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VIEWPOINT: Heads out the door-not the only answer

Aug. 25-Unemployment in Indiana has hit the highest level in three years, preliminary government figures show. Whenever I read unfortunate news such as this, I recall a conversation I once had with a senior executive. He casually summed up his strategy for achieving supe rior financial results: “Heads out the door. That’s the first thing I do. That’s the only way I know with certainty that the financial results will be improved.” Heads out the door. This made me think…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: What you should know about Life Settlements

One fairly new investment that has gained attention in recent years is the Senior Life Settlement. What are Senior Life Settlements? Life Settlements evolved from the Viatical industry in the 1990s, when people diagnosed with terminal illnesses such as AIDS, usually facing life expectancies of three years or less, sold their life insurance policies on the secondary market to cover costs of their health care. These types of investments have gradually increased over the years and have paved the way…

New ballet school takes over space left by failed dance group

Victoria Lyras began classes for her newly created Indianapolis School of Ballet Aug. 21 in 10,500-square-foot quarters on Capitol Avenue that previously housed Ballet Internationale's Clara R. Noyes Academy, which closed in November because of financial problems. ISB has 20 students so far.

Estate planning lawyers can become specialists: New exam lets Indiana attorneys become certified

Attorney Jeff Hawkins has focused his law practice on estate planning and administration law for 14 years. He considers himself experienced but is not yet ready to declare himself a “specialist” or “certified” estate-planning attorney. That happens in November, and the designation depends on results of an exam. The Indiana State Bar Association has recently adopted a plan to make estate planning and administration a specialty status of law in Indiana, joining four other focuses that have donned the stature…

9 ways to keep clientele coming back:

The most reliable method for evaluating whether your business truly offers great customer service is customer retention. Customer-retention results reflect the customer’s decision to purchase more of your products and services. After much research in this area, we know that these “re-purchase” decisions are based on three important evaluations. First, the customer decides whether you delivered the basic service promise. Did you deliver the package on time? Was the repair done correctly? Second, the customer makes some touchy-feely evaluations about…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Taxes, school, health costs challenge affluent families

Affluent families face many threats to their wealth. But three forces eroding the legacies in almost all of them are taxes, education costs and post-retirement health care. Fortunately, with proper planning, there are steps you can take to help ensure your wealth carries you through retirement comfortably with ample left over for your heirs. Make taxes manageable Taxes may be unavoidable but they can be managed in a way that makes them less destructive to your wealth. Specifically, the alternative…

St. Francis looks to fill hospice care void: Hospital plans 16-bed facility for south campus

St. Francis Hospital and Health Centers wants to raise $15 million to add an inpatient hospice to its growing campus on the south side of Indianapolis. The free-standing hospice could house as many as 32 beds for terminally ill patients. Even though most hospice patients receive care in their own homes, hospital officials see the project as a chance to fill a market need and reinforce their system’s Franciscan values. “People get caught up, I think, in the definition of…

BULLS & BEARS: Investors: Stay within ‘circle of competence’

Index funds are a wise choice for many investors confronted with the overwhelming menu of investment options. They offer a simple alternative that exposes the investor to a variety of industries at a low cost. In addition, an index fund investor’s return will exceed the net results, after fees and expenses, achieved by the majority of investment professionals, including most mutual fund and hedge fund managers. If, however, investors choose to build their portfolio by selecting individual stocks, they should…

Minority-owned contractor Mezzetta Construction downsizes dramatically

Mezzetta Construction Inc., one of the city’s largest minority-owned businesses and a contractor on the Lucas Oil Stadium project, is downsizing its staff and auctioning off its office and construction equipment while struggling with financial difficulties.

SPORTS: Football triple-header has its highs and lows

There’s nothing better than Friday night at a high school football game. Unless it’s Saturday afternoon at a college football game (even if it is Indiana University). Or Sunday afternoon at an NFL game. Then again, how about all the above on an idyllic late-summer weekend? So, my wife, Sherry, and I set out for a tripleheader gridiron adventure. And before I proceed, let me say it’s terrific to have a bride who will happily endure three football games in…

Chamber of Commerce explores casino recommendation

To shore up local government’s enormous financial shortfalls, the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce has begun investigating whether it wants to push for a downtown casino–a politically explosive idea that would face widespread opposition.

With tools in place, customer can be king:

Is the customer always right? “Darn tootin’,” as my son, who is in the business of customer satisfaction, would say. Factually this may not be true-the customer can be wrong-but we have to let customers think they’re infallible if we want a successful business. The president of a company I used to work for always said “the customer is king.” Fairytales depict kings as the ultimate power, and in business customers should have fairytale-like powers, too. Most businesses serve five…

Riverview, Irsay take separate paths to exotic getaways: Nancy’s Retreat organizers start dueling events

One retreat tempts central Indiana women to “capture their dreams”-and grab a makeover while they’re at it-during a long weekend in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The other promises “a trip of a lifetime” in nearby Nuevo Vallarta. Last year, a hurricane swept away plans for the second annual Nancy’s Retreat getaway, which was created by Nancy Irsay and the Riverview Memorial Foundation. This year, different visions split the retreat in two and created competing trips that benefit separate charities. Neither side…

Is it ever too late to build a nest egg?: Even those 55 and older with little savings should still put together a retirement plan, financial planners say

Many Americans are woefully unprepared for retirement, according to a recent study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. The Washington, D.C.-based organization’s latest Retirement Confidence Survey shows 44 percent of Americans age 55 and older have saved less than $100,000. Moreover, only 13 percent have saved at least $250,000, while 30 percent either didn’t know or declined to answer the question. The statistics are hardly surprising to financial planners on the front lines of the battle to convince Americans they…

EYE ON THE PIE: Who is watching Hoosier journalism?

I recently attended a lecture on renal problems of penal populations. The study of kidney disease among prisoners has been a fascination of mine since I started watching James Cagney movies. The next day, I thought I would break out in liver spots when I read the newspaper account. The central points of the lecture were missed as the reporter bore down on other interesting, but tangential, issues. No doubt some of prisoners’ kidney problems are the result of specific…

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: High gasoline prices sometimes difficult to understand

Just who or what is it that sets the price for a gallon of gas? Well, gasoline station owners of course. Whether it’s a momand-pop station or part of a large chain, the owner looks at prices up and down the street and changes the signs accordingly. These owners know what everybody else around them is charging, and they also know what their supplier is charging them for their wholesale supply. What about the wholesale price? Its set in a…

Developer has big plans for long-vacant drive-in: N.Y. firm has 93-acre Lawrence site under contract

A 93-acre former drive-in south of the former Fort Benjamin Harrison has sat vacant since the theater closed in 1993. But now a Rochester, N.Y., developer has agreed to buy the property and envisions building retail space plus either a light-industrial business park or a medical campus. If it comes to pass, the large development could kick-start Lawrence’s efforts to revitalize struggling portions of Pendleton Pike. Norry Management Corp. has had the land under contract since spring and is preparing…

Preparation is key to surviving disasters of all kinds: Financial experts offer tips to keep your records safe in emergencies

Last year’s hurricane disasters in the Gulf Coast region brought to light how easily and quickly personal financial records can be lost or destroyed in a catastrophe. While hurricanes aren’t likely to hit Indiana, tornadoes, fires and floods are always a possibility, as are crimes such as theft, vandalism and identity theft. Financial planners emphasize that it’s important to keep records safe from various disasters that can hit without warning. In fact, they say, it’s good to have a plan…

NOTIONS: Of errors, apologies and redemption

Last week, a friend and I stopped by Nordstrom so she could purchase some cosmetics. She found one needed product on the shelf, then asked the clerk if the item she’d asked to be sent from another store had arrived. The clerk said it had, but that they’d sold it to another customer because my friend hadn’t called for it. My friend said she’d never been notified the product was in. The clerk repeated that it’s store policy to sell…

$1.7M invested in failed firm not authorized, sources say

Trade groups that host the Indianapolis Auto Show and represent 600 car dealers in the Legislature stand to lose $1.7 million they loaned to a local debt-collection agency–loans that sources said were made without the knowledge of the groups’ boards or membership.