Fleet Feet Syracuse announces new training-program platform

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DeWITT — The local franchise of Fleet Feet Sports recently announced a new training-program platform that offers fitness classes and workouts for anyone at any time. The new platform will provide “more options, more flexibility, more classes and more convenience,” the company says. It’s a program Fleet Feet Syracuse is calling Running Plus, says Edward […]

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DeWITT — The local franchise of Fleet Feet Sports recently announced a new training-program platform that offers fitness classes and workouts for anyone at any time.

The new platform will provide “more options, more flexibility, more classes and more convenience,” the company says.

It’s a program Fleet Feet Syracuse is calling Running Plus, says Edward (Ed) Griffin, co-owner of Fleet Feet Syracuse.

Fleet Feet Syracuse operates locations at 5800 Bridge St. in DeWitt and at 4136 Route 31 in Clay in the Market Fair North Plaza, across from the Great Northern Mall.

Griffin spoke with the Business Journal News Network at the DeWitt store on Nov. 20.

Rather than just offering specific programs that meet the same day each week for a 10-week or 12-week period, Fleet Feet Syracuse will now offer membership options that allow participants access to a calendar of training classes.

“Any of the people that are signed up for the program … can participate in multiple programs per day any day of the week they want,” says Griffin.

They include long and short-group runs, spin and functional-fitness classes, open swim sessions and yoga, along with educational seminars and clinics.

Griffin describes functional fitness as “building up the different muscle groups that you don’t hit when you’re … running.”

“It’s really an unlimited access to creating your own schedule when it fits your schedule,” he adds.

Fleet Feet Syracuse developed the new training-program platform based on feedback from its customers who wanted more flexibility to get involved in sessions.

“If you only hold a program specifically once a week and it doesn’t fit into someone’s schedule, then now you’ve eliminated them from potentially being in your program,” he explains.

Fleet Feet Syracuse is giving customers the option to try three sessions free-of-charge. Beyond that, the company offers monthly, quarterly, and annual membership options with different payment plans.

The membership prices range from $549 for an annual membership to $169 for a three-month membership to $69 for a one-month membership, according to the Fleet Feet Syracuse website.

“It essentially is priced to be somewhat below what an average gym membership would be,” says Griffin.

Besides the new Running Plus training program, Fleet Feet Syracuse will continue offering its running program for beginners, a 10-week program that it offers three seasons per year. It will also continue offering its triathlon program.

“So those two programs still stay intact,” he says.

Clay store operations
The 5,000-square-foot Fleet Feet location in Clay has operated for more than a year. The franchise deemed it “the top grossing first year store in the history of Fleet Feet Sports, Inc.”

Fleet Feet Syracuse opened the Clay location on Nov. 1, 2013, and in its first year of operation, the location generated revenue between $1.4 million and $1.6 million, says Griffin.

Griffin, and his wife, Ellen, had planned for the Clay store to generate about 20 percent of the local franchise’s business, but the store’s performance is exceeding their revenue expectations.

“It’s been more in that 25 [percent] to 28 percent range,” says Griffin.

Fleet Feet Syracuse has 52 employees in a mix of full-time and part-time roles, he adds.

Fleet Feet, Inc. is a national 129-store chain that Sally Edwards and Elizabeth Jansen opened in Sacramento, Calif. in 1976. The company is now headquartered in Carrboro, N.C., according to a company description on the website of Entrepreneur magazine.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Survey: Upstate employers expect health-benefit costs to rise 6-10 percent

Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Health Care, Subscriber Only

As we head toward the end of 2014, most businesses are estimating their costs and budgeting for 2015. Upstate New York employers estimated their health-benefit cost per employee would rise 10.1 percent next year, on average, if they made no changes to their current health-care plan. And, they expect to hold their cost increase to

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And, they expect to hold their cost increase to 6.4 percent, on average, by making changes to health-plan design and/or plan vendors.

Those estimates are according to the “National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans,” that Mercer, a health-care consultant, conducts annually.

Mercer is a wholly owned subsidiary of New York City–based Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC).

The results for upstate New York represent the responses of 46 local employers.

Employers nationwide predict that in 2015 their health-benefit cost per employee will rise 4.6 percent, on average, according to a news release Mercer posted to its website on Nov. 19.

This increase reflects changes employers will make to reduce cost. If they made no changes to their current plans, they estimate that the cost would rise by an average of 7.1 percent.

The same survey found the average per-employee cost of health benefits for companies nationwide rose nearly 4 percent in 2014.

The figure represents a bigger increase than last year’s “historically low” increase, but it is still well below the 7 percent average rate of growth over the past 15 years, Mercer said.

The total health-benefit cost averaged more than $11,200 per employee in 2014, according to the Mercer survey.

At the same time, the total health-benefit cost for active employees in upstate New York increased 4.3 percent in 2014, to an average of $10,739 per employee.

Consultant view
The cost per employee for upstate respondents is still lower than the figures seen nationally, says Thomas Flynn, Mercer’s health and benefits leader for Upstate.

“Even though we’re in … communities where you would expect the health care to be above-average, cutting edge, maybe a little bit more expensive, we’re still lower than most,” says Flynn.

When asked about the expected higher percentage rise in cost-per-employee, Flynn notes that businesses in other parts of the country were “way ahead” of upstate firms in increasing deductibles and moving away from co-pay-based health plans.

“We still like our co-pays and we still like to have a relatively rich plan that keeps our employees confident [and] comfortable,” he adds.

Flynn contends that upstate New York is still “closer to the HMO [health-maintenance organization] community than most places in the country.”

Many employers anticipate spending more to cover more employees in 2015 as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provision goes into effect requiring employers to extend coverage to substantially all employees working 30 or more hours per week.

“By and large, it’s business as usual,” Flynn said when asked if any of his upstate clients were taking any steps to limit the number of workers reaching the hourly threshold.

Companies will need to adjust, he says, especially for variable-hour employees, where the provision gets “complex.”

He describes variable-hour employees as those who don’t work full- or part-time hours all the time.

“I think what employers have done both locally and nationally is try to get a little more disciplined on managing that population, so that they don’t have someone that bubbles up and meets that 30-hour provision and before they weren’t,” he says.

The survey asked employers how likely they are to terminate their medical plans within the next five years and send employees to a public health exchange to seek coverage.

The survey found 8 percent of upstate New York respondents say they are likely or very likely to do so.

Nationally, 4 percent of large employers and 15 percent of small employers (50-499 employees) say they are likely or very likely to terminate their plans within five years.

Other 2014 upstate findings
The Mercer survey found 46 percent of upstate respondents offered a high-deductible consumer-directed health plan (CDHP) with an account feature (an HSA or HRA) in 2014.

HSA is short for health-savings account and HRA is short for health-reimbursement account.

When asked to think ahead three years, 63 percent said they expect their organization will offer a CDHP in 2017.

Several Mercer clients were evaluating CDHPs during 2013 and appeared to include them in their plan offerings.

“This was the year that people started to make those decisions to have a high-deductible plan at least in their offering because they need to make sure that they have the affordable option,” says Flynn.

The Affordable Care Act says employer-offered health insurance is not affordable if the purchase cost for coverage is more than 9.5 percent of an employee’s wage income.

The Mercer survey also found that 67 percent of all employees covered in respondents’ health plans are enrolled in PPO/POS plans, 13 percent in HMOs, and 21 percent in CDHPs.

PPO is short for preferred-provider organization, while POS is short for point of service.

The average employee contribution amount for employee-only coverage is $142 monthly for a PPO/POS plan, and $74 monthly for a CDHP.

Mercer conducts its National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans using a national probability sample of public and private employers with at least 10 employees, and 2,569 employers completed the 2014 survey.

The firm conducted the survey during the late summer, when most employers have a “good fix” on their costs for the current year. Results represent about 600,000 employers and nearly 100 million full- and part-time employees.

The error range is 3 percent, Mercer says.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

10 Sales Strategies For Taking Charge of 2015

Business Mentors, Health Care, Subscriber Only

Tactics constantly come and go in sales without making a significant impact on outcomes. On the other hand, solid strategies can make a significant difference in what happens. Here are 10 sales strategies that can have a positive influence on your performance in 2015. 1. Define yourself clearly. Most people let others decide who they

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1. Define yourself clearly. Most people let others decide who they are, define their capabilities, and determine what they can accomplish. This happens without even knowing it. More often than not, the results are far from accurate.

Worse yet, such “labels” stick, unless we work to change them by having a clear picture of how we want to be perceived and actively reinforce it. If being seen as thoughtful, helpful, hard working, cooperative, motivated, and reliable is your preference, then your task should be focusing on strengthening those qualities.

2. Be ready with answers to questions. Experienced salespeople have thoughtful and carefully crafted answers when customers ask questions. That’s good as far as it goes, but what about the questions that customers think about after a meeting? When they’re left unanswered, they can challenge credibility and raise doubts.

This is why frequently asked questions (FAQs) can help avoid problems. Make a list of those that come up time-and-again, along with your answers. Ask customer-service people to help. Then, email your FAQs to a customer or prospect after a meeting. Also add a link to your FAQs to your email signature. It’s a good way to show you know what customers are thinking.

3. Rethink responsiveness. While responsiveness is a top business value, it’s usually related to “putting out fires.” Problems get immediate action. What about the other 99 percent of the time? Specifically, voice-mail messages, emails, agreed-to deadlines — the list might be long. Failing to manage the details sends a powerful message; so does handling them.

4. Use the power of pause. Salespeople often talk their way out of sales. It doesn’t take talent, just an endless stream of words that confuse, frustrate, and antagonize customers, who can’t get a word in edgewise. Salespeople often act as if a lull in their sales spiel is so dangerous that it must be avoided at all cost.

There’s a better way. Taking time to pause lets customers absorb what is being said, and suggests the person speaking is thinking about his choice of words. Pauses also encourage listening; it’s as if customers are waiting for what’s coming next.

5. Manage prospects effectively. The mismanagement of prospects creates the weakest link in the sales chain. Prospects are dropped too soon or disappear due to a lack of regular follow-up.

Like customers, prospects deserve good management — some change their minds, others aren’t ready to buy, and a number simply need encouragement. One salesperson gets referrals from a prospect that didn’t buy because of a health problem, but who felt the consistent follow-up sent the right message.

6. Put the emphasis where it belongs. Because selling is a tough profession, salespeople like to let everyone know that “nothing happens until someone sells something.” This phrase is quoted so often, it’s assumed to be true. It’s never challenged, even though it’s nonsense.

In fact, just the opposite is true. Nothing happens until someone buys something. This stands selling on its head and changes the way to think about marketing and sales. It moves the emphasis from the salesperson to the customer — where it belongs.

7. Getting customers to say yes isn’t the goal. Even though reality has changed, the persuasion mindset remains embedded in marketing and sales. “If I can get an appointment, I’ll come away with an order” is the motto. Or, it’s this: “If we can get through to consumers with our message, that’s all it will take.”

Even though the mindset persists, it’s dead. Marketing and sales are at a different place; they’re about engaging customers by involving them in the process and making sure they have a place at the table. Communication is not just helpful. What customers are thinking and saying dwarfs everything else.

8. Aim for the right fit. No salesperson can serve every customer. No one can always have the correct product or service, and no salesperson can possess the personality or temperament that is the right match for every customer. Too many sales people waste time trying to prove these wrong. It never works.

9. Get people talking about you. Salespeople say referrals are the best business. Yet, for most salespeople, referrals are few-and-far-between. They’re the wish that’s rarely fulfilled. Worse yet, there are customers and others who pass referrals out as if they’re giving candy to kids — and they have no value.

Getting legitimate referrals means being a continuing presence in the minds of customers, prospects, or anyone else. It’s easy to do by finding ways to be of assistance to customers. When this occurs, the common response is to reciprocate. In other words, making referrals is a way for customers, prospects, and others we know to say, “Thank you.”

It isn’t how well known salespeople are that makes the difference; it’s how much help they give that counts.

10. Think like a customer. It’s not only difficult for salespeople to think like their customers, many also make a point of avoiding it. They don’t want to be distracted from staying focused on getting the order. Even so, salespeople should appreciate what making a purchase means to customers.

For consumers, neither what they buy nor the cost is the issue. What’s important for salespeople is recognizing that making a purchase is a personal investment that they take seriously. It’s as if a customer says, “Hey, salesperson. This is my money and I want to feel that you recognize what I’m doing. It’s my skin that’s in the game.”

Whether it’s a friendly smile from a barista at Starbucks handing someone a favorite latte or a life insurance salesperson saying to a client, “I know what doing this means to you,” the message is the same. Both are making it clear that they recognize the importance of thinking like a customer.

When it comes to lasting results, these 10 sales strategies can make a difference in 2015 and beyond.

John R. Graham of GrahamComm is a marketing and sales consultant and business writer. He publishes a free monthly eBulletin, “No Nonsense Marketing & Sales.” Contact him at jgraham@grahamcomm.com or visit: johnrgraham.com

Failing to Plan

Business Mentors, Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Insurance & Financial Services, Law, Accounting & Taxes, Subscriber Only

“What is the best use of my time right now?” The famous question posed by author Alan Lakein, and the related response, “goal setting and planning,” captures the essence nicely. For the typical business owner, “planning” brings to mind income-tax planning, or perhaps sales planning, or even budget planning. While all of these are important,

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“What is the best use of my time right now?” The famous question posed by author Alan Lakein, and the related response, “goal setting and planning,” captures the essence nicely.

For the typical business owner, “planning” brings to mind income-tax planning, or perhaps sales planning, or even budget planning. While all of these are important, there is more to the picture. Much more.

It is, of course, quite common to spend a significant amount of time focusing on the day-to-day needs of your enterprise. Covering cash-flow needs, ensuring product delivery, and securing new business are vital activities. These important endeavors often leave little time for planning in the larger context.

Whether you call it risk assessment, succession planning, enterprise risk management, or good old common sense, the list of activities could seem endless and therefore not achievable. So let’s start with just a few A-list items.

The unexpected exit
Starting your business may have been the result of long-term planning or an “ah-ha” moment where resource and opportunity collided. Whatever case, an exit strategy may well not have been part of the picture. It is not too late. Take a look at the potential reality of death, disability, or other unexpected exit circumstances and figure out how you would like things to play out. A solid buy-sell agreement, coupled in many cases with key-executive insurance, to fund buy-out and business continuance is a must.

Desire to share the wealth
Perhaps (and often a foundation of succession planning) there is an interest in bringing in business “partners.” These partners come in many shapes and sizes, some offering financing, and others bringing business-development acumen. By defining needs and drawing agreements on how the business will operate with the addition of new members, you stand a much better chance of a harmonious relationship for the long term. Always know how to get out of a business situation when you get in. Exit arrangements generally fall into two categories: cross-purchase or redemption. The right type depends on your circumstances.

Succession equals sale
Perhaps you are just ready to dispose of your business, or someone is knocking on your door with an offer that is too good to pass up? The best way to be prepared for either circumstance is to have a clear understanding of what your enterprise is worth. How do you accomplish this? Business valuation is the answer. Business brokers may offer input and you can contact an individual certified in business valuation, one who specializes in determining value, to become well-informed and realistic about your expectations.

Wealth management
Your business is likely a significant aspect of your personal wealth. Understanding value (read: business valuation), liquidity or marketability, and the potential tax effect of disposal of your business is critical to making good decisions. Opportunities, or sometimes needs, can come up quickly. So be prepared.

The other stuff
Make a list. It is that easy. Sit down for 45 minutes and assemble a list of the items that keep you up at night, or you heard someone talking about at the gym, or saw in the business section, and give yourself a place to start as you continue your planning journey. To get you started, consider some of the following: insurance review, retirement-plan review, comprehensive retirement plan, budgeting (business and personal), investment diversification, wills, trusts, and health-care proxies.

In Lakein’s words, failing to plan is planning to fail. Avoid becoming part of that story and contact your CPA today; he or she is an invaluable resource as you plan to protect the future of your business and family.

Gail Kinsella is a partner in the accounting firm of Testone, Marshall & Discenza, LLP. Contact Kinsella at gkinsella@tmdcpas.com

Making Year-End, Charitable Gift-Giving Decisions

Business Mentors, Nonprofits, Subscriber Only

“No one has ever become poor by giving.” — Anne Frank You can count on it. For every holiday greeting card you’ll receive this year, you most likely will get an equal number of traditional “end-of-year” appeals from worthwhile local, national, and international charitable organizations. They hope that they, too, might reap some benefit from

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“No one has ever become poor by giving.” — Anne Frank

You can count on it. For every holiday greeting card you’ll receive this year, you most likely will get an equal number of traditional “end-of-year” appeals from worthwhile local, national, and international charitable organizations. They hope that they, too, might reap some benefit from this “season of giving.”

As you begin contemplating your year-end, charitable-giving decisions — particularly if you have received a windfall this year from the sale of a business, an inheritance, or the sale of appreciated securities — perhaps this is the year you should give some thought to setting up a charitable gift or donor-advised fund.

Here is how it works.

A donor-advised or charitable gift fund can be established by an individual, a family, or a group using cash or appreciated securities.

You claim an immediate tax deduction at the time the fund is established and when future gifts are made to increase or replenish the fund.

You then instruct the manager of the fund to make distributions whenever you choose. There is no deadline to make distributions. The distributions can be made to any domestic charity eligible to receive contributions under the Internal Revenue Code.

You can establish a donor-advised fund at the Central New York Community Foundation with a minimum of just $7,500. The fund can be named whatever you would like (such as the Jones Family Fund) and you will receive an immediate income-tax deduction.

The Community Foundation will invest and manage the funds until you are ready to suggest donations to your favorite charities. You can distribute as little or as much as you want to the charities of your choice — at a time that is right for you, today, tomorrow, or next year. You can think of the donor-advised fund as an alternative to setting up a cumbersome and potentially costly private foundation. The Community Foundation charges donor-advised funds an annual administrative fee that is the greater of $500 or 1 percent.

The United Way of Central New York does not offer donor-advised funds. However, the United Way is very willing to work with donors on many other forms of charitable gifts including but not limited to planned gifts, legacies, and bequests.

There is no question that charitable gift and donor-advised funds are growing in popularity, particularly among wealthier donors, who actively use their funds to support favorite charities and causes, regardless of economic conditions. Summarizing the findings of a recent study of more than 1,000 organizations by the National Philanthropic Trust, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that gifts to donor-advised funds grew 23 percent — more than $17 billion — in 2013. That pushed the assets of the charitable accounts to a new high of nearly $54 billion.

According to the National Philanthropic Trust’s 2014 study, contributions to donor-advised funds reflected about 5.2 percent of all charitable gifts, edging up from the 4.3 percent that the trust reported in its 2013 survey. In 2013, the number of donor-advised funds increased by 5.7 percent to 217,367, compared to the previous year. And, the number of private foundations totaled 84,350 in 2013, up 7.3 percent, according to the Foundation Center.

Although donor-advised fund assets are dwarfed by the amount of money controlled by foundations, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the wealth of the advised funds grew at a faster clip. Last year, foundation assets grew 5.7 percent, to $615 billion.

While it will be hard to repeat the 2013 growth in charitable gift and donor-advised funds, especially since the charitable tax deduction does not appear to be in jeopardy right now, Eileen Heisman, president and CEO of The National Philanthropic Trust, is confident contributions to donor-advised funds will grow “in the double-digits” this year, barring a large market slump or late-year economic troubles, notes the Chronicle.

Americans are the most generous society in the world, donating well over $300 billion to charitable organizations annually. Some of us give of our time in volunteer efforts. Others give financial support in many different ways, including the donor-advised structure described above.

As you contemplate your year-end giving, remember the quote above from Anne Frank. In addition, from my own office of stress reduction, keep in mind that one out of every four New Yorkers are eligible for Medicaid benefits, trying to provide necessary supports for the poor and disabled among us. It is a known fact that giving is a form of stress reduction. Therefore, keep the following individuals in mind as you consider your year-end contributions:

– The homeless

– Wounded warriors

– Children without a parent

– The nursing-home resident that hasn’t had a visitor in months or sometimes years

– Those among us with physical and/or behavioral disabilities

– As always, your favorite charity of choice

Give what you can in terms of time and dollars to those in need. Giving during the holiday season, coupled with a serious diet and weight-loss resolution starting Jan. 1, will certainly reduce your stress and improve your outlook on life.

Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season!

Gerald J. Archibald, CPA, is a partner in charge of the management advisory services at The Bonadio Group. Contact him at (585) 381-1000, or via email at

garchibald@bonadio.com

How Homeowner Policies Affect Your Home-Based Business

Business Mentors, Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Insurance & Financial Services, Law, Accounting & Taxes, Small Business, Subscriber Only

From a technological standpoint, running a business from home has never been easier. Smart phones, email, fax machines, the Internet, skyping, have all led to a major surge in what have been termed “homepreneurs.” It’s believed more than half of all U.S. businesses are based out of an owner’s home. Unfortunately, many of these people

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Unfortunately, many of these people have become entrepreneurs by necessity, having been laid off during the Great Recession.

“These are people that did not aspire to own a business, but circumstances dictated that they look at freelance opportunities and other business ventures,” says Ken Yancey, CEO of the nonprofit entrepreneur mentoring group SCORE. (SCORE has chapters all across the country including locally in Auburn, Greater Binghamton, Syracuse, and Utica.)

When Cynthia Jermin received a pink slip and lost her dream job at an investment bank, she left with a smile and a plan. “I had a smile on my face, because I was ready. I saw it as an opportunity to embark on this entrepreneurial journey,” says Jermin. Instead of looking for a new position, Jermin, who had been assistant vice president at Credit Suisse, decided to start a business. With financial support of her husband, to avoid going into debt, she turned her guest bedroom into an office and launched Fundamental Life Products from her home in Queens. “It was better to start small and grow, than to rent a space, rent a factory, hire people, and then, six months in, you’ve run out of capital and you have to let everybody go,” says Jermin.

When most people launch a home-based business, they immediately turn their attention to the material means to start their enterprise. They stock up on paper, ink, pens, dry-erase boards, push-pins, and all the technological bells and whistles (computer, printer, modem, etc.) so they can get up and running as soon as possible. But what they never think about is insurance for this home business. So before they know it, they have invested a lot of money and time into this venture but never thought about how they will protect it.

The common misconception is that since the business is in your home, it must be covered by your home-insurance policy. Before you make this assumption, ask yourself a simple question, “What kind of insurance should I buy to protect a business: Home insurance or business insurance?” When the question is phrased like this, the answer is nearly always business insurance.

Although there is some limited coverage for certain types of small-business activities on a home policy, most policies have several exclusions for anything business-related. Since the home policy is designed to protect a home, with its normal risks and exposures, the policy needs to limit or exclude areas not normally associated with a home. So don’t assume your home insurance will protect your small-business activities.

According to an article in Entrepreneur magazine, one reason owners forgo insurance is confusion over what may be already covered by a homeowner’s or a renter’s policy. But most home-business owners have little or no coverage from their homeowner’s policy. People don’t realize that if the UPS guy comes to their home office with a business package in his hand and slips and hurts himself, there is no coverage for that injury in their homeowner’s policy,

The most costly exclusion on a home policy may be in the area of liability. Most home policies provide comprehensive liability protection of $300,000 for normal home activities, but the policy will specifically exclude most business activity. With today’s legal system, liability exclusion is a major financial gap in your protection and leaves you exposed.

Another limitation is business property or inventory. If your home business has any kind of inventory, it could be inadequately protected. If your business involves repairing computers for clients, and at any given time, there could be a dozen laptops sitting on a shelf in your home office, you will not be protected if there is a fire or a flood and that inventory is damaged or destroyed. Although there is some limited coverage on the home policy, the coverage is just that, limited, and with exclusions on where your inventory may be stored.

For example, if business property is stored in an outbuilding or detached structure, the business use of the building voids any coverage for the outbuilding under the homeowner’s policy. The business property stored in the outbuilding is also not covered by most homeowner’s policies. Not all insurance policies are the same. Be sure to review your specific situation with your insurance agent or risk adviser.

A business policy that is based on your type of exposure will cover your business liability, which is the most costly exclusion on the home. You can also choose the amount of liability protection to meet your needs. A business policy is designed to protect your business property and inventory with increased limits that you choose, and better coverage for where you choose to store them.

What can solve the problem for many home-based businesses is an in-home policy, which covers a broader spectrum of contingencies, including loss of critical documents or theft of funds being taken to the bank for deposit. An in-home policy is a plan against injury or theft covering as many as three employees. Rates typically range from $250 to $500 and the plans can cover as much as $10,000 in losses.

“Most serious home-based business owners may want to consider picking up at least an in-home policy,” says Rebekah Marshall, multiproduct insurance manager at the National Federation of Independent Business, or NFIB. “This covers business equipment and liability [for injury],” she says. “That’s important if people are coming in and out.”

So if you have a home-based business, ask yourself these important questions:

– Do clients come to my home?

– Do I have inventory?

– Do I depend on the income from this home business to support my family?

– Do I have business property or equipment?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should request an insurance review of your home and home-based business exposures. It is also especially important for anyone starting a home-based business to do a complete risk analysis of your business exposures in order to ensure you have adequate business insurance. That’s because even with optional business coverage, most homeowner’s policies fall woefully short of covering the needs of most home-based businesses.

Starting a home-based business has many potential rewards. After all, Apple, Hershey’s, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and even the Ford Motor Company, all started from someone’s home. But these ventures also bring just as many challenges. Starting a home business is stressful enough without worrying about whether your homeowner’s insurance will always protect your business.

Debra Bouchard, is a personal risk adviser with Ottawa Kent Insurance in western Michigan. She has nearly 30 years experience in dealing with all aspects of personal lines insurance, including home-based businesses. Contact Bouchard at dbouchard@ottawakent.com

Are You And Your Roof Ready for Winter?

Business Mentors, Construction, Design & Real Estate, Insurance & Financial Services, Law, Accounting & Taxes, Subscriber Only

As the year comes to an end, it’s time to think about winter’s potential threats to your building’s roof. If we lived in a perfect world, we would never have any roof collapses, because: – Roofs would be properly designed to meet code requirements for snow loading, including any sliding or drifting conditions; – Buildings

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As the year comes to an end, it’s time to think about winter’s potential threats to your building’s roof.

If we lived in a perfect world, we would never have any roof collapses, because:

– Roofs would be properly designed to meet code requirements for snow loading, including any sliding or drifting conditions;

– Buildings would be properly built and inspected during construction to ensure there are no significant structural flaws;

– The roof membrane and drainage systems would be properly maintained, and replaced at the end of their service lives;

– The impacts of changes would be structurally assessed, and roofs reinforced or modified as needed, so as to not create any fragile conditions;

– Roofs would see no more snow-load than that prescribed by the building code.

However, the world is not perfect, and roofs do collapse. It has been our experience that roofs not meeting the first four conditions above represent nearly all of the collapses that happen. In the dozens of collapses (full or partial) that we have investigated, not one has occurred as the result of a roof experiencing snow loading that exceeds that specified by the building code of New York state for new structures.

Buildings that are more than a few years old have had their roofs load-tested by Central New York winters, and so the likelihood of any undetected major design or construction defect is reduced. However, this effect is erased if the roof’s loading conditions have changed. Such is the case when old roofing is replaced by a new roof system with more (or more effective) insulation, or a more effective air barrier. This has been an explicit requirement of New York state’s Energy Conservation Construction Code since 2010.

Obviously, less snow melt can result in more snow buildup. Coupled with the fact that older roofs were designed under older codes that may have had lower snow-load requirements, especially at drift conditions, it becomes clear why the majority of collapses that we have seen have occurred in the years following a roof-replacement project.

So what can building owners and facilities managers do to minimize the risk and reduce the worry and stress caused by not knowing whether they can trust their roofs? Here are a few suggestions:

– Look at your roof from above and below. Is it leaking and causing structural deterioration? Is the drainage system working properly? Is there any damage visible? Are there large hung loads or rooftop loads that don’t seem to be well-supported?

– Has the roof been replaced within the past few years? If so, was the structure given a review by a structural engineer?

– Have there been any additions — large rooftop mechanical units, penthouses, or adjacent building additions — that may have created new drift conditions?

It’s much better and easier to assess a roof’s structural capacity before it’s covered with snow. However, if you find yourself concerned about a snow-loaded roof, here are some things you can do:

– Make sure the roof drains are cleared to allow water from melting snow to drain away, and not get absorbed by the adjacent snow.

– Compile any existing drawings of the building, especially structural, so that a structural engineer can quickly assess the design capacity, if need be.

– If you decide to remove snow from the roof, be extremely careful, on several levels. In general, such work involves issues of personal safety. In addition, damage to membranes can occur unless extreme care is exercised with plastic shovels. Also, develop a structurally sensible plan for removal. Roofs have collapsed during removals due to the inadvertent creation of unbalanced loading conditions.

– Be aware of unusual noises, ceiling or roof sagging, or tilting or cracking of interior partitions. Most roof collapses are preceded by warning signs that can serve as a signal for evacuation. Make sure egress paths are clear and functional, including non-snow-blocked exit doors (which is required of all buildings, per the Property Management Code of NYS).

Finally, if planning a roof-replacement project, plan for success. Ensure that the new roof complies with the energy code for insulation and air-barrier requirements, and conduct at least a “sanity check” of the structure for potential load increases. We can — and should — make our buildings more energy efficient, and do it in such a way as to not cause any dangerous or debilitating conditions, and stop unnecessary worry. That way, we can all enjoy the winter.

Jim D’Aloisio is a principal with Klepper, Hahn & Hyatt, a structural engineering, landscape architecture, and building-envelope services firm based in DeWitt. Contact him at jad@khhpc.com

Oneida County has its act together

Opinion, Subscriber Only

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Three cheers to Oneida County Executive Anthony J. (Tony) Picente, Jr., who is acting as the catalyst to turn the Mohawk Valley into the next technology hub. Last year, he initiated his “Vision 2020” project to build on the golden opportunity presented by New York state’s investment in the Marcy campus. In his words: “We’re on the path to a new prosperity and building the bridge to get there: We have our people, our institutions, our environment, and our character.”

The foundation of the bridge was laid 20 years ago when the state targeted nanotechnology as a future industry worthy of a large capital investment by taxpayers. The concept, developed in the Capital Region, of creating a cutting-edge technology center ultimately attracted private-capital investment eager to fabricate new products based on the research. Oneida County began its own efforts to attract the nanotech industry back in 1997 with a focus on semiconductors, which today is a $375 billion industry.

The Marcy campus, which houses SUNY Polytechnic Institute (the former SUNYIT), is now home to the new Quad C Center, a 253,000-square-foot facility, which includes a 56,000-square-foot, Class I clean room. The phase I building only represents a little more than one-third of the final structure. Complementing the Quad C Center is the fabrication site, located about a half-mile away on the same Marcy campus. To give you an idea of the magnitude of the project, we’re talking about a proposed building that encompasses 8.3 million square feet. Oneida County is now marketing the fabrication site in anticipation of shortly completing the site preparations.

While nanotech is a sexy subject grabbing most of the headlines, Picente sees a confluence of high-tech industries that includes not only nano, but also the national recognition of Utica College and its cybersecurity programs and the designation of Griffiss International Airport as a national test site for unmanned aerial systems. The Oneida County Exec. also doesn’t buy into “hope” as a strategy that everything will work out. Thus, he offers Vision 2020, which is designed to serve as a strategic plan to ensure that this golden opportunity is converted into high-paying jobs and a growing population for the area.

In June 2013, Picente asked 50 volunteers to join him in a public-private partnership to develop the plan to ensure that the workforce was ready to fill the new positions, guarantee access and opportunity for all residents of the county, and provide housing for a changing demographic for the new workforce. Howard Mettelman, the irrepressible district superintendent of Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES, chairs the education committee; Tony Colon heads up the committee on diversity; and Ferris Betrus directs the housing committee. The committee heads are expected to deliver their reports in January.

The refreshing thing about Picente is that he is results-oriented — he wants more jobs and a growing population. The newly approved Oneida County budget includes millions of dollars he requested to implement the ideas contained in the plan. The next step is to get community buy-in through publicizing the plan and encouraging private-sector companies to invest in their own businesses in anticipation of the projected growth. Finally, Picente sees this as a win-win not just for Oneida County, but also for the region. Once he feels comfortable that the county has its act together, he plans to reach out to neighboring counties to share in the benefits of the Mohawk Valley as a technology hub.

Hats off, too, to Steve DiMeo, the unflappable president of Mohawk Valley EDGE. DiMeo deserves sainthood — or at least the Croix de Guerre or a lifetime supply of Zoloft — for his patience in obtaining zoning changes to the Marcy site, a wetlands permit, commissioning an economic study, obtaining funding, purchasing additional land, and hammering out a tax-sharing agreement with five government entities. After 17 years, his persistence and belief in the project are paying off.

Vision 2020 is the roadmap to lead the area’s economy from a tailspin resulting from the closure of Griffiss Air Force Base to a renaissance of thousands of new, high-paying jobs driven by multiple technology industries. This public-private partnership is working and should be a model for others to follow.

Norman Poltenson is a regional staff writer and publisher emeritus with The Business Journal News Network. Contact him at npoltenson@cnybj.com

State doesn’t need a duplicative weather-detection system

Opinion, Subscriber Only

Snowfall totals that came with the historic snowstorm in November made national headlines. Erie and Wyoming counties reported 80 inches of snow. Parts of Jefferson, Lewis, and Oswego counties reported more than 30 inches and as many as 50 inches. Unfortunately, 13 deaths have been attributed to the storm. Following the storm’s wake, Governor Andrew

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Following the storm’s wake, Governor Andrew Cuomo traveled to Buffalo and announced that meteorologists did not predict the storm well, and residents were not prepared. While some may not have been prepared for the snow totals, it’s doubtful it had anything to do with the lack of weather predictions.

Following Cuomo’s statements, meteorologists cited reports well before the storm that predicted that as much as five feet of snow could fall because of the amount of cold air blowing over the warm lakes. I recall reading local meteorologists’ reports days ahead of time that explained in detail why conditions were ripe for record snow totals. Still, the governor used the opportunity to promote the new $18 million “NY Advanced Weather Detection System” that will consist of 125 stations that provide data on air, wind, soil, and radiation. The information collected will be relayed to the public.

New York already has 27 stations operated by the National Weather Service throughout the state. Because the National Weather Service is currently providing what most would say is excellent service in New York state, does New York really need to spend $18 million for its own weather-detection system? Most people affected by severe storms would rather have that $18 million spent on helping them recover from the storm. Indeed, here in Central New York, our municipal budgets are often stretched during time of high snowfall because of snow-removal costs. If anything, $18 million would be better used to provide our municipalities assistance with these costs instead of using the $18 million on a duplicative weather-detection system. Further, as has been demonstrated time and time again, despite the best predictions, the weather will still happen and unfortunately cause damage at times.

Spend surplus on infrastructure
The New York State Budget Office estimates the state has close to a $5 billion budget surplus, due to large settlements with banks and financial institutions. The governor is expected to propose his budget in January and lawmakers have until April to negotiate and pass a budget. While we have a long way to go before the final budget passes in the spring, happily, there seems to be a consensus forming that this settlement money should be used to invest in infrastructure like roads and bridges, as well as water and sewer maintenance. This is a good policy because this is a one-shot revenue infusion that should not go for recurring state operating expenses.

Recently, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner set forth a list of priorities she would like to tackle if Syracuse, like Buffalo, was able to obtain $1 billion from the state. She proposes much of the money to be used to upgrade Syracuse’s aging water and sewer system. I am sympathetic to her request (even though I would prefer that she advocate for a more regional approach). According to several reports, New York needs to upgrade its water and sewer systems. In fact, one report claims that to sufficiently upgrade our systems would cost $36.2 billion over the next 20 years. With the $5 billion surplus, it is not unrealistic to ask that a significant amount of that money be spent on infrastructure in Central New York.

William (Will) Barclay is the Republican representative of the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses most of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton, as well as the town of Lysander in Onondaga County and town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County. Contact him at barclaw@assembly.state.ny.us, or (315) 598-5185.

Dermody, Burke & Brown, CPAs, LLC

People on the Move, Subscriber Only

Dermody, Burke & Brown, CPAs, LLC, recently hired four new employees. Joshua Cook has joined as a tax associate in the Syracuse office. He was an intern in the tax department for three tax seasons before being hired on a full-time basis. Cook received his bachelor’s degree in accounting and his MBA from Le Moyne

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