What an amazing time it is to be in business. Social media has everyone scrambling to rethink the value of their own marketing and how can it be leveraged into actual profit. But let’s be realistic, folks. Facebook just went public. Initial valuation estimates were between $90-120 billion. In some people’s minds, this company was [...]

Understanding what drives value in your company will pay you dividends when you decide to sell. Every business owner wants the maximum value when he or she sells a business. Not many succeed. What prevents business owners from generating higher value? By looking at several critical factors, we can see what creates higher (or lower) [...]

Landlords lease office space 365 days a year. How often do you? Good information is the first step in obtaining a more favorable lease. Your office says a lot about you and your firm. The city, the building, the space, the furnishings are all a part of your brand, so finding a space that is [...]

Juggling calls, shipping and staffing on your own will stress even the most seasoned business owner. Here are nine ways to help alleviate the day-to-day burden. Whether you are just opening a new business, or are already established and need to do some budget-crunching, there are several options to consider and decisions to make. As [...]

Cloud computing is taking the business world by storm. Here’s what you need to know about “the cloud” and your business. Go to My PC” is a product that allows people to sign in to their office PCs from other locations, and is being aggressively promoted through advertising. This tool may sound like “wow” technology, [...]

Here’s a rundown on what’s happening in the world of Internet, mobile and social media. Valuation FACEBOOK AT $90+ BILLION As of our release date for this issue, Facebook was in the final prep stages for its initial public offering (IPO), and puts valuation on the social media site a little north of $90 billion. [...]

Disasters. Lawsuits. Scandals. Criminal Matters. All strike fear into the souls of business owners. Having a well-thought-out crisis plan can help you avert a business-threatening problem. What happens when there is a natural disaster? There are injuries, there are hundreds missing and the city is in shambles. As a business leader, you have to disseminate [...]

Getting young professionals to blend online and offline marketing strategies will grow the receivables for your firm. Young attorneys and accountants have traditionally been a firm’s worker bees. Senior partners throw tons of work at them, and they’re expected to crank out the billable hours. And if they do that long enough, one day they [...]

Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced a $120 million dollar settlement with NRG Energy Inc. that will fund the construction of a statewide network of charging stations for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), including at least 200 public fast-charging stations and another 10,000 plug-in units at 1,000 locations across the state. The Governor also announced that he [...]

President Obama signed into law the American Jobs (Jumpstart Our Business Startups) Act, which is designed to help add jobs and bolster the economy. The bill includes $253 billion in tax credits and $194 billion in spending, plus extension of unemployment benefits. Among its elements are the following specific actions: Cutting and suspending $245 billion [...]

The California Supreme Court recently ruled that employers are under no obligation to ensure that workers take legally mandated lunch breaks. This case has impact on millions of California workers and thousands of California employers. Brinker v. Superior Court began as a case more than nine years ago. The class action was brought by restaurant [...]

The MoneyTree™ Report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, The National Venture Capital Association. Thomson Reuters tell us that there were just under a billion dollars in venture capital investments in the Southern California region in Q1 of this year. This bucks a national trend where VC investment is off 19%. In terms of dollars, San Diego led Southern [...]