Retirement plan or tax benefit?

June 1, 2015  |  Business

Successful businesses often still have things to learn about managing taxes and income. Many business owners and managers are aware of “qualified plans” or programs like 401(k) and Defined Benefit plans, which allow the sponsoring employer: current income tax deduction for plan contributions; ta…
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Safeguarding ideas

May 1, 2015  |  Business, Marketing

Clients may wander to other companies, but your ideas don’t need to go with them. It’s an occupational hazard for event planners and tent rental businesses. You spend no small amount of usually unbillable time developing an event design for a prospective client, only to have that person wander a…
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Generations at work

May 1, 2015  |  Business, Management

We’re not from different planets, though sometimes it seems so. There are ways to work together effectively. When you interview that candidate, do you invite the parents? Forty- and 50-something jaws might drop, but executive recruiter Eric Herrenkohl says two of his big-company clients want to ta…
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From surviving to thriving

May 1, 2015  |  Business, Features, Management, Perspective

Dan Hooks propels his organization to new heights by maximizing regional opportunities and building a management team. “Surviving the latest recession taught us several lessons about the financial health of our company and what we needed to change in order to go from surviving to thriving,” …
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Productivity paired

April 1, 2015  |  Features, Management, Perspective

Father and son team Stewart and Ross Brown embrace the challenge of change by making the most of their strengths.
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At face value

April 1, 2015  |  Marketing

Despite the hype, it isn’t all about social media. Contrary to popular belief, social media isn’t the only way to communicate with the masses.
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Your taxes at work

March 1, 2015  |  Business, Management

The Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014. The passage of the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 late last year retroactively extended 54 tax breaks—but only for the 2014 tax year. The so-called “tax extenders” law opens the door for specialty fabric professionals to claim many of these popula…
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Good better best

March 1, 2015  |  Features, Management, Perspective

Charles Webster uses lean techniques to continuously improve production and efficiency. What we try to do better than other companies is give our customers more than they ask for, sooner than they expect it, in higher quality than they’re used to,” says Charles Webster, president and CEO of DOWC…
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State of the Industry 2015: Part 2

March 1, 2015  |  Features, Management

It was a year of respectable growth in the specialty fabrics industry and hope for an even better future, grounded in promising statistics. IFAI surveys specialty fabrics industry end product manufacturers (EPMs) once a year to learn how they are doing and what they anticipate for the future. All bu…
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Your taxes at work

March 1, 2015  |  Management

The Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014. The passage of the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014 late last year retroactively extended 54 tax breaks—but only for the 2014 tax year. The so-called “tax extenders” law opens the door for specialty fabric professionals to claim many of these popular…
Read More