| Angels are alive in Clark County
We all know it takes money to make money. But if you’re a cashless entrepreneur with a great idea, where do you turn? A number of start-up companies are getting their funding from angel investors. According to the New Hampshire-based Center for Venture Research, angels invested $11.9 billion into U.S. startups during the first half of 2007. Part of those dollars was invested right here in Clark County – local high-tech firm Lightfleet Inc., in business since 2003, is 100 percent angel-funded, according to CEO John Peers. Angel funding helps span the "equity gap," said Dr. John Becker Blease, a finance professor at Washington State University Vancouver. Entrepreneurs usually need from $100,000 to $5 million to fund their endeavor. Financial institutions are usually loath to lend that much, while venture capital firms aren’t interested in such "small potatoes." Clint Page, CEO of Dotster Inc., a successful, young high-tech firm headquartered in Vancouver, said that angel investing in the Vancouver-Portland metro area "is coming of age.
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The Pingdong branch of the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families has implemented an education program for small children between the ages of four and six from underprivileged families. Lin Hsiu-mei, who has independently raised two children, has had her daughter in the program for nearly a year. She has also successfully tested into a university social work department, going to school part-time as she works. In addition, Liu Chang-hui, who is originally from China and was married to a Taiwanese man, has also taken her children to participate in the curriculum. The project has been a success, not only enabling the children to progress, but also presently an opportunity for her to create a business. The Pingdong branch of the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families has a long history of providing service to underprivileged households.
Small-business owners can turn dreaded employee performance reviews into positive experiences
Giving employees annual performance reviews or appraisals can be one of a small business owner's most dreaded tasks. Doing them more often and going into the process with a positive rather than punitive attitude can make a review less of an ordeal. Perhaps the first thing to know about employee reviews or appraisals is that they shouldn't be once-a-year events. You should be giving your staff feedback - positive and negative - on an ongoing basis. Some companies have sit-down sessions with workers two, three or even four times a year, finding it's worthwhile whether an employee is doing well or struggling. By giving more frequent reviews, "you focus on identifying problems before they get too big and mapping out ways to correct the behavior," said Julie Lenzer Kirk, of Damascus, Md., who owned a software and consulting company for 10 years.
Price is right for these free Microsoft goodies
Some people complain that Microsoft charges too much for their software, but you might not be aware just how much software they give away for free on their various websites. This blog entry is an exhaustive list of some of the many applications and utilities that you can get from them at no charge. .
Editor's Journal Part 1: Brilliant Retailing
To say that British convenience store retailers are far more advanced than their U.S. counterparts in foodservice and operations would be inaccurate. However, when it comes to merchandising grab-and-go sandwiches and take-home meals, they are way ahead of most North American c-store chains. They also do what one Londoner termed "a brilliant job of communicating their efforts to sell locally grown product and tout their eco-friendly business practices." I had the opportunity to see this firsthand during the 2007 Future of International Convenience Retailing study tour and conference, produced by U.K.-based Insight Conferences in association with NACS. In addition to presentations from a spectrum of c-store executives from across the globe, the event included two tours to notable British c-store retailers from the West Midlands to London.
Sister Speaks Out About Sex Offender Operating Bike Shop
OREGON CITY, Ore. -- There are new developments in the controversy surrounding a convicted child molester running a small business. Harry Garrett, 54, is running a bike shop on Main Street in Oregon City. He has applied for a business license in the city and will operate the shop while the license is under consideration, according to police. Convicted of sex abuse and sodomy in 2000, Garrett's crimes involved male and female children between 9 and 15 years old. Garrett�s sister, Debbie Hurst, said he abused their children and she wants neighbors to know who they�re dealing with. .
Tasers fail to subdue savage dogs
A WOMAN has been mauled by two large dogs which had to be shot, one five times, when Taser guns failed to subdue the animals south of Perth. The 29-year-old woman was critically injured when set upon by two Bull Mastiff dogs after jumping a fence at her mother's house at Mandurah yesterday afternoon to help a puppy in distress, police said. The dogs continued to attack even after several shots were fired, one policeman said. "Both dogs received several gunshot wounds, one dog took five shots before it would drop," he said Police spokesman Ian Hasleby said the woman had climbed the fence and was then attacked by two big Bull Mastiff dogs. "As she tried to get back over the fence the dogs took hold and dragged her back into the yard and began a frenzied attack," he said. "The woman's mother took a garden hose and sprayed the dogs in an attempt to keep them at bay as three police officers arrived." Police used Taser guns to little effect and were forced to shoot and kill one of the dogs with their firearms.
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