Recent Articles
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Infographic: Why succession planning is key to the survival of your business
Zack Painter Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementIf you’re a business owner, you know how much planning goes into launching your business: You need to secure funding to cover startup costs and think about how to balance your profits and expenses so you have sufficient cash flow in the years to come. One thing you probably haven’t thought about, though, is developing a succession plan for your business. What would happen to your business if something happened to you?
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Great parks to see animals at
Cindy Belt Recreation & LeisureWe all like to camp to get back to nature. As you sit outside at the campground, you may see chipmunks and squirrels. Deer, raccoons, and armadillos are often seen on a hike. Most state and national parks are havens for all types of animals but some have an outstanding variety of wild animals within their border or their animals can be more easily seen by the casual camper. Note: These are wild animals. Please keep a safe distance!
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Exploring the growing flexitarian movement
Bambi Majumdar Food & BeverageIf you want to help the planet and stay healthy at the same time, you could consider becoming a flexitarian. A new study shows that one in every three Americans consider themselves flexitarians. The term was coined by dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner almost a decade ago. In her 2009 book, "The Flexitarian Diet: The Mostly Vegetarian Way to Lose Weight, Be Healthier, Prevent Disease and Add Years to Your Life," she wrote that one doesn't have to give up meat altogether to stay healthy. Instead, they can be flexible in their vegetarian diet by inserting an occasional meaty meal in their plant-based diet regimen.
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CMS: US healthcare spending slows in nearly every corner of the market
Scott E. Rupp Medical & Allied HealthcareHealthcare spending slowed in 2017 for the second consecutive year in the United States, with a limited growth rate of 3.9 percent — almost one percentage point lower than in 2016 — according to new statistics released by the federal government this month. Healthcare’s share of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) is 17.9 percent with total spending emerging at $3.5 trillion — the equivalent of $10,739 per person — but growing slower than the overall GDP. Why the slowing growth?
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What do your written words say about your brand?
Anne Rose MarketingBusinesses frequently invest a lot of energy and many resources into ensuring that their brand identity accurately reflects what they’re about. Misspellings, bad grammar, invented words, misplaced apostrophes can all detract from that carefully crafted identity. I recently passed by a boutique chocolate shop that advertised custom, specialty chocolate desserts, handmade with attention to detail. But glaring at me from the store window was a big sign advertising that they sold chocolate carmels. You read that right: chocolate "carmels."
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Change has come with California’s Federal Milk Marketing Order
Ted Jacoby Food & BeverageThings have changed for milk producers and handlers in the Golden State. Milk marketing in the state is now governed by a Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO). The state order administered by the California Department of Food and Agriculture will cease to exist. But a predicted rise in blend prices paid to California farmers does not necessarily mean everyone will make more money. The biggest change to come with the implementation of California's FMMO is that milk produced there will be priced based on the USDA's formula, which differs subtly from the old California scheme.
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Lessons learned from the Sig Sauer Academy
Joshua Fry Law Enforcement, Defense & SecurityBeing a law enforcement officer, shooting competitions and making television/films are three of my great passions in life. When Eli Crane, my friend of 24 years, former Navy SEAL, and now-owner of Bottle Breacher, presented me with an opportunity to combine all three into one trip, I couldn't say no. Eli is a brand ambassador for Sig Sauer firearms and was invited to film an episode of the internet series "The Real Man Show" at the Sig Sauer Academy in New Hampshire. Sig Sauer makes my agency’s duty weapons and I had long heard about the world-class facility they offer classes at to police, military and private security entities from around the world.
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Study shows link between opioid prescription and later use, abuse by young…
Tammy Hinojos Oral & Dental HealthcareThe abuse of opioids is a public health crisis in the United States. Dentists continue to be a leading source of opioid prescriptions for children and adolescents aged 10 to 19 years, primarily due to third molar extractions (wisdom teeth). Young people who develop opioid abuse problems may be first exposed to the drug while receiving dental treatment. This, according to a new study released earlier this month by JAMA Internal Medicine.
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A stock market survival course: Part 4
Patrick Gleeson Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementThis is the fourth of a five-article survival course designed to give you essential information you need to succeed as an investor in the stock market. The first three articles established that individual investors underperform the market by over 60 percent, and market professionals generally underperform the market as well. A better approach is to give up the attempt to beat the market. This article discusses easy ways of diversifying your investments to lower risk and improve returns.
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What you need to know about the changes to exempt salary thresholds in…
Melanie Pol Business Management, Services & Risk ManagementIn 2017, the Department of Labor (DOL) scrapped U.S.-wide plans to increase the salary threshold for exempt employees following challenges from multiple states. The DOL has continued to postpone these plans. However, the states of California and New York have elected to raise their own exempt salary thresholds for 2019. The changes are effective from Dec. 31, 2018, and Jan. 1, 2019, in New York and California, respectively. This could mean that some of your workers may be eligible to overtime pay due to the increased salary-exempt threshold.