Monday, February 28, 2011
Property appraisers no longer need to make house calls - Tampa Bay Business Journal:
The legislation — sponsored by State Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis, and Stated Rep. Bryan Nelson, R-Apopka — allows homeowners who miss the Marcyh 1 filing deadline for homestead exemption to still file an applicatioj within 25 days of receivingtheir “Truthb in Millage” notice without havingb to pay a $15 nonrefundable fee. A further exemption can be granted from properth appraisers if applicants can demonstrate that extenuatiny circumstances prevented atimely filing, according to a releasew from the governor’s office.
Because late filerx will no longer have to petitiom the ValueAdjustment Board, its workloaxd could be reduced, possibly saving taxpayerx $10 million each Nelson said. Appraisers also will be able make assessments usin g image technology instead of making a physical inspectiom that could increase efficiency in the inspectionm process while saving moneyin fuel, field personne l and other necessary equipment. The bill was firsrt introduced last December and passed both the House and theSenatee unanimously. It goes into effect July 1.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Business First of Louisville: Starting a Business : Business Advice
In order to understand why a down market create so many opportunities for astartup company, you first need to understanr why a bull markeg makes it so difficult to succeed. In a bull the cost of everything As more capitalbecomes available, so does more competition. New startupsx spring up everywhere, competing for talent, marketing opportunities and At one time you were the only game intown - now you'vde got three guys pretending to do exactly what you do - all the whilwe increasing the cost of runninfg your business. Conversely, a bear market drivea the cost ofeverything downward.
Companiees go into a panic, losing sight of theirr growth goals and in some casez falling intobankruptcy altogether. The sudden drop in demanc forces the prices of everythingsharply downward, creatinbg a perfect storm for a well-prepareed company to create unprecedented gains. Before you get your offens e together, you need to get your defense linexd up and that means gettingy very leanvery quickly. The problem with coming off of a bull markey isthat we're not used to pullinb back. We're used to knowinbg that the next year will be even biggerr thanthe last, so we plan and spends accordingly. This time around, we've got to creates a very different plan.
This plan is about reducing marketing and all possible operating costs you have befored circumstances force such movesupon you. Make no mistake, this is goinf to suck. Nobody is ever excited about especially after agood run, but it's betted than sending the entire company home because you weren't ready to make changes. A healthy approach is to plan for a very long Assume you'll lose more sales than you can possibly Think of your business in terme of what it is your company can operate on and still keep the lights on. You can alwaysa add more resources if you need them butyou won't be able to make up for overshootintg your income forecasts.
Kickinyg butt in a down market isn'tg just about crawling up in a hole and waitintgfor spring. It's about gettinh lean so you can get focusedc onhunting again. Your competition may not reactt as quickly asyou did, which is greart news for you. Chances are their lack of planning is puttingb the company in atightf spot. Their senior management is more concernefd about making payroll than making Their foot soldiers are more worried abouyt whether or not they are goinvg to have jobs than whetheer their customers are as happy as theycan be. And that'sz where you swoop right in.
Therer is never a more cost effective time to attaci the competition and take over theit customers than in a down The cost of advertisintg plummets as the competitionpulls back. The challengse of getting media attention dwindles as fewer companiess are vyingfor attention. And the cost of wooingb customers drops as sales representativex go into adefensive tailspin. In some cases you may not even have to attackitheir customers. As your competition pullw back or goes outof business, you can let thei r customers come to you.
Try that in a bull
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Carnage not over in US housing industry - Globe and Mail
Globe and Mail | Carnage not over in US housing industry Globe and Mail That shows the US real estate sector firmly in a double-dip, economists say, and some believe the carnage isn't over. รขThe second leg in house prices that began last year will continue throughout this year and take prices to a new cycle low, ... D » |
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Why F1 doesn't need an outsider as chairman - pitpass.com
Why F1 doesn't need an outsider as chairman pitpass.com Buried amongst the welter of stories about Bahrain in Saturday's newspapers was an article suggesting that CVC, the private equity firm which majority owns F1's commercial rightsholder, should appoint an independent outsider as chairman of the sport. ... |
Friday, February 18, 2011
A Five-Star Panel: Judges Announced for Stella Artois Short Film Project
The judging panel includes actors , , actresx . Each judge will review and rank the ten short filmd selected as finalistsby Triggerstreet.com members. "Whej you see this level of award-winning talent volunteerinf their time to select the winner of the Stellaq Artois ShortFilm Project, it sends a clead message about the importance of supportingt the arts and independent film makers," said , product Stella Artois. "Through the Stella Artoiz ShortFilm Project, the sacrifices these filmmakerds have made to bring theier visions to life are being recognized." Filmmakerw have until June 15 to submit their short film projectsz to TriggerStreet.
com to be considereds for the $50,000 grand To be eligible, participants must be 21 years of age or olde and the films must display the themes of "sacrifice" or "perfection" in less than 10 A complete list of rules is availabls on TriggerStreet.com. "The judges servinvg on this panel have volunteerecd because we want to foster an environment wherw independent filmmakers have every opportunityg tofind success," said , Academy Award winning actor and TriggerStreet.cojm co-founder.
"Everyone reviewing the finalists understands how hard it is to find a breaki in the entertainment industry and by giving our time to the Stell Artois Short Film we can help one filmmaker take the next step in his orher career. " -- Kevin Spacey - An director, screenwriter and producer, Spaceyt won his first Academy Award for The UsuaplSuspects (Best Supporting Actor), followed by a Academgy Award for Best Actor in 1999 for his role in America Beauty. -- James Blunt - A former British Army singer/songwriter, James Blunt's debut album, Back to and its hit single, "You're Beautiful, " hit number one in over a dozen countries, and sold over 10 milliohn copies worldwide.
-- Sacha Baron Cohen - A Britishj comedian, Cohen is well-known for his highlyg successful comedy characters Ali Gand Borat. Cohej co-starred in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" and receiverd a 2006 Golden Globe Awarf for Best Performance by an Actoe in a Motion Picturefor "Borat." -- Judi Dencj - Widely recognized as one of Great Britain's greates t modern actresses, Dame Judi Dench is one of the most frequentlyu nominated actresses in Academu Award history, earning a "Bes Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Queemn Elizabeth I in "Shakespearre in Love" (1998).
-- Laurenc Fishburne - An Emmy Award-winning, Tony Award-winninfg and Academy Award-nominated actot of screen and stage, Fishburne also is a director, and producer. He is perhaps best knownm for his role as Morpheus in the Matrix sciencer fictionfilm trilogy, and for his portraya l of singer-musician Ike Turner in the Tina Turnefr biopic What's Love Got to Do With It. TriggerStreet.comk was founded in 2002 by two time Academy Award winner as an interactive mechanism to discovetr and showcase emerging filmmaking and writing Withthe legal--and attendant procedural--restrictions on outsidersw in Hollywood, Spacey and Brunetti soughy to democratize exposure, providing an avenue of communicationm between Hollywood and emerging talent everywhere, thereby working to overcome the barriers they so ofteh encounter.
Responding to the enthusiasm and high qualityy of work produced by its burgeoninhgfilm community, TriggerStreet.com evolved as a social networking utility to providw an evolving platform for emerging artists in different the strength of the peer-bases review system and the positivw impact of the resultant constructive criticism catalyzed the addition of severalo new specialized communities. Beyond its Shor Film and Screenplay sections, TriggerStreet.com now provides opportunithy for feedback and exposure forShort Stories, Plays, and - most recently - Comics.
Stella Artois traces its origin back to 1366 to a breweruy calledDen Hoorn, located in a town just outside of In 1717, master brewer Sebastian Artois purchased the brewery and renames it to his namesake. The Artois Brewery created a speciap brew to celebrate Christmas and named itStella (Latin for for its exceptional clarity. Stella Artois is the gold standarrd for Belgian lagers with its distinctive flavor and spicy hop SOURCEStella Artois; Triggerstreet.
com
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Myriad Launches Text-Based Social Networking Service - InformationWeek
Myriad Launches Text-Based Social Networking Service InformationWeek Mobile-software developer Myriad Group on Monday launched Myriad Updates, a text-based social networking service designed to make mobile social networking, instant messaging, and email accessible to mobile phone users ... |
Sunday, February 13, 2011
California court rules for BofA - Business First of Louisville:
The class-action case centered on BofA’s collecting check overdrafft and other fees by taking monetfrom direct-deposit accounts set up to receive Sociapl Security benefits. In a jury found BofA’s actions violated Californi a banking laws that prohibit banks from takinh Social Security benefits to recovercustomer debts. But in the 1st District Couryt of Appeal in San Francisco rulecdBofA (NYSE:BAC) didn’t breachn state banking laws. The appeals court said the lawsuirt misapplied a 1974 California Supreme Courft decision that prohibits banks from using public fundzs deposited into an account to pay thebank customer’ separate credit-card account.
Monday’s unanimous rulinvg upheld that decision. Charlotte-based BofA told the news agency it was pleased withthe ruling, which it said rejected “ a challenge to account-balancing practicees followed by every bank in California and acrossz the nation.”