FEATURED ARTICLES

Center releases student survey findings
Published:  January 2008

Results of more than 3,100 surveys of New Hampshire college seniors and recent alumni released in December demonstrate a positive perception of the quality of life in the state, but show that many of those educated individuals leave the state because they are concerned about job opportunities here.

Commuting with the radio
Published:  January 2008

Most senior executives and managers spend their time listening to news and talk radio while commuting.

Small businesses on the rise
Published:  January 2008

In the next 12 months, small businesses expect to increase the overall number of employees, based on a survey.

Lynch mortgage plan for N.H.
Published:  January 2008

Gov. John Lynch and Banking Commissioner Peter C. Hildreth announced in December, that the banking department has established a new consumer hotline and a new requirement that state-licensed mortgage lenders designate a person to help consumers address potential mortgage problems.

Survey: Availability of employee training
By: Michael McCord
Published:  December 2007

Most business leaders say the availability of employee training within their organization is high, based on a recent survey.

Survey: Businesses face weak talent pool
Published:  December 2007

Today's talent pool is weak.
At least that's the view of senior executives and managers surveyed by NFI Research of Madbury.

2007 a year of modest business growth in state
Published:  December 2007

Simplify, Simplify, Simplify. The mantra goes everywhere from organizational consultants to executive branding.

Jobs and wages
Published:  December 2007

Portsmouth area jobs and average hourly wage:

One-stop entrepreneurial information shopping
By: Michael McCord
Published:  November 2007

When Kate Schwartz started her physical therapy business in Exeter in 1994 it was a different era when it came to finding sources of assistance for budding entrepreneurs. The Internet was just beginning to emerge and Web-based data banks either did not exist or were inaccessible.

Companies can apply for job training grants
Published:  November 2007

Gov. John Lynch announced in October that New Hampshire companies can now apply for job training grants for their workers. A new Web site, www.nhjobtrainingfund.org, will assist companies in the grant application process.

Need to focus? Stay away from e-mail
Published:  November 2007

When it comes to workplace distractions, e-mail, the crisis of the day, and personal interruptions top the list.

Getting the job
By: Dan Tuohy
Published:  October 2007

Fran Bishop, an employment counselor with the Workforce Development Program in Portsmouth, tackles a common interview pitfall for many people seeking a new job. Your stellar resume lands you the interview. Then, sitting before your would-be boss, he or she asks you the question: "Tell us a little about yourself?"

Wanted: Nurses to fill the void
By: Elizabeth Kenny
Published:  September 2007

Imagine the pain of needing your hip replaced. Yet when you try to schedule the operation, the hospital says it is delaying "elective" surgeries until more nurses are hired or trained.

The changing face of plastic surgery
By: Dan Tuohy
Published:  September 2007

Dr. Sarah W. Holland was a French major at Colby College when her undergraduate studies required her to take what she calls an life-changing biology class. The human body and physiology just captivated her.

N.H. tourism makes comeback
Published:  September 2007

August's summer sun raised more than the temperature — it raised tourism dollars in New Hampshire.

Business roundup
Published:  August 2007

Businesses, government agencies and colleges and universities across New Hampshire are supporting a statewide effort to encourage recent college graduates to live and work in New Hampshire.

Survey: Employees don't fully use available training
Published:  June 2007

The amount of learning taken advantage of in organizations is low, based on a new survey.
When it comes to the amount of learning that individuals take advantage of in their organization, the majority (56 percent) of senior executives and managers say it is low, based on a global survey of 117 senior executives and managers conducted by NFI Research of Madbury.

The Seacoast business partner
By: Susan Morse
Published:  June 2007

Now into its ninth year, the Coastal Economic Development Corporation works quietly behind the scenes to bring employment to the Seacoast.

Network, and play
Published:  June 2007

The eCoast Technology Roundtable, now celebrating its eighth year, continues to generate quite a bit of media attention. But it's the word-of-mouth buzz that keeps high-tech firms and professionals coming back for the business network and its popular social, the monthly eBrew, long after the dizzying heights of the dot-com years.

Tourism is the latest chapter in Portsmouth's story
By: Dan Tuohy
Published:  May 2007

Portsmouth is an attractive tourist destination because people can get away for the day to the beach, the mountains, or Boston, and still stay in town.

Heads on beds
By: Dan Tuohy
Published:  May 2007

Besides bacon and eggs, John Lippincott offers his guests at Farmstead Bed and Breakfast eight kinds of pancakes. Blueberry pancakes are his speciality. He even picks his own berries. He shakes his head and laughs at his transformation from the former Pease Air Force Base pilot to hospitality entrepreneur in southern Maine.

Top management high in stress tolerance
Published:  May 2007

More than a third of senior executives and managers have a high degree in stress tolerance, based on a recent survey.

Working toward work-force housing
By: Dan Tuohy
Published:  April 2007

Portsmouth this year became one of the first communities in the Seacoast to change its zoning ordinances to create incentives for work-force housing. But it is, in the words of Mayor Steve Marchand, just the start. "We're looking for market-based solutions," he says, "not mandates."

Realtors stay schooled in the trends
By: Dan Tuohy
Published:  April 2007

There were 119 foreclosures last year in Strafford County, up from 40 in 2005 but a long shot from the 513 record in 1991, according to Strafford County Register of Deeds Leo Lessard. Rockingham County residential sales were down nearly 25 percent from 2005 to 2006. Statewide, the New Hampshire Association of Realtors reported a significant dip in residential and condominium sales over that time.

Evolution, not revolution
By: Dan Tuohy
Published:  March 2007

A woman's place is in the House ... and the Senate and the Congress and ... the White House?
The 2006 mid-term elections saw women politicians take the New Hampshire Statehouse and Congress by storm.

Leading ladies
By: Dan Tuohy
Published:  March 2007

The Seacoast's arts and entertainment industry sometimes gets taken for granted or even overlooked, yet this community life's blood is another economic driver. And taking center stage is often another leading lady.

Living IT: A profile of an Internet technology man
By: Dan Tuohy
Published:  February 2007

David P. Hodgdon, the chief executive officer and founder of Portsmouth Computer Group IT, puts his degree from the Whittemore School of Business and Economics to work every day.

Online banking a growing trend
By: Dan Tuohy
Published:  January 2007

The evolution of e-commerce has slowly built consumer demand in Maine and New Hampshire for online banking services, a point-and-click market hungry for an easier way to transact financial business.

A changing landscape
By: Dan Tuohy
Published:  January 2007

Banks sit on every corner that doesn't have a Dunkin' Donuts, or so it seems in Maine and New Hampshire.
And yet there continues to be new branch offices from local and national banks, even as they face fierce market competition from one another and from financial institutions such as credit unions, investment firms, and finance services.

Being socially responsible ... and profitable
By: Deborah McDermott
Published:  January 2007

Not so long ago, business owners concerned about the environment, equality in the work place and social justice issues might have felt largely precluded from finding investments that jibed with their belief systems and made financial sense at the same time.
No longer. Socially responsible investing, or SRI as it is known in the investment trade, has exploded in recent years. As more and more companies begin to equate responsible business practices with a healthy bottom line, as America works to wean itself from foreign oil and toward alternative energy sources, as shareholders begin to recognize their clout in turning around corporate policy, SRI is becoming more and more attractive..

SEPs a way for small business owners to save
By: Susan Morse
Published:  January 2007

The single biggest tax advantage for small-business owners is a retirement fund, according to two local financial planners.
A Simplified Employee Pension, called an SEP, is a good way to defer paying taxes to the Internal Revenue Service, said Dave Landers, president of Landers & Associates Inc., with offices in Rye and Holden, Mass.

Businesses foot school bill
By: Dan Tuohy
Published:  December 2006

State property taxes aside, businesses are the ones footing the bill when it comes to public education in New Hampshire. And on the eve of another rough-and-tumble legislative year, with politicians scrambling to fix education funding under threat of a court-imposed solution, the biggest revenue sources may be under the most pressure.

Maine, N.H. face challenges in 2007
By: Dan Tuohy
Published:  December 2006

The stock market roared and housing costs soared. The tech industry grew and the jobless rate didn’t. As Maine and New Hampshire bid adieu to 2006, both states can take pride in economic indicators better than the New England average.
But the high cost of living and the cost of doing business in the two most Northeastern states are challenges that will carry over into 2007.

Boardroom meets the courtroom
By: Dan Touhy
Published:  November 2006

The customer is always right – except in a court of law.

Lawyers should put expertise to work for public good
By: Chief Justice John T. Broderick Jr.
Published:  November 2006

When I became chief justice in 2004, I announced my commitment to do all I could to make justice in New Hampshire more accessible, affordable and understandable for all of our citizens. With the cooperation of my judicial colleagues at the Supreme Court and throughout the system and with the help and encouragement of many of you, we are making real progress.

Minding the patents: Protecting intellectual property is both a global and local process
By: Michael McCord
Published:  November 2006

In an ever-widening global economy fueled by the growth of World Wide Web, there is likely no hotter topic in legal circles than intellectual property.

Franchise friendly
By: Susan Morse
Published:  October 2006

There’s arguably no more of a big box store mecca on the Seacoast than Route 1 in Seabrook. The town’s over- the-border, taxfree shopping location, its proximity to Interstate 95, and residential growth since a town-side sewer system opened housing development a decade ago, has changed Route 1 from a two-lane local road to a chain store express.

Destination shopping
By: Andrew Leibs
Published:  October 2006

She is 30 to 55 years old. Her family's income is roughly $75,000. She lives in the Boston area and is educated. She knows her designers, she knows their lines and she knows her prices.

And about four times a year, she hops in her car and travels north an hour or so just over the Piscataqua River Bridge and into Maine to shop at the Kittery Outlets.

Reputation, rents continue to rise
By: Michael McCord
Published:  October 2006

In 2005, Peavey's Hardware on Market Street in downtown Portsmouth closed, joining a decades-long list of departing downtown businesses where Portsmouth residents could buy some of life's essentials.

In 2006, New England Travel Life Magazine named Market Street as New Hampshire's top shopping destination. Those two events illustrate how growth has affected the city's downtown retail landscape.

Changing with the times
By: Michael McCord
Published:  October 2006

In August, a new store opened at the Fox Run Mall in Newington. The arrival of national apparel store Charlotte Russe reflected a few of the trends that have been transforming the mall industry for the past five to 10 years.

First, at 7,100 square feet, the Charlotte Russe is much larger than what the typical mall-based national chain store used to be. Scott DeCost, the general manager of the Fox Run Mall and Crossing at Fox Run retail locations, said that more and more retailers need larger spaces in malls to become destination draws in their own right.

Retail's Big Reach
By: Dan Tuohy
Published:  October 2006

Retail's reach gets longer with every year: the industry now accounts for one in five jobs in the Granite State. The growth is staggering compared to the rest of the economy, a trend retailers and state officials attribute to New Hampshire's lack of a sales tax. It stands to outpace other sectors. New Hampshire's retail labor pool of nearly 100,000 will add 20,000 jobs by 2014, said Anita Josten, a research analyst at the state bureau of Economic Labor Market Information in Concord. And the growth has held steady the past couple of years, she said.

Knowledge first, site second
By: Matthew Tetrault
Published:  October 2006

Retail - like real estate - is about location, location, location. But if only it were that easy: Pick a choice spot for a business, then watch the big money roll in.

As prospective entrepreneurs seek out the best digs, the first thing to do is to hone in on where you want the bottom line to go, says Harold Moldoff, a retired executive with nearly 40 years experience in the retail industry. You need to locate your niche, not just the street address or the zip code for a sweet storefront.

Size doesn't matter
By: Matthew Tetrault
Published:  October 2006

Food network star Rachel Ray didn't need to rely on a phone book to find Portsmouth restaurants to feature on her show. Nor did she need a television, newspaper, or any other 20th century marketing media to accomplish her task. Ray instead began her search on the Internet. Fortunately for Jerri and Anthony Schena, co-owners of the Muddy River Smokehouse, Ray's search led her straight to their Web site.

Getting, holding onto quality employees
By:  Dan Tuohy
Published:  September 2006

Job growth gets the flashy headlines, touted as harbinger of better economic times. But there could be a catch in tomorrow's labor market: Securing good workers. "Our labor pool isn't necessarily shrinking, but it's not keeping up with employment," said Jim Roche, president of the New Hampshire Business & Industry Association. Even at executive-level positions, companies can find it a challenge to find the right person for the job, Roche said. Part of the trouble, he said, is the high cost of housing and a lack of work-force housing.

When opportunity knocks
By:  Dan Tuohy
Published:  September 2006

Headhunters, those recruiters on the prowl for the best and the brightest, search long and hard for talented employees. But recruiters say this game of occupational concentration comes down to candidates knowing what they want - as well as their strengths and potential weaknesses - not just what companies are seeking.

Staffing Sense:  They may be temporary, but...
By:  Michael McCord
Published:  September 2006

The arrival of a robust Internet was supposed to change everything in the employment arena. After all, who needs a local temp or staffing agency when the new boys on the block like Monster.com or hotjobs.com or any number of newspaper-related, Web-based employment classified sites could handle the load? Well, a funny thing happened on the way to the future that would change everything. It seems that some fundamentals never go away.

Work Force Training
By:  Dan Tuohy
Published:  September 2006

Higher education is on a high in New Hampshire, with undergraduates at record levels and an enrollment spike in graduate programs. Yet, “continuing education” programs are on an unexpected plateau. Why? Chalk it up to a graying populace.

Value your help
By:  Dan Tuohy
Published:  September 2006

A pat on the back for a job well done. Popsicles given to servers after a busy shift. A $10 gift card to a department store as thanks after a magazine recently named Newick's the best restaurant in the region.

Taking the job on the road
By:  Dan Tuohy
Published:  September 2006

The Y2K bug was not the pest everyone thought it was going to be, wreaking havoc on computers because of a few missing date digits. The millennium came and went with neither technological whimper nor systematic bang. Yet, as the new century dawned, some companies for the first time were relying on outside, contractual information technology help. The growth spurt in many ways influenced today's IT labor pool, said Ed McKersie, founder and president of Pro Search Inc., a Portland-based employment center for professionals in Maine and New Hampshire. The more contractors, he said, the more the in-house experts with a steady job could envision their colleague's personal or professional freedom.

Referrals key to landing jobs downtown
By:  Andrew Leibs
Published:  September 2006

Everyone has heard it's not what you know, but who you know, that opens doors. But a quick survey of downtown Portsmouth businesses indicates that employee recommendations and referrals from trusted sources are what win jobs.

Tradeport, Learnport:  Six satellite campuses at Pease could teach you a thing or two
By:  Michael McCord
Published:  August 2006

To better appreciate the increased sophistication of the education infrastructure at the Pease International Tradeport for the region’s business community, one could start with an Exeter-based company determined to increase its exports to China. Chemtan has exported its specialty chemicals for the leather tanning industry to China for more than 15 years. Chemtan President Jack Mitchell said that his company’s stake in serving the world’s fastest growing industrial economy has been “significant” and likely will grow even more in the coming decade.

It’s the benefits, dummy:  Perks, training top recruiting tools
By:  Dan Tuohy
Published:  August 2006

How many miles per gallon does your company’s benefits plan get? For Tony Formichelli, it’s 36 in the city, 31 on the highway. But that’s for an SUV, a Ford Escape Hybrid. In the constant push to recruit and retain employees, The Timberland Company a year ago rolled out another benefit: a $3,000 incentive for its workers to buy hybrid fuel-efficient vehicles. Foremost, the offer is in keeping with the Stratham-based company’s commitment to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and limit its contribution to global warming. Yet, it is just another example of the cool perks that are out there.

MBA:  The competitive advantage
By:  Richard Fabrizio
Published:  August 2006

The numbers speak for themselves. There are nearly 300,000 people enrolled in master of business administration programs in the United States every year. MBAs conferred annually exploded from 5,000 in 1960 to more than 100,000 in 2000, according to Quintcareers.com.

In-house advantages: Companies with marketing, PR staffs have flexibility, institutional knowledge
By:  Deborah McDermott
Published:  July 2006

For companies and nonprofits that can sustain an internal marketing and public relations department, the benefits are significant. “There’s so many advantages to understanding the culture,” said Nancy Notis, manager of public affairs at Portsmouth Hospital. “Health care is complicated and the technology is changing every moment. It’s very local and it’s very personal, and it makes it important that we convey that in a meaningful way.” “Over time, our communications team gets to know who our subject matter ‘experts’ are, who is appro-priate for which interviews,” said Kate King, the associate manager of corporate communications at Timberland in Stratham.

In fast-paced world: Image really is everything
By:  Dan Tuohy
Published:  July 2006

Nation branding, political branding, emotional branding, e-branding. People everywhere these days are touting branding campaigns to gain that competitive edge. The marketing maneuver is by no means "brand new." A quick Google for "branding" gleans 120 million entries — scores of books, sales pitches, tales of advice, and examples of businesses seeking a better profit margin.

The Creative Leap: Seacoast a magnet to marketing, communications and graphic design firms
By:  Michael McCord
Published:  July 2006

When Richard Florida of Carnegie-Mellon University released his 2002 book “The Rise of the Creative Class,” it instantly became a topic for debate about how to measure the impact of the cultural aspects of the information age workforce on overall economic development. And whether one accepts or rejects Florida’s conclusions, it’s hard to deny that a transformation has taken place here in the Seacoast region — especially in the sector of marketing, communications and graphic design where scores and scores of companies of all sizes have taken root.

Cyber sell: Web sites that provide a return on investments are integral to marketing your business
By:  Richard Fabrizio
Published:  July 2006

Web sites are increasingly a part of business marketing, proving a valuable tool long after the dotcom crash. And they’re not just for businesses anymore. Demand comes from municipalities, schools and nonprofits. Several Seacoast business owners say while it’s possible to run their companies without a Web site, all agree it would not be in their best interests.

Swing by The Bluecanoe: Fresh ideas stand out
By:  Dan Tuohy
Published:  July 2006

Tim Guen knew he had a winner when he heard customers commonly use the name of Irving Oil’s new convenience stores. With the older Irving Mainway stores, people would often say they were going to the Irving. "Mainway" became a useless appendage, a part of the business that just wasn’t pulling its weight. Today, just more than a year into the a marketing makeover, Bluecanoe is sailing along.

Cyber or Fiber:  Paperless office? Don't count on it
By:  Dan Tuohy
Published:  April 2006

Stephen H. Taylor shuffles less paper between his inbox and outbox these days, conducting business instead via about 150 e-mails a day. "It's a rare day when I get a letter," said Taylor, commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. Even though his agency sports a new-and-improved Web site, the state office is a long way from electronic record-keeping.