Cover Story
Tightening pursestrings
When Dipesh Patel acquired Postmatic two years ago, he was looking to rapidly expand the manufacturer of equipment for mailing, packaging and semiconductor industries that also does contract work for original equipment manufacturers. In the last three months, Postmatic has acquired another company and purchased real estate aimed at eliminating the cost of rent and facilitating the company’s ability to take on larger builds. Continue reading →
Letter From the Editor
A pep talk from a famous ‘Shark Tank’ judge
"The best time to move ahead is the worst times.” So declares Barbara Corcoran, the fast-talking New York real estate mogul and judge on ABC’s hit show “Shark Tank,” who’s the perfect interview as business owners everywhere face tough times. I got a boost from her in an interview recently that I had to share, even though she’s not local as my typical sources are. “Established works against you in bad times because you protect your turf. I can tell you so many times that I could sniff out a weakness in my competitors—cockiness. They were cocky, big and protecting,” Corcoran said. “The larger companies in bad times hide. It’s prudent to wait it out, because they have a lot of money and they don’t want to lose it.” Continue reading →
Back Page
Stern pens insights for family business spouses
As the daughter of a family business owner, the former director of the Family Business Center at the University of St. Thomas and the founder of Family Business Minnesota and The Sage Pages, Sara Stern has seen her share of conflict amid family business. Stern, who also owns a local EOS Worldwide franchise, has set […] Continue reading →
Focus
Questions & Answers
Dorothy Bridges retired from her last job at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis in 2018 after four decades in banking and financial services. She was serving on a few boards, most notably those of U.S. Bancorp and the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA), while pondering whether there were jobs out there that might lure her back into the workforce. Continue reading →
Business Builders
My customer declared bankruptcy — now what?
Past due receivables can cause significant stress among business owners. Emotions can reach a boiling point when, instead of a much-anticipated check, you receive a “Notice of Bankruptcy Case.” What does this mean and what can you do to protect yourself? Continue reading →
Getting your CEO active on social media: A battlecard
If you’re part of a small- to medium-sized business, chances are you’re already investing in social media. In fact, 77.6 percent of small businesses report using a combination of social platforms to engage with customers and drive business. Continue reading →
Business, brands embrace Web3
Web3 is the next evolution of the internet with a promise of transparency and decentralization creating a more secure and private place for users to conduct business. The internet is in a constant evolution from Web1 where users searched for answers but couldn’t create or interact with content to Web2 where users can create content and share info, but they don’t control their data, big corporates do. Web3 is the promise to shift that control back to the users and provide more transparency through distributed ledgers otherwise known as blockchain technology. Continue reading →
Manage your cash flow in a few simple steps
Small businesses are usually founded by entrepreneurs who have a unique vision and a passion that drives them to work late hours, take chances and believe in what they’re doing. But, just as Thomas Edison once said that genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration, successfully running a small business requires rolling up your sleeves and putting in significant time on more mundane, day-to-day matters. Continue reading →
Catching up
Still building: Blanski left corporate America, never looked back
It’s been 22 years since Tim Blanski and Lisa Catton sold what had been their dream house in St. Paul, left their busy jobs and re-settled in Spring Grove, nearly three hours to the southeast and not far from both the Wisconsin and Iowa borders. Continue reading →
