Mar 27

Companies in the healthcare industry are looking to diversify and retain top talent in this highly competitive marketplace. Those that are able to synchronize business mission statements with the talent of their people are bound to succeed. As companies look to fill their pipelines, it is critical that they hire the right people. In the late 1990’s and early 2000s their was this race to see who could hire the most, and not necessarily the best talent. Now we see that trend reversing, as the pool of talent has become more competitive.

With that the need to diversify not only the talent that is being hired but the customers and assoications that we engage in the healthcare industry. The Hispanic population is one of the largest growing segments in the market and have a tremendous unmet medical need. First, what is diversity? Diversity means the ways in which we are all different, not just age or skin color. It is not just a gender or race issues. It applies to different areas such as culture, language, age, etc.

Mar 21

I was recently reading a story that was featured on the front page of Yahoo and broadcast on NBC. The title read “From CEO to pizza delivery”. Of course it grabbed the attention of many Americans as this was just another story of an unfortunate situation where someone has lost their high paying job in this tough economy. Only to help stir the fear that this crisis was not coming to an end and here is one more story to prove this lasting headline. But wait a minute this story was anything but that. The man in the video in fact had lost a CEO job that paid out over $750K a year and was now trying to support his family as a pizza delivery person. The fact that he actually quit his job over 4 years ago and tried to start his own hedge fund which failed in the first 2 years and it has been over 2 years since he held a job was just barley touched on.

They went onto to show that his family was having to sell most of their high end possession like their boats, cars, and even contemplating selling their made diamond engagement rings you feel sorry for this family. While I have no question that in today’s market it is more difficult to find a high end job the fact the headlines made it appear that this person recently lost their job has to stop. I recommend that anyone who reads the news daily or tunes into the doom and gloom shows that air daily to stop now. What we need are consumers who are willing to stop hanging on the fears that the media wants to keep reporting on and start living their lives again. It is about getting out and living your lives and spending within your means. This is the only thing that will get this great nation back on its feet.

Mar 20

First let’s establish what Forex or sometimes called currency trading actually is all about.The Foreign Exchange market or Forex is basically the trading of currencies. Many of the traders who sell and trade currencies like this market because it operates 24 hours a day and is not tied to one central exchange or location like the NYSE. There is approximately $1.9 trillion traded on any given day. With the Federal Reserve Bank announcing that they will be printing close to $1.3 trillion dollars this has impacted the value of the dollar against other currencies. So this means that those holding US dollars lost some of their return since the value decreased and other currencies like the Euro gained. This volatility in the market can make for a great opportunity to make some great returns if you have the knowledge and resources to be able invest in foreign currencies.

Traditionally only those that were with banks and large financial institutions were able to trade in this high paced market. With the recent technology advancements one of the most popular is online using forex trading software from companies like CMS Forex with their VT Trader™ 2.0 software that can help you get into this market. It provides over 100 indexes to help create your buying and selling strategy and laid out in forex charts to see at a glance which markets are poised to gain and which ones may be heading south. You can even download their software for free and setup a practice account before making an actual investment. This is great for those of us new to Forex trading and are looking for other areas where we can invest funds.

Mar 17

Here in the Pacific NW it has been a long winter and most of us are ready to see warmer temperatures and not have to look at snow for a long time. The official beginning to Spring is just a week a away and fishing state wide is starting to heat up as the fisheries that stocked many of the rivers and streams are releasing fish counts for those looking to catch trout, bass, and walleye. I have noticed that the local sports stores are starting to post daily updates on the local streams and lakes and what people are using to catch the local fish.
This year should see a greater number of Americans enjoying the outdoors as they plan to stay closer to home and spend less on traveling abroad. With the state of the economy the ability to enjoy the outdoors and maybe take up a new hobby like fishing could be just the ticket you and your family need. The time spent with your kids along a shoreline just hanging out with no TV and other distractions are memories that will always remember.

Mar 13

I have heard the same theory over the past few weeks that Entrepreneurship will be the key to helping this economy getting back on its feet. The thought is that small business will help to create jobs and growth in the private sector thus creating the forward momentum that we need. The idea that we need to grow government and government run programs is only a short term fix and will not sustain long term growth. That is why I was excited to read about an initiative from the Kauffman Foundation called Fast Trac that will fund local initiatives in communities that have hardest hit by the down turn to help Young Entrepreneurship grow and thrive.

Through a partnership of the Kauffman Foundation and Deluxe Corporation Foundation that will invest $1million to help support the Entrepreneur spirit through a program called FastTrac LaunchPad where job loss have been the greatest. The main focus behind the FastTrac launch is to help local people with the drive to start their own business by giving them the essential tools and training to create their vision.This present the opportunity for those that unemployed to possibly make their own future out of sound business models rather than settling for the next available job. This can help instill passion and ownership on making things better and providing a stronger economy through small business.

The FastTrac NewVenture program includes ten modules:

  • Exploring Entrepreneurship
  • dentifying and Meeting Market Needs
  • Setting Financial Goal
  • Planning the Product/Service
  • Researching and Analyzing the Market
  • Reaching the Market
  • Building the Organization and Team
  • Planning for a Profitable Business
  • Monitoring Cash Flow and Seeking Funds
  • Implementing Next Steps
Mar 9

In the world of online gaming and poker there are a ton of resource sites that claim to help you play like the pros. You will see eBooks and other podcasts where they are typically one person talking about their success of playing cards. Online Poker Forums provide a great resource since they are typically average players who provide insight into what has worked for them. It is like everyone is able to be in the same room and bounce ideas off one another. reading a static web page may be helpful but does not provide the interaction that you get from online forum.

Forums first started as a sort of electronic bulletin board where you post information about a specific topic and then others would add to them. They have evolved into specific niches like poker so that you know exactly where to go and what to expect when you are there. No question or topic is off limits but make sure you search the forum first to see if your question or topic has already been asked or answered. This will save you time since the answer may already be there. Plus you can see various opinions on a specific poker subject.