Fred Harteis News - Work together, stay together?

Fred Harteis News - Many couples have found that running a business together provides more time together and with their family, for better or for worse. Starting a business has become "very popular for family-oriented individuals," according to Lori Kiser-Block, the president of FranChoice, a franchise consulting firm.

In fact, about 25 percent of all businesses are family-owned, according to the Census Bureau's latest survey of business owners, with more and more budding entrepreneurs choosing to ditch the corporate grind to be closer to their loved ones.

"We always worked really well together," said Michele Evanger. She and her husband, Jim, met in college and got their entrepreneurial start as undergraduates when they teamed up to sell pots and pans door-to-door. "That's when we first identified that we could work well together," they say.

The Evangers, now both 40, decided to take another crack at it when they co-founded an interior design firm called Designs of the Interior (DOTI) in 1998.

"If you are a couple in business together, the one thing you can't do is leave it at the office," Jim says. "There's no getting around that, if you aren't comfortable with that, don't go into business together."

Now the Evangers, who have been married more than 10 years, say that their different attitudes toward the business complement each other. They have since franchised their DOTI stores, and 21 out of the 30 locations are owned by couples.

Source: Cnn.com

About Fred Harteis: Fred Harteis leads Harteis International. Fred Harteis has a background in agriculture and has created many successful business ventures.

Fred Harteis News Articles - 10 Jobs That Will Fade by 2012

Fred Harteis News Articles - While there are indications that the economy is swelling and many industries are projected to grow in the coming years, there are also signs that some occupations are becoming obsolete.

Here are some of the jobs expected to severely decline between now and 2012 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Farmers and Ranchers
This dwindling occupation will see the largest decrease or all sectors, losing 250,000 jobs by 2012. The complexity of modern farming and keen competition among farmers leaves little room for the marginally successful farmer. Therefore, the long-term trend toward consolidation of farms into fewer and larger farms is expected to continue displacing small independent farmers.

Sewing Machine Operators/ Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Tenders
Apparel workers have been among the most rapidly declining occupational groups in recent years. Increasing imports, the use of offshore assembly and greater productivity through new automation will contribute to additional job losses.

Word Processors and Data-Entry Keyers
This sector of workers is expected to decline due to the proliferation of personal computers. Employment growth of data entry keyers will still be dampened by productivity gains, as various data-capturing technologies, such as bar code scanners, voice recognition technologies and sophisticated character recognition readers become more prevalent. In addition, employment of these workers will be adversely affected by businesses that are increasingly contracting out their work.

Stock Clerks and Order Fillers
The growing use of computers for inventory control and the installation of new, automated equipment are expected to inhibit growth in demand for stock clerks and order fillers, especially in manufacturing and wholesale trade industries whose operations are most easily automated. Firms in these industries are relying more on computerized inventory systems, sophisticated conveyor belts, automatic high stackers to store and retrieve goods and the use of automatically guided vehicles.

Secretaries (Except Legal, Medical and Executive)
Automated equipment is changing the distribution of work in many offices. Professionals and managers increasingly do their own word processing and data entry, and handle much of their own correspondence rather than submit the work to secretaries and other support staff. Also, in some law and medical offices, paralegals and medical assistants are assuming some tasks formerly done by secretaries and others are "sharing" secretaries and administrative assistants.

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers
As manufacturers strive to improve precision and productivity, automated machinery increasingly will be used to perform work more economically and more efficiently. Technological advances should continue raising the productivity of assembly workers and adversely affecting their employment. And, many producers send their assembly functions to countries where labor costs are lower.

Computer Operators
Advances in technology have reduced both the size and cost of computer equipment, while increasing the capacity for data storage and processing automation. The expanding use of software that automates computer operations gives companies the option of making systems more user-friendly, greatly reducing the need for operators.

Telephone Operators
Developments in communications technologies -- particularly voice recognition systems that are accessible and easy to use -- will continue to have a significant impact on the demand for switchboard operators. Electronic communication through the Internet or e-mail provides alternatives to telephone communication and requires no operators.

Postal Service Mail Sorters and Processing-Machine Operators
The demand for such clerks will be offset by the use of electronic communications technologies and private delivery companies. The number of these workers is expected to decline because of the increasing use of automated materials handling equipment and optical character readers, barcode sorters and other automated sorting equipment. Advanced sorting systems, longer routes and centralized delivery will also reduce the demand for postal workers.

Travel Agents
An increasing reliance on the Internet to book travel, as well as industry consolidation, will continue to reduce the need for travel agents. Also, airlines no longer pay commissions to travel agencies, which has weakened revenues and caused some agencies to go out of business.

Source: Aol.com

About Fred Harteis: Fred Harteis leads Harteis International. Fred Harteis has a background in agriculture and has created many successful business ventures.

Fred Harteis News Articles - Obama declares he's running for president

Fred Harteis News Articles - Sen. Barack Obama stood before a cheering crowd in his home state Saturday and announced he will seek the 2008 Democratic nomination for president.

Invoking the memory of fellow Illinoisan and the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, the first-term senator addressed thousands packed into the Springfield, Illinois, town square on a chilly day in America's heartland.

To chants of "Obama! Obama!," he told the crowd: "It was here, in Springfield, where North, South, East and West come together that I was reminded of the essential decency of the American people -- where I came to believe that through this decency, we can build a more hopeful America." (Watch as the crowd erupts when Obama officially declares his candidacy )

If the 45-year-old Obama were elected, he would become the nation's first African-American president.

"And that is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a divided house to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for president of the United States of America."

Obama told the crowd he would tackle problems like poor schools, economic hardships and oil dependence, saying a "failure of leadership" is to blame for not meeting the nation's challenges. He also implored the crowd to demand that there be "universal health care in America by the end of the president's first term."

He called the Iraq war a "tragic mistake" and said, "It's time to admit that no amount of American lives can resolve the political disagreement that lies at the heart of someone else's civil war. That's why I have a plan that will bring our combat troops home by March of 2008.

To read this complete Fred Harteis News Article visit our news partner at;

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/10/obama.president/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Source: Cnn.com

About Fred Harteis: Fred Harteis leads Harteis International. Fred Harteis has a background in agriculture and has created many successful business ventures.

Fred Harteis News Articles - The retirement plan Uncle Sam has right

Fred Harteis News Articles - Considering the mess that Social Security and Medicare are in, the federal government is probably the last place you'd look for insights about retirement planning.

But I've got to hand it to the feds: When it comes to investing their own money for retirement, they really know what they're doing. In fact, the Thrift Savings Plan - the equivalent of a 401(k) plan for members of Congress and other government employees - is one of the best retirement plans around.

Alas, to be in it you must work for the government. But that doesn't mean you can't do what the feds do to make your retirement plan better.

The Thrift Savings Plan doesn't try to dazzle participants with choices. There are just five core investment options:

Three stock index funds, which track large, small and international stocks, respectively;
A total bond market index fund;
And a government securities fund, which invests in short-term Treasuries.
By mixing and matching funds from this limited lineup, however, you can easily build a diversified portfolio appropriate for any stage of retirement planning.

If that's too much work, TSP also offers target-retirement funds that allow you to pick the fund with the date closest to when you plan to retire and bam! You get a premixed portfolio of the five core funds that gradually morphs more toward fixed income as you age.

The lesson here: Don't get distracted by all the funds your plan throws at you. Today the typical 401(k) plan has 19 investment options, and about one in 10 has more than 25. Employers may feel that they're doing you a favor by offering all that choice, but they're only making it harder for you to do the right thing since too much choice just leads to confusion.

Studies by researchers at Columbia University and the University of Chicago, for example, found that the more funds a 401(k) plan added to its lineup, the fewer employees signed up and the less money participants invested in stock funds.

The likely result: an account that's worth a whole lot less in the end.

The fact is, you'll find your retirement portfolio easier to manage, and probably a lot more effective, if you focus on just four core options: broadly diversified large- and small-cap domestic stock funds; an international fund that spreads its assets among major foreign markets; and a plain-vanilla bond fund.

Split your money among these basic building blocks, and you'll have all the diversification you really need. Plus, you'll have a much easier time keeping track of what you own.

Source: Cnn.com

About Fred Harteis: Fred Harteis leads Harteis International. Fred Harteis has a background in agriculture and has created many successful business ventures.