Survey gives Idaho A+ for small business friendliness

After a two-month survey of more than 6,000 small business owners nationwide, Thumbtack.com has released new data showing that Idaho ranked first for overall small business friendliness.

"Asking entrepreneurs to rank state friendliness to their businesses is a powerful resource for helping policymakers understand the needs of business owners and for helping aspiring founders understand the full dimensions of their business environment," said Dane Stangler, director of research for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a partner in the study.

Two of the survey's findings might be considered surprising:

• Small business owners said licensing requirements were nearly twice as important as tax rates in determining overall business friendliness.
• An important predictor was whether small business owners are aware of the state or local government offering training programs for small businesses.

The Gem State earned an 'A+' overall, edging out Texas for the top spot. This ranking was achieved despite it ranking sixth-worst nationwide for the cost of hiring a new employee.

As I browsed the link, www.thumbtack.com/survey, I saw two comments from Bonneville County business owners. I think they're worth sharing.

“It requires basic licensing and liability insurance, which is fairly easy to comply with. Only in the recent few years have contractors been required to have a state license and be insured. At first, some complained about this requirement, but what it has done is minimize the "fly-by-night" businesses who weren't reputable, and it has given clients more security when hiring a contractor.”

— Home builder, Bonneville

“Anyone with little or no training at all can start a business here. Hell, you don't even have to speak, read or write English. In the retail business, all you have to do is rent a location, and pay the sales tax collected; that's it! Knowledge of what you sell or the service that you perform is non-existent here. It's a right-to-work state. In the service industry or construction industry, just slap a sign on your truck and you are in business. Handymen with no formal training are considered general contractors and can build whatever they want without proper training, guidance, or knowledge of the construction code, if there is one. There is no union, no journeyman and have very little inspections if any. That includes the health department for food service. If you own a restaurant, you will be lucky if the health department inspects you once every two years. Shameful! In my profession, as a tree service, if you have a craftsman, chainsaw, and a pick-up truck with a trailer, you are considered a bonafide tree service. If you can start the saw or a handyman, you are now a certified arborist, no joke! I spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in training and safety for my people to no avail; the only satisfaction I receive is knowing that while they are working for me, the job will be done right, and safely.”

— Arborist, Bonneville

Sno Shack expands to six locations, plans rebranding



Sno Shack will have six locations in the Idaho Falls area this summer.

Aside from local golfers, nobody could be more pleased by the mild spring weather than Preston Walker, now in his eighth year of selling shaved ice in the Idaho Falls area.

Walker started Sno Shack -- which he plans to rebrand this summer as SnOgo -- while he was in college. "It did better than we thought it would," he said. "We found a little niche."

Walker said he has seen other shaved ice businesses come and go, but what's kept him in business is the consistency of his product and speed of service. "I harp on the texture of the ice," he said. "It has to be soft but not mushy. We hate to tell anyone we're out of flavors. If our customers are happy, they keep coming back."

The first summer, Sno Shack had one location. This year there will be six, with two new stands, both in Ammon -- one at the northeast corner of Hitt and Sunnyside, the other on 17th Street next to Ace Hardware.

Walker will have nearly 45 part-time employees this summer, the majority of them high school- and college-age girls.

Sno Shack offers nearly 80 flavors, plus toppings that include cream from Reed's Dairy. Walker guessed that he will be mixing at least 75 gallons of sugar water a week between now and mid-September, when they typically shut down.

"It's a lot of work, all day, every day," he said. "But we treat it like a real business. We would like to perfect it to the point where we can franchise it."

Sno Shack is open Monday through Thursday from 2 to 9 p.m., Friday from 2 to 10 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Once the school year is over, weekday hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. This is also the first year they will be taking credit cards.

For those of you who can't let go of the idea of Trader Joe's ...

We managed to stir up some excitement last fall after reporting that a mysterious "specialty grocery store" had called the city of Idaho Falls' assistant planning director Brad Cramer about our area. Who could it be? By far, the biggest number of wishful thinkers said they wanted to see Trader Joe's come to town.

We spoke to Trader Joe's at the time and they told us they planned 18 months in advance. There were no plans for a store in Idaho Falls in that window. That means you'll have to get your Two-Buck Chuck from your friends or relations or hit the road for California, which is never a bad idea.

Nothing has changed since then, but for those of you who can't let go I want to offer you this link I found: http://www.traderjoes.com/stores/coming-soon.asp.

And here's a link to a review of the best and worst of Trader Joe's, which I found entertaining: http://www.thedailymeal.com/best-and-worst-products-trader-joes/4472/comment/reply/21182?utm_source=Outbrain

Bowl-ero gets new owners, plans to reopen May 20

The front door at Bowl-ero Lanes, 670 First Street, Idaho Falls.

Bowl-ero Lanes, closed since the end of April, will be reopening May 20 with different owners but the same management.

Pat Verhoff, who has managed the center at 670 First Street for the past five years, said the closing had to do with an auction sale related to the former owners, MicroInvest LLC, of Layton, Utah. There was anauction last Wednesday at Alliance Title, and when no bids were entered the 24-lane facility became the property of Stonefield Inc., LLC, a mortgage broker in Sparks, Nev.

Stonefield also owns the Wild Island Family Adventure Park in Reno, a complex that includes bowling, water slides, laser tag, go-karts, miniature golf, a bar and cafe (Web site: www.wildisland.com).

Verhoff said the new owners have big ideas about expanding beyond bowling, because the old idea of bowling as blue collar pastime no longer holds true. A report issued last year by the White Hutchinston Leisure & Learning Group, "What's Happening to Bowling?" turns a lot of preconceived notions upside down. Some key points:

• League bowling used to generate about 70 percent of a bowling center's business. It now generates only about 40 percent, and is continuing to decline.
• Bowling has become a white-collar pastime, and 46 percent of all bowlers are girls and women. In 2007, 42 percent of bowlers had household incomes of $75,000 or higher, compared to just 30 percent of the total U.S. population. More than 25 percent of bowlers came from households with $100,000 or higher incomes, compared to only 18 percent of all U.S. households.
• More than one-third of all children 6 and older bowled in 2007. That participation rate is 80 percent greater than the average for all age groups. The next highest participation rate is with young adults up to age 34. The 6 to 34 age group contains two-thirds of all bowlers.
• Bowling faces a challenge from virtual bowling at home, particularly the Nintendo Wii video game system. While the lacks the excitement of the real experience, the in-home game offers a social experience with family or friends at a much more affordable price.

Idaho Falls has very active leagues and Bowl-ero, which opened in 1961, has loyal longtime bowlers. Nevertheless, successful bowling centers in the future are likely to be upscale and diversified. The White Hutchinson report's conclusion:

"(We) find the demand for bowling is elastic, based upon the quality, atmosphere and presentation of bowling. The more centers that match the tastes and values of upscale consumers, the more those consumers will come out to bowl. Think about it. Would you want to spend time in one of those smoky, stodgy, dark prehistoric bowling alleys offering food less appealing than what you find at the State Fair? Of course not. Introduce a new, contemporary bowling center in that same market, and open-play bowling attendance will suddenly shoot up."

To read the full report, follow this link: http://www.whitehutchinson.com/leisure/articles/whats-happening-to-bowling.shtml

My mortgage company, my Ally, in more ways than one

Let me get this straight: As an American taxpayer, I own a stake in Ally Financial, formerly GMAC, which also happens to be the company to which I make monthly mortgage payments.

If I miss my mortgage payment (and I never have), I get harassed on the phone and my credit rating goes in the toilet.

If Ally Financial's mortgage unit, ResCap, misses a $20 million payment like it did in mid-April, it is in "asset protection mode" and "depositors and creditors seem relatively unfazed," according to today's New York Times.

The story concludes, "Given the ties between ResCap and its parent company, Ally will almost certainly have to write a check to escape this mess. The only question is how big that check will have to be."

Begging the Times reporter's pardon, but I have another question: As an Ally customer (through no choice of my own; my mortgage was bundled and sold to Ally) and a putative shareholder in the company, how am I going to get the shaft? Because if there's one thing I know it's that foul smelly stuff (and you know what I'm talking about) always flows downhill.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/business/troubled-mortgage-unit-threatens-ally-financial.html?hp