Opinion

Not in the 2020 dumpster fire: home sales

While New Year’s Eve celebrations were smaller and looked different, Americans’ excitement to close out the chapter of one year and turn the page of a new one has never…

Make people like you

If you are in business and want to do well, it sure helps if people like you. You are much more likely to be successful if you are likable. It…

Life pictures

A quotation variously attributed to Friedrich the Great of Prussia and Napoleon Bonaparte of France says that an army marches on its stomach. Essential to the progress of a fighting…

COVID-19 should create new considerations for exit planning

In early 2020, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and valuations were at an all-time high. Then, the entire industry came to a sudden, yet temporary halt, due to COVID-19. Business owners…

2020: Finding inspiration in hindsight

The morning after the first coronavirus case was confirmed in Arkansas in March, I took to social media, as many did, writing: “For America to withstand the threat from COVID-19,…

Check your gauges

I can still remember the feeling of handling the controls of the small plane flying over Beaver Lake. The scenery was beautiful, and the sense of momentary control of the…

The IRA opportunity for late 2020

If you have a traditional Individual Retirement Account (IRA), you might be familiar with the regulation to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) beginning at age 72. You may even know…

Life goes on

As I grow in years and perhaps wisdom, the quote “life goes on” resonates with me even more. In times of tragedy and loss, it is sometimes hard to imagine…

Business lessons learned over the past 50 years

At 62, I have been at it a long time. It feels like just yesterday I was 12 years old and selling bicycles I had fixed up on my mom…

Improv advice in translation

I have found that most advice is worthy of thorough examination. Often advice pertaining to one discipline — with just a bit of translation — has meaning in other disciplines….

Solar power is just warming up

The future is bright for the solar industry in Arkansas. The state’s advanced energy economy contributes $2.8 billion in economic output, according to the UALR Arkansas Economic Development Institute. Advanced…

Industry-led workforce development paving the way for state growth

One of the major reasons America is the world’s economic superpower is our ability to move goods and services cheaper and faster than any other nation in the world. Arkansas,…

Charlie, Lucy, William and the concept of unity

As much as we’d hoped that with the advent of cooler weather, we were about done with the whole COVID-19 business, the Arkansas Department of Health is telling us different….

Maintaining oral health remains key to overall health and well-being

Since March, we have seen a change in how the dental community continues to safely see patients. Dental experts across Arkansas have worked to implement social distancing standards, enhanced cleaning…

Don’t bet against retail

The economic and commercial real estate markets of Northwest Arkansas have proven to be resilient amid the uncertainty generated by the pandemic and economic slowdown. When the U.S. economy reports…

2020 has rapidly polarized the commercial real estate industry

Summarizing 2020 for the commercial real estate industry or any industry is a difficult task. Over the past 12 months, the events have caused all real estate markets to experience…

Vaccine development and distribution

The world anxiously awaits news of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine and the hope of returning to “normal” that it provides. How will we know if a vaccine is…

Riff Raff: The big ask

It was a sudden and surprising move, if not a perplexing pick that remains an enigma despite an explanation from the Fort Smith Public School Board president. Deputy Superintendent Dr….

Caterpillars or butterflies

I’d rather be surrounded by a room full of butterflies than a box full of caterpillars. The beauty of thousands of butterflies hanging from trees like leaves is a sight…

Keep your appointment

On Oct. 15, the Wall Street Journal published an article about the unintended health consequences of COVID-19. The report is a cautionary tale — not one of actions taken in…