Business Columns
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Woodstock CEO helps turn around family firmNov 01, 2015 7:00 am - Patricia Miller, owner of Matrix IV in Woodstock, recently faced a vacation in Peru unlike most. It included a train derailment and two-day transportation strike. While...
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State of the small business communityNov 01, 2015 5:12 am - Ever wonder what's driving your small business counterparts? Conversations with three of the suburbs' top Small Business Development Center managers - Harriet Parker, wh...
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If possible, spend less when markets are downNov 01, 2015 4:12 am - Q: One of your articles on required minimum distributions (RMDs) used an example of $100,000 with a 6 percent annual gain. Our concern is, suppose the market drops by 15...
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Pop-up Halloween stores offer last minute costume choicesOct 25, 2015 11:00 pm - You have just a few days left to pull together the perfect costume for Halloween. While we can't make it for you, or decide whether you're going to be spooky or sweet, w...
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Work advice: Stood up? Don't take it lying down.Oct 25, 2015 7:44 am - Reader: I have been self-employed for more than two decades. This means if I'm not working, I'm not getting paid (something salaried people sometimes forget). I work hou...
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What's going on with the 504 loan program?Oct 25, 2015 7:43 am - There's something about the SBA 504 loan. • The numbers seem to work. Borrowers put down as little as 10 percent. Rates are low and fixed - 20 years for real estate uses...
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Corner Barkery owner finds niche after leaving a tough industryOct 25, 2015 6:12 am - Lisa Senafe of Palatine worked for a number of years as a loan officer for a mortgage company in Schaumburg. Many in her family also worked in the mortgage industry. So ...
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The math behind long-term care insuranceOct 25, 2015 5:47 am - Q: I am a 59-year-old single woman with no children. I have a little over $1 million in qualified and taxable accounts. Due to pre-existing conditions, I am unable to ob...
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Kendall: How to 'stage' your businessOct 19, 2015 1:00 am - Sheila Schostok mostly stages houses, working with homeowners and Realtors to make a house for sale look as appealing as possible. You know: Rearrange the furniture. Hid...
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Career Coach: We got spirit, how 'bout you?Oct 18, 2015 7:41 am - Fall means "Spirit Week" season at schools. If you have children at the right age, or remember back to you own high school days, you know this means dressing up each day...