If there’s one phrase that can inspire patriotism, it’s the American Dream. That concept was defined by James Truslow Adams as being the “dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” The pursuit of this dream has driven the American people for generations, and recently, it has driven them directly into ABC’s Shark Tank.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Business in America has changed drastically in recent years. At a time when business idols are college drop outs who built companies from their garagesand Silicon Valley is a household name (and a tv show!), the goal of entrepreneurship has trumped all. The idea of rising through the ranks of your company has been surpassed by fast-paced success stories about startups improving and conquering old industries in record amounts of time (looking at you, Uber). This shifting business environment paired with the underlying hope to be the next overnight million-dollar company is what makes Shark Tank so interesting.
AUGUST 12, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12, 2015, 10:42 AM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
A renaissance of sorts is taking place in downtown Ridgewood, one of many business districts to nearly bottom out during the recession born in the previous decade.
In late 2009, two years after the collapse of the once-robust housing market, The Ridgewood News identified roughly 40 vacant storefronts in the Central Business District (CBD), and a handful of others teetered financially. That was, however, as low as the times would go.
Fortunes began to change as merchants made smarter business decisions and consumer confidence grew.
“It felt like a whole different time back then, but you could sense a turnaround coming,” according to Joan Groome, executive director of the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce.
Just one year after reaching basement numbers, the amount of downtown vacancies was slashed in half. Groome had accompanied the newspaper on a walking tour of the CBD in late summer of 2010 and counted just 20 empty storefronts.
She was back out there with The Ridgewood News last week, cutting through Tuesday morning humidity to evaluate the downtown business climate on the eve of this weekend’s Summer Sidewalk Sale. During the stroll, she remarked on the business district’s recovery and the community-wide effort to improve the CBD.
Non-Accredited Equity Crowdfunding Investors Need a Path to Liquidity
Jul 27, 2015 by Scott Shane In VC & Angel Capital
PeerRealty, a real estate crowdfunding platform, recently introduced CFX, the U.S.’s first secondary market for equity crowdfunding shares. For accredited investors, this exchange will improve the liquidity of equity crowdfunding investments.
Unfortunately, only accredited investors can use the platform. Equity crowdfunding investments made by non-accredited investors remain as liquid as ice.
This lack of liquidity creates a big problem. With the implementation of the rules for Title IV of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act in June, non-accredited investors — people with less than $1 million in net worth or $200,000 in annual income if single and $300,000 if married — can now buy shares in private companies through equity crowdfunding portals.
But non-accredited investors can’t sell those same shares. Unlike accredited investors who can go to PeerRealty to sell their securities, unaccredited investors have to wait for the companies in which they have invested to go public or get acquired to cash out. And if venture capital and angel group investments are any guide to the time to exit for young companies, then these unaccredited investors will be waiting five to ten years for liquidity. Of course, that’s if the companies in which they have invested are the kind that will be purchased or go public.
Securities and Exchange Commissioner (SEC) Daniel Gallagher has recognized this problem, calling for a solution to the ill-liquidity of crowdfunding securities in a September 17, 2014, speech.
Specifically, he said, “I’ve called for the creation of ‘Venture Exchanges’: national exchanges, with trading and listing rules tailored for smaller companies, including those engaging in issuances under Regulation A.”
Congressman Scott Garrett, the New Jersey Republican who chairs the Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises of the House has taken the issue to Capitol Hill. He has put forth a discussion draft of the Main Street Growth Act (PDF) – a bill that would “amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to allow for the creation of venture exchanges to promote liquidity of venture securities, and for other purposes.”[/fusion_text]
RACEFASTER (in Bookends) 211 E. Ridgewood Ave. ribbon cutting 1pm June 20, 2015 a great fit!
GiGi’s Boutique 48 E. Ridgewood Ave. ribbon cutting 11am June 27, 2015 fashion perfect!
Interim Healthcare Tuesday, July 7, 2015 NEW ADDRESS join us 27 Chestnut Street take elevator to first floor ribbon cutting 5:30pm join the celebration!
JUNE 10, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015, 11:45 AM
BY AIMEE LA FOUNTAIN
CORRESPONDENT |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
A new subset of the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce called the Brown Bag Lunch Bunch (BBLB) has formed for women business owners.
“It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” said Ridgewood Chamber Executive Director Joan Groome of the group, which started in 2013.
The idea came about when some chamber members wanted to meet during the day because they were unavailable during regular early morning or evening hours for meetings.
“I thought, ‘This is perfect for a women’s group’ and that’s how it started,” Groome said.
Meetings take place at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Tuesdays.
The purpose of BBLB is to give Ridgewood small business owners a chance to network.
“It’s women helping women in business,” Groome said. “It’s a very dynamic group.”
Lena Antaramian, owner of Live Laugh Love Photography, specializing in children and family photos, has attended meetings for two years.
“Everyone’s energized and it’s great to see women achieving their objectives, making their dreams come true and building their businesses,” she said.
Groome estimated that about half of the members are new or experienced business owners and the rest work for various companies. They have backgrounds in many areas including healthcare, IT, financial advisement and marketing.
During meetings, the women give suggestions, help with referrals, plan events and offer encouragement.
“It’s about real situations and real concerns,” Groome said.
APRIL 29, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY MELANIE ANZIDEI
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
* More firms are for sale, but asking price is less than in 2014
More New Jersey small businesses may be on the market compared with last year, but asking prices for those businesses have declined.
A total of 1,867 small businesses in New Jersey were listed for sale during the first quarter, up from 1,801 in the same period last year, according to a quarterly report by online marketplace BizBuySell. The median asking price for the businesses, however, dropped to $265,000 this year from $269,000 in 2014, as median revenue for the companies rose to $445,778 from $420,000.
Though asking prices have fallen, business owners shouldn’t worry, according to Bob House, group general manager of BizBuySell.com.
“The decrease was only slight and shouldn’t be considered alarming,” House said in an email Tuesday. “It’s still good to see that the median revenue and cash flow of New Jersey small businesses increased slightly. These numbers indicate improving small business financial health.”
APRIL 11, 2015 LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY HUGH R. MORLEY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
* Local entrepreneurs lay out their case to be on CNBC show
Lisa Nejjar had one last weapon to wield in her effort to woo the young reality TV casting agent from the CNBC show “Shark Tank” sitting at the table in front of her.
Nejjar, a 41-year-old former nurse from Lyndhurst, had laid out on the table a dozen samples of her company’s product — a stretchy waist band called a “fusion belt” — that can hold keys, money and other items while the wearer exercises.
In fast-paced patter, she had touted her $60,000 in sales since launching the product eight months ago, her new partnership with another waistband maker, the fact that she had “sunk all my 401(k) into it”; and her three patents. She even offered the agent a couple of free samples.
“And I’m Italian and from New Jersey,” she added, alluding to the prevalence of people from that demographic in reality TV shows, and laughed a little self-consciously. “I’ve got to push.”
Nejjar won’t know for a while if she makes it onto the show, but there was no shortage of hopefuls like her at Rutgers Business School in Newark Friday, when the show held auditions for its upcoming season, its seventh.
Isn’t $80.00 a month a bit excessive? How much does a typical employee earn? Was that ever investigated or was $80.00 chosen because it sounded good?
It is bad enough that hourly parking rates have been doubled. Ridgewood may find that it’s parking problem is solved because people won’t pay those rates. (and an extra .35 cents if you use your smart phone!).
January – December 2015
Ridgewood Parking Permits – RPP
Hourly meter rates in all Village lots and streets are now $.50 per hour from 10AM to 6PM,
Monday through Saturday.
RPP – Ridgewood Parking Permit provides ‘coinless’ convenience and can be used for unlimited parking at all lots. Annual permits are issued for a calendar year to residents at a cost of $750. RPP are issued to Non Residents at a fee of $1,500 and require parking in the Cottage Place or Rt. 17 Park & Ride Lots. As in the past, you can pay by check or cash. We have added a credit card feature that will have a 3% convenience fee charged to the purchaser.
Applications are available at the Village Hall Reception Desk or by Clicking Here, Monday to Friday, 8:30AM to 4:30PM starting December 19, 2014. Applicants – residents and non residents – must show current Driver’s License and valid Vehicle Registration(s) for up to three vehicles. For flexibility, you can list 3 vehicles on a permit, but the permit can only be used by 1 car for 1 parking space at a time.
All lots including the Train Station Lot will require a free Ridgewood Commuter/Resident Parking Sticker in addition to the purchased RPP. Resident/Commuter parking stickers are issued annually for free to residents only at the Village Hall Reception Desk. This sticker confirms you are a resident.
RPP permit can be used in any metered space in lots to provide unlimited parking from the hours of 6am to 2am. They are not valid for street parking. The hangtag permit must be displayed on the rearview mirror when the vehicle is parked. RPP does not guarantee availability of a parking space.
________________________________
Central Business District Employee Permits – CBDEP
Hourly rates in all Village lots and in streets are now $.50 per hour for a maximum of 3 hours. Street and Lot meters are regulated from 10AM to 6PM, Monday through Saturday. Vehicles parking for more than 3 hours will be in violation and subject to a ticket. Repeat parking is also prohibited.
CBD employees have the opportunity to purchase CBD Employee Parking permits issued on a monthly basis. These permits provide parking in either the Ken Smith Property (at the corner of N. Broad/Chestnut and Franklin) or the Cottage Place Lot. Monthly permits are issued to employees of Central Business District businesses at a cost of $80 per month. CBDEP are reduced after the 15th of the month to $40. Permits may be purchased by check, credit card, or cash. Lost permits are not replaced.
Applications are available at the Village Hall Reception Desk or by Clicking Here, Monday to Friday, 8:30AM to 4:30PM. Applicants must document that they are employed by a Ridgewood business and show their current Driver’s License and valid Vehicle Registration (s) for up to three vehicles. For flexibility, you can list 3 vehicles on a permit, but the permit can only be used by 1 car for 1 parking space at a time.
CBDEP can be used in any space at the Ken Smith property or any metered space at Cottage Place Lots to provide unlimited parking during the hours of 6am to 2am. The hangtag permit must be displayed on the rearview mirror. CBDEP does not guarantee availability of a parking space.
Please refer to the Ridgewood Parking Guide that provides information and maps for locating parking lots in the Village at www.ridgewoodnj.net .
Obamacare Is Really Expensive for Small Businesses. Surprise!
Lousy news for growing the economy, creating jobs, and overall increasing prosperity
“Complying with the health care law is costing small businesses thousands of dollars that they didn’t have to spend before the new regulations went into effect,” reports AP business writer Joyce M. Rosenberg. This should be a surprise to exactly nobody. In general, government mandates have poor track record of making people’s lives less expensive and complicated. Specifically, businesses around the country have reported over the past year that Obamacare raised their healthcare costs and they anticipated more hikes to come. Hiring—especially of full-time employees—has taken a hit as a result.
Writes Rosenberg:
The Affordable Care Act, which as of next Jan. 1 applies to all companies with 50 or more workers, requires owners to track staffers’ hours, absences and how much they spend on health insurance. Many small businesses don’t have the human resources departments or computer systems that large companies have, making it harder to handle the paperwork. On average, complying with the law costs small businesses more than $15,000 a year, according to a survey released a year ago by the National Small Business Association.
Last summer, Federal Reserve Banks around the country surveyed businesses in their regions. In the service sector, about 82 percent of businesses told the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas that the Affordable Care Act raised costs for them in 2014; 91 percent expected increased costs in 2015.
How an ‘expensive’ N.J. community might handle town-by-town minimum wage proposal
MONTCLAIR — A township official says an Assembly proposal that would allow municipalities in New Jersey to set their own minimum wages would be plausible, and likely passable, in Montclair. But, he says he’s not convinced that it’s the most effective way to increase the minimum wage in New Jersey. (Mazolla/NJ.com)
Novo in Ridgewood bringing new tastes and flavors to North Jersey
MARCH 18, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2015, 4:01 PM
BY ESTHER DAVIDOWITZ
FOOD EDITOR |
THE RECORD
Executive chef Elie Kahlon is sitting in the elegantly subdued 74-seat dining room of Novo in Ridgewood, arguably North Jersey’s best new restaurant. In front of him is a big, plastic bag stuffed with smaller plastic bags that hold spices he had brought back from his last trip to his native country, Israel.
“I don’t like to use local spice,” said the dark-haired, olive-skinned Kahlon in heavy-accented English.
The 6-foot, 4-inch Ridgewood resident quickly opens bag after bag, sniffing and tasting what’s inside: Moroccan coriander, Middle Eastern curry, dried Persian lime, dried sumac flowers, a Mideast cinnamon-like clove, Tunisian paprika … “You see how red the paprika is,” he says, holding up its see-through bag. “It’s so much better than the paprika you can get from anywhere else.”
Many food lovers would argue that Kahlon’s food is not only better than the fare found in most North Jersey restaurants — The Record gave the five-month-old restaurant a 3 1/2-out-of-4 star review in January — but it is unlike much, if not all, food found in the area. His is a refined modern Mediterranean cuisine; think foods of the Middle East and North Africa, elevated by the use of sophisticated, most often, French cooking techniques.
He uses a Middle East open-flame oven, called a taboon, to sear and roast meats, vegetables and flatbreads; a couscoussier, an Arabic double-chambered food steamer, to make his own couscous; a dehydrating machine to produce dried-out fruits popular in Mideast dishes, including lemons, oranges and olives, which he uses to make crusts for fish or garnishes for salads.
Taxpayers on hook to fund portion of signs for CBD businesses
March 14,2015
Boyd Loving
Ridgewood NJ, As a result of Village Council approval of Resolution 15-90, Village taxpayers are now on the hook to pay a portion of the expenses associated with installing new “Wayfinding” signs in the Village’s Central Business District (CBD). The “Wayfinding signs are intended to direct pedestrians to businesses located on side streets off of East Ridgewood Avenue in the CBD.
Estimated construction expenses to be paid by taxpayers for additional poles to hold the signs are between $6K – $9K.
Village of Ridgewood employees will also be responsible for the installation of each new sign. Taxpayers will be reimbursed $25 per installed sign by the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce (including reimbursement for previously installed signs). The Chamber collects an annual “maintenance fee” from each sign owner, as well as a fee for the signs themselves. 36 signs have been sold to date, this according to the Chamber’s president, Paul Vagianos.
No explanation was offered to the public as to why taxpayers needed to provide funding if installation and annual maintenance fees are being collected by the Chamber. Nor was any explanation offered as to why a private contractor could not be hired to install the signs (as is done in Montclair).
Additionally, no review of the sign project was undertaken by the Historic Preservation Commission nor the Planning Board, and questions regarding ownership of the signs as it pertains to liability insurance coverage in the event of an injury caused by a sign defect were left unanswered (during the Council meeting at which the resolution was passed).
Here’s the full text of Resolution 15-90:
Res. No. 15-90
RESOLUTION NO. 15-90
WHEREAS, the Village of Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce continues to strive to enhance the public’s knowledge of the various stores on the side streets in the Central Business District by means of the installation of”wayfinding” signs at various intersections; and
WHEREAS, each proposed wayfinding sign, identifing the various businesses, would be a plaque no larger than approximately 6 to 8 inches tall and no more than 24 inches in length affixed to a pole at the approved intersection locations, with no more than 8 plaques per designated pole or no more than 4 plaques per PSE&G decorative streetlight pole location, while maintaining a vertical clearance of 84 inches from the sidewalk; and
WHEREAS, the Chamber is seeking approval for additional locations for designated poles for wayfinding signs, in accordance with the location sketch presented to the Village Council.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood that it approves the installation of wayfinding signs at the various locations along East Ridgewood Avenue, in the Central Business District, to direct patrons to the various businesses on the listed side streets; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Village Council agrees to install the concrete bases for the new designated poles for no more than 4 locations, have the Village Traffic and Signal Division install the designated poles on the new bases for no more than 4 locations; have the Traffic and Signal Division install new sign plates for a $25.00 per plaque fee paid by the Chamber of Commerce; have the Traffic and Signal Division perform an annual sign plaque maintenance which would remove any invalid sign plaques for a $25.00 per plaque fee to be paid for by the Chamber of Commerce; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce agrees that they will purchase the designated poles in the color black, without a globe, matching the existing PSE&G decorative streetlight poles for the wayfinding signs; agrees to have installed no more than 8 sign plaques on designated poles, and no more than 4 sign plaques on PSE&G decorative streetlight poles; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the Village Council of the Village of Ridgewood agrees to authorize the Village Manager to approve any subsequent locations for wayfinding signs in the Central Business District, upon review and approval by the Village’s Engineering Division and Public Safety Departments.
MARCH 11, 2015 LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY MELANIE ANZIDEI
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
* Up to $1 million could be raised for a start-up through small pledges
Small businesses and start-ups in New Jersey soon may have another avenue for reaching investors.
Legislation approved by the Assembly on Monday would enable emerging small businesses and start-ups to find investors through crowdfunding, a technique very much like an online fundraiser. The bill defines the process as the financing of a business venture using the Internet to raise small amounts of money from a larger number of investors.
The legislation, which passed 75-0 with one abstention, would allow businesses to invite small investors to offer capital through a pledge. Once pledges for a project reached a predetermined limit, the businesses would move forward with the funding. The funds will be released only if the target amount is reached.
To Mario Casabona, founder and chief executive officer of Tech Launch — a technology start-up accelerator in Clifton — crowdfunding offers an alternative way for start-ups to gain access to capital.
“It’s a good thing for entrepreneurs,” enabling more investors to fund a business, he said in a phone interview Tuesday. But, he added, “it doesn’t make it easier.”
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Biz bankruptcies decline in Bergen and Passaic counties
JANUARY 29, 2015 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 29, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY HUGH R. MORLEY
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
* Business filings in Bergen, Passaic at lowest since 2007
A decline in the number of business bankruptcies in Bergen and Passaic counties from 2013 to 2014 has left New Jersey with its lowest level of business bankruptcy since the recession started at the end of 2007, federal figures show.
Business bankruptcies fell by 13 percent in Bergen and 30 percent in Passaic, according to figures released by the U.S. District Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey. Figures for the state show the business bankruptcy level as a whole nearly the same in 2014 as it was the previous year.
Figures for the state and the two counties now show there were fewer bankruptcies in 2014 than at any time since 2007, the year the recession began in December.
The number of consumer bankruptcies provides a less positive picture, however. Although Bergen, Passaic and New Jersey as a whole saw a fall in the number of consumer bankruptcies, they remain well above the 2007 figure.
Bankruptcy attorneys differed in their assessment of what the data say about the economy, and what is driving the figures.
