July 2008 Issue

July 2008 Issue
Do You Take Visa?
It’s a beautiful day for baseball, and you’ve gathered a bunch of kids at a nearby park. You really need a catcher, because none of the kids assembled can play that position. There’s a kid looking over the fence who is a skilled catcher. He has the equipment, and he learned to catch when he went to school in your neighborhood a few years ago. But you’re not allowed to invite him to play, so the game is abandoned. The kids aren’t happy and may ask their folks to move to a ne...
Building a Name
The founders of Legacy Private Wealth Management found the confidence to branch out by looking within.
Close to Home
Jennifer Wexler and Kelly Bucci are on a mission: They are the finders of lost revenue. The two former health care consultants created Eris Medical Technologies to help health care providers analyze bills to spot missing charges. And those mistakes are costing everyone. The average American paid approximately 10 percent more for health care last year than they did in 2006, according to the National Coalition on Health Care. Some of those escalating costs are due to lost revenue from hospitals and doctor...
Today's Entrepreneurs
From hair dryers to insurance claims, Web browsers to investment plans, instructions were not included for these four small-business owners who assembled their companies from scratch. But out of the box and into the open market, these new entrepreneurs have found success.   Cutting It Close Angie Hofelich still fought with unexpected delays to the April opening of her Westlake salon.Angie Hofelich discovered that opening her New York City-inspired hair salon and spa was all about timing. >> M...
College Financing 101
There are very few independently wealthy students striving for advanced degrees and specialized training on college campuses today. However, each year more students are piecing together their drive, ambition and creativity to dig up the funds to further their careers though education. With so many financial aid options available today, you don’t need a wealthy uncle to foot your education bill. Below are the five most common ways to get financial assistance for a graduate degree or career training...
Custom-Made Banking
Depending on the business owner, the concept of business banking may conjure up entirely different images of bank services and offerings. For that reason, Huntington Bank approaches each business banking customer as an individual, carefully assessing each business’s unique needs. With 13 business banking officers in Northeast Ohio, serving customers from Elyria to Madison and as far south as Twinsburg, Huntington Business Banking originated as part of its commercial division in 1966. In 2000, it b...
Family First
Maria Quinn’s motto is simple: “I listen carefully to the client and come up with a plan that works.” It’s what she’s done for the more than 27 years she’s worked as an estate and trust attorney in Cleveland, four of which have been spent in her firm, Maria E. Quinn Co., L.P.A., founded in 2004. Today, four attorneys, two paralegals, a secretary and a docket clerk also operate by that principle. Quinn's listening skills come in handy when she is working with clients w...
Hub for Business Solutions
For 25 years, Inner Circle Advisors has been providing solutions to small- to mid-sized business owners to run their businesses more efficiently. “We advise businesses but we also run our own business, allowing us to have a better understanding of our clients,” says Gregory Hostelley, managing director of Inner Circle Advisors and a certified public accountant. The firm provides accounting and tax services, business coaching and strategic planning. Recently, the firm added seminars to its ro...
Road map to Financial Success
For any business professional, protecting and preserving your hard-earned wealth is a priority and you need a bank with which you can partner to help sustain and grow your net worth. National City’s Private Client Group has been helping high-net-worth individuals and families with wealth management for more than 163 years — as long as the bank itself has been in business. National City is considered one of the leaders in wealth management. In fact, the Private Client Group was ranked No. 25 ...
Smooth Transition
What do Wal-Mart, S.C. Johnson & Co., Perdue,Forbes and Ford Motor Co. have in common? They’re all family-owned businesses. And behind each of these family-owned or “closely held” businesses there’s a founder who, after years of investing time and energy, had to pass on his legacy to others. “More than 80 percent of businesses in the United States are family-owned,” says Joseph M. Mentrek, vice president and director of The Wealth Center at Meaden & Moore. Remarkably,...
All Apologies
Papa John’s apology promotion provides big dough to area charities.
Worth the Wait
Tattered furniture, dog-eared 3-year-old magazines and some faded brochures that haven’t been updated since George H.W. Bush was president. Is that the first impression you want to give to your office visitors? Karen Skunta hopes not. An architect and visual artist by training, Skunta’s firm, Warehouse District-based Karen Skunta & Co., has carved a niche as an interior designer focused exclusively on building and office lobbies, only one of four such firms in the country, she says. Skunta, ...
Vision Quest
SEEING THINGS DIFFERENTLY: Paul Roetzer gets his inspiration from the collection of books lining the shelves of his downtown Cleveland office. His favorite is “Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time,” by founder Howard Schultz. “[Schultz] said if it’s a great idea, other people aren’t going to understand it, because if they did it wouldn’t be a true vision,” Roetzer expanded. Roetzer also had a vision. Frustrated with the pricin...
College Financing 101
There are very few independently wealthy students striving for advanced degrees and specialized training on college campuses today. However, each year more students are piecing together their drive, ambition and creativity to dig up the funds to further their careers though education. With so many financial aid options available today, you don’t need a wealthy uncle to foot your education bill. Below are the five most common ways to get financial assistance for a graduate degree or career training...
Custom-Made Banking
Depending on the business owner, the concept of business banking may conjure up entirely different images of bank services and offerings. For that reason, Huntington Bank approaches each business banking customer as an individual, carefully assessing each business’s unique needs. With 13 business banking officers in Northeast Ohio, serving customers from Elyria to Madison and as far south as Twinsburg, Huntington Business Banking originated as part of its commercial division in 1966. In 2000, it b...
Family First
Maria Quinn’s motto is simple: “I listen carefully to the client and come up with a plan that works.” It’s what she’s done for the more than 27 years she’s worked as an estate and trust attorney in Cleveland, four of which have been spent in her firm, Maria E. Quinn Co., L.P.A., founded in 2004. Today, four attorneys, two paralegals, a secretary and a docket clerk also operate by that principle. Quinn's listening skills come in handy when she is working with clients w...
Hub for Business Solutions
For 25 years, Inner Circle Advisors has been providing solutions to small- to mid-sized business owners to run their businesses more efficiently. “We advise businesses but we also run our own business, allowing us to have a better understanding of our clients,” says Gregory Hostelley, managing director of Inner Circle Advisors and a certified public accountant. The firm provides accounting and tax services, business coaching and strategic planning. Recently, the firm added seminars to its ro...
Road map to Financial Success
For any business professional, protecting and preserving your hard-earned wealth is a priority and you need a bank with which you can partner to help sustain and grow your net worth. National City’s Private Client Group has been helping high-net-worth individuals and families with wealth management for more than 163 years — as long as the bank itself has been in business. National City is considered one of the leaders in wealth management. In fact, the Private Client Group was ranked No. 25 ...
Smooth Transition
What do Wal-Mart, S.C. Johnson & Co., Perdue,Forbes and Ford Motor Co. have in common? They’re all family-owned businesses. And behind each of these family-owned or “closely held” businesses there’s a founder who, after years of investing time and energy, had to pass on his legacy to others. “More than 80 percent of businesses in the United States are family-owned,” says Joseph M. Mentrek, vice president and director of The Wealth Center at Meaden & Moore. Remarkably,...
Building a Name
The founders of Legacy Private Wealth Management found the confidence to branch out by looking within.
Close to Home
Jennifer Wexler and Kelly Bucci are on a mission: They are the finders of lost revenue. The two former health care consultants created Eris Medical Technologies to help health care providers analyze bills to spot missing charges. And those mistakes are costing everyone. The average American paid approximately 10 percent more for health care last year than they did in 2006, according to the National Coalition on Health Care. Some of those escalating costs are due to lost revenue from hospitals and doctor...
Today's Entrepreneurs
From hair dryers to insurance claims, Web browsers to investment plans, instructions were not included for these four small-business owners who assembled their companies from scratch. But out of the box and into the open market, these new entrepreneurs have found success.   Cutting It Close Angie Hofelich still fought with unexpected delays to the April opening of her Westlake salon.Angie Hofelich discovered that opening her New York City-inspired hair salon and spa was all about timing. >> M...