A strong brand is important, but it is often no replacement for relationships. Rick Tate, a thought-leader on business topics, explains: Merely satisfying customers will not be enough to earn their loyalty. Instead, they must experience exceptional service worthy of their repeat business and referral. Understand the factors that drive this customer revolution. What a…
Boost the Return on Your Team’s Efforts Work Smarter, Not Harder Do you believe that strategic planning is an old-fangled concept that’s a waste of time; or at best, a luxury that only large corporations can afford. If so, then I encourage you to think again! All organizations, large and small, commercial and not-for-profit, can…
The following is a guest article from Gino Wickman, author of Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business: I recently had an epiphany (if this can be called that) after teaching Scorecard for the last 13 years to over 125 companies, running my last two businesses on one, and teaching it to our 58 EOS…
Most business entities seek to grow and prosper. But, growth in an ever-changing world is a challenge. Each day, we are confronted with new opportunities, trends, desires and constraints. Those that thrive discover new ways of doing things. They transform their processes, products and services to harvest previously untapped marketplace opportunities. Importantly, they don’t do…
The information below is preserved for archive purposes. For updated information, see Minnesota Medical Marijuana Business Resource Guide. Protecting Your Medical Marijuana Business Against Civil and Criminal Liability As a medical marijuana business owner, you may be concerned about potential liability–both civil and criminal–for yourself and your employees or contractors. You may also have concerns about…
Wouldn’t it be great to just take a pill and make your competition go away? Of course it will never be that simple. I believe we can agree that all the easy problems have been solved and if we are ever to be able to make our competition irrelevant it will require a difficult course…
What Really Drives Success Before you can get value from reading this article you’ll need to make a decision: Do you believe we live in a cause-and-effect world? This is not a trick question. Have you, at the core of your being, fully accepted the belief that: The heat of the sun causes the evaporation…
Should Your Company Be Out of Control? I think Darwin would have a lot to say about how organizational models have evolved, prospered and died in the ecosystem we call the free market. If you’re willing to allow religious institutions, non-profits, governments, and tribes into your universe of possible business models you quickly see the…
The Leader Who Wasn’t If I could give but one gift to the hundreds of managers and leaders I’ve worked with over the years, I would give them the ability to see what goes on with their employees after the leader leaves the room. Believe me, if bosses knew the impact their words and directives…
AFTER WORLD WAR II ended, returning GIs began a binge of family formation at a rate not previously seen in American history. Over 77 million babies were born in the US between 1946 and 1964, the generally accepted definition of the baby boom. Much has been written about the attitudinal and cultural traits of this…
As a business attorney, I often use a Letter of Intent when buying or selling a business, assets of a business, or other large transactions. Below are common questions I am asked about a Letter of Intent in business deals. What is a Letter of Intent? A Letter of Intent (“LOI”) is used when two…
What rights does a medical marijuana business have under Minnesota’s medical marijuana law? Minnesota’s medical marijuana law, newly codified at Minn. Stat. §§ 152.22 through 152.37, contains a framework of express and implied rights under which medical marijuana manufacturing businesses may operate. Rights include the following: Right to Judicial Review Minnesota law directs the Minnesota…
Minnesota enacted the Women’s Economic Security Act in 2014, which included new requirements for health, pregnancy, and sick leave accommodations and benefits from employers. Here are some FAQs on these newly expanded requirements. How much pregnancy and parenting leave is now required? An employer must grant an unpaid leave of absence of 12 weeks (the…
Employers Ability to Recoup Payments Due to Employees’ Post-Severance Wrongdoing It is common in Minnesota for employers to offer severance compensation to employees. These types of agreements vary greatly from business to business and provide an opportunity for the employer to obtain a release of potential claims in exchange for severance benefits, among other things….
Is Minnesota on the Road to Booming Canna-Businesses? Aspiring entrepreneurs, who took notice of recent business opportunities in Colorado, are eyeing Minnesota. On May 29, 2014, Governor Dayton signed into law a bill allowing medical marijuana sales to begin in 2015. Minnesota is now among 21 other states and the District of Columbia who have…
We will occasionally meet a company owner who is personally motivated to sell but feels that there are several things that need to be improved before the company is ready to be put on the market. This might involve hiring a key manager. Or finishing a major internal initiative. We certainly maintain that there is…
What is the Program? Legislation passed in 2001—the Sustainable Forest Incentive Act (SFIA)—allows annual payments to be made to enrolled owners of forested land as an incentive to practice long-term sustainable forest management. Who is Eligible? To enroll in the sustainable forest incentive program, you must meet all of the following requirements: You own 20…
The Rural Preserve Program provides property tax relief for qualifying owners of rural vacant land in areas where the market value of the land is being affected by development pressure, sales of recreational land or other factors. The Rural Preserve Program This fact sheet provides information to property owners regarding the eligibility requirements for the…
The Green Acres Program provides property tax relief for owners of agricultural property in areas where the market value of land is being affected by development pressure, sales of recreational land, or other non-agricultural factors. Green Acres (Minnesota Agricultural Property Tax Law) This fact sheet provides information to property owners who currently have land enrolled…
What is a Special Agricultural Homestead? The Special Agricultural Homestead provision extends homestead status to property that is owned under a trust and farmed by the grantor, the spouse of the grantor, or a child, sibling, grandchild, or parent of the grantor or the grantor’s spouse who do not live on the farm. Homestead status…
What is a Special Agricultural Homestead? The Special Agricultural Homestead provision extends homestead status to farms owned or leased by a qualified entity and farmed by a member of the entity who does not live on the farm. Homestead status may result in lower property taxes than property that is not homesteaded. What is a…
What is a Special Agricultural Homestead? The Special Agricultural Homestead provision extends homestead status to property owners who do not live on their farm but actively farm their land or who have a spouse or a child who actively farms the land. Homestead status can result in lower property taxes than property that is not…
The Senior Citizen Property Tax Deferral Program was established to help senior citizens who were having difficulty paying their property taxes. This deferral program has the following two primary advantages for senior citizens: It limits the maximum amount of property tax you pay to 3 percent of your total household income, and It…
Background During the 2001 legislative session, Minnesota enacted the first state property levy since taxes payable in 1967. The tax is only on certain properties and was enacted as part of a property tax reform law. Revenue from the tax is deposited in the state general fund. Is my property affected by state general tax?…
Why doesn’t the assessor’s value reflect the sale price of my property? 1. There is a lag between the time of the assessment and when the sale takes place. An appraisal is an estimate of property value based on historical data at a set point in time – January 2 of each year – and…
Special Homestead Classification: Class 1b Special Homestead Classification: Class 1b provides a reduced class rate for qualifying blind/disabled property owners. What is Class 1b? Class 1b provides a reduced class rate for homestead property of any person who qualifies as blind or as permanently and totally disabled. The Class 1b blind/disabled homestead is different than…
Introduction The homestead classification applies to properties that are physically occupied by the owner(s) as the principal place of residence. Classification as a homestead may qualify the property for a reduced classification rate, a reduced taxable market value, a property tax refund, and/or other special program eligibility. What are the Benefits of Homestead Classification? A…
This fact sheet is the third in a series of three fact sheets that were designed to assist taxpayers in the understanding of the basic concepts of their annual assessment and property tax administration. Please see Fact Sheets 12a and 12c for additional information. The role of the assessor The assessor has an important role…
This fact sheet is the second in a series of three fact sheets that were designed to assist taxpayers in the understanding of the basic concepts of their annual assessment and property tax administration. Please see Fact Sheets 12a and 12c for additional information. Property Tax Assessment Process Minnesota has what is known as an…
This fact sheet is the first in a series of three fact sheets that were designed to assist tax payers in the understanding of the basic concepts of their annual assessment and property tax administration. Please see Fact Sheets 12b and 12c for additional information. Why do we have property taxes? The money raised by…
