Fear is a sneaky thing. Just when you think it’s not a problem, it can jump out and bite you, throwing off a perfectly normal day. I hate that.

Sitting in a doctor’s office last week, I picked up a recent magazine and the cover story (in huge letters), included the word, “FEAR.” It was about swine flu but could strike a chord in just about anyone’s mind about a dozen different life issues...

One of the toughest jobs an employer encounters is maintaining a good rapport with his or her employees, while also ensuring that the employees act in accordance with the rules and guidelines of the workplace. Busy employers will inevitably find it impossible to monitor everything that goes on amongst their employees on a day-to-day basis, but there are some tactics that an employer can use to make sure that employees are following the rules, accomplishing their objectives, and working effectively as a team...

Imagine this. You own a window cleaning company in one of the nation’s fastest growing cities, where other businesses want to locate because of the incentives, low taxes and available work force, and where many dream of living because of the warm climate, close proximity to the ocean and unlimited golf opportunities. Imagine that you are living that dream. Your business, you and the family, are doing well and thriving, then suddenly, a severe drought occurs due to a lack of sufficient rain, hurricanes and tropical storms which feed the lakes and aquifers. That’s exactly what began to happen more than two years ago to new and long-time residents residing in much of North Carolina, including Raleigh, the state capitol and Wake County seat...

What business can afford to offer fringe benefits, let alone health insurance, in order to keep or attract good workers? Why, especially in these troubled economic times, are the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) joining, together to push Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)? The answer is that HSAs may be an affordable option for many small businesses, not to mention beneficial to the operation’s owner, shareholders and partners....