For your next company retreat or in-depth training, Chuck Olson said you should consider a setting that provides meals, accommodations, meeting rooms and off-hours activities, all for about $100 per day per person. Cruises out of Galveston and Houston ports are plentiful and affordable from September to April, according to the owner of Chuck Olson Tours & Cruises. “Cruising is a great value for your money, an all-inclusive retreat. Right…
“What I enjoy is putting people to work and giving them the opportunity to feed their family. That’s more gratifying to me than anything else,” Maurice Welton said. Since 2007, he has opened four Edible Arrangements stores in the Valley. The store’s artfully cut fresh fruit baskets and bouquets have become a welcome addition to parties around the Valley. Welton is pleased that the demand for Edible Arrangements products keeps…
If you have been doing business with Mexican companies, you have an inkling of what doing business in China will be like. The countries have similar business cultures, most of which are diametrically opposite of American customs and culture, said Alberto Garcia-Jurado, CEO of Cultural Intelligence based in Mexico City and San Antonio. Garcia-Jurado spoke on “When East meets West: negotiating with the Chinese” at a presentation hosted by the…
In 2013, VAMOS scholarships were given to 49 new graduates of Valley high schools. The renewable awards cover all their unmet financial obligations at a four–year college or university. The scholarships are a critical element in improving educational opportunities for Hispanic students of Starr, Hidalgo and Cameron counties who rank in the top 25% of their class. Yet individual mentoring is a less visible but equally important mission of VAMOS,…
“Lean forward. Look for someone to help.” That’s the instruction Francisco Castellanos, owner of the Chick-fil-A store in Harlingen, gives to his employees. “My job as a leader is talking about the word ‘anticipation’ and about trying to create a meaningful difference in interactions with guests through intentional acts of kindness. If I preach this every day and back it up with actions of my own, you can make it…
Wrapped in a fluffy de Sanchez Day Spa robe and sipping chilled cucumber water, I follow massage therapist Melly Barrientos past the inviting Jacuzzi and sauna to a subtly lit room for a relaxation massage. Barely audible classical guitar music and the faint scent of marigolds and chamomile tease my senses as the kink in my shoulder is chased away and my feet are massaged to nirvana. At day…
David Duff began working at his parents’ Shipley Donuts store in 1978, cutting and frying donuts with the rest of the family in McAllen. That’s why it was startling, 35 years later, when Duff, the owner of two Shipley stores, said, “I’m trying to understand the developing marketplace of a food franchise.” Shipley Donuts’ customer base requires a fast delivery system. “Our store prides itself on having one of the…
A Made in America label signifies quality to the growing Chinese middle class and has a certain cachet. By 2020, the Chinese middle class is expected to total 700 million. “That’s why we are encouraging American businesses to consider that market,” said Daniel Rodriguez, regional director of the U.S. Commercial Service, a division of the U.S. Commerce Department. U.S. exports to China grew from $91 billion in 2010 to $104…
“We want everybody to feel at home,” said Leticia Garcia, picturing what diners should experience at the new bakery-café, Antigua. She and co-owner Brenda Araneda located Antigua in a cozy three-dining room house that seats 27 on Harlingen’s East Harrison. The café has a laidback and intimate ambience that is attracting a solid customer base built on word-of-mouth and return business. Open since mid-February, Antigua serves homemade pastries, soups and…
In this section we will review the second phase of the employee lifecycle- interviewing the candidate. The following are some basic guidelines that can lead to a more effective interview. Structure your interview by basing questions on job duties. Use specific job-knowledge, situational or behaviorally-oriented questions and objective criteria to evaluate the interviewee’s responses. Keep control of the interview and take brief notes. Prepare for the interview by holding it…