You know how much a bad hire can cost you. So it makes sense to look into avoiding that situation in the first place. Part of that process is checking references. Used correctly, a reference can give you a snap shot of the candidate’s previous track record. However, in these litigious times, getting an actual recommendation or reference is much harder. These days, previous employers will stick to the facts that YOU provide to them.

As the new year approaches, it seems natural that goals should be in the front of our minds. We aren’t talking about new year’s resolutions, though. A goal is a written statement of what you want to achieve by a set point in time. New Year’s resolutions don’t usually work that way, do they?When you set your goals, remember they must be S-M-A-R-T:S pecific. You should describe your goals specifically. For example, I want to increase my business revenue by $1M in 2000 rather than I want to increase fees.Measurable. Your goal should be measurable.

Professional services firm consolidator Century Business Services announced today a year long effort to consolidate its offices in markets where multiple CBIZ offices exist.CBIZ will initially consolidate 10 of its largest markets where the Company has acquired multiple companies over the past three years, including its BIZ Centers in Washington DC, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Kansas City, Colorado, Northern and Southern California, Cleveland, Chicago, and Texas.

You don’t want to fire an employee, especially in this tight labor market, but sometimes you have to do it. Lots of things may cross your mind including a possible law suit or revenge by the employee. The best way to protect yourself and your firm is to document all of your actions and provide a forum for the employee to “have the last word,” so to speak.

Have you ever thought how creative salespeople need to be? Creativity is the process for coming up with new ideas. Why do salespeople need new ideas? Solving customer problems, finding applications for products, meeting customer needs, addressing competition, prospecting for new customers, and on and on. Knowing that you need to be creative and being creative are two different things.

Continuing Professional Education (CPE) is something that always looms over CPAs from year to year. Now, an online learning community offers benefits that will make CPE headaches a thing of the past. Yipinet LLC is a one stop destination for CPE.For those of you who are a reporting nightmare, the site will keep track of both your online and offline CPE for you. Yipinet also allows you to “try before you buy.” You may try the first part of any course and decide to buy later.

Here’s an idea. Treat different customers differently and give each of them a powerful incentive to buy more today and return tomorrow to buy again. This is the thinking behind the Peppers and Rogers Group’s unique methodology of leveraging technology and their upcoming “1 to 1” Institute.The five day seminar will be held January 16 – 20, 2000 at the Prudential Center for Learning and Innovation in Norwalk, CT.

If you are like me, you love all the technological gadgets that are on the market, but you hate reading all the techno mumbo jumbo that comes in a neatly folded pamphlet in every box. Enter ZDNet’s Quick Start 2000 Guides. I don’t want to fawn, but this is the best thing since sliced bread for those of you who hate wading through tons of info before getting to the “fun” of your new toy.The Quick Start Guides offer helpful hints for set up and troubleshooting.

Avoid the perils of a frustrating and disastrous system crash by backing up your Internet bookmarks as faithfully as you do (or should do) your computer's hard drive. If you use Internet Explorer 4.x and 5.x, hit [Ctrl+B] to open the "Organize Favorites" window. Right click on a "favorites" folder and choose "Send to" and save the folder to a backup disk. If you use Netscape Navigator 4.x, hit [Ctrl+B] to open the "Bookmarks" window. Select the "File" menu and choose "Save as." Save the bookmark.htm file to a backup disk.