According to the General Accounting Office, only 14 percent of small-business owners provide their employees with any company-sponsored retirement plan. This is a striking figure since more than 50 percent of the private workforce is employed by small businesses, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The Business Directory of the Gainesville Chamber...

A large world map on the wall takes center stage in Pam Purvis’ office. She’s the facility manager at Sandvik Mining & Construction, a surface mining equipment assembly company branch in Alachua. The map represents the company’s global reach as it ships multi-million-dollar machines across the world. But in the last year, Purvis has been...

A new type of corporation rolled out July 1 in Florida, and impacts of this arrangement may cause reverberations in the Gainesville business community. The legislation lets new businesses register as a “benefit corporation” or a “social purpose corporation.” Existing businesses can also convert to the model. “Each of these enterprises will allow entrepreneurs and...

A local car dealership has begun offering free conference room space to nonprofits. Groups can now book meetings at Gatorland Toyota, located at 2985 N. Main St. Spokeswoman Ellen Walther said the facility, available for reservation during the dealership’s business hours,  includes a 32-seat conference room and attached kitchen with microwave, refrigerator and tables and...

With the growth of the communication industry, PR practitioners are often able to directly communicate with their public.  This could leave some folks feeling as if media relations is no longer relevant to the job. However, media now have a vast number of resources at their fingertips, and as a PR practitioner, you want to...

Gainesville’s craft beer scene is about to get a little bigger. First Magnitude Brewing (FMB), located off of the Rails to Trails and Depot Park, is preparing for a mid-to-late August opening and is hoping to bring another brewery to downtown Gainesville. Meg The Losen, one of the four founders of FMB, said the group...

A local research lab has received national recognition with General Mills’ stamp of approval. Food testing and consulting facility ABC Research Laboratory, located at 3437 SW 24th Ave., announced its acceptance in early July as an approved testing site for the food-producer giant. That means it “will be noted as a preferred testing laboratory for...

Poor health costs the U.S. economy $576 billion annually, according to the Integrated Benefits Institute, a health and productivity research company. To put that in perspective, that amount adds up to more than the gross domestic product of Belgium. Aside from now being required to provide health care to your employees through the Affordable Care...

GRU is cautioning citizens to beware of a nationwide scam targeting non-residential customers. Some business customers have received phone calls from someone claiming to be a GRU representative, saying that the customer must make an immediate payment by cash or third-party website to avoid having his or her utility service disconnected. In another version of...

When used correctly, the English language is a powerful tool to win people over. Whether you’re wordsmithing a press release, crafting a compelling email or pitching services to a potential client, grammar and word usage can either lend credibility to or detract credibility from your organization. Consider the following list a guide to running a...