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Michigan House Votes to Raise Property Taxes!
Despite strong opposition by the Michigan Chamber of Commerce,
House lawmakers on Tuesday passed House Bill 4313, a bill that
would allow for the levy of billions of dollars more in property
taxes by expanding the definition of allowable uses of school
sinking funds.
With unemployment rising above 11%, and homeowners paying higher
taxes on lower property values, this property tax increase is
completely irresponsible. All of our children deserve equitable
school funding, but passage of HB 4313 ensures that Michigan will
return to the old inequitable system of school finance where the
rich districts get richer.
School lobbyists and administrators worked overtime to convince
legislators that, despite record funding, they don't have enough
money. The truth is, since 1994, school enrollment is up 2% but
school funding for operations is up 99% and school debt funding
(like sinking funds) is up 269%! It seems logical that administrators
should be able to run their districts without trying a sneak attack
on taxpayer's wallets. Instead of asking taxpayers for more money,
legislators should focus on real reforms; measures that will raise
student achievement and ensure our schools are run efficiently
and with transparency.
Thirty-five State Representatives stood up for job providers and
taxpayers and voted "NO" on House Bill 4313; 74 State Representatives
voted in favor of this anti-taxpayer, job-killing legislation.
Following is the voting record of House lawmakers on this bill.
If your State Representative is among the 35 lawmakers who voted
against HB 4313, we encourage you to contact him/her and thank
them for standing up for Michigan's job providers. For assistance
in locating you lawmaker, visit the Michigan Chamber's online
Legislative
Action Center and click on "Find Your Legislator."
Three Smart Tips To Win More Business In Challenging Times
Before I share with you a few smart tips to win more business,
let's quickly discuss three things I believe that everyone who
reads this eletter must be on guard to protect not only within
their business or organization, but more importantly with their
own mindset during a recession:
One, limit the amount of news you consume each day. Most of it's
doom and gloom and rarely do they focus on those who are actually
doing well. Far too many people let CNN, FOX TV, NPR, their newspaper,
or favorite online source for news scare them out of opportunity
and plant seeds of doubt within their mind. It's like trying to
drive a car with one foot on the brake and the on the gas pedal
at the same time.
Two, resist the temptation to cut back on your marketing. Too
many CPA's and CEO's are buying into a "play it safe" mentality
with their sales and marketing. This is dumb, dumb, dumb! You
can easily tell where I stand on this one.
Three, watch out for negative thinking among your industry peers.
They will often try to scare you or talk you out of potential
opportunities because they've bought completely into all the negativity
and are often in a full cut-back mode with their sales and marketing
initiatives. I'm not advocating being reckless with the checkbook,
but an overly conservative marketing mentality I believe is going
to put even more firms out of business when hungry, and aggressive
competitors turn up the heat and pull out every trick in the book
to win more business. Here's a great quote to sum up this point:
"If you're attacking, you don't get as tired as when you're chasing."
2009 is in full swing and it's time to get on the attack so let's
take a quick look at three smart tips to winning more business
in challenging times:
#1: Focus more marketing dollars and time with your existing customers.
Let me share a well known statistic from the Small Business Administration
(SBA) to prove why you should funnel more marketing communications
and dollars upon those you already do business with. It costs
an average of five to six times more to keep an existing customer
on the books than trying to win a new one. The cost of media continues
to rise and getting people's attention or Mind Capture is becoming
more and more of a challenge with cold marketing.
#2: Make more offers to your current customers. Here's a BIG reason
why this is a smart idea that most people never think about. An
existing customer knows you and will often at least look at your
marketing message or latest offer. This is a huge leg up and advantage
for you. If you combine your follow up communications with useful
content and offers, and use a diverse range of media such as an
eletter, direct mail, phone calls, blogs and email to communicate,
you'll increase the odds that customers will pay even more attention.
One of the big sins in all of marketing is to become predictable
and boring with your customers. Go back through and review ALL
of your current communications and see what you can change or
improve in 2009 to increase the chances your customers will pay
even more attention to your messages.
#3: Make sure your customer service is continually improving and
getting better at all levels. I'm getting more and more requests
from clients to do 'mystery-shopping' for their organizations
to see how the staff is treating customers and if they're capturing
pertinent information on new prospects. It's often a shock to
them when I report back to them how poorly their staff is doing.
In a tightening economy investing in customer service and training
is a smart strategy. The cost of poor service is simply way too
high to tolerate and if your staff's not on board or willing to
be trained I believe that they must be replaced, and the sooner
the better. Here's a quote to think about that I often share with
executives and business owners as it relates to employees: "Hire
for attitude and train for skills".
Until next time, keep Capturing Minds and profits!
Leading in Crisis: The Speed of Trust is the sustainable
economic stimulus.
LIVE 16-City Tour OR FREE Bonus Overview Conference Call
Whether you attend “Leading in Crisis” LIVE or join the free, preview
conference call with Stephen, you will learn:
- Why today's global financial crisis is a crisis of trust and
confidence.
- Why job one for leaders today is to restore confidence by
getting results in a way that inspires trust.
- Why trust is a learnable and measurable leadership skill that
makes organizations more profitable, people more promotable,
and relationships more energizing.
- How trust makes the playing field exceptionally fast and will
make your career and your organization thrive.
- Why, when trust is high, the resulting dividend is like a
performance multiplier, elevating and improving every dimension
of your organization and your life. High trust is like a rising
tide which lifts everything around it. In a company, high trust
materially improves leadership, communication, collaboration,
execution, innovation, strategy, engagement, partnering, and
relationships with all stakeholders.
- How 13 behaviors common to high trust leaders around the world
insure your influence.
- Why trust is the least understood, most neglected, and most
underestimated possibility of our time.
- Why high-trust individuals make more money, receive better
opportunities, have more fulfilling and joyful relationships,
are more likely to be promoted, and less likely to be laid off.
- How trust fosters adaptability and flexibility in these chaotic
and ambiguous times.
- Why your personal and/or organizational brand or reputation
is trust monetized.
Join Stephen in a brief, one-hour conference call on April 16th
at 1:00 p.m. EDT. Click here
to register.
In this engaging conversation, Stephen will preview the essence
of his message from his upcoming live tour: "Leading in Crisis:
The Speed of Trust is the sustainable economic stimulus."
In September 2008, Stephen M. R. Covey presented at the World Economic
Forum in Beijing where leaders voted a “crisis of trust and confidence”
as the #1 challenge facing organizations in 2009. Trust and confidence
can be restored by learning and practicing the 13 behaviors common
to high trust people around the world. Take actionable steps now
that will have a powerful ripple effect in your team and ultimately
your organization, and even society at large.
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Candace Miller Presented with the U.S. Chamber's Spirit of Enterprise
Award 
Chamber supplies Coast Guard recruits with area business
relocation packets
