Posts by rgilligan_robgilligan

New Year, New Resolutions? The end of 2024 is upon us and that means focus is shifting to 2025. The new year is a perfect time to reflect, reset, and plan for growth. Just like personal resolutions, your business can benefit from thoughtful goals to set the stage for success. Business planning, goals, or resolutions…

Take a moment to Celebrate! As the Business year winds to a close, you can’t help but feel a little extra stress as we try to balance work responsibilities with two noticeably big holidays in the mix. While it can sometimes feel like a game of tug-of-war for attention, there is a business case to…

Growing the Workforce through Higher Ed Graduation Last Saturday was a day of celebration, filled with “Pomp and Circumstance,” mortar boards with tassels, and the feeling of accomplishment as 723 RedHawks concluded their academic journey with graduation. The benefits of being one of only 750 communities in the U.S. that host a public 4-year higher…

Coming Down the Homestretch of 2024 Later sunrises and early sunsets, a very short window between major holidays, and the balance of focus means that these last few weeks in 2024 will offer their own challenges for businesses. While it may be easy to start pushing things off until the new year, now more than…

Latest in Holiday Trends…Self Gifting It’s Thanksgiving week here in the U.S., and that means there is no way possible to escape the Black Friday holiday shopping ads everywhere you go. With increasing attention and focus on the importance of one’s mental health and personal care, a rising trend in holiday shopping seems to be…

Creating an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem According to data from YourEconomy.org Cape Girardeau County has seen a significant decline in new business starts since the pandemic. Our ten-year high was in 2019 when 226 businesses were formed in Cape Girardeau County, compared to our lowest output over a 10-year period in 2023 when only ninety-three business starts…

Veteran’s and Workforce Opportunities November 11th is Veterans Day, officially recognized in honor of all veterans as a federal holiday in 1954 when Congressman Ed Rees, of Emporia, KS (my hometown) proposed renaming Armistice Day to Veterans Day to honor all service members. As you take time today to reflect on the importance and service…

Live Music as a Driver for Business Over the weekend Taylor Swift wrapped up the second U.S. leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour as she completed three nights in Indianapolis. As a self-proclaimed “Swiftie” I have watched over the last eighteen months as her tour attracted millions of fans and hundreds of communities benefited for…

Corporate Transparency Act Requires Action for Business Owners With only 10 weeks left in 2024, business owners and managers need to be aware of a new federal law requiring many business entities in the United States to file Beneficial Ownership Information with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) within the U.S. Department of the Treasury.…

Investing in Your Business with Professional Development This month has been busy at the Cape Chamber with several staff members on the road for a variety of conferences, programs, and training opportunities. Sometimes it feels difficult to make time to engage in professional development activities, but the value to your business can certainly outweigh the…