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Nearly 200,000 Nevadans – the number it takes to fill the Sam Boyd Stadium five times – live without enough food for a healthy, active lifestyle. More than one-third of them go hungry. The Food Bank of Northern Nevada has worked 25 years to eradicate this problem in the state’s northern region. "We’ve distributed about 50 million pounds of food since we started, and we still … [Read more...] about Food Bank of Northern Nevada: Helping Feed the Hungry

Business is business, no matter where you find yourself. And while local laws, customers and sales environments may vary depending on your location, if you master the fundamentals of running a business you will find success, regardless whether you work in Nevada or Indonesia. The key to owning and operating a profitable business is to design your enterprise so it works without … [Read more...] about Learning to Let Go: Finding Entrepreneurial Success

It’s getting so you can’t read a newspaper or turn on a television newscast without seeing a story about a politician involved in an ethical dilemma or a conflict of interest charge. From Clark County commissioners to the county recorder to school board trustees, our elected officials seem to be long on ambition and short on moral fiber. Are we being besieged with a new crop … [Read more...] about Politicians’ Ethical Dilemmas: Who’s Really to Blame?

Tasks that should be easy often fail to accomplish the desired results or outcomes, leaving organizations wondering what happened. Can’t we learn from our mistakes or the mistakes of others to avoid problems that impact productivity, effectiveness, profitability and employee morale? When something does go well, how do we capture the details of the accomplishment and apply them … [Read more...] about Learn from Past Mistakes and Failures: Or Prepare to Repeat Them

Many companies face the problem of how to protect themselves from a key employee defecting to competitors with customer lists and other confidential information. One way to address this situation is to require employees to sign a non-competition agreement. A non-competition agreement is essentially a contract between an employer and an employee that states that when the … [Read more...] about Non-Competition Agreements: How to Avoid the Pitfalls

Question: "Do changes need to be made to Congress’ earmark policy? If so, what changes do you recommend?" Federal spending in Washington, D.C. is out of control, and American taxpayers are footing the bill. The spending problem is driven in part by a process known as "earmarking." If you are unfamiliar with what an earmark is or how the process works, you are not alone. … [Read more...] about Changing Congress’ Earmark Policy: Let’s Make Congress Accountable

Remember 1986? Most offices had an IBM Selectric typewriter, but not every office had a computer. Fax machines were brand-new, expensive technology. For junior executives and middle managers, beepers were a “must-have” accessory, but if you were a real mover-and-shaker in the business world (or wanted to be) you had a brick phone installed in your car. The Internet was confined … [Read more...] about 1986-2006 Twenty Years of Covering Nevada Business News

It has been more than a century since the president of Western Union foolishly rejected a chance to buy the patents for a novel new invention called the telephone. The decision was one of the worst corporate mistakes ever, but a valuable lesson was learned – to succeed in telecommunications, you have to stay ahead of the curve. In 2006, Nevada’s major telecommunications … [Read more...] about Telecom: Past, Present, & Future

Nevada’s economy and steady job growth are attracting record numbers of new residents, causing a rapid urbanization in the state’s major cities. Developers and investors are now fast-tracking projects in order to meet the demand for services ranging from offices and homes, to shops and restaurants. The state’s unprecedented development activity has taxed its contractors and … [Read more...] about Rising Construction Costs: Creative Solutions Needed

Since March 1988, when we purchased the two year-old Nevada Business Journal magazine, we have been the voice of Nevada’s business community, speaking out against higher taxes and government regulations and warning voters about political dirty tricks. On the occasion of the magazine’s 20th anniversary, we reviewed some of the topics the magazine has covered in its Commentary … [Read more...] about After Twenty Years We’re Still Looking Out for You

Glen, Smith & Glen Development Co. is making an impression on the Las Vegas Valley with a signature style that is changing the way people think of professional office parks. The firm was founded in 2002 by the husband and wife team of Alan and Samantha Glen and partner Kenneth Smith. A developer since the 1960s, Alan Glen made a name for himself working on major office … [Read more...] about Glen, Smith & Glen Development: Bringing New Concepts to Southern Nevada

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 17 percent of Nevada’s children under 18 are uninsured, an abysmal 49th in a state-by-state ranking. While it’s a sad fact that serious injuries and illnesses are consequently left untreated, those medical issues that are considered "cosmetic" stand no chance of receiving treatment. Yet, don’t these issues have a serious impact … [Read more...] about Project New Hope: Improving Children’s Quality of Life

Forty-six million taxpayers have some type of Individual Retirement Account (IRA), collectively holding more than 2.5 trillion – yes trillion – dollars. In 2000 alone, more than $36 billion was added to these accounts. That’s a lot of nest eggs. The majority of these funds are invested in traditional investments such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, CDs and annuities. So, it … [Read more...] about Alternative IRA Investments: Yes, You Can Include Real Estate

This scenario has happened to every boss: you promoted into a leadership position a great employee who was motivated and performed well in his last position. However, within a few months, he is not meeting your performance expectations. As a result, you are considering demoting or terminating him. What went wrong? All too often, the wrong people are promoted for the wrong … [Read more...] about Promoting Failure: Or, How to Ruin a Good Employee

Nevada Business Journal sent questionnaires to the five major candidates for governor of Nevada (Bob Beers, Jim Gibbons, Jim Gibson, Lorraine Hunt and Dina Titus) to see where they stood on several important issues. Jim Gibson and Dina Titus declined to participate. Here are the responses sent in by the others. Candidate Profile: Name: Bob Beers Age: 46 Political … [Read more...] about Questions for the Candidates: Where Do They Stand?