Migrations Inc» General Business

Smart Decisions

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 22:30:52 +0000

In the February 2010 issue of Today’s Chicago Woman, there is a brief article on Roth IRA’s. In 2010 everyone is eligible to convert a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. This wasn’t the case before. The primary advantage with a Roth IRA is that income tax is paid up front on the amount deposited and therefore when the money is withdrawn, it is tax free – even on appreciation, dividends and interest earned. THAT’S BIG! Also in 2010 (and only in 2010) one can pay the taxes either in 2010 or in two equal installments in 2011 and 2012. THAT’S HUGE! Read more about Roth IRAs and the questions one should ask when considering the conversion at http://www.tcwmag.com/issues/february-2010. The article “Roth’s for Everyone” by Kay Kamin is on page 35.

The Perfect Eco-Hotel

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:23:44 +0000

Going “Green” is smart business today, but it can be expensive. According to the Travel Spring 2010 issue of The New York Times Style Magazine, the perfect Eco-Hotel would have 1) a green roof, 2) solar and wind power, 3) a water purification system, and 4) a charging station for hybrid cars, to name a few items. Although one hotel is not likely to have it all, click on the following link

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/eco-tripping-the-dream-team/

to get NY Times’ representative list of hotel properties that have made significant strides to reduce their carbon foot print. If you have stayed at an eco-hotel, I’d like to hear why you chose the property and how the room rates compared to alternate hotel properties offering the same level of service.

Going, Going Green

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:04:58 +0000

In the March 2010 issue of Hospitality Design magazine, how to define sustainability within the hotel industry is briefly mentioned, referencing www.chr.cornell.edu for the complete proceedings of the first sustainability roundtable organized by the Cornell School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. This is a very challenging and daunting issue – one that I will be tackling as I start studying for the LEED Green Associate Exam. Standards will differ for cities, counties, states and countries creating confusion for hotel owners and operators who are trying to create a green hotel. If you are interested in the hotel industry you should sign up to receive the bi-monthly newsletter from the Center for Hospitality Research. It’s Free! Just click on the link noted above. You can read the entire report The Hotel Industry Seeks the Elusive ‘Green Bullet’ as well as other articles of significance.

Time Is Money

admin — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 00:15:24 +0000

It has been documented that two plus hours in every work day are unproductive because of interruptions and distractions caused by email, instant messaging, texting, etc.

Read “Email is Making You Stupid” by Joe Robinson in the March 2010 issue of Entrepreneur Magazine for an indepth study of today’s communication challenges.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2010/march/204980.html

I certainly believe this to be true. There are days when I am constantly bombarded with emails that I don’t seem to get anything accomplished. Time is money and unproductive time is money lost. When there is work to be done, I focus my email activity to 3-4 times a day so that I can complete the task at hand. I also try to pick up the phone when a simple answer is needed. A lot of time can be wasted with emails back and forth when a phone call can get quicker results. And using email only when information needs to be documented can significantly reduce the number of disruptions. Is there a certain practice you’ve initiated to effectively manage electronic communication? I’d love to hear about it.