Business Feeds

Your company’s computers are an essential core of your operations, working to store financial transactions, customer databases, and software programs. However, when was the last time you backed up your company’s critical data?

Unfortunately, there are too many small businesses that do not have a data backup procedure. Many of these businesses suffer the consequences of lost valuable data when their laptop or network crashes, or worse, a fire or other disaster destroys computer equipment.

Thankfully, there is an easy solution: backup your electronic files. You should not just protect your data every now and then, but on a regular basis. Here are three simple steps to ensure that your valuable electronic data never gets lost.

1. Archive Your Important Data Regularly

   What is considered important? Exe

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Your business has a choice when it comes to workforce:

• Hire employees
• Hire contract service providers

The choice impacts liability with the IRS, costs and ability to respond quickly to the marketplace.

What is at stake?

A huge back-tax bill from the IRS! Would that impact your business?

And just in case your business has been skating under the radar, there is a move afoot to tighten this area up.

It is seen as one of the ‘Tax Gaps’ that better IRS enforcement could help close.

What is the business case for the choice?

Employees work for you. Contracted services are provided by an outside business.

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EVANSVILLE Two Daddy’s Pizza, which operated a 250-seat open-air restaurant at the new Marina Pointe Pavilion, off Waterworks Road, and a Downtown pizza delivery service, has closed both operations.

Ron Riecken, owner of the riverfront pavilion, said Saturday was the last night of operation for Two Daddy’s Pizza at the pavilion.

The restaurant had just debuted there over the July 4 weekend.

Riecken said he plans to wait until the pavilion’s new season next spring to lease the restaurant space again.

He said he was uncertain who the new operator may be.

Two Daddy’s was operated by business partners Andrew Klipsch, Kevin Slaughter and Ryan Farmer.

It began its pizza delivery service in April 2009, using the kitchen facilities at the Little Cheers bar and restaurant at Fourth and Main streets for preparing the pizzas.

Until this summer, the partners also sold their pizzas by the slice from a cart on Main Street.

Klipsch attributed the closings to “mostly the economy.”

“We weren’t able to pull in enough (money) per person to make a profit … We were relying

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Before you begin applying for credit it’s important to determine what strengths and weaknesses your company brings to the table. < ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Are you a startup or have you been in business for several years?

Do you have projected revenues or actual revenues coming in year after year?

Does your company process credit cards on a monthly basis? If so, how much volume?

Are you struggling with poor personal credit or do you have strong credit scores?

Does your company have any assets or are you relying on your own personal assets?

Once you have made an honest assessment you’ll have a better idea of what types of credit your company will be able to start obtaining right away.

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Hearings in Vectren’s electricity rate case have ended, and state utility regulators will start their final deliberations in the case in November.

Vectren is seeking a $34 million increase in the rate it charges its 140,000 electricity customers. The utility says this change would increase the average monthly bill by $12.50. “Average” in this case is defined as a customer who uses 900 kilowatts per month and pays about $129 per month.

The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, the body that represents consumers in utility rate cases, is recommending that Vectren receive a $10.9 million increase.

The latest round of hearings began in Indianapolis Aug. 23 and concluded Tuesday afternoon.

The final deadline for filings in the case is Nov. 8. After

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The Evansville Convention & Visitors Bureau’s board on Monday officially endorsed a planned baseball/softball complex planned for Wesselman Park and the Roberts Stadium campus.

Board member David Dunn is the chairman of Destination Evansville, the visitors bureau committee spearheading the proposed sports complex project.

Dunn said the plans for the eight-field complex have gone through some changes as a result of input gathered at public design workshops held earlier this month. T

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What is your exit strategy? Whether you’re a young entrepreneur with grand ideas or a seasoned professional approaching retirement, you should have an exit strategy for your business if you want it to continue after your tenure.

If your desire is that your business continues to succeed after you step down, there are a number of options for you to consider. Here are the typical paths to handing your business reigns to another:

• Sell it to an outside buyer – You might sell to another entrepreneur or perhaps undergo a merger with an existing larger firm.

• Sell to employees – Perhaps you’ve built extreme loyalty with employees. Conside

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Jasper Alternate Fuels has become a distributor for a Michigan company that makes alternative-fuel systems for vehicles.

Based in New Hudson, Mich., Icom North America makes the JTG liquid-injection fuel system.

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Just recently FICO released data showing that over 25 percent of consumers now have a credit score of 599 or below. That’s a whopping 43 million people that are considered subprime and what’s even more startling is those numbers continue to climb. < ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Credit scores play such an integral role in our country’s credit system and more consumers need to be aware of how today’s financial decisions will impact tomorrow’s borrowing potential.

In FICO’s world “damage points” are applied to a consumer’s credit score rating when there is evidence of financial hardship or patterns of risky behavior. Some “damage

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