Perspectives

Partnerships are everything to nonprofits. For Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Indiana (RMHCCIN), which provides a supportive home away from home for families of children receiving medical care at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health and other area hospitals, and Second Helpings, a community kitchen that prepares and delivers more than one million meals to the Central Indiana community each year, the last thing they want individuals to think about is where they’re getting their next meal.... Read More

“The customer is always right.” That mantra was instilled in me early on at my first job in high school.  It was in small-business retail which emphasized service and the importance of our customers. ... Read More

The good news is, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, almost 80% of businesses survive their first year. Fifty percent survive their fifth year. The bad news is, only 30% survive their tenth year of operation. Businesses need to constantly try new things and strive for growth. As the saying goes “You grow or you die.”... Read More

Your social media feed will inundate you with the grim statistics about the state of our education system nationally. Students are falling further behind, and teacher talent is at a crisis shortage level. The pandemic didn’t cause this; it just exacerbated it.... Read More

Loan interest rates are rising. At the same time, interest earnings on savings accounts and CDs aren't exactly setting the world on fire!  So what if a family member offers to finance your upcoming purchase instead of using the bank? The borrower avoids dealing with traditional financing and the interest paid stays in the family. Sounds like a win-win, right?! Not so fast. ... Read More

While uncertainties have clouded the national economic outlook, 2022 has produced a steady stream of positive news for Indiana through July – new business attraction and expansion projects worth nearly $17 billion (a record-setting pace), unemployment below 2.5%, personal income growth outpacing the U.S. by nearly 20% over the past year-and-a-half.... Read More

Everything starts somewhere. For the White River, it’s in a farmer’s field in Randolph County just south of Winchester. The river winds its way through farms, woodlands, industrial sites, small towns, and even big cities, eventually feeding into other rivers that take the waters to the Mississippi River. ... Read More

As the pandemic continues to disrupt how companies do business, it’s even more critical for leaders to have access to accurate cash flow projections.... Read More

As the summer ends, TV commercials and store displays repeatedly remind us that our students’ summer break is nearly over and the “Back to School” season is upon us. For parents, this means a hectic time of back-to-school shopping, new bus schedules, pick-ups, drop-offs, after school programs and evening homework help sessions. ... Read More

Inflation is measured by the cost of a basket of goods and services over time. You may be surprised to learn that while prices are increasing at the fastest pace since the 1980s, the US dollar has simultaneously been increasing in value and is the strongest that it has been since 2002. ... Read More

The answer to that question was my reason for joining Sagamore Institute as its newly named president.  After serving three decades in state government as a State Senator and then as Commissioner for Higher Education and having worked in our nation’s Capital, I appreciate the complexity of issues we face and the challenge of making a positive difference. ... Read More

Homebuyers across the country are experiencing a tremendous amount of stress thanks to bidding wars, low inventory, institutional investors and high mortgage rates. In Indianapolis alone, for example, home prices have risen 17.5% compared to last year, selling for a median price of $235,000. ... Read More

According to a recent report on CNBC, 66% of small companies have had a data breach in the last 12 months. The average cost of a data breach for a small company is $149k (App River), and a National Institute of Standards and Technology study found that 88% of small business owners believe their business is vulnerable to a cyber attack. To add insult to injury, according to a CYREBRO analysis, 81% of phishing attacks in the last year were targeted at SMBs.... Read More

Governments at all levels have always faced the challenge of making the most of limited resources, but in recent years, that challenge has been compounded by the consumer marketplace. A generation ago, constituents may have tolerated slow-moving bureaucracies with limited options for service.... Read More

As a financial planner, I work primarily with early and mid-career professionals. So, as you can imagine, I field many questions from my clients. But, believe it or not, there are two repeat questions I receive that tell me everything I need to know about a person’s mindset.... Read More

During his 2018 State of the State address, Governor Eric Holcomb delivered a simple truth: “A healthy Indiana depends first and foremost on the health of our people.” The speech was a signal that the public’s health belonged on the agenda, not on the backburner.... Read More

Oral cancer. It’s one of those cancers people don’t often think about. It’s also one of those cancers that has, in the past, been primarily associated with tobacco and alcohol usage … but not anymore.... Read More

Imagine this: You’re going through emails, spy an urgent message from an online vendor asking you to click to confirm important information, and you do it. Suddenly your computer ceases, freezes and stops working. Yep, it was a hacker. It’s time to activate the company’s data recovery plan…if you have one.... Read More

Every day, patients across our state and around the country benefit from medicines developed and distributed by Indiana’s biopharmaceutical companies. Whenever you pick up your prescription at your local pharmacy—that's our industry hard at work.... Read More

Over the next few months, we are going to hear a lot about a recession, and in most cases accompanied by a qualifier such as: “unlikely recession”, “certain recession”, or my favorite that comes out in a couple of years, “the recession that everyone knew was going to happen.”... Read More