EDITOR'S NOTES

What real estate and lending crisis?
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  January 2008

Welcome to 2008, a year we hope will bring prosperity and successful ventures to businesses on the Seacoast.

Small businesses can succeed on the Seacoast
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  December 2007

Starting a business is a scary proposition, even when one has done the appropriate planning, financing, marketing and all of the other footwork that goes along with taking that leap into the future.

It starts with an idea
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  November 2007

"Entrepreneurship is New Hampshire's secret weapon. The more we can foster it, the better off we are."

Employment picture getting gray
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  October 2007

Help wanted. We're fortunate to be in an economy where, at least for many fields, there is a need for trained, qualified workers.

To our health
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  September 2007

If you're going to get sick, the Seacoast is a pretty good place to do it. The area has four respected hospitals and scores of private medical practices. The medical centers are expanding and more services are being offered.

We never stop learning
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  August 2007

In the business world, a person's education does not end at the time of graduation from school, at least if that person expects to be flexible, able to deal with change and, most of all, successful.

It's the bioeconomy
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  July 2007

Remember when "bio" was short for biography? Or when most people older than a certain age associated it with the word biology, a class in high school where real worms and frogs, instead of computer images, had to be dissected?

By the numbers
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  June 2007

There is no lack of entrepreneurs on the Seacoast of New Hampshire and southern Maine. In fact, both states are full of them.

Here come the tourists
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  May 2007

Tourists. They clog our roadways, crowd our beaches, make it harder to get a dinner reservation, but thank goodness they're here.

The Real Deal
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  April 2007

For what seems like ages these days, we have been hearing and reading about the collapse of the real estate industry.

The feminine factor
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  March 2007

While discussing this issue of Seacoast Ventures with a theme of "Women in Business" with our writers, the comments went something like this:

Shaping the tools that shape us
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  February 2007

Technology. The word has been around for quite a while, but every year -- actually every day -- the meaning of it becomes more expansive and complex.

The business of money
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  January 2007

"Money makes the world go round," Joel Grey sang in "Cabaret." The musical was set in pre-World War II Germany, but the sentiment is just as true today.

Where's that crystal ball?
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  December 2006

Where did it go? The year 2006 is quickly fading and 2007 is fast approaching.

Economically, this year has seen good news and not-so-good news.

On the plus side, many businesses prospered. They saw growth, expansions and good profits. The unemployment rate has remained low. In fact, and unfortunately, finding skilled workers is a problem for companies.

Lawyers in our lives
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  November 2006

Despite being the butt of innumerable jokes, lawyers at some point or another become a part of our lives, and when we need them they become indispensable.

At other times, they seem to be countless, with their shingles found on city streets and rural roads.

They also come in many flavors: corporate, criminal, real estate, labor, the list goes on.

Gone shopping
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  October 2006

Shop till you drop. That's what it might appear is going on in New Hampshire when it comes to retail stores. According to statistics, the per household retail sales average in the state is $54,270, compared with a national average of $35,529.

Of course, New Hampshire residents are not spending that much, but people from out of state who cross the border to avoid sales tax add to the estimate.

Keeping workers happy
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  September 2006

A little bit of "r-e-s-p-e-c-t," is what Aretha Franklin used to sing about needing from her man. It's the same thing that most employees are looking for, too. Give it to them and the odds are in your favor that you won't have to go through the hiring process quite as often.

Hiring good people and retaining them are two of the biggest challenges a manager faces. The outcome could affect the bottom line.

In pursuit of lifelong learning
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  August 2006

“NO MORE PENCILS, no more books” was once the refrain to signal the last day of school before summer vacation, a time to forget about learning and just have fun. But, although the modern equivalent of those learning tools of the past would be more appropriately keyboards and laptops, the process of education and training has become ongoing and inevitable to achieve success in life and in business.

So you want to grow?
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  July 2006

You’re the best there is at what you do, what you produce, what you sell, what services you provide — or at least you strive to be. So, how do you get the word out to potential customers? How do you set your-self apart? Word of mouth? Advertising? Both have worked for years for smaller businesses that seek no more than a steady customer base. But, what about those that want to grow, to expand? For corporations, branding, marketing and public relations has long been an important component of their operations.

Keeping an eye on real estate
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  June 2006

Real estate. A subject that touches on the home and work lives of just about all of us. Home ownership. Home sales. Commercial property sales and leasing. Office space and manufacturing facilities. Rental property. Affordable housing. Lending institutions. Legal fees. Insurance. The list goes on.

Is Your Business Ready or Not: The tourists are coming
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  May 2006

To rewrite a bit from the movie "Field of Dreams," the saying could be "If you build it, they will come." Here on the Seacoast we’re in the enviable position of having already built much of it, or it was supplied by Mother Nature. So the tourists, they will come to our beaches, our towns and our attractions.

Welcome to the first edition of Seacoast Ventures: A Business Journal
By:  Calhoun J. Killeen Jr.
Published:  April 2006

It is our intent to provide informative and thoughtful stories and information to business men and women in the Seacoast of New Hampshire and Southern Maine. We intend to look at the issues that are important to the local economy and to you, its business leaders. We want to do so in a manner that is serious and thorough.