Category Archives: Business Reports

Win More Business

March 14, 2019March 14, 2019

Michael Cruz, president of Lighthouse Advisors LLC in Queensbury.

If you have ever not made a sale, you wonder why. “What could I have done differently?” Or, “Why did they pick them?” My colleague, Alan Tsang, an international negotiation trainer says “How can you lose what you never had?”

A pollster did a survey asking prospects why they did not buy. They also asked the sales reps why they did not win. Salespeople said they lost because of price and customer stupidity. Buyers, on the contrary, said that they were concerned about the company or, more simply, they did not like the sales representative. They never mentioned price. The most important thing is selling is to establish trust. Sales opportunities start to go south when people forget a simple axiom..: We are all born with two eats and one mouth. Use them proportionally.

Business Report: Celebrate Women’s History Month

March 14, 2019March 14, 2019

Pamela Green is a financial advisor in Glens Falls at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC.

PROVIDED COURTESY OF Pamela Green
March is not just the month that comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. It is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women. In recent years, women have been making history with their emergence as a powerful economic force.
In fact, women control nearly 4 percent—or $11.2 trillion—of all investable assets in the U.S. as primary decision makers. They also represent almost half of the entire U.S. professional workforce.

Business Report: Roth IRA And Traditional IRA

March 14, 2019March 14, 2019

Kevin M. Hedley is a partner with Hedley & Co. PLLC.

By Kevin M. Hedley
2018 was a year that most people who watch the financial markets are likely going to want to forget. There were few positive numbers across the different asset classes and sectors. At the broadest level the U.S. bond market was the only market to see a positive return—all of one basis point.
It was an unusual year with few places to find a positive return. In fact of the eight major asset classes none of them provided a return above 2 percent – the first time since 1972.

Business Report: Put Investment Performance In Perspective

January 16, 2019January 17, 2019

Meghan Murray is a financial advisor with Edward Jones Financial in Queensbury.

By Meghan Murray

How can you assess your investment portfolio’s performance in 2018? The year was full of wild swings in the financial markets, so your own results may well have bounced around quite a bit, too.

But you can still get a clear picture of how you did if you keep your investments’ returns in the proper perspective by making sure your expectations are relevant, realistic and reviewed.

Let’s look at how these terms can apply to a meaningful evaluation of your investment progress:

Relevant. Many investors compare their portfolio returns to a popular market index, such as the S&P 500. But this comparison is not really valid for a variety of reasons. For one thing, indexes are typically not diversified across different types of investments—the S&P 500, for instance, only tracks large U.S. companies.

But your portfolio should consist of a broad range of investments: domestic and international stocks, bonds, mutual funds, government securities and so on, appropriate for your goals and risk tolerance.

Business Report: Tips For Negotiating Commercial Leases

October 11, 2018October 11, 2018

Jennifer Tysn is a business law attorney with Bond Schoeneck & King.

BY JENNIFER TSYN

Whether your business is just starting up, expanding or relocating, a key concern for most businesses is finding the right space. That process can be fraught with difficulties, especially when it comes to negotiating the lease.

Most landlords will present prospective tenants with a draft lease that is very favorable to the landlord. This means that when negotiating with the landlord, it is easy for tenants to overlook issues that may cause problems in the future.

Here are some of the key issues a new tenant should consider when reviewing a draft lease for commercial space include:

What are the “premises” and how can you use the space?

The space that is being leased should be defined clearly. If the lease references square feet, make sure it is clear whether rentable square feet or usable square feet are being discussed. Additionally, you will want to be clear about when, and how, you and your employees or customers can use common areas of the building, such as hallways and common restrooms, as well as parking areas. The lease should also specify who is responsible for cleaning, maintaining and making repairs to these areas.

Business Report: Insights For Commercial Properties

October 11, 2018October 11, 2018

Alfred Testa, vice president and senior commercial banking relationship manager, NBT Bank.

By Alfred Testa

Regardless of whether commercial property owners have one or multiple properties, are looking to acquire new property, or renovate or develop new space, financing is always an integral part of the process.

In Glens Falls, old spaces are becoming new again as a resurgence in millennials is driving new demand. In Saratoga Springs, continued growth downtown is bringing more residential development and mixed-use spaces.

Whether your focus is on multi-family housing, self-storage, mixed-used properties, office space or retail, the opportunities for commercial property acquisition remain strong. But without a good relationship with a commercial banker, getting through the process can be very challenging.

Taking time to ask questions up front could help you avoid three of the most common frustrations when it comes to commercial financing.

Local offices and local lenders

It’s important to have a banking partner that understands the market and can move through the process quickly, whether funding at closing or construction over time. Locally, NBT Bank believes a reasonable expectation is to be able to meet within a few days of the commercial property owner’s outreach to a loan officer. After that initial meeting, the application process begins, followed by bank underwriting, and ultimately a commitment letter once the bank approves the loan.

Business Report: Corporate VPNs

October 11, 2018October 11, 2018

By Michael Hatalla

We often hear from our business customers that their employees are working remote or outside of the office on a more regular basis. Whether home or a local coffee shop, these employees need a safe way to access corporate data securely.

There are a few ways to accomplish this. If your company has a proper firewall in place, most will support either an SSL VPN or IPSec VPN solution.

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. A VPN is an encrypted connection, or tunnel, between your computer and the firewall at the office over the internet. This type of connection makes it appear that the user is on their local network, regardless of their location.

Business Report: Hiring Is About To Get Harder

September 14, 2018September 14, 2018

By Michael Cruz

We are entering a period where there is very little unemployment. We are nearing full employment.

It was easier hiring the unemployed. They needed a job and you had one. They did everything possible to present themselves as the best candidate. Often, they weren’t. But, it was easy to hire people who were eager to fill your role.

For many years, I advocated hiring already employed people. When they make the decision to join your organization, they are far more committed. They had a job. They come to you because your job or company is a better place. Hence, these hires tend to be higher performing and stay longer.

Business Report: Hard Drive Destruction Myths Debunked

August 16, 2018August 16, 2018

Rob Shauger is director of sales and development at ConfiData.

By Rob Shauger

When it comes to hard drive destruction there are a lot of questions and misinformation out there. This misinformation leaves a lot of personal data vulnerable.

In fact, a recent data recovery study showed that even after attempts to wipe drives, data could still be recovered. The study purchased 200 used hard drives on eBay and Craigslist and found that 67 percent of those drives still held personally identifiable information. Even more frightening, 11 percent of those drives contained sensitive corporate data such as company emails, sales projection spreadsheets, product inventories, and CRM records.

In order to protect yourself and your business, you need to have the right information. For this reason, we have decided to debunk four of the most popular hard drive destruction myths:

Myth 1: You can destroy a hard drive by putting it in water.

Business Report: Leveraging The Aging Workforce

July 11, 2018July 12, 2018

Rose Miller, president of Pinnacle Human Resources LLC.

By Rose Miller

As the first wave of this generation begins reaching 55 in 2001 and heads toward retirement, the workforce could lose substantial numbers of experienced workers from all walks of life.

Most boomers have neither the inclination nor the financial means for early retirement. According to a recent study, 80 percent of those born between 1948 and 1965 expect to work past age 65. Compare that with the roughly 10 percent of the over-65 group who held jobs in 1998. In other words, they will become “boomerangs”.