Being in business is scary. And one of the scariest things about being in business is having to deal with scary employees…Nightmare employees. Not that they run around like Freddy or Jason (I can never keep those two straight), but they cause you nightmares.

For example (true stories):

• The young woman who had her mother write a note for her “excusing her” from working a business event
• The young woman who showed up for her interview with her mother in tow
• The dad who berated the business owner for giving his daughter a poor evaluation, because it “damaged her self-esteem”
• The woman who showed up for work at a health care office smelling like smoke, and who stated she was “into” health (whatever that means).

You get the idea. Got any nightmare employee tales to share?

Over the next week or so, I’m going to be discussing ways to avoid hiring nightmare employees, how to find excellent people to work for you in your boomer business, and how to let the scary ones go quickly and (relatively) painlessly.

I hope you’ll find something useful in these posts. As Red Green says, “I’m pulling for you. We’re all in this together.”

Don’t forget my “50 things to do at 50-something” contest - comment and put yourself in the running for a $30 book gift certificate. Final comments must be posted by June 20.

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Filed under: Estates

This week in the LA Times Hot Property, Ann Brenoff digs up a small yet lovely home with a rather breathtaking price. The home in question in the Emerald Bay area of Laguna Beach, California and belongs to Mossimo Giannulli and his wife actress Lori Laughlin who is set to star on the new 90210 show this fall. Mossimo is best known by his first name as a popular designer for Target. This small three-bedroom home (it’s around 2,000 square feet) home is decorated in a bright beachy style. No pool, just a small year courtyard but you are a short walk from the beach. It’s cute, really adorable, but is it $12.995 million worth of adorable? Only if you’re very smitten with lovely Emerald Bay.

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Continue reading Mossimo’s Beach Home, Estate of the Day

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Filed under: Small business

I recently reviewed a business plan (for a school). It was well written and had lots of supporting financials.

The problem? It didn’t have the kinds of things that investors look for. That’s, when I read the one-page overview, there wasn’t much talk about why investors should shell out huge bucks. Instead, there was a focus on the quality of the school and the importance of education.

As should be no surprise, the plan got tiny momentum.

So, here were some of my recommendations:

Proof Points: What kind of traction does the business have? Are there more customers? Revenue growth? New partnerships?

Basically, show evidence of growth - using a variety of metrics. For example, in the case of the school, there was an investment in advertising, which produced strong growth in student enrollment. Clearly, the school has formulated useful marketing strategies.

De-Risk: Investors also want to limit their downside. In other words, what kinds of things protect your business? Is the customer churn rate low? Do you have patents? Long-term contracts?

I also look for owners who have committed their own money to the venture. This shows “skin in the game.”

Strong business model: Investors like to see multiple revenue streams. It shows that the business model is powerful and, more important, there are opportunities for growth.

So, in the school example, some of the new revenue stream possibilities included: dorm fees, book and yearbook fees, technology usage fees and application fees.

Helpful Resources: Checking out the internet, you can find some real-life examples of good investor overviews.

One approach is to check out IPOHome.com, which has recently filed IPOs (that is, companies raising capital). If you find a company that is in your sector, you can then click to the prospectus. In it, you’ll get an executive summary, which can be a great reference point.

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Trade Dispute - Newsday
As the faltering economy has catapulted to the top of the presidential campaign agenda, Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama have both said they want to make healthcare more inexpensive, cut taxes and adopt a new energy strategy. But they

When small biotechs are bought out these days,the changes can affect - San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego attained its position as home to the world’s third-largest concentration of biotechnology companies through its volume of small firms. JIM BAIRD / Union-Tribune Research associate Eppie Dizon purified antigens in one of Biosite’s

Business Calendar - Nashua Telegraph
The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce will host a mini-conference to educate small-business owners about the resources that are available to them through say, regional and local agencies and organizations. Mike Vlacich, division director at

Small business forum scheduled for Monday - Norwich Bulletin
Contracting forum beginning at 9 a.m. Monday in the Slater Auditorium at Norwich Free Academy. The aim is to help local businesses that are interested in bidding on federal contracts. Courtney was also recently part of a bipartisan group that

Love for crafts turns to business: Tropic Soap offers variety of - Guam Pacific Daily News
Tropic Soap owner Barbara McCarron turned her love of crafts into a successful business. McCarron was looking to begin her own business, but didn’t know exactly what she wanted to do. After a lot of research she decided to open her home-based

Roofer takes top prize as Manatee Chamber Small Business of the Year - Herald Tribune
Published Saturday, June 14, 2008 at 4:30 a.m. Last updated Saturday, June 14, 2008 at 6:39 a.m. George and Bruce Manson, owners of Bradenton-based Manson Roofing, took the top honors in their category Friday at the Manatee Chamber of Commerce’s 2008

Nothing left but bank’s bad name - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Since 1919, First Integrity Bank has made its home in Staples, a Minnesota crossroad 30 miles west of Brainerd with just two traffic lights, 3,200 people and household income barely half the say median. Last year, the city dropped the motto “Wheel

Pay it forward - San Diego Union-Tribune
Truth be told, 17-year-old Jonathan Penate has a taste for the luxe in life, like the $200-plus designer shoes he purchased because well, they “look good with the pants and the shirt.” But you won’t see this San Ysidro high school senior indulging

Funding isn’t child’s play - Detroit Free Press
Four weeks ago, first-time entrepreneur Merrill Guerra thought all her money problems were about to be solved. At the MidMichigan Innovation Center in Midland, the chief executive and founder of RealKidz Inc. had just delivered a presentation about

The 2008 Travelers Championship Tees Off This Week - Forbes
Travelers (NYSE:TRV) is proud to support a new era of PGA TOUR golf in Connecticut when the 2008 Travelers Championship kicks off this week, benefiting the Greater Hartford Jaycees and The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. Opening ceremonies will be held

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Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

From Celebrity Huge Time Listings:
–Retired major league baseball player Lenny Dykstra has put his eight-bedroom mansion in the Lake Sherwood area of Thousand Oaks, Calif. on the market for $24.95 million. Dykstra purchased the home less than a year ago from Wayne Gretsky for $18.5 million. The property website is here.
–One of my all-time favorite estate of the day properties, makeup artist Stan Winston’s Malibu pad, has sold for an undisclosed price (it was listed at $11.95 million). It may have been purchased by a CBS head honcho Les Moonves or a member of his family.
–Chad Sexton, the drummer for the band 311, has sold his Hollywood Hills home for $1.7 million.
–Actor Matthew Rhys has paid $1,262,500 for a home in Los Angeles, near the Melrose Shopping District.
–Actor Shawn Hatosy has sold his Hollywood Hills home for $1.485 million.
–The star of “Rob and Big” reality TV star Rob Dyrdek has purchased a house in the Hollywood Hills for $2.459 million.

From the Real Estalker:
–via the San Diego Tribune, Mitt and Ann Romney have picked up a place in La Jolla, California for $12 million.
–Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance have lowered the price on their Hancock Park home again, it started at nearly $6 million but can now be picked up for $3.9 million. The listing is here.
–The parents of Lauren Conrad of The Hills have put their Laguna Beach home on the market for $17.9 million. The listing is here.
–Tea Leoni and David Duchovy have put their Malibu home on the market for $12 million. The listing for the five-bedroom home is here.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
–Target fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli and his wife, actress Lori Laughlin, have put their Laguna Beach home on the market for $12.995 million. It’s our estate of the day later this day.
A home in Rancho Santa Fe home once owned by former Blink-182 lead guitarist and perennial houseflipper Tom DeLonge is on the market for $5.6 million. The listing is here.
–”Eli Stone” producer Greg Berlanti has listed this Palm Springs second home for $1.949 million. It’s a charming three-bedroom getaway with a swim-up pool. The listing is here.
–Actor Nick Zano has listed his West Hollywood home for $1.050 million. The property website is here.
– L.A. Lakers’ assistant coach Jim Cleamons has listed his Manhattan Beach home for sale at $1.399 million.
–Ryan Phillippe, recently purchased a home in the Hollywood Hills for $7.175 million.
–Joely Fisher has relisted her Encino home for $3.295 million. It was listed at $4.75 million when it was our estate of the day last June.

From the Wall Street Journal’s Private Properties:
–The Colorado home of the late singer Dan Fogelberg, Mountain Bird Ranch, has gone to contract. The most current asking price was $15 million but it was listed for $17.5 million when we first checked it out in 2005.
–The former Hamptons home of “From Here to Eternity” author James Jones is being renovated and a developer plans to put it up for sale for $12 million to $14 million. It is listed as a “modern green home” and has solar panels and a geothermal heating system. The listing is here.
–Casa de la Paz, the La Jolla beachfront estate owned for four decades by actor Cliff Robertson has sold for $16.5 million. It was first listed for $28 million but was down to $22.5 million in September 2007 when we checked it out as an estate of the day. It is next door to the new home that Mitt Romney bought and the buyers of the Robertson home are John and Victoria Miller, the former national-finance heads of Mr. Romney’s presidential campaign.

From the NY Times Big Deal:
–Mariska Hargitay and her husband Peter Hermann have put their Chelsea penthouse on the market for $8.25 million. The 4,900 square foot penthouse has more than 2,500 square feet of outdoor space and is built around a 16

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Stocks tumble - Idaho Say Journal
NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street tumbled Wednesday as oil prices rebounded, fanning concerns that inflation will further pinch consumers and lead central banks to raise interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points to its

Stocks open up as inflation fears ease - Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks opened higher on Friday after a government report showed that underlying price pressures were muted in May, easing fears that the Federal Reserve may have to raise interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was

Racial divide in savings - Chicago Tribune
If middle- and upper-income African-Americans continue to save and invest the way they tend to do, they stand to struggle financially through retirement in greater proportions than whites at similar income levels. On average, black Americans are

Offsetting gas costs - Baltimore Sun
If $4-or-more-a-gallon gas is what we face this summer, then it’s time to find a way to handle it. Here’s one way to ease the pain: Invest in something that benefits from high gasoline prices. What are the best plays on pricey oil? “I don’t think

Staying afloat in a choppy stock market - Boston Globe
Boston law firm Choate Hall & Stewart’s wealth management group oversees $2.5 billion for wealthy families. Todd Millay, who was recently named managing director of the group, spoke with Globe reporter Beth Healy about the state of the stock market

Stocks tipped to continue rally - The Australian
THE Australian share market is expected to continue its rally tomorrow after buyers returned to Wall Street at the end of last week. In another pointer to the local bourse’s opening, the June share price index futures contract improved just over one

Taxes are not foreign to overseas stocks - Orlando Sentinel
Retirement savers have been plowing money into foreign stocks, but experts say many are failing to take into account taxes and how the investments fit in an overall plan. Foreign stock mutual funds accounted for $722 billion in workplace retirement accounts

Stocks rise as data point to stable rates - USA Today
NEW YORK — Stocks rose modestly early Friday after a pair of economic reports pointed to the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates stable when it meets later this month. The Labor Department’s report on May core inflation, which measures price

Long-short funds flopped during slump - Chicago Tribune
Maybe plain-vanilla stock and bond mutual funds will do the job after all. Long-short funds — the newfangled mutual funds designed to give common investors a hedge fund experience and protection during downturns — recently went through one of their

Bank stocks slide: Major players are no exception - Montgomery Advertiser
Publicly traded banks in­sist low stock prices don’t mean trouble, but at least one expert says customers are prone to feel the pinch one way or another. Bank stocks have largely been in a slump the past year, and major players in the Montgomery

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