The owners’ decisions to stop paying monthly condo dues of $520 and other assessments comes as the expected costs to repair the building’s primary concrete slab have risen to as much as $11.5 million, or roughly $100,000 per unit, according to a recent estimate communicated by the building’s homeowners group.
Previously, the expense to fix that key two-foot-thick transfer slab was believed to be about $8.2 million, or $70,000 per unit.
With the increase and length of time needed yet to fix the problems, several owners have told Dolphin Tower’s board during resident meetings that they will be unable, or unwilling, to pay. Last month, a building attorney acknowledged it would be at least until mid-2012 before residents — many of whom are in their 70s or 80s — could return to their homes at 101 S. Gulfstream Ave.
Last month, there were some 20 unit owners in arrears on dues and other fees. The
Get full post…
Developing and growing a small business is challenging. It’s especially difficult if you don’t have the capital to fill your orders. Many small businesses instinctively turn to partnerships or investors to help them launch a new product or build their business. But partnerships require a level of trust and commitment that may just give a small business another issue to worry about.
How do you come up with capital?
You have spent years coming up with the concept for your business. You have arranged and rearranged every detail. Your business plan is designed, and you know the ins-and-outs of every aspect of the business. Retailers want your product, and you are ready to supply it, but you need the funds for your first order. You
Get full post…
In thermodynamics a phase transition marks the shift from one state to another. As energy in the system increases, the enthalpy, the states move through the progression outlined to the right.
What I want to point out is that each state has its own properties and in most cases it would be hard to confuse one for another. For example, an ice cube (solid) doesn’t resemble steam (gas).
In fact, generally speaking, the states are so different from one another that for the longest time we (people, that is) thought they were altogether different rather than different manifestations of the same basic substance.
And that’s how it is in business, too. One state doesn’t really resemble another at all – though they grow out of each other as more and more energy is poured in.
Leaders are known for pursuing and provoking state changes. For example, they like to go from being the first ones on the scene to being the world-recognized leader in the field. But, it
Get full post…
Open Innovation Summit – Last Day for Hotel Discount
For those of you who didn’t know I’ll be serving as the host at the Open Innovation Summit, taking place August 10-12, 2011 in Chicago, IL along with several other innovation, research, and open innovation leaders. In addition I will be leading an executive panel discussion with a Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) focus currently titled:
“ACHIEVING FASTER SPEED TO MARKET: New Strategies to Accelerate Product Development While Leveraging Consumer Insights, Suppliers & Outside Innovator Solutions”
In this role, it is my duty that if you would like to get the special conference rate of $169 at the event hotel – the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel Chicago – July 11, 2011 (TODAY) is the LAST DAY.
SPECIAL NOTE: Blogging Innovation readers can save $300 by registering with Discount Code: BBX642.
So, please feel free to sign up and come join me for a great open innovation conference and laugh at me (or with me), throw things, or whatever keeps you learning or entertained (but out of a Chicago jail).
Braden Kelley is the author of Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire from John Wiley & Sons. Braden is als Get full post…
Silvio Berlusconi’s government is trying to fast-track a $56 billion austerity package in a bid to allay fears that Italy is about to join Europe’s debt crisis. “For us, for Italy, this is certainly not an easy moment,” the prime minister said in a statement. “The crisis is pushing us to accelerate the process of correction extremely rapidly.”
The package will freeze public sector wages, increase doctor-visit fees, and cut the funding that flows from the state to smaller local governments, according to the Wall Street Journal. Lawmakers had hoped merely revealing it would stem market panic, but after Friday and yesterday’s Italian bond sell-offs, they’ve amped up their timetable, hoping to pass it by Sunday. Italy’s main opposition group has said it supports the package, Reuters reports.
