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Small talk with new SBDC chief: Central Indiana counseling office gets fresh start after years of uncertainty

Victoria Hall this year took over the Central Indiana Small Business Development Center, which counsels more than 500 Hoosier entrepreneurs annually. Hall, a former vice president for H&R Block Tax Services, oversees four employees, including three business counselors. She also teaches part-time at Ivy Tech Community College, which hosts the local SBDC. She earned her MBA from the Indiana Institute of Technology in Fort Wayne. One of 11 regional centers in Indiana, Central Indiana SBDC has been plagued in recent…

CHRIS KATTERJOHN Commentary: IBJ has big plans for coming year

This has been a strong year for your local business weekly. We take seriously our mission of providing readers with the best, most in-depth coverage of local business, so it is with a sense of both pride and gratitude that I report on our most successful year ever. Editor Tom Harton has called 2006 the Year of the Award. This year, IBJ won 18 news awards-eight of them gold-from three different organizations. Our coverage was recognized nine times by our…

INVESTING: Deal-making frenzy sweeps through trading exchanges

More than 200 years ago, people used to gather under the Buttonwood Tree, a big Sycamore on Wall Street, to trade stocks. Those traders have long since passed on, and their piles of cash have been delegated to others. But, oh man, are we talking piles. Exchanges are the hottest investment right now. They are getting more hype than China. All of this recent spike in speculation has created an almost unacceptable level of risk for investors in exchange stocks,…

How far does $1 billion go in the marketplace for superstar students and world-class academics?:

Gov. Mitch Daniels proposed the Hoosier Lottery lease to fund incentives for higher education. Just how much will $1 billion buy? Daniels wants to put $600 million in a permanent endowment to finance Hoosier Hope Scholarships aimed at retaining the state’s top high school graduates. Endowment proceeds, Daniels said, will pay for 1,700 scholarships annually in perpetuity. The program will hand out $5,000 annual scholarships for four-year colleges and $2,500 annual scholarships for two-year degrees. The payouts would be considered…

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: 2006 has seen plenty of technological goofs

Happy holidays to you, and welcome to yet another yearly installment of, “Who’s Got the SNAFU?” the holiday game for those nervous about using technology for anything more complicated than opening cat food. We start comparatively close to home, in Valparaiso, where CNN reported that a modest little $122,000 home was erroneously valued in the county’s computer system at $400 million, which would have generated some $8 million in tax revenue. The $8 million figure was duly calculated into the…

Shiel Sexton to give city block extreme makeover: Historic home of VanAusdall & Farrar gets new life

Shiel Sexton Co. Inc. is continuing its downtown redevelopment spree with plans to turn an entire city block into an office complex that could include some retail space. The Indianapolis contractor bought the block at auction this fall when its former owner, local office equipment distributor VanAusdall & Farrar Inc., moved to offices at 75th Street and Binford Boulevard. Bounded by 12th, Meridian, 13th and Illinois streets, the 2.9-acre property houses four buildings, three of which are clustered along Meridian…

SPORTS: Here are two opportunities to help our city’s kids

Almost a year ago, IBJ asked me to write a column that placed sports in an educational context. Obviously, I have great passion for the topic, having spent my life writing about sports, those who play the games, and the lessons that can be learned through participation. Sure, there are plentiful examples of excesses, and we certainly just had another in New York’s Madison Square Garden. But I maintain those incidents are not reflective of sports as a whole, any…

BULLS & BEARS: This year has been good, but 2007 might be better

If you are reading this before Christmas Day, you most likely have only about 24 hours of shopping time left to find that last stocking stuffer. What are you doing reading this now? Get out there and finish shopping! Or, if you are reading this after Christmas Day, I hope Santa was good to you. Unless something dramatic happens to the stock market in the last two weeks of the year, your portfolio should be shouting “hoho-ho” with gains for…

Indians stock buyback raises more questions: Analysts say highest offer yet isn’t high enough

The Indianapolis Indians saw attendance, profit and dividend payments shrink in 2006. But a recent stock buyback program launched by the baseball franchise to boost the value of its shares is the biggest in the team’s long history. Whether the offer price is big enough is an open question. Market observers don’t think so. With 799 shares outstanding when the buyback was announced Nov. 16, the offer price of $15,329 per share put a $12.2 million price tag on the…

VIEWPOINT: Sustained momentum crucial for session

The 2007 Indiana General Assembly session will begin in January. As a result of last month’s election, the House of Representatives is now controlled by Democrats, and the Senate is in the hands of Republicans. Regardless of which political party controls which branch of the Legislature, Hoosiers expect collaboration and progress. Indiana has built tremendous momentum in economic development, but more work lies ahead. The momentum must continue into 2007 and beyond. Despite our progress, Indiana must continue to be…

NOTIONS: Resolutions and predictions: Why bother?

Bruce Hetrick is on vacation this week. In his absence, this column, which appeared on Dec. 30, 2002, is being reprinted. The gym will be rife with resolvers these next few weeks. They’ll arrive, eagerbeaver, wearing sweats, headphones and heart monitors purchased as Christmas gifts by relatives hoping to encourage good habits, longer lives and less flab to hold onto in the night. On all this pricey merchandise, you’ll see Nike, Reebok, Adidas and Roots. That way, the resolvers can…

Verizon amphitheater might be redeveloped

The potential redevelopment of Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville could open the door for a new concert venue in
Indianapolis, but industry veterans don’t expect it would look anything like the popular Hamilton County amphitheater.

Star diffuses flap with news union

The Indianapolis Star has averted, for now, a labor dispute over management’s request that unionized news employees write
advertising copy–a practice considered taboo in the newspaper industry.

HUMAN RESOURCES: Think your business is too small for HR? Think again

After squeezing 36 hours out of every 24-hour day, you have reached a milestone in your business: You realize you need help. How you find, hire and treat employees-from that first one to those that follow-can accelerate your success or throw obstacles in your way. The moment you begin the search for your first employee, you enter the intricate world of “human resources.” If you’re like many busy entrepreneurs, you have given little thought to how to do that. You…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Founders’ voting clout riles Finish Line investor

You can understand the thinking. An entrepreneur takes his company public, gaining access to the capital markets. But he wants to keep control of the business. So he gives his own shares greater voting power. In short, he has the best of both worlds. That’s all great-except, critics say, it’s just not fair. Earlier this year, professional investors assailed Emmis Communications Corp. CEO Jeff Smulyan for his turbocharged shares. Those shares give him the clout to swat down any takeover…

U of I dean under fire from within department

Two years after Michael Shapiro was hired as dean of the business school at the University of Indianapolis, three current
and three former U of I professors have filed a grievance against Shapiro, alleging that he has created a hostile work environment.

Small biz unsure about ’07: Legislative agenda is clear, but advocates still worried

Big changes at the Statehouse, including a shift to Democratic control in the House of Representatives and a leadership switch in the Senate, mean there are more unknowns and more unpredictability. Meanwhile, top issues such as health insurance, tax reforms and regulatory changes provide a minefield of concerns for small-business owners. New health insurance mandates could add to already skyrocketing premiums. New local taxing authority could increase the burden on small businesses. Changes to the state’s regulatory structure could dramatically…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Laws, regulations rippling through corporate America

They say that one way to avoid getting angry at the car traffic around you is to imagine that the drivers are people you know. Likewise, it is said that substituting the words “other people” for the word “government” in the discussion of government’s obligations and responsibilities toward its citizens can take some of the thunder out of the latter’s demands. That’s no great insight, of course. We want to impress, please and be liked by people. But organizations, bureaucracies…

MARKETING Kay Millar: Marketing should focus on benefits to customers

MARKETING Kay Millar Marketing should focus on benefits to customers The terms in the marketing communications field have become so interchangeable-not to mention misused and i l l – d e fi n e d – w e could spend a university semester sorting out the words and their usage. At least twice a week, we’re presented with questions about the difference between a brand and a positioning statement, or imaging vs. branding, or slogan vs. tagline, or marketing vs….

Firearm advocates take aim at employers’ restrictions

Legislators in the upcoming session of the Indiana General Assembly are gearing up for a gunfight with high-caliber business
implications. On one side are employees who prefer to pack heat during their commute. On the other are executives who see
guns as a liability nightmare–even if they’re locked in cars parked outside.