Phillip M. PerryPhillip M. Perry is a New York-based writer and consultant.ManagementFinding Great Part-Time WorkersMarch 31, 2008Legal AdviceThings to Keep in Mind When Hiring ImmigrantsNovember 30, 2007MarketingSelling Your Wood Flooring BusinessWhen should you tell your employees about an impending sale of your business? Timing the announcement can be difficult. You don't want to announce a sale so far in advance that you cause unnecessary workplace turmoil. This would be especially damaging if you finally decide against selling because you think you can get a better price later.• For valuation advice, check out the Institute of Business Appraisers at www.go-iba.org; and the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts at www.nacva.com.It can take some serious dollars to hire the professional assistance requisite to putting your business on the selling block. How much? Here are a few estimates from Rick Rickertsen, managing partner of Pine Creek Partners, a private equity firm based in Washington, D.C.:July 31, 2007ManagementHire and Keep the Best Wood Flooring EmployeesConsult these books for more help on how to hire and retain the "A" player.The latest numbers from the U.S. Department of Labor describe an economy approaching a condition of full employment that seems an echo of the late 1990s. Does it follow that employers in general are hiring and paying more?May 31, 2007Legal AdviceProtecting Your Business From Health Insurance FraudEveryone wants cheap health insurance. And who hasn't been upset by the double-digit premium increases we've seen in recent years?While bogus health insurance plans do their best to look legitimate, you will often see these red flags that suggest the necessity of additional investigation:One way to avoid potential health care scams is to go through a trusted source, such as the NWFA. For more information on the N WFA's group health insurance plans, contact Membership Services by phone at 800/422-4556 (U.S.), 800/848-8824 (Canada) or 636/519-9663 (local and international), by e-mail at [email protected] or on the Web at www.nwfa.org.Confirm the legitimacy of any insurance company or agent with your state's insurance department. To quickly find the relevant office, go to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Web site at www.naic.org/state_web_map.htm. To find the specialist in your state on MEWAs, click on "Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement Contacts.January 31, 2007ManagementRead this Before Extending Credit to CustomersEveryone loves reeling in a fresh customer. And what better bait is there than easy credit? But be careful: Before taking on a new job you need to balance liberal credit terms with a prudent assessment of your customer's ability and desire to pay.Writing off a bad account can be far more costly than it first appears. "If you don't get paid, forget about the fact that you have lost profit," warns Mary Adams, principal of Trek Consulting, Winchester, Mass. "More important is that you have lost all that revenue off the top line. That's a very expensive mistake."Just how credit-worthy is that new customer of yours. For an answer, look to the three main consumer credit-reporting agencies. Each operates on a nationwide and international basis. Before requesting a report, make sure you have obtained your prospect's written permission and have a "permissible reason." Check with an attorney to make sure you are in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws.July 31, 2006ManagementPutting Non-Family Employees at EaseEducational institutions are helping family businesses by organizing seminars and round tables. Here are a few of the prominent players:Families love to run their own businesses. Crises can occur, though, when there is a lack of sufficient management skill to take an organization to the next level. As competition becomes more intense, a greater number of family businesses are hiring skilled non-family managers.March 31, 2006ManagementEffectively Handling Stressful Workplace Conversations• How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships, by Leil Lowndes. How psychology and body language can enhance communications. McGraw-Hill, 2003. $14.95.November 30, 2005ManagementCultivate a Good Relationship with Your BankerSo, you need some money to carry you through a rough patch. Getting nervous? Most of us do when we are approaching a banker, hat in hand.September 30, 2005Legal AdviceAvoid Costly Lawsuits When Employees Talk & DriveOne size does not fit all, it seems, when it comes to company cell phonepolicies. Typically, though, such policies offer variations on a number ofcommon themes, requiring employees to:• follow all state and local laws• use only hands-free cell phone devices while driving• avoid engaging in upsetting conversations while driving• refrain from placing calls during hazardous driving conditions such as heavy traffic or bad weather.A new University of Utah study has found that when young motorists talk on cell phones, they drive like elderly people, moving and reacting more slowly and increasing their risk of accidents. “If you put a 20-year-old driver behind the wheel with a cell phone, their reaction times are the same asa 70-year-old driver who is not using a cell phone,” says David Strayer, a University of Utah psychology professor and principal author of the study. The study also found that drivers who talked on cell phones—regardless of whether they were young or old—were 18 percent slower in hitting their brakes than drivers who didn’t use cell phones. The drivers chatting on cell phones also had a 12 percent greater following distance—an effort to compensate for paying less attention to road conditions—and took 17 percent longer to regain the speed they lost when they braked. In addition, “there was also a twofold increase in the number of [simulated] rear-end collisions when drivers were conversing on cell phones,” the study says.According to the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C., are the only states to restrict hand-held cell phone use for all drivers statewide. Other legislation is being considered. To see a complete listing of the current status of state cellphone laws, visit www.statehighwaysafety.org/html/stateinfo/laws/cellphone_laws.html.July 31, 2005Previous PagePage 5 of 7Next PageTop StoriesDesignCraftsmanship Across the Globe: Introducing the Winners of the 2024 WFB Design AwardsHailing everywhere from Italy to Portugal to Cincinnati to Washington, D.C., to Brazil to Chicago (by way of Poland), the recipients of this year’s WFB Design Awards prove, through sweat and creativity, that true craftsmanship has no borders.Machines/ToolsMeet the Repairman Turning Edgers Into ArtworkContractingWhat’s Your Top Advice for When Things Get Slow?DesignWhite Oak vs. Red Oak: As Pressure Increases on White Oak, Red Oak Is a Versatile AlternativeSponsor ContentIntroducing Color Theory for Custom Wood Finishing
