When loyalty hurts a family business more

December 2, 2025  |  Business, Features, Markets

“I can’t fire them—they’re family” can be a dangerous phrase in a family business. This deep-seated loyalty can create complications in the business if loyalty over performance is prioritized. Among the many excuses for not parting ways with family are: “It’s not a good time”; “Thi…
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Your business: What’s it worth?

October 1, 2025  |  Business, Markets

Your most valuable asset may be your business. A business owner can spend decades building a business and reputation. As they approach retirement age, they likely have questions such as: How do they value their business? How do they maximize the value and minimize taxes upon sale or succession?
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Effective and efficient permitting for shade projects

September 11, 2025  |  Business

Obtaining permits can be challenging for both temporary and permanently installed projects.
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Making AI work for your business

August 1, 2025  |  Business, Markets

How can textile companies use artificial intelligence to improve business efficiencies? Nelson Valderrama and Dan Hughes share their insights.
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Dressing for success in awning sales

July 15, 2025  |  Awnings & Canopies, Sales

Whether you're helping a homeowner envision a cozy enclosed porch or pitching large-scale commercial shade solutions to a business, how you dress plays a key role in building trust, establishing authority and reinforcing your brand.
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Improving warehouse safety and efficiency

June 1, 2025  |  Business, Markets

Several months ago, I ran across a particularly interesting query in one of the LinkedIn groups I belong to: What are some basic questions warehouse managers ask?
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Creating the foundation for a successful project

April 15, 2025  |  Business, Management

Ever get to the end of a long project that you and your team worked tirelessly at, having put in extra hours on the planning and drawing stages, meticulously worked on it in your shop, and then taken it out in the field only to find that it was done wrong? We’ve never gone through … <div><a…
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Positive recruiting practices

April 1, 2025  |  Business, Markets

As the recruiting manager for Made in the Shade Tent Rentals, I embody the first hurdle on the road to employment. If 100 people apply for one job, close to a quarter will make it to the first interview with me over the phone. Of that quarter, fewer than half will make it to an in-person interview. …
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Traditional marketing vs. digital marketing in 2025

March 17, 2025  |  Business, Marketing

When I was in business school in the ’80s, marketing and advertising was somewhat simple or traditional. You had the advertising mediums of print, radio and television, as was standard for the past 50 years. I still remember one of my professors telling me that cable TV was just a fad as we don’…
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Four-dimensional leadership

February 1, 2025  |  Business, Markets

Traditional leadership philosophies focus on what it takes for a leader to have sway over a team, to drive toward an outcome and to create coordinated movement. These aspects of reaching a goal are critical components of leadership, but they are one-dimensional.
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