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‘Voluntourism’ pioneer wants to go corporate: Once province of colleges, Ambassadors branches into business

Companies wanting to build camaraderie and teamwork often send their employees on the all-too-predictable retreat. A couple of hours down the road, in a restful setting, they’ll do role-playing games and problem-solving exercises. These corporate chums will cap it off with a bar tab equivalent to the national debt of Belize. Sally Brown thinks she has a better alternative to the typical company retreat. Why not send those employees to Belize? Or how about El Salvador, or even India, for…

Commentary: There’s an upside to this fiasco

Psst. Come closer. Want to double your money? I’ve got a deal for you. No guts? Turn the page now. OK, you didn’t turn the page-Finish Line Inc. stock closed Nov. 26 at $2.94 a share. It’s time to buy. Finish Line is a leader in the outdoor and lifestyle footwear, active wear and accessory field. Basically, the company sells shoes. It has 693 Finish Line stores, mainly in enclosed malls. It also operates nearly 100 Man Alive urban-apparel stores….

AllPoints Midwest lands huge lease

The massive new AllPoints Midwest industrial park in Plainfield has landed its first tenant in a mega deal that likely will
be the area’s biggest industrial lease in 2007. Local logistics firm Prime Distribution Services Inc. has signed a lease for
1.2 million square feet in the 920-acre park, a joint venture between Indianapolis-based Duke Realty Corp. and Browning Investments
Inc.

INVESTING: Investors shrugging off home-mortgage turmoil

Nov. 20 was one of the stranger days in the stock market that I have seen for some time. On the surface, it came and went like any other business day, with the Dow Jones industrial average ending up a decent 50 points. However, if you had told me the stock prices of both the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. and the Federal National Mortgage Association would collapse 25 percent that day even as the Dow rose, I would have…

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Why eliminating property taxes is a bad idea

Judging from the many yard signs I’ve seen, a repeal of property taxes is a popular sentiment in the state. Too bad, because that would be an uncommon departure from Hoosier practicality and wisdom. Like most states, Indiana taxes income, consumption and wealth. We use these taxes to fund different levels of government. Critics of Indiana’s property taxes are right to be flummoxed. I’ve even argued that many of the consequences of Indiana’s property taxes are worse than most critics…

EYE ON THE PIE: Privatization of lottery is a winning ticket

It happened on the day that does not exist. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is not a good news day. This year, we got an extra serving of admonitions about obesity from the Centers for Disease Control. Beyond that, we heard the usual stories of indignation and indigestion, miracle recoveries from swallowed wishbones, and promising/disappointing retail sales. Also on that day, Gov. Mitch Daniels deferred for another year his proposal to “privatize” the Hoosier Lottery. Last year, the state…

WellPoint broadens push to improve health

WellPoint, Indiana’s largest health insurer, is making more noise than ever about what it’s doing to help improve Hoosiers’
and Americans’ health.

WFYI-TV adds digital channels

WFYI-TV Channel 20 has quietly launched two public television channels, but a third station that’s about to launch should
pack the biggest punch. The Indiana Channel will feature an all-local lineup, including extensive live coverage of the Indiana
General Assembly, judicial proceedings, and arts and cultural programming.

BEHIND THE NEWS: Steak n Shake troubles may cut chance of sale

Here’s a silver lining to The Steak n Shake Co.’s deepening woes: They might scare off potential buyers, keeping the locally based diner chain independent for the foreseeable future. “While Steak n Shake continues to look at alternatives to increase shareholder value, we believe the business will need to be stabilized to attract any meaningful interest,” CL King & Associates analyst Michael Gallo wrote in a new report. Indeed, getting the 491-restaurant chain back on track could take a long…

A&E: A&E goes on a road trip: ‘Wicked’ in the Windy City

Musical-theater buffs in Indianapolis know that an occasional trip to Chicago is a must. Savvy ticket buyers willing to schlep up Interstate 65 have gotten advance looks at such longrunning Broadway hits as “Mamma Mia!,” “Aida,” “Monty Python’s Spamalot” and “The Producers” before they opened in New York (and years before their tours arrived here). Right now, though, the big musical draws in Chicago-“Wicked” and “Jersey Boys”-aren’t pre- but, rather, post-Broadway. And more than just stopping in the Windy City…

SURF THIS: Custom cards: A gift that has you written all over it

I was in Texas a couple of weeks ago addressing a marketing conference organized by Strategic Fulfillment Group. The room was full of smart, progressive marketing minds, all sharing ideas about how to best address their respective customers. The focus of my presentation was building better online shopping environments, so we were all pretty well entrenched in the concepts, methods, and trends of selling online. Yet even this esteemed company didn’t come up with the innovative idea that Starbucks would…

Commentary: All the signs of an upset were there

I recently had a post-election conversation with a good friend who is a staunch supporter of Mayor Bart Peterson. We were talking about the two-term incumbent’s loss to the little-known challenger, Greg Ballard. My friend told me, “Abdul, I never thought Bart Peterson would lose.” My response: “Neither did he and that’s why he did.” I am amazed at how many people were shocked at what happened less than a month ago, because, if you paid attention, you saw it…

PROFILE: Silverback Consulting Group: Consultant helps clients navigate tech jungle Silverback looks to diversify health care, bank business

Silverback Consulting Group Consultant helps clients navigate tech jungle Silverback looks to diversify health care, bank business In the jungle that is today’s business world, businesses can’t survive without information systems. And if they need help finding their way through all the technological underbrush, a local consulting firm wants to be the 500-pound gorilla that clears a path for them. Silverback Consulting Group was founded in 1997 to help businesses upgrade their internal computer and phone systems. Its consultants plan…

Kits & Kaboodle founder back at it with Mass Ave store

Local-toy-store veteran Natalie Canull is now operating a bustling store on Massachusetts Avenue that’s narrowly focused on
upscale toys–a niche that keeps her out of the path of mass-market heavyweights like Toys “R” Us and Wal-Mart.

VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Community’s socio-demographics drive retail decisions

In a perfect world, developers and retail brokers would poll community residents to find out which stores, restaurants and services they want. And, then we’d send nice letters to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, or the Cheesecake Factory and Steak n Shake, and we’d tell them that the neighborhood is clamoring for soy milk or a double chocolate shake. That would make things so much easier. In the real world, it’s much more complicated. And the final vote is always…

Regulators seek mortgage reforms

State regulators want more firepower to fight mortgage crimes. But a month before the General Assembly convenes, real estate
interests are uneasy, fearing lawmakers may go overboard.

Minorities, women turn to franchises: Proven business systems offer more opportunities

Betsy Knoke’s northeast-side business is the latest addition for Colorado-based 10 til 2, a franchised staffing service that places college-educated individuals in part-time employment. On a grander scale, the landscape-architect-turned-business-owner is among the scores of women and minorities who are finding business opportunities through franchises. A report issued in October by the IFA Educational Foundation found minorities own 20 percent of the nation’s franchises and women 25 percent. The affiliate of the International Franchise Association in Washington, D.C., used U.S….

Gatorade inventor’s death recalls local links: Stokely-Van Camp launched sports drink here in 1960s

Gatorade’s inventor, Dr. J. Robert Cade, who died Nov. 27 in Gainesville, Fla., left a legacy in Indianapolis that stretches back four decades to the birth of the multibillion-dollar sports drink industry. The invention became a blockbuster product for an Indianapolis-based company and spawned the creation of an Indianapolis-based trust that has doled out tens of millions of dollars in royalties to inventors and other beneficiaries. The city continues to get an economic jolt from Gatorade, with nearly 500 local…

IPS superintendent doesn’t shy away from challenges

Indianapolis Public Schools Superintendent Eugene White, in his third year as head of the state’s
largest school district, is determined to reverse the long decline of the state’s largest school district. The status quo
is not an option.

SPORTS: A greedy impasse makes radio relevant again

Of this, that and the other: A fond childhood memory is of summertime evenings spent with my father on the screened-in back porch of our farmhouse. While my dad enjoyed a cigar and a frosty libation after a hard day’s work, we would dial in either a Cincinnati Redlegs or Chicago White Sox game on the radio. There, as the sun went down and the flickering dance of the lightning bugs became visible, we’d follow through the static the exploits…