Archive for the ‘Business’ Category

Kalispell Mail-Processing Center to Close Next Year

By JUSTIN FRANZ - The United States Postal Service mail-sorting will be moved to Missoula by March 2013.... more

Why I’m Anti-Antivirus

By COLIN STONER - As an IT Director for over eight years, I’ve seen most types of viruses out there. Early in my career, I decided to abandon antivirus software. ... more

Missoula Job Service Featured Jobs of the Week

Each week, Make It Missoula posts local listings from the Missoula Job Service. This week's job listings are for a Paralegal, a Nutrition Coach, and a Physical Therapist.... more

Missoula Job Service Featured Listing: September 20

Every week, Make It Missoula will post featured local job listings from the Missoula Job Service. Today's listing is an Executive Director for a non-profit group home.... more

Balancing Out the Montana “Mountain Tax”

By JENNIFER LODINE-CHAFFEY - Many Montanans talk about the “mountain tax” to describe the wage gap between here and other states. But it really does balance out.... more

Missoula Job Service Featured Listing: September 17

Every week, Make It Missoula will post featured local job listings from the Missoula Job Service. Today's is a Case Manager/Match Support Specialist at a civic agency.... more

Missoula Job Service Featured Listing: September 13

Every week, Make It Missoula will post featured local job listings from the Missoula Job Service. Today's listing is for an Outreach Coordinator at a Missoula non-profit organization.... more

Missoula Job Service Featured Listing: September 10

Every week, Make It Missoula will post featured local job listings from the Missoula Job Service. Today's listing is for a part-time teller at a Missoula community bank.... more

The Missoula Job Service: Helping Local Businesses

By JENNIFER LODINE-CHAFFEY - In addition to helping Missoulians find work, the Missoula Job Service offers services to support local businesses, like Submittable.... more

Missoula Job Service Featured Listing: September 6

Every week, Make It Missoula will post featured local job listings from the Missoula Job Service. Today's listing is for an entry-level Technology Consultant job.... more

Missoula Job Service Featured Listing: September 3

Every week, Make It Missoula will post featured local job listings from the Missoula Job Service. Today's listing is full-time Glass Technician.... more

Missoula Job Service Featured Listing: August 30

Every week, Make It Missoula will post featured local job listings from the Missoula Job Service. Today's listing is full-time Assistant Network Administrator.... more

Missoula Job Service Featured Listing: August 27

Every week, Make It Missoula will post featured local job listings from the Missoula Job Service. Today's listing is a part-time Floor Counselor at a women's fitness center.... more

Missoula Job Service Featured Listing: August 23

Every week, Make It Missoula will post featured local job listings from the Missoula Job Service. Today's listing is a GIS Specialist for a GPS mapping company.... more

Missoula Job Service Featured Listing: August 21

Every week, Make It Missoula will post featured local job listings from the Missoula Job Service. Today's listing is a Medical Biller/Accounts Receivable Representative.... more

The Economic Impact of Missoula’s Saturday Markets

By JENNIFER LODINE-CHAFFEY - In addition to creating a vibrant community, there are a number of economic benefits to supporting Missoula's farmers' markets.... more

Missoula Job Service Featured Listing: August 6

Every Monday and Thursday, Make It Missoula will post a featured local job listing from the Missoula Job Service. Today's listing is a Housekeeping Manager Position.... more

How to Use Social Media to Help Your Job Search

By JENNIFER LODINE-CHAFFEY - While social media can be a very effective tool in your job search it can also threaten your odds of finding employment. ... more

Keep Your Home Safe from Wildfire

It’s that time of year again. Here are some tips to safeguard you, your family and your home from a wildfire. ... more

10 Heavenly Montana Hikes West of the Continental Divide

By BRIAN D'AMBROSIO - Nothing inspires like a heart-pounding hike into Montana's high country. Put these ten picks for memorable hikes on your Montana bucket list!... more

Keeping Your Home Safe and Secure During Vacation

Each year, there are more than 2.15 million burglaries, over 65 percent of which are residential break-ins, with the majority occurring in the peak vacation months of July and August.... more

Exploring the Teller National Wildlife Refuge

By BRIAN D'AMBROSIO - Teller National Wildlife Refuge, with its 1,200 acres of tranquil beauty in the Bitterroot Valley near Corvallis, is Montana’s only private refuge. ... more

A Preview of IdeaMensch in Missoula: IM48 LA Recap

By COLIN STONER - I was in LA for IdeaMensch's IM48 kickoff on Monday, and got a sneak peek of the entrepreneurial event coming our way next Friday in Missoula.... more

Dashing Explorer Skip Horner, a Montana Original

By BRIAN D'AMBROSIO - After 30 years as an adventure travel guide, Skip Horner, the first guide to take clients to all 7 continents, scoffs at the notion of retirement.... more

IdeaMensch in Missoula: Bring Your Entrepreneurial Ideas to Life

By COLIN STONER - Entrepreneurs are dreamers, but there's a fine line between dream and reality. On July 13, IdeaMensch will be in Missoula to help bring ideas to life.... more

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: The Life and Business of Upholsterer Lance Hartley

By BRIAN D'AMBROSIO - At Lance Hartley’s Missoula shop, there's no team, no business plan, no collaborators. He's built a business on his customer base and reputation.... more

It’s the Right Time to Buy…for Some!

We’ve heard the phrase, “It’s a good time to buy,” but what does that really mean? With interest rates under 4%, it’s important that consumers consider the COST of a home and not just the Price.... more

The Dreaded “C” Word

By COLIN STONER - Even though I despise the word "cloud," some amazing things have happened in the tech world since it started appearing in daily conversations.... more

New Housing Trends Show a Rebound

There are mixed messages in terms of real estate growth and an economic recovery, but home sale trends and low mortgage rates, point to a housing turnaround.... more

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

By COLIN STONER - How do you spend almost a decade amassing 900 million friends, only to lose them overnight? You take your company public.... more

Missoula Organization of Realtors Reviews 2011

The Missoula Organization of Realtors reviews 2011 to include number of sales, median home prices, and average days on the market for Missoula County homes.... more

Advancing Beyond the Missoula Lifestyle Business

By COLIN STONER - As entrepreneurs and business owners in Missoula, we fall into the lifestyle business category quite often. Question is, how do you move beyond it?... more

Business is Personal: What’s a Core Story?

By MARK RIFFEY - One of the more common things you'll see from a business that's differentiating themselves using things other than price is their use of a unique selling proposition (USP), and a "core story" t... more

The Most Expensive Advertising Ever

By MARK RIFFEY. Are you wasting those carefully planned advertising investments? The most expensive investment we can make is one that's wasted.... more

Coal Trains Cause Concern for Missoula Citizens

By MARK BOATMAN - As more coal trains run through Missoula from the Powder River Basin, some citizens are voicing concern over increased pollution and noise.... more

Firm Ground: Black Coffee Makes Its Mark in Missoula

By DILLON KATO - Black Coffee Roasting Company, started in 2010 by Matt McQuilkin and Jim Chapman, has been carving a niche in Missoula's gourmet coffee world.... more

Homeword Aims to Change the Image of Affordable Housing

By ANDREW FISHER - Homeword, a Missoula non-profit, wants to change the image of affordable housing by creating sustainable, community-oriented buildings.... more

Local Vitamin Manufacturer Reaches Global Markets

By JON TWEETEN - In an inconspicuous building on Third Street, Nutritional Laboratories International makes supplements and vitamins that are sold all over the world.... more

Missoula Restaurant Owners & Chefs: Bob Zimorino of Red Pies Over Montana

In the latest installment of the Missoula Restaurant Chefs & Owners series, Bob Zimorino of Zimorino's Red Pies Over Montana answers Make it Missoula's questions.... more

Flathead Valley Distilleries Getting National Attention

By MOLLY PRIDDY. Like some of the best things in Montana, the Flathead Valley’s distilleries started with humble roots and grew through hard work.... more

View Marketing as an Investment, Not an Expense

By MARK RIFFEY.When something is viewed as an expense, your instinct is to reduce it to the smallest possible amount. Doing this to your marketing is not unlike choking yourself.... more

A Beer with Baucus in Missoula

By RYAN NEWHOUSE - On April 11, Fellow beer blogger, Alan McCormick, and I sat down for a pint with Senator Max Baucus to talk about craft beer and jobs in Montana.... more

Simple Advice for Acquiring and Retaining Customers

By MARK RIFFEY. Some of the simplest advice I give is the most powerful: "Do at least one thing today to get, or keep, a client."... more

Big Business in the Other Valley

By ELKE GOVERTSEN - It's not Silicon Valley, but Missoula is a valley of innovation, hard work, and big ideas. It's the Other Valley - you know, the one with no traffic.... more

Let Your Customers Turn On the Lamp

By MARK RIFFEY -What's the first thing you do when deciding which lamp to buy? YOU TURN ON THE LAMPS. Give your customers the opportunity to see your products in a place that makes it easy for them to buy.... more

Starting a New Business – What’s Your Plan?

By MARK RIFFEY - Let's talk about business startups. Before you order those business cards, buy those supplies, determine your costs and set your prices...you need to research your market.... more

Chimps, bikinis, cold beer, fast cars… I love the Super Bowl!

By SEAN BENTON - The Super Bowl is bigger than the game of football... I’m talking about the commercials.... more

What Does a New Business Owner Do First?

By MARK RIFFEY - Let's talk about business startups. The overwhelming load at startup can freeze you in your tracks.... more

Why Much of the Internet is Blacked Out Today

By MARK RIFFEY - What is Intellectual Property? And what's it got to do with much of the Internet being blacked out this week? Mark Riffey of the Flathead Beacon explains.... more

A Letter from Georgia

By MARK RIFFEY - We almost didn't open it, thinking it was junk mail. Why would the University of Georgia send us mail way out here in Montana?... more