Talking with the Top Dog, Matthew Nichols, at Buns gone WiLD
By 
At GPS, one of the highlights of the week is when the Buns gone WiLD cart shows up in the employee parking lot for our version of tail-gating. We asked Matthew Nichols, the ‘Top Dog’ at Buns gone WiLD, a few questions about his mobile business.
What’s the best part of running your own hot dog/brat/polish vending business?
Making people happy and meeting some really interesting people.
I noticed that you offer both traditional Yellow and Dijon Mustard–has anyone ever said, “Would you please pass the Grey Poupon?”
No, I can’t say that I have, although there has been quite …
There is a RIGHT Way and a WRONG Way to Brainstorm
A delightful infographic from MavenLink presents the concept that there is a right way and a wrong way to conduct brainstorming sessions, which actually makes me think of how there is a right way and a wrong way to host effective meetings (as a brainstorming event is basically a glorified super effective meeting).
Idea Stage Fright
Anytime that a group of people are asked to publically collaborate, not surprisingly, there appears to be ‘groupthink’ issues and psychological barriers to idea generation. Number five on the infographic, fear of criticism and rejection, especially spoke to me.
I find myself flashing back …
The GPS 2013 Annual Meeting Was Educational & Fun!
GPS employees had flown in from throughout the U.S. to learn the most up-to-date information about the newest Federal regulations and tax changes facing our business clients as well as to discuss best practices at our 2013 Annual Meeting.
President Tyler Burgess opened the event by sharing a personal story about a close friend that had fought, achieved remission, but then lost the battle with cancer. He then announced that our on-going corporate fundraising for the fight against cancer as well as numerous other charities had reached a total of over 2.5 million dollars as of 2013.
After a long …
Our Economy: Time To Hit The Reset Button
By GPS
With federal bailout funds approaching four trillion dollars, unemployment soon to be in the double digits and more than 5.1 million jobs lost in the past year, the economy has certainly seen better days. Those who read into these statistics realize the true bailout numbers will never be revealed, the real unemployment rate is probably in the mid-teens and nowhere are we accounting for decreases in wages, cuts in hours and individuals who have exhausted unemployment benefits. We, as a country, are now coming out of the “golden” era, and it is time for us, as individuals, to take fiscal …
What Lies Beneath
By GPS
Where is your company’s value lurking?
In combination with mapping the value of the entity or benchmarking, an owner must ascertain other aspects of the business that differentiate it from the pool of existing industry participants.
A professional business valuation, conducted by an objective expert, is the vehicle that identifies where a company’s underlying intangible value is lurking to help sellers increase shareholder wealth, as well as obtain a better deal price and identify strategic buyers.
In some cases, the intangible value of the business is far more valuable than the actual tangible value of the business. There are two …
Ask The Expert
By GPSWhile large-scale business fraud and breaches of business ethics seem to dominate the front pages of newspapers and the 11 o’clock news, fraud can, touch the world of almost any business.
Employee fraud costs businesses $400 billion in annual losses, and 75 percent of that goes undetected.
Fraud occurs because most companies don’t have the ability to track what is going on. They don’t have the right internal controls, and they don’t understand the key matrices within their business. Many companies are constantly shocked by the fact that while they think little things are walking out the back door, big …
CHANGE Spoken Through The Years
By GPS“Everybody has accepted by now that change is unavoidable. But that still implies that change is like death and taxes—it should be postponed as long as possible and no change would be vastly preferable. But in a period of upheaval, such as the one we are living in, change is the norm.”
The famed Peter Drucker, widely considered to be the father of “modern management,” wrote about change in his book, Management Challenges for the 21st Century (1999).
The period of upheaval Drucker wrote about was minor compared to what we are experiencing today. Regardless, his view of the necessity …
Guidelines For Effective Meetings
By GPSTime is money! Learn how to communicate more effectively.
Communication will always be an important responsibility of business owners as they spend significant potions of their time interacting with employees. Meetings are usually a necessary means of communication; however, business owners must keep in mind that time is a limited resource for them and their employees. Since time is money, business owners must improve their usage of time, especially during an economic downturn. Before scheduling a meeting, be certain it is necessary by asking the following questions:
- Could the necessary information be communicated via e-mail, telephone conversation, conference call or
Audit – Not A Four-Letter Word
By GPSPerforming an audit will help your company avoid potential legal liability and the related costs, time and distraction to management and the organization.
Today, increasing sales, reducing costs, bringing new products/services to market and increasing market penetration force business owners to function within a heavily regulated employee environment. The list of complex laws and regulations, such as ERISA, COBRA, EEOC, OSHA, ADA, FCRA, HIPAA, FMLA and FLWA/FLSA, begins to resemble alphabet soup.
In addition, regulations and interpretations of Title VII determine exempt and nonexempt status, unemployment, age discrimination, sexual harassment, immigration reform and control (both state and federal) and worker’s …
Ask the expert: Contractors
By GPSContractors are urged not to overlook issues that help determine profitability.
For many businesses, on-the-job training can be an important part of success. No matter how well a student learns the craft, the teacher still retains a certain amount of critical information. If a secret technique or important concept is withheld, the student can lose his or her edge. Never underestimate the importance of on-the-job training. It takes good business sense to sustain growth and profitability.
In the construction industry, most contractors come up through the ranks with little or no formal business training. They must rely on what former …
