One day recently, upon seeing me dressed in a red jacket, a coworker told me she read an article proclaiming red as “the new black.” Two weeks prior, shopping for dress shoes, the sales associate told me that navy is becoming “the new black.” When selecting paint colors for my home six months ago, I […]
New shades color our lives: Use them to attract business Read More »
There are many strategies that businesses use to retain high-quality employees. Some of these include good benefit packages, flexible scheduling, congenial work environments and family-friendly policies, but a key strategy is where a business sets its pay level. There are three choices: you can lead, match or lag behind your competition. Those businesses that lead
Employee retention strategies take divergent paths on salaries, benefits Read More »
Steve Stephenson is the kind of hair stylist who follows you to the front door snipping at any stray hairs to make sure you walk out with a perfect haircut. He’s that passionate about what he does. He’s also passionate about the business side of his salon, Salon de Capello, but in 2005 his desire
NEW STYLE: Salon de Capello owner gets a wild hair to make over his business model Read More »
One of the key indicators of Columbia’s economic vitality is the city sales tax receipts, particularly when they are broken down by category. They indicate how much money people are spending in stores, restaurants and gas stations and for construction and improvement projects. For City Manager Bill Watkins, it’s a bottom line problem because sales
Amid a housing market slowdown and questionable credit practices, the number of foreclosures in Columbia has increased significantly. Simply put, overextended borrowers are failing to make mortgage payments and are losing their homes. “The chickens are coming home to roost, and that’s what’s happening now,” said Colby Ardrey, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker
Newcomers to Columbia may be unaware that Stadium Boulevard was once called Conley Road, a gravel country road managed by the Missouri Highway Department. Through the foresight and efforts of pioneers such as former Highway Commissioner A.D. Sappington, former Mayor Howard Lang, and former City Manager Lee Hill, Conley Road became Stadium Boulevard, a state
Development along Stadium pioneering, but contentious Read More »
When a doctor or nurse draws blood or takes a tissue sample at a hospital or clinic in mid-Missouri, the samples and specimens are likely to end up being tested at Boyce & Bynum Pathology Laboratories, a 42-year-old Columbia-based business owned by 10 physicians. “We are the doctors behind the doctors,” said Dr. Robert Cheek,
Commercial pathology lab expands to four-state area Read More »
Director of Government Affairs, Columbia Chamber of Commerce AGE: 23 JOB DESCRIPTION: Representing the Chamber of Commerce in areas of government and public affairs; working with the chamber’s investment group, Centennial Investors; and serving as a registered lobbyist for the chamber on both the state and local levels. YEARS LIVED IN COLUMBIA: I attended Mizzou
Lynda Baumgartner likes to help local not-for-profits and charitable causes on a regular basis. In fact, she considers the volunteer work and contributions that she and her husband, Steve, provide to be a large part of the unconventional marketing plan they’ve adapted to their company, Image Technologies of Missouri. “We’re trying to do some things
Business Profile: Office equipment company links volunteering, marketing Read More »
This piece is about the Missouri River. I have written before about the public policy relating to the Missouri River, and I have done so for many years. In the spirit of proper disclosure of bias, you should know that I represent parties with regard to activities on the Missouri River. That doesn’t change the
