteries. This baby fills up with compressed natural gas (CNG).
Gabus, president of Gabus Automotive Group, …
Read MoreDiscount dental plans offer lower-cost alternative
Two years ago, Dr. Steffany Mohan began offering a discount dental plan as an option to patients who didn’t have dental insurance. Today, she estimates that about 20 percent of her patients are enrolled in …
Tammy Huinker: Owner, Salon Six Suites and Molly Maids of Ankeny
Tammy Huinker’s newest venture, Salon Six Suites in Ankeny, reflects the entrepreneur’s go-getter attitude, which is encouraging others to branch out on their own.
In 1995, Huinker resigned from her position with Dee Zee Manufacturing, …
Read MoreCitizen-soldiers
In the past decade, thousands of Iowa citizen-soldiers have served in Afghanistan and Iraq, many of them leaving their families and jobs for multiple deployments. As Veterans Day approaches, the Business Record shares the stories …