Membership Application

Thank you for your interest in joining the Valley Referral Network.  Please Click on the application PDF link below , print it out, fill it out, and email it back to us.  We promise to get back to you very quickly.

vrn-membership-application

As a small business owner, do I really need a PEO?

This is a great question.  but first we need to answer the question that some of you are asking, like, what is a PEO?
What is a PEO?

• A professional employer organization (PEO) is a company that contractually assumes and manages critical human resource and personnel responsibilities and employer risks for its small to mid-sized businesses by establishing and maintaining an employer relationship with the employees.
• Are PEOs recognized as employers?
  PEOs operate in all fifty of the United States. Twenty-three states provide some form of specific licensing, registration, or regulation for PEOs. Many states statutorily recognize PEOs as the employer or co-employer of work site employees for purposes of workers’ compensation and state unemployment insurance taxes. The IRS has long accepted the right of a PEO to withhold and remit federal income and unemployment taxes for the employees. The IRS has promulgated specific guidance confirming the authority of PEOs to provide retirement benefits to workers.
• What is the difference between employee leasing and a PEO arrangement?
  The major distinction is that a leasing or staffing service supplies new workers on a temporary or project specific basis. These leased employees return to the staffing service for reassignment after completion of their work at the client. Some would define employee leasing as a supplemental, temporary employment arrangement where one or more workers are assigned to a customer for a fixed period of time, often for a specific project. This concept creates little long-term equity or investment between the worker and customer (much like leasing a car for two years and knowing that you are using it for a specific need but not building any long-term equity).A PEO arrangement, however, involves all or a significant number of the employees in a long-term, non-project related, employment relationship. The PEO assumes employer responsibility for employment tax, health and retirement benefit plans, and other human resource purposes. Through the use of a PEO relationship, client companies make a long-term investment in the employees, because in most cases, the PEO provides access to health benefits and/or insurance, retirement savings plans, and other critical employee benefits for their employees. In the event a PEO relationship is terminated, the employees will cease to work for the PEO, thus becoming employees of the client.

Next week we will answer the question about what is the difference between employee leasing ans a PEO arrangement.

If you have questions, please feel free to call Payroll Solutions at 702.256.3748.  Be sure and ask for me, Eli Alper.  In the mean time, check out the video below.

May I shed a little energy saving light on your Business Plan?

Lighting sales is not an industry many people know much about.   Some architects, (NOT ALL) who are responsible for construction projects, sometimes pay very little attention to what Lighting sales people feel is one of the most important aspects of a project.  No matter how beautiful, the architecture can not be seen without light.

DECOLights, Inc. is dedicated to providing the right product for your lighting project.  We specialize in hospitality, commercial, retrofit, and high-end residential lighting.

The fastest developing segment in the lighting business is commercial retrofit.  Retrofit meaning replacing antiquated lighting systems with today’s technology.  Today’s lighting systems are much like computers where the most important part of the systems is surpassed and outdated within a year of purchasing the original construction lighting package.

Today we are helping most major facilities in Southern Nevada look in to their lighting technologies as a way to lower their yearly out of pocket expense.  From parking garage lights, recessed down lights, surface fluorescents, outdoor parking lot & roadway lighting DECOLights has a product that in most cases can lower your lighting load by more than 50% resulting in 1 YEAR PAYBACK or less…. and yes sometimes even for FREE!!

We have come up with a proprietary retrofit parking garage package that, when combined with local rebates and incentives, have a payback schedule of less than one month.  Sometimes even immediate!  Immediate means no out of pocket expense to the end user.  In the end the end user ends up with a free or pennies on the dollar lighting system that does as good a job or better than the previous antiquated systems.

If you have a Metal Halide parking garage luminare you are throwing away your money!  Call DECOLights and we will evaluate your existing system to come up with a retrofit that will have a payback that you can live with and with local rebates possibly even for free!

The “low hanging fruit”:

If you currently have any of the systems below currently installed in your facility we offer an easy retrofit plan for you that takes virtually no work to install other than what you normally would do to replace them when they burn out.

Do you have MR16 lights anywhere in your space?

This unit typically burns 37-75W at every location!!!

Let us change them to a 1w, 3w, 4.5w MR16 LED or retrofit fixture that best fits the application.  Average payback 12 months or less!

Do you have A19, G25, G40, PAR16, PAR20, PAR30, PAR38 lamps?     These units burn on average 50-150 per location

Let us change them to a 3w, 7w, 10w PAR LED or retrofit fixture that best fits the application.  Average payback 18 months or less!

Have a metal halide fixture in your parking garage?

Call DECOLights to see if we can retrofit with our proprietary retrofit that typically results in zero out of pocket expense or less than a 6 month payback.

Derek Duncan
www.decolightsinc.com
4290 Cameron St. #1
Las Vegas, NV 89103
derekd@decolightsinc.com
702-467-8924 Cell
702-257-8075 Phone
877-702-DECO (3326) Fax

How can I save money with my business insurance?

How can I save money with my business insurance?

1 – Shop around – check with direct writers AND independent agents. Direct writers such as American Family, State Farm, Allstate, Farmers can typically only write in their respective family of insurance companies. Independent insurance agents represent multiple insurance carriers (examples: The Hartford, Chubb Insurance, C N A Insurance, Zurich, Travelers, EMC Insurance, etc). Make sure that the agents are licensed for products that they are selling by contacting your state insurance division. Ask for referrals from friends, other businesses and networking groups such as the www.valleyreferralnetwork.com . The insurance marketplace is very dynamic and changes rapidly. One insurance carrier can come in with a low premium one year and be the highest the next.

2 – Understand your insurance policies – no one wants to do this but it must be done. Review your current insurance policies. Understand what the insurance policy is designed to cover. (THERE IS NO INSURANCE POLICY THAT COVERS EVERYTHING) Review what your limits are. Review exclusions, terms, endorsements, etc. Find out how the premium is derived. Is it payroll? Is it gross receipts? Number of jobs? Number of employees? It could be a combination of all of the above or something else. Your policy should clearly state how the premium is calculated. Understanding this and making adjustments to your policy in the middle of term can adjust your current payment schedule and can help alleviate audit issues upon policy expiration.

3 – Communicate with your insurance agent – insurance agents do not have a crystal ball or magic wand that tells them what your concerns or issues are. Discuss, in detail, what you wish to do with the insurance coverage. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Insurance is very complicated, can be intimidating and (quite frankly) boring. That is what the agent is there for. Many issues can be resolved before they turn into problems by communicating with your insurance agent.

Business Insurance Introduction, or “The pooling of fortuitous losses…” Huh?

Business Insurance Introduction

Insurance, defined by Principles of Risk Management and Insurance (1995) by George E. Rejada is “the pooling of fortuitous losses by transfer of such risks to insurers, who agree to indemnify insureds for such losses, to provide other pecuniary benefits on their occurrence, or to render services connected with the risk.”

Huh?

Essentially, insurance is a pooling of risks. The “pool” is used to pay for bodily injury or property damage claims that one of the members in the pool may cause to others (along with costs associated with that claim). You pay the insurance carriers (premium) to pay for the losses. So you are your brother’s keeper.

Do I “really” need insurance?

YES – some insurance polices are mandated by the state, such as, auto insurance or workers compensation. Others may not be required by the state, but may be required by other businesses that you work with or for. Here are examples of a few of the commercial insurance products available.

-          General Liability

-          Property Insurance (inventory, buildings, office equipment, etc)

-          Business Income Insurance

-          Crime & Fidelity

-          Commercial Automobile Liability

-          Employment Practices Liability

-          Professional Liability

-          Errors & Omission Coverage

-          Malpractice Insurance

-          Directors & Officers Insurance

-          Course of Construction policies

-          Lessors Risk Coverage

-          Business Owners Packages

-          Umbrella Insurance

-          Life Insurance

-          Health Insurance

-          Vision and Dental Insurance

-          Disability Insurance

-          Long Term Care

-          Etc. Etc. Etc.

What is one to do?

Get an insurance agent. Ask around and get referrals from other businesses or friends. Make sure that the agent is licensed and has experience in the areas of insurance that you need. (Property & Casualty or Life & Health) My recommendation is to check with a couple of direct writers (such as American Family Insurance, State Farm or Allstate) AND with and independent insurance agent.

What is an independent insurance agent?

Independent insurance agents represent multiple insurance companies. They can evaluate your risks, offer you a variety of coverage choices and help customize an insurance plan that provides you with the protection you want. Go to www.TrustedChoice.com or www.iiaba.org to find an independent agent near you.

If you want to discuss your Insurance needs, please feel free to stop by my website or call me.  And thanks for reading.

www.kandyins.com

JJ Yenchek

Kellogg & Yenchek

Insurance Services

9065 South Pecos Road

Suite 120

Henderson, NV  89074

Tel: 702-384-6601

Fax: 702-384-4043

How is Las Vegas Really Doing?

Economy at a Glance – November 2008

How is Las Vegas doing?  With all of the economic gloom and doom, we need to hit the pause button for a minute and see what the numbers really say about the Las Vegas Economy.

Housing & Real Estate
Existing home closings continued to rise in October and were more than double the closings from October 2007.

Prices on existing homes did drop, but only slightly to $184,000. Existing home inventory is well below last year with 21,130 available listings – an estimated seven month supply.

SalesTraq

Tourism
Visitors to Las Vegas totaled more than 2.9 million in September. Although that represents a 10.1% decrease over 2007, year-to-date numbers are down only 2.5%.

Tourist occupied room nights are up 5% for the year.
Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority

AAA announced its latest Five Diamond Award® winners. Las Vegas is second only to Chicago in number of Five Diamond restaurants.

• Restaurant Guy Savoy in Caesars Palace
• Picasso in Bellagio
• Le Cirque in Bellagio
  
• Alex in Wynn Las Vegas
• Joël Robuchon at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino

Five local hotels also received this coveted award

• The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino
  
• Skylofts at MGM Grand Hotel
• Wynn Las Vegas
• Bellagio
• Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas

The Michelin Guide Las Vegas awarded Joël Robuchon its highest honors with three stars in its 2009 edition. Alex, Restaurant Guy Savoy and Picasso were each awarded two stars.

Retail

Taxable goods sold in Nevada increased 3.1% to $4.05 billion in August, primarily due to the governor’s tax amnesty program. Without the amnesty program, sales would have declined 3.6%.
Nevada Department of Taxation

Air Traffic
The total passenger count at McCarran in September was 3.37 million, down 13.2% over last year.

Despite air traffic declines, numbers for international scheduled flights at Terminal 2 are up 5.7% for the year.
Clark County Department of Aviation

Business & Employment
Unemployment in Nevada was 7.6% in October, with the rate in Las Vegas slightly lower at 7.5%. The total labor force in the Las Vegas market has increased 5.4% since last year, and total employment is up 2.6%.
Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation

Gaming
Statewide gaming win totaled just over $1 billion in September, down 5.4%.

Clark County numbers declined 2.9% to $853.5 million, the highest monthly total since March.
Nevada Gaming Control Board

Population & Market Growth
More than 5,600 new movers came to Clark County in October.

Although the county’s population decreased by about 10,000 people in the past year to 1,986,146, Clark County is expected to see a 54% growth rate in the next twenty years.
Department of Motor Vehicles, Clark County, & Nevada State Demographer’s Office

Is there any way to find a good Auto Mechanic?

There are few things I hate worse than buying a car.  Well I can think of a few.  Like going to the dentist or opening mail from the IRS.  But the thing I dislike about buying any product or service is that I often feel like I am being taken advantage of.  And when that happens, I come away with the feeling that it is costing me money.  That is the way I am with computers.  I know where the on/off switch is, but little else.  I use to be a school teacher and I must admit, my students answered my email.  If my computer needs work, I am at the mercy of a young person with a pocket protector and acne to fix it.  I sit nearby praying for 3 things.  Don’t screw up my computer worse than it already is, and if possible, please actually fix the problem without creating a new one… oh yea, and when it is all over and done with, please don’t take advantage of my ignorance and over charge me.

Perhaps you have felt this way about a product or service you have purchased.

The other day a customer came into my shop and her opening statement went something like this.  “I need to get my car repaired, but because I don’t know what is wrong with it, and don’t know what it should cost to fix the ailment, I am pretty sure I am going to get screwed.  But, how do I keep that from happening?” (Do you suppose that is what the woman in the picture below is wondering?)

This customer was basically saying she was at the mercy of my good will… or bad will as the case may be.  The advice I gave her comes from ehow.com along with my take on how we do business in parentheses.

Step1

Find a mechanic you feel good about before you car needs major repairs. Ask friends and co-workers for referrals. (We gladly provide a list of customers for you to call.  Most of our business comes from referrals of past satisfied customers.)

Step2

Bring your car into any new shop first for small repairs like an oil change or a brake check and evaluate the overall service they give you.  (We offer introductory discounts for oil changes, and our brake evaluations are free.  We do that because we know that if you give us a chance to serve you in small ways, you will trust us when your car really needs our help)

Step3

Bring a check list of what your car needs (and why) whenever dropping your car off. Avoid bringing your car in and asking them to “do whatever it needs”.  (We never do any work on your car that you don’t ask for.  However, if we see something that may need attention in the future, we are happy to bring that to your attention)

Step4

Talk to the mechanic who will be working on your car. Go for a test drive beforehand and clearly explain and point out the problem. (Our mechanics are on a first name basis with our customers.  We like it that way, and I am confident you will too)

Step5

Get a second opinion if you feel uncomfortable with any diagnosis. It is perfectly acceptable to tow your car to a second shop for another opinion if it isn’t drivable. (we’ll even tow it there for you)

Step6

Request a written estimate. (we don’t touch it until you know in writing exactly what it is going to cost, and we guarantee the price as well as our work)

Step7

Ask about the warranty for parts AND labor on any repairs and get it in writing. (some shops only warrantee parts.  We warrantee both.  Why settle for anything less?)

Step8

Request that your parts be saved for your inspection. Ask before the work begins. (we make them when we take them out of your car, and show them to you when you return)

Step9

Go for a test drive before paying the bill to make sure the car drives well and/or was fixed to your satisfaction. (Duh!)

Step10

Read the bill carefully before paying. Ask for clarification on any charges that don’t make sense to you.  (we take whatever time is necessary to answer any questions you may have about the bill and we explain it in detail.)

Step11

Pay with a check or a credit card: you can always stop payment on a check and some credit cards offer protection against consumer fraud. (This is good advice, but we accept visa and MasterCard as well for your convenience)

Want to check us out before you trust with your car?  Come by for a cup of Joe and a tour of our facility.  We are proud of our reputation and our facility.   Hundreds of people consider us their trusted neighborhood auto mechanic.  We look forward to becoming yours too.  See ya soon