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Workers can help lower health costs:

Health care costs keep small-business owners up at night. According to Forbes magazine, the cost of health care is rising at three times the rate of inflation. Because demand for medical treatment will continue to grow as Americans age, insurance premiums will continue to increase. Some small-business owners’ first reaction is to shift rising costs to employees. Others simply eliminate health insurance benefits altogether. While this reduces expenses and raises profit in the short term, it ruins a company’s ability…

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Venture Center’s Beck plans seed capital fund: Former Rose-Hulman Ventures prez returns to town

Over the last three years at the helm of Indiana Venture Center Inc., one thing became all too clear to Steve Beck: Not much money is available locally for early-stage companies. So he’s going to raise some himself. Last week, Beck, 59, announced he’s stepping down as Indiana Venture Center president to become co-managing director of IVC Equity Partners, a new local seed capital fund. His IVC Equity cofounder is Scott Prince, 38, a Columbus native and Indiana University graduate…

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ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Impact from small biz smaller than we think?

The images are out there, reinforced almost every day. Big business is bad, led by overpaid executives who are out of touch and hire lobbyists to get laws changed in their favor. Or, worse yet, they drive smaller companies out of business. Small business, in contrast, is noble, led by energetic people following their dream, facing special challenges and deserving of our support. Nobody, it seems, is rooting for Wal-Mart to get bigger, and no one ever made a movie…

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SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE: JP PARKER CO.: Business blooming for specialty florist Flower farm, retail shop feed green thumb’s growth

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE JP PARKER CO. Business blooming for specialty florist Flower farm, retail shop feed green thumb’s growth More than 300,000 sunflowers are in various stages of growth on Needham, Ind., farmland, where a third generation carries on the family tradition with a modern twist. These tall summer annuals follow a spring where 1,000 blooming peony plants yielded at least 11,000 stems for a Chicago broker. Smaller plots of delphiniums, larkspur, zinnias, coneflowers, mints, herbs and other greenery also…

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State awarenesss initiative targeting investment fraud: Program touts knowledge to prevent financial scams

Conservative estimates put the amount of money Hoosiers are bilked by investment fraud scammers at $100 million a year. The high-end estimate for victims of pyramid scams, bogus gas and oil ventures and unscrupulous mortgage practices is closer to $800 million. Those involved in catching and prosecuting the scammers say proactively educating people about investments in general and scams in particular would go a long way toward helping the problem. “Our financial illiteracy is high,” said Mark Maddox, managing partner…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Consumers rarely raise banks above commodity status

Toothpaste. Laundry bleach. Cat food. Banking services. Despite the hopes of many bank executives, vast numbers of consumers rarely elevate their banks beyond everyday commodity status. Through traditional advertising and marketing, many banks attempt to differenti ate themselves as the bank of choice or the bank that makes a difference. Repeat the tag line often enough and hopefully potential customers will start to believe it. One fact underscores this unfortunate commodity service status: According to recent market research, the No….

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New business incubator is made for minorities

Black business owner Bob Logan is one of four entrepreneurs chosen by the Indiana Business Diversity Council as inaugural tenants of its unusual new incubator, which caters solely to minority-owned businesses.

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FINANCE: How will higher interest rates affect my loan?

Every time the Q: Fe d e ra l Reserve raises rates, I expect to pay my bank more for financing. I guess I understand the reason for this-the government says it wants to guard against inflation-but the Fed’s actions still make it hard for the small-business owner who needs to borrow money. How can I get the lowest possible rates? And what will my bank require of me that they don’t now? Or is there any way around this…

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Builder targets entire block: Centex in talks to buy land from Shapiro’s Deli, others for downtown development

A national home builder is negotiating to purchase an entire downtown block for a retailand-residential development-a project that could temporarily displace the landmark Shapiro’s Deli. Dallas-based Centex Corp. says the block southeast of the planned Lucas Oil Stadium is among several downtown-area locations it is reviewing for its first local foray into urban residential development. Brian Shapiro, owner of Shapiro’s Deli, 808 S. Meridian St., said he has not reached a final agreement to sell his property. But he hinted…

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SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE: A-1 VACUUM CLEANERS AND JANITORIAL SUPPLIES: Vacuum dealer on his own Franchise dissolution gave owner freedom and more responsibility

SMALL BUSINESS PROFILE A-1 VACUUM CLEANERS AND JANITORIAL SUPPLIES Vacuum dealer on his own Franchise dissolution gave owner freedom and more responsibility For his entire adult life, Tony Stahl has been helping other people clean up their messes. From the time he graduated from John Marshall High School, Stahl has had A-1 Vacuum Cleaners as part of his work life, first as an employee and, most recently, as an owner. In fact, Stahl’s work with vacuums and customers was so…

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Scrapping it: Flurry of area shops close the books on once-hot business

Forget-Me-Not in Greenwood will soon be forgotten. The store, which sold scrapbook albums and supplies, closed last month. It was the latest of at least seven scrapbook stores to close in the past few months in central Indiana. Business analysts are calling the rash of out-of-business signs a cautionary tale for proprietors who invest in “silo businesses” that base their bottom line on a trend or product that may soon be out of style. “A lot of the mom-and-pop [scrapbook]…

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BIZ BASICS: Legal help doesn’t have to cost a fortune

We’re a start-Q: up and constantly need answers to basic legal questions about business structures, the hiring process, contracts, wages, safety, trademarks and more, but can’t afford expensive lawyers. What are some options? Legal issues often present a dilem-A:ma for cost-conscious small businesses, especially startups. You want the best information but paying legal professionals for every little thing gets expensive. The range of legal issues facing entrepreneurs is immense, from naming a business and obtaining licenses to complying with tax…

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Driving through adversity: First-time team owner uses business fundamentals to help reach the finish line

It’s been a bumpy ride for Michael Crawford this year. Scratch that-it’s been like driving into a concrete wall at 190 miles per hour. Repeatedly. The rookie race team owner put his financial livelihood on the line this year to buy two cars and run them in the Indy Pro Series, the open-wheel racing equivalent of AAA baseball, one step below the major leagues. IBJ is following Crawford’s progress in hopes of shedding light on the challenges startups face when…

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Ex-Chamber chief buys Daleville testing firm: Deal gives LaMothe one-third ownership, CEO post

Now, he’s an owner himself. This month, he teamed with two prominent executives to buy Dalevillebased Sherry Laboratories, a 180-employee company that does product testing for firms in such fields as aerospace and automotive. “I’ve been interested in Sherry for about 10 years,” LaMothe said. “I had approached them two or three different times … . I was intrigued with the company because I believed it was needed and necessary and adds value to society.” LaMothe will serve as chairman…

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FINDING the RIGHT FIT: Program to put execs in board seats, but will firms be willing to pay for it?

Ruth Purcell Jones knows the statistics well. Nearly 1.8 million board seats at not-forprofit organizations turn over every year, presenting a challenge for charities already trying to fill the 1.2 million positions open at any given time. And anecdotal evidence backs up the national research. “If there’s one thing I hear over and over, it’s, ‘We can’t find board members,'” said Jones, president of Indianapolis-based governance consultant Trustee Leadership Development. “It’s really a ‘Who do you know?’ kind of thing….

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Site gets people involved: Institute uses Web to link volunteers with opportunities

When Roger Williams began approaching local not-for-profits early this year about his idea to post their volunteer opportunities for teen-agers on his Web site, many were skeptical. “What’s this guy trying to sell me?” they wondered. But six months after launching www.helpindyonline.com, part of his larger Emergent Leadership Institute, Williams has more than 80 charities promoting nearly 300 positions on his site for high school and college students interested in volunteering. The 36-year-old Carmel native and former youth pastor founded…

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Kroger shops for land: Grocer gathering property for full-size downtown store

Downtown residents might finally get their second full-service grocery store. Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. has purchased an acre of land immediately west of its store near the intersection of 16th Street and Central Avenue in hopes of razing the existing store and replacing it with a new, and much larger, grocery. “We would like to build a brand new store that incorporates all of the amenities that [we] have at our newer stores,” said Jeff Golc, a Kroger spokesman. Neighbors are…

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Plug in professionals when tasks seem overwhelming:

Running a small business is daunting, to say the least. Small-business owners wear many hats and are expected to be a master of everything: from hiring workers to coordinating group health coverage, from developing marketing materials to hitting sales goals, from assessing technology needs to making tax and insurance payments, from issuing invoices to paying vendors-all while keeping an eye on cash flow. Whew. Larger businesses may rely on individuals or entire departments responsible for each task. For small-business owners,…

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Entrepreneurs keep day jobs: Moonlighting helps owners mitigate startup risks

Inventions at various stages of development are scattered around Qamar Shafeek’s ranch-style home on Indianapolis’ east side. An unnamed doohickey attached to a curtain rod pulls drapes open and shut along with the sliding glass door. A voice box gadget tells the single father when the garage or side doors open, alerting him to his children’s comings and goings. And a plastic pinwheel with tennis balls attached to the ends is making its way from a napkin-sketch idea to a…

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Good banking relationship can help business:

Capital is the lifeblood of any business. But fresh infusions of money are particularly important for startup and small businesses, since they often can’t fund new equipment, employees or facilities out of their cash reserves or profits. The top three sources of new capital for small business are owner’s equity (33 percent) bank loans (20 percent) and trade credit (15 percent). Let’s focus on bank loans and simple ways that small-business owners can improve their chances of getting a loan…

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