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What's Utah Thinking? Energy Policy
Fuel Crunch Forcing Utahns to Rethink Energy Consumption Habits
by Pat Jones If you’re like most Utahns, you’ve likely been pinching and stretching the family budget to pay for rising fuel costs.
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UCCD Honors Utah Citizen Diplomats
by World Trade Center Utah On Thursday, August 14, 2008, the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy (UCCD) honored its supporters at the 2008 Salute to Utah’s Citizen Diplomats. Over one hundred members, volunteers, donors and sponsors gathered in the Jewett Center for the Performing Arts on the campus of Westminster College for an appreciation party and a celebration of citizen diplomacy.
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Event Calendar
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Today at Utah Pulse
- The Beat: Mrs. Fields Files Prepackaged Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
- SALT LAKE CITY, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mrs. Fields’ Original Cookies, Inc., announced that it and certain of its subsidiaries have filed voluntary bankruptcy petitions under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. As part of the filing, the Company has also filed its prepackaged Plan of Reorganization.
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- The Beat: Interbank FX Named to 2008 Inc. 500
- SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In its first year of eligibility, Interbank FX, a provider of online foreign currency trading, was named to Inc. magazine’s renowned Inc. 500—an annual ranking of the fastest growing privately held companies in the United States.
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- The Beat: China's Design Harvest: A Report on the State of Design in China
- Join the AIGA Center for Cross-Cultural Design on September 9 for a report on the “State of Design in China” by Christopher Liechty, founding president of the AIGA and vice president of communications for the Bank of American Fork.
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- The Beat: Transatlantic Megatrends: Trade Ties & Frayed Ties
- The Weldon J. Taylor Executive Lecture Series at Westminster College is hosting Michael Maibach, president and CEO of the European-American Business Council , Sept. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in the Vieve Gore Concert Hall in the Jewett Center for the Performing Arts and Emma Eccles Jones Conservatory.
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- The Beat: Governor's Office of Economic Development Approves Incentive for Cephalon
- The Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board has offered a post performance incentive of $1,683,200 based on 25% of new state tax revenue in the form of a refundable tax credit to Cephalon, Inc. As part of the incentive, Cephalon will invest over $18 million to expand facilities and purchase new equipment at its Salt Lake City facility.
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- The Beat: Lifetree Clinical Research Recognized as One of Utah Business Magazine’s 50 Fastest Growing Companies
- Lifetree Clinical Research® has been selected by Utah Business magazine as one of Utah’s 50 fastest growing companies. Lifetree is a clinical research company dedicated to supporting the pharmaceutical, device and biotechnologies industries.
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- The Beat: Scholarship Contest Gives Working Professionals Chance to Return to School
- If you’ve been itching to go back to school to earn that MBA, or a Masters of Education, you may be in luck. The University of Phoenix and The Enterprise newspaper are teaming up to offer a $5,000 scholarship for continuing education.
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- First Person: From Gunk to Gas: A Biofuels Podcast
- Algae as an element of national defense? According to Jeff Muhs, executive director of the Sustainable Energy Laboratory at Utah State University, the idea is not far-fetched. Producing biofuels from algae domestically vs. sourcing fossil fuel from overseas can help keep our military’s jets and vehicles running during a time of crisis.
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- First Person: Jeff Thredgold's Tea Leaf: "Global Slow & Inflation Peak"
- One economic viewpoint voiced frequently during the past 12 to 18 months was that of the “global disconnect”…the idea that, perhaps for the first time, a sharp slowing (or likely recession) of the American economy would have little impact upon the global economy. The idea was that economic growth was strong enough in China and India and Japan and Europe that a slowing U.S. economy was almost irrelevant…
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- The Beat: Visions of the City to Honor President Hinckley
- When Brigham Young plotted Salt Lake City, he designed it, as any Utah resident can tell you, with the temple as the centerpiece. Over the 161-year history of the city, through changes in culture and style, various buildings, statues and other features have been added. Construction cranes are a significant part of our current skyline depicting a rising downtown on the verge of rejuvenation while embracing the past.
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- The Beat: Using Social Media for Financial Planning
- Personal finance usually is a subject people don’t like to discuss in public. But, a new financial website aims to get people talking, and helping each other manage money.
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- Business Tip: Should I Buy a Franchise?
- -- Betty Otte
Do You Have What It Takes?
Before you go into any business, franchise or not, it is important to first ask yourself these important questions:
Do you have strong motivation and drive to achieve success?
Do you have confidence and enthusiasm for the product or service you will be representing?
Are you able to motivate yourself and others and train employees?
Do you have experience in the industry?
Are you willing to promote your business and the brand?
The Franchise Lifestyle
Figure out if a franchise lifestyle fits into your own lifestyle. Do you have the necessary support system to open this franchise? Does your family support this decision? Do you have an accountant, banker and attorney who will assist you in your start up and growth phases?
The Importance of the Brand
In the franchise world, belonging to a system gives you, the franchisee, a competitive edge, which partially compensates for the cost of being in the system. The main value in franchising is the identity related to the brand. McDonald’s is the largest franchisor in the world with over 31,000 units. Due to consistency of product delivery and global advertising, McDonald’s has a major advantage over, say, Joe’s Diner.
It is important to remember that since the brand’s value is more important than anything else, including the service or the product, the customer’s loyalty is to the brand, NOT the individual franchisee. No consumer walks into a Dunkin Donuts franchise because they know the owner. They know Dunkin Donuts. What this means is that within a franchise system, you have to play by their rules. You couldn’t open a McDonald’s and sell pizza, for example.
Your success as a franchisee is based on your willingness to work with in a pre-existing system, and help to build the value inherent in the brand. This kind of a business is not for everyone, so you have to be honest with your ego on this one.
Choosing a Franchise
So let’s say you are willing to work within a system promoting their brand or service and you are not concerned that customer loyalty is not directed to you personally. Now what? What kind of business should you think about?
The choices can be overwhelming. Approximately 45% of all retail sales are franchise driven—everything from tires to laser hair removal. One out of every 12 businesses is a franchise, with a new outlet opening every 8 minutes. In addition, there are over 75 industries to choose from, with many of those industries having dozens and dozens of options. How do you decide?
Go back to your personal likes and dislikes. Don’t gravitate to fast foods just because you already know how to make a sandwich. Some top industry categories include auto, children, cleaning, exercise and chicken. Find an industry that you wouldn’t mind doing and thinking about 24/7. Then research all the different options within that industry. Some good resources include Entrepreneur Magazine’s annual top 500 franchises list, the International Franchise Association, franmarket.com or even Google.
Taking the Next Step
You have decided that you don’t mind building the brand and you confess that you will most likely have a higher success rate within a franchise than on your own. You also want to be a part of the annual $1.55 trillion dollar franchising revenue and you have selected your industry. Now what?
Now the fun begins as you start the research that will determine the difference between good and bad franchises. Remember that SCORE has over 10,500 volunteers ready to help mentor you, many of whom have franchise experience. Seek help from your nearest SCORE office or online counselor. SCORE counseling is always free and confidential.
(Source: SCORE )
- Lighter Side: A Mother's Dictionary
- Amnesia:
A condition that enables a woman who has gone through labor to get pregnant again.
Bottle Feeding:
An opportunity for Daddy to get up at 2 a.m., too!
Defense:
What you’d better have around "de yard" if you’re going to let "de children" play outside!
Drooling:
The way in which teething babies wash their chins.
Dumbwaiter:
One who asks if the kids would care to order dessert.
Family Planning:
The art of spacing your children the far enough apart to keep you just on the edge of financial disaster.
Feedback:
The inevitable result when the baby doesn’t appreciate the strained carrots.
Full Name:
What a child is called when he or she is in trouble.
Grandparents:
The people who think your children are wonderful even though they’re sure you’re not raising them right.(Source: My Humor )
- Today in Business History: Aug 25
- 1950: President Harry S. Truman ordered the Army to seize control of the nation's railroads to avert a strike.
1997: The tobacco industry agreed to an $11.3 billion settlement with the state of Florida.
1981: The U.S. spacecraft Voyager 2 came within 63,000 miles of Saturn's cloud cover, sending back pictures and data about the ringed planet.
(Source: NY Times )
- Wise Words
- "Informed decision-making comes from a long tradition of guessing and then blaming others for inadequate results".-- Scott Adams
(Source: Brainey Quote)
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Utah Pulse Highlights
Energy policy is becoming more and more important to Utahns as we struggle with rising fuel costs, and the potential effects on the environment. Today on Utah Pulse, Pat Jones writes how, in her role as a Utah State Senator, she's looking at legislation right now that would augment current incentives for businesses and residences to consider renewable energy. "We should reward those that are willing to lead out on this and make it easier for them to do it..
In other news on this Monday morning...
This story should get your attention like a hot cup of coffee in the lap. The Los Angeles Times reports the FBI saw problems looming in the mortgage industry years before the bottom fell out. Sources within the FBI tell the paper they sought additional resources to fight fraud in the mortgage industry, but were rebuffed in their efforts.
If you're looking for signs the financial crisis is abating, you're out of luck. Financial Times reports that it costs more to raise money in the bond market than it did at any time during the recession of the 1990's. Willem Sels, head of credit strategy at Dresdner Kleinwort, puts it bluntly. “Investors have become increasingly nervous as default rates, particularly in the US, are now rising. People expected they would, but now it is happening that has made them more worried.”
There may be some good news on the horizon for natural gas production in the United States. New technology, which enables the release of gas in shale beds, long thought unreachable, is on the rise. That's boosting production and sending the price down.
It's expected to get worse this week for U.S. auto manufacturers. We should see big declines in sales for the month of August when they're reported throughout the week. Those declines are expected to be moderated slightly by GM, who should see modest gains due to their anniversary sales promotion.
There's a few days left to participate in the Governor's Economic Development Survey. Let your voice be heard in how economic development should proceed over the next few years. It's a quick online survey. The deadline to participate is Wednesday.
--Bryan Schott, Managing Editor
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