by - November 2, 2014 7:06 pm
Cash, lies and politics
If there was ever a year that I despised the political campaign season it is this year, 2014. Every time I turned on the television I was accosted by political…
Tag: David Potts
by - October 19, 2014 4:27 pm
The ‘when?’ of business ownership
Owning a small business is no easy task. Starting a business from scratch, however, requires a mental deficiency or youth. My own excuse decades ago was youth. There are advantages…
by - October 6, 2014 3:36 pm
Try to avoid federal ‘help’
The U.S. Department of Labor Promises help is on the way. What comforting words … help is on the way. But why don’t I feel better? “Work in Progress,” the…
by - September 22, 2014 4:25 pm
A population problem
“Population growth drives about half of all economic growth,” according to Thomas Piketty, the author of the bestselling book Capital in the 21st Century. If population growth accounts for about…
by - September 1, 2014 9:36 pm
Get unstuck
Business owners are trained to think about the future. There are seminars on goal settings, business planning, and budgeting. There are books on management succession, strategic planning and disaster recovery…
by - August 24, 2014 1:14 pm
What is your default future?
Most people can predict and foresee their future. Granted we can’t see specific things like the date of our death or what the Dow Jones average will be in on…
by - August 3, 2014 4:57 pm
‘Borrowing’ money from employees
Sometimes a business will find itself in a cash crunch and in need of quick cash. While many business owners go to the bank and borrow for their short term…
by - July 20, 2014 7:50 pm
Why are we waiting on people to die?
Saturday I was in a clothing store talking with the gentleman who, like me, was born and raised in Fort Smith. The conversation was casual, so naturally it wandered over…
by - July 6, 2014 6:32 pm
Be careful with caring
On May 20 a Fort Smith convenience store, Mr. Jiff, was robbed. The lady working in the store at the time, Ms. Henry, was thrown to the floor by the…
by - June 22, 2014 8:32 pm
Trust and city government
Trusting people has its risk as well as its reward. Business works best when you can trust your employees to show up to work and work hard and when you…
by - June 8, 2014 9:55 pm
Would you invest in your business?
Many new business owners open for business with limited capital but unlimited dreams. If the market is cruel to their business concept, their limited capital becomes a capital shortage that…
by - May 26, 2014 5:05 pm
Battling with documentation
Growing up my mother often would warn me as an inducement to behave or face the consequences, “Be sure your sins will find you out.” I have found throughout my…
by - May 12, 2014 12:09 pm
Sex, drugs, and the demise of our tax code
CPAs regularly field questions on why the United States income tax laws are so screwed up and unfair. Everybody has their own opinion, but I tend to accept the opinion…
by - April 27, 2014 6:17 pm
Begin with the end in mind
I read Stephen Covey’s classic book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," the year it was first published, in 1989. It since has become a business classic for cause….
by - April 6, 2014 7:10 pm
Compounded economic development
How often do you hear a debate, among public officials or among residents, about the payback period or the return on investment of a multi-million dollar project before it is…
by - March 24, 2014 4:13 pm
A vision mystery
Fort Smith is a great place to live, today, but as with any living thing, today’s actions affect tomorrow’s outcome. Individually we set goals to achieve a designed future for…
by - March 9, 2014 7:13 pm
City strengths and city governance
“After my kids are grown I might move to …” I often hear friends and clients with high school and college age kids make the above statement on a regular…
by - February 23, 2014 11:59 am
The importance of innovation
Steve Jobs said innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. Michael Porter said innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity. Both ideas describe the importance of innovative thinking…
by - January 5, 2014 8:21 pm
Game pieces and tough questions
I received a call from Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders a few weeks ago, kind of. It was an automated call. If you live within the city limits of Fort…
by - December 22, 2013 4:33 pm
Resolutions, gratitude and saying ‘no’
What is it about the human species that compels us at the beginning of each year to make New Year’s resolutions? Everybody means well but within a few weeks resolutions…