The five finalists for Best Practices in Community Impact have different definitions of ?community.? For some, their community is their neighborhood for others, it?s halfway around the world.
They share a commitment to making a difference, some purely for philanthropic reasons and some as an integral part of their business plan.
Just after Sept. 11, 2001, the stock market had gone south, which led insurance companies to charge more for coverage.
Furthermore, the number of claims and their monetary cost had skyrocketed at Driessen Culligan. The company?s rates had doubled, and the water purification franchisee in Northfield had become almost uninsurable.
After speaking with an insurance salesman, Dan Driessen, CEO, entered an unusual partnership with RJF Agencies Inc., an independent insurance broker that also works with companies to install safety measures, action plans and other strategies to reduce the risk and likelihood of future claims.
If Joe Robbie had gotten his way, Dakota County would be a far different place than it is today.
In the early 1960s Robbie was the chairman of the Minnesota Municipal Commission, a government organization that had strong input on annexation issues.
Robbie, who eventually became the popular owner of the Miami Dolphins NFL franchise, believed bigger was better. He dreamed of one giant city consisting of what is now Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Inver Grove Heights, Lakeville and Rosemount.
Those six cities today make up the economic heartbeat of Dakota County, now the third most populous county in Minnesota.
When Mendota Heights-based CPA Richard Schmitt needs to find answers to questions on workers compensation or employment law, he knows he can find ideas through other small-business owners he?s met through the Northern Dakota County Chamber of Commerce.
When Phil Brunger of Intellifeed Inc. needed assistance attracting highly skilled employees to the Rosemount-based company, he consulted with Joe Klein of the Department of Employment and Economic Development Division in West St. Paul.
Though he grew up on a farm, Donny Smith was fortunate enough to be exposed to leading-edge technology at a young age.
He got his first teletype terminal, a screenless predecessor to the personal computer, as a high-schooler in the 1970s. On it, he accessed the DARPAnet, an early government-created network from which the Internet evolved.
?As crude as it was, it was state-of-the-art back then,? says Smith.
Now, as CEO of Owatonna-based Jaguar Communications, he wants to make sure other rural kids have that same early flirtation with new technology. But most are merely playing catch-up to their urban peers, who?ve been surfing the Web and dabbling in digital for years, he says.
Trying to prevent adhesions after endometriosis surgery? Contact Inlet Medical Inc. and someone at the company can probably help. Need to figure out how to treat uterine prolapse or retroversion? The medical device company specializes in minimally invasive laparoscopic products.
But if you?re looking for advice on the best way to pay employees or handle your Cobra insurance, you?ll probably have to go elsewhere.
A new section of the federal tax code, 409a, governs the deferred compensation plans that are popular among small businesses. Everything from bonus plans to phantom stock to severance agreements need scrutiny to comply by December 31. Wendy Citron, an employee benefits expert with Halleland Lewis Nilan & Johnson in Minneapolis, explains.
Rajiv Tandon has been through the money-raising wars before, both in his current position as president and CEO of Adayana Inc. and in a previous life with LearningByte International.
When owners come to Tom Lyons, sick of their business and ready to sell, he often tells them to hold on.
Lyons is president of Faelon, a business brokerage firm in St. Louis Park. How much will their business sell for today? Is that enough to see the owner through retirement? If not, what is enough and how can the owner build the business to that goal? Answering those questions can help them maximize the value of their biggest asset.
Bankruptcy is an unwanted topic. If you’re a debtor, it may get uglier in the coming months. If you’re a creditor, it’s going to get a little nicer.