Steve Lavey | 20 Million Minutes

Breaking News

Customer Service: Reducing Damaged Deliveries

I saw this article and thought I’d share it with you. As you are building your business, getting the purchased product to your customers is a large part of your customer service practices and it doesn’t matter if you get your customers’ shipments delivered on time if they arrive at the dock unusable. It is important that you select carriers that train its employees to prevent damages... Read More

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Worst PR Disaster of All Time: Who is Doing Your Company’s Marketing and Customer Service?

In my many years of starting and building companies, I have learned the importance of building a solid team with people who share your vision and values. In the current internet environment, one of the critical pieces of your management puzzle is marketing and customer service. If you do this well, the customers will spread your goodwill and you will likely be rewarded. However, while today’s... Read More

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Steve Jobs: 7 Rules of Success

I was a big fan of Steve Jobs. I think his entrepreneurial drive and focus makes for great study.  Jobs was a rebel and a misfit and he imparted a sense of purpose and belonging for all the other rebels and misfits out there. Instead of brushing them aside or pointing at them for being weird, he celebrated them. He reminded us that the ones who see the world differently are the ones who change the... Read More

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List of Private Equity Firms in Chicago in 2011

Someone sent me this list of local private equity firms operating in the Chicagoland area and I thought I’d share it with you.  Private equity firms in Chicago vary in their investment industries, region, size and many other factors but there is a common goal among all private equity firms: to take a company with potential for growth and provide the resources necessary to realize that potential.... Read More

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Who Pays What Amount of Taxes in the U.S?

FROM IRS:       In 2009, according to the IRS,  taxpayers who made $1 million or more paid 24.4 percent of their income in federal income taxes on average; those making $100,000 to $125,000 paid 9.9 percent on average; those making $50,000 to $60,000 paid 6.3 percent on average.   SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Who Pays What Amount of Taxes in the U.S?", url: "http://20millionminutes.com/2011/10/07/who-pays-what-amount-of-taxes-in-the-u-s/"... Read More

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The New Heroes: Social Entrepreneurs

I love this new series on PBS about ordinary folks who have a passion to make a difference in the world.  The New Heroes series tells the dramatic stories of 14 daring people from all corners of the globe who, against all odds, are successfully alleviating poverty and illness, combating unemployment and violence, and bringing education, light, opportunity and freedom to poor and marginalized people... Read More

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From AP: FACT CHECK: Is Obama’s Jobs Plan Paid For? Seems Not

We have got to get a place where our leaders do what is best for the country, not is what is best for their careers.  President Barack Obama’s promise Thursday that everything in his jobs plan will be paid for rests on highly iffy propositions.  It will only be paid for if a committee he can’t control does his bidding, if Congress puts that into law and if leaders in the future –... Read More

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Economists Survey: Spending Cuts Needed, Not Tax Increases

According to a survey done by the National Association for Business Economics, the majority of economists believe that the federal deficit should be reduced only or primarily through spending cuts. The survey out Monday found that 56 percent of the NABE members surveyed felt that way, while 37 percent said they favor equal parts spending cuts and tax increases. The remaining 7 percent believe it should... Read More

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