You don’t have to live in Spokane for very long to sense the competition between the East and West.  So I was pretty happy the other day when Jack Kaplan from WorkSource Spokane told me that only he and another person in the Tri-Cities were certified to assist employers in the recruiting and hiring process using state of the art assessment processes.  Jack is the author of a recent white paper, “…

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So am I the last one to know that Google has a ton of free education resources available to educators, parents, and organizations?  (I have no problem if you respond in the affirmative…)  Why do I find this exciting?  Because at a time when schools are cutting back, quality free resources seem like a great thing, right?

Begin looking at this plethora of possibilities by going to the main education sitehere.  Up front on top you see…

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Having had a little time on my hands, I have been doing some social media/economic development research.  What are the things we can do that don’t cost a lot of money? There are several but I started looking up Spokane County companies on on LinkedIn.  My method was not scientific, but I guess I was somewhat surprised that a large number of companies we know and love that have no LinkedIn presence or a skimpy profile that is rarely updated.  While I realize that everyone is super busy, the…

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Oh here is more good news than you can stand:

 

http://www.unleashed-online.com/heres-some-reason-for-optimism/

 

Spread it around!

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Well, last night it finally happened.  I had that dream.  The dream that millions of Americans had during the 50’s and 60’s.  A nightmare really, about nuclear annihilation.   The one where you’re out somewhere, the air raid siren goes off and you know that there’s really no safe place… You’re just standing there saying, “aw crap.”

 

I brought at least half of it on myself.  I tend to be a news junky and had been allowing myself to be inundated by the Japanese nuclear…

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This is kind of a Business 101 for some of you, but I can't help but put this out into the universe!



One of my jobs at the law firm of Lukins & Annis,  is taking all the cold calls and assisting potential clients through a process of understanding whether they want to hire us to represent them. Many of these calls are the result of a breakdown in a contractual relationship. They usually start out like this:



“Hi. Yes, I…

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One thing I know for sure about the members of LaunchPad, you are a creative bunch!  Another thing I know is that you don't always do enough to protect your intellectual property...

 

I was looking at a business card that was quite elaborate and professionally designed the other day.  I asked the person whether they had registered their trademark and the answer came back, "I think so." 

As I looked at the card closely, there was not a small "R" in the middle of a circle,…

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So here I sit at work on a Saturday afternoon, filling out the the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Creditable Coverage Disclosure Report...(I am such a Loser!!!)    But, I'll be brief.....(quick pain vs. slow pain)

 

This incredibly demented report wants you to disclose if you have any Medicare Eligible employees that you supply with health insurance, specifically drug coverage.  Most of you probably already knew all this, but I didn't.  So why would Medicare want…

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At Lukins and Annis, we are seeing our business transactions work increase significantly in the last several months and we have every reason to believe that the trend is going to continue. I wish I could say, “I told you so,” but frankly, this thing lasted way longer than I thought it would and my predictions about the end of the recession were way off.



I believe that we have turned the corner and now look to the time that businesses will begin to breathe and think about the future.… Continue

As I sit here reviewing policies on a recognized federal and state holiday, I am trying to put all of this work into a risk management perspective. (I can’t help it, I’ve worked for attorneys for a long time.) Some of you may actually have a New Year’s resolution to become more proactive about the day-to-day functions of your business. But wait, don't start cranking out the pages just yet.  Rather, consider that every policy you write and publish can help you or hurt you. Remember if… Continue

As the new year begins and we see the increased possibilities offered by LaunchPad, I want to make a pitch for the one of the free and obvious things that will make all of us more successful.



Cross-selling is nothing more than team-selling with other specialists within your network of associates, all working in partnership on behalf of the client's best interest. It is a proactive, ongoing sales process designed to provide your existing clients with the information about what your…

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The American Dream has been on the minds of many people as of late. We all know people who have lost jobs, homes and families because of the Great Recession.…

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I’ve been listening to President Obama’s comments on the increase in new jobs for the last several days. After the clip of his remarks is played there are numerous comments and interpretations that follow. The comments all seem to have one theme; people are still scared. Even the people in the factory where the President was speaking…

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The recent projections reported in the Spokesman Review, about additional decreases in home values in Spokane and Kootenai counties could be taken rather negatively at the first glance. Homeowners lose some additional value on…

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